Weezer Collaborates With NASA For Patriotic New Single, ‘I Love the USA’

Since their 1994 self-titled debut – long-dubbed the Blue Album – name-dropped X-Men and Dungeons & Dragons there has been no bigger name in nerd-rock than Weezer. It should perhaps come as no surprise then that NASA asked the band to be involved with the celebration of the Juno spacecraft entering Jupiter’s orbit by premiering the band’s new single, “I Love the USA”

The spacecraft, which launched in August of 2011, arrived at the gas giant on July 4. It’s scheduled to study Jupiter’s magnetic and gravity fields to attempt to determine how the planet formed, if it has a rocky core, and just how much water is contained on the planet.

Juno is the first craft to reach Jupiter since the Galileo probe orbited the planet from 1995-2003.

For his part, Weezer songwriter/frontman/guitarist Rivers Cuomo wrote about the song on the band’s website, claiming that the inspiration for a pro-U.S.A. anthem came before NASA contacted the band.

“We were on tour abroad and it got me thinking a lot about America, which lead me to write ‘I Love The USA.’  When Apple and NASA asked us to be involved with Juno’s historic landing on July 4th, this song seemed like the perfect fit,” said Cuomo.

The track, a standalone single, is available in the band’s iTunes store.

Weezer is currently in the midst of a co-headlining summer tour with Panic At The Disco! in support of their most recent release, another self-titled record referred to as the White Album, which came out in April. Watch the video for “I Love the USA” below.