Inspired by this delightful post from fancyjamtime.

Huey Lewis & the News never pretended to be anything they weren't: a lightweight pop band that wrote hit singles for the radio and just enjoyed playing their vanilla brand of inoffensive rock and (occasional) roll for their middle-class audience.

Rivers Cuomo began his career with Weezer by donning the "tortured neurotic artist nerd" persona after a failed stint in the hair metal band "Avant Garde." After their commercial grunge-pop bandwagon-jumping commercial success The Blue Album, Rivers tried to do something "artistic" which flopped commercially. He was so "hurt" by this (ha) that he briefly "quit" music to go to Harvard (gee, that's a bummer for him). Upon his return to the music world, he's slid further and further into soul-less clock-punching pop-by-numbers, confusing and disappointing the rubes who bought into the "artist" shtick in the first place.

Put "Buddy Holly" up against "Workin' For a Livin'" and i'll crank Huey over Weezer any day of the week.

As bad as Weezer are, and have been, they were never associated in any degree with a song like "The Heart of Rock and Roll." Plus, "El Scorcho" is a catchy, good song, and "Buddy Holly" was too, even if it got about as much play as Snoop Dogg at the Adult Video Awards. True, "Beverly Hills" is an absolute abomination - a 3-minute portal of suck within popular music today - a black hole, no less. But at least "Beverly Hills" did not have the one thing that could have made it even crappier - a Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer line.

"The Heart of Rock and Roll" is so godawful that it, by itself, is enough to nullify the residual associations of good one might have for Huey Lewis and the News, since at least some members of the group were part of the backing band for Elvis Costello's debut, My Aim Is True, which, while not a great album, is certainly a good, if somewhat bland and boring, album.

I think I would vote for Weezer. It's kind of like choosing what limb you want amputated, but Weezer gets my vote.

I'll take Huey, its boring bar rock, but when I was 7 I liked it, I never really liked Weezers boring Cars-light grunge pop.

Weezer, easily. I still love their first 3 albums. Pinkerton is a damn weird album.

I don't like the "Rivers = tortured genius" thing, so I ignore it.

Huey Lewis is mediocre personified. I don't have any opinion either way on him and his News.

Both are absolute crap, but I'll take Huey Lewis and the News over Weezer. At least some members of the News (including HL, if memory serves) were the backing band on My Aim is True, a spectacular rock album.

Weezer have churned out several records of bland, "cutesy" guitar pop. It's no surprise some of them used to be in cock-rock bands and shifted gears once that genre reached commercial obsolescence.

I agree with DrAwkward 100 percent.

Huey Lewis' old band Clover was the band Elvis Costello used on My Aim Is True. A decent rock band. Huey Lewis played harmonica on Thin Lizzy, Live and Dangerous. That's cool.

Weezer just plain sucks. Children's music.

Hip To Be Square? Awesome.

Huey Lewis and the News is way more fun...Weezer has a couple albums that are straight up tolerable.

Dammit...I guess I'm obligated to vote for Weezer because of their first album...but I listen to Huey Lewis and the News's greatest hits more often. I feel dirty voting for Weezer. So much CRAP, most of these albums.

Good poll.