KIRTS

Brendan Kirts
Prof. Gregory
February 17, 2021

Analyzing Africa by Toto

Covered by Weezer

For the two renditions of the song. There are multiple similarities and multiple differences.

Both being made in two different periods, the first being released in the ’80s in the peace, love,

and happiness time period and the other from a more divided time where there are newer

instruments and a newer pop trend for songs. The first song took place with a really deep

meaning behind it where the artists went on missionary projects in Africa where they described

the true meaning and emotion behind the song in later interviews, opening the song with a brassy

toned piano intro and a classic guitar to go throughout the song. The other version on the other

hand is very different using a different chord for the intro to the song and a choppy electric guitar

theme. With some new voices made two days after the idea was brought up, the backlash for the

video was very intense and expressed by the fans of the band Toto.

Now onto the visual representation, the first video shows the band in a room some playing

instruments on the floor others standing up, and a few sitting on a seat but it takes more of the

vibe of the name of the song than the cover. In the video, they are performing on a book that has

the word Africa on it. It also shows multiple frames of two people studying African history and

has multiple artifacts in it pointing out the theme of the song and the message behind it of the

band's missionary journey. Yet the second video shows a very plain and boring aesthetic with the

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cover artists just standing there and making the song over again. This also created another

backlash episode with people hating the recreation of the music video completely destroying the

old vibe from a new popular band. The cover also has a different reason as to why it was created,

in all seriousness, a 14-year-old girl tweeted out “Weezer cover Africa by Toto” and as was

expected two days later Weezer had made their version of the song. Its back story isn’t as

extensive, or as exciting and meaningful as the original by Toto. But the usual style of Weezer

isn’t always exciting when it comes down to the covers.

The style of music that both bands take is also crucially different. Over the years the band

was together Toto overtook a more hippie and groovy type of band. They made all sorts of music

to match the style of the 70’s and 80’s as the song Africa Entails. On the other hand you have

Weezer, described as the best thing since Nirvana, taking on a pop punk style of music to engage

the old heads and the new heads. Since the cover has came out for Africa they have also taken

the pop punk spin and used it on a few other cover songs. For example songs like Buddy Holly,

Hash pipe, and Say it ain’t so have all taken the usual grunge pop style, which brings the hipster

vibe songs out of they’re style, causing a lot of resent and backlash towards the band and the

butchering of the timeless classic. As much as the song was just anther one to sing for the band it

also skyrocketed through the charts as Toto did back in the ’80’s.

In a more recent article many members of a team went through and analyzed “Who did the

song better,” with the obvious winner being the original artists it also covered a lot of key parts

that bring the songs together. In one of the columns written the group asked “Did Weezer make

Africa cool again” but the thing is the song was already a great hit before Weezer decided to

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cover it, even though many other bands and artists also decided to cover the song, Weezer’s was

different, It also blew past all the other covers putting it to the top.

In all reality, they are the same song created by two different bands, but the amount of

unrecognized difference between the two is crazy. The different instruments may be the biggest

difference to anger the public audience, but I think the thing that made the two so different was

the music video. In the end everyone can agree that the original is always going to be better, but

Weezer did put a very interesting spin on it.

Powers, Ann. “Weezer Covers Toto's 'Africa,' Taking Us Deep Into The Internet's Heart Of
Beigeness.” NPR, NPR, 29 May 2018, www.npr.org/sections/therecord/
2018/05/29/615204047/cracking-open-totos-beige-classic-africa-weezer-grants-the-
internet-s-wish.

Staff, Ultimate Classic Rock. “Who Won the Weezer-Toto Song Trade? We Answer Five Big
Questions.” Ultimate Classic Rock, Ultimate Classic Rock, 3 Aug. 2018,
ultimateclassicrock.com/weezer-toto-cover-song-roundtable/.

ANALYSIS 3