Let us face a fact that's difficult to say out loud: Beverly Hills celebrities are a different species from the rest of the human race. The rest of us are made out of meat; they're made of plastic, silicon, and foam, and they can't even be buried safely after they die because their bodies aren't biodegradable. They just have to be recycled, which is how we got Paris Hilton. The rest of us eat food; have you ever seen a Beverly Hills celebrity eat? The rest of us think about day-to-day life and speak in a normal tone of voice, and the Beverly Hills celebrity natters only about themselves while talking in a whining, shrill tone that sounds like that Talking Tina doll from that Twilight Zone episode - saying things like "gimme gimme."

Yes, Beverly Hills celebrities are a constant target of mocking in the media, and here comes Weezer to give them a spanking. It's kind of funny how you can get away with this in American culture. The closest we can come in any other culture is the gods of Mount Olympus in Greek mythology; while they were gods in an honored, exalted place, they were portrayed as the same kind of bickering, spoiled brats that Beverly Hills celebrities are today. And just as irrelevant to anything that really matters. And really, they know this. They know they are housepets, and that's why we have reality TV shows, so they can do tricks for our attention.

Weezer's "Beverly Hills," released in 2005, led the band to the greatest commercial success it would enjoy until "Pork And Beans." It charted well in both the United States and the UK. It was also the top-selling digital download of 2005, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a fact which points to the strong play the Internet has had in Weezer's popularity.

Lead singer/ band leader Rivers Cuomo cites this as the song that "broke them out of their niche," connecting with people from all walks of life. The song is often taken to be a lot more sarcastic than it actually is intended, which brings us back to Mount Olympus: as silly as those gods are, they're certainly glamorous up there on that hill and it would be nice to join their group. But, like most mythical figures, "it's something that you're born into," a status that mere mortals can only attain at great sacrifice.

Beverly Hills has certainly attained a mythical status in American media. Its influence stretches all the way back to the TV show "The Beverly Hillbillys," which itself took it's humor from the ridiculous notion that ordinary folk could move to Beverly and be just like the golden idols. Then there's the movie Beverly Hills Cop and the TV series "Beverly Hills 90210," both of which pile on more layers of myth.

Rivers Cuomo, of course, was born in Manhattan, as the child of immigrants. (And coincidentally, his mother's name is Beverly!) So it makes sense from that point of view that Rivers would consider himself a "no class, beat down fool" and not one of their kind.

Other things that keep you out of Mount Olympus: a piece-of-crap automobile, an out-of-whack fashion sense, screwy friends, not attending boarding schools, not having preppy girls look at you, and having nothing in your pocket. Oh, dear, the velvet rope closed right in front of you, and now you have to sit outside on the curb.

The video, by the way, was filmed at the Playboy Mansion - which is not located in Beverly Hills, but in nearby Holmby Hills. Hugh Hefner himself makes a cameo appearance.

Which brings us to one final counter-note: If you're "somebody" enough that you get to film your music video in Hugh Hefner's mansion, doesn't that kind of make you at least an honorary member of the golden idols of the area anyway?

Pete Trbovich
June 13, 2009 Beverly Hills Songfacts
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