Weezer have milked YouTube more than any other artist, to usually satisfying results.

Weezer built their career on great songs and quirk.

Lately, the quirk has overshadowed the music. Plastering a close-up photo of “Lost” actor Jorge Garcia’s paunchy face on an album cover, and calling the album “Hurley” no less, would have caused a ruckus at a teenage band’s high school. But don’t judge Weezer for doing it in their forties. The quirk may outweigh the music, but so what?

Weezer have become less a rock band and more a user-generated multimedia experience that plays pop music. This was a smart move. 16 years after they released their first album, notoriety has eclipsed quality songwriting in the pop world, and Weezer have set a “what will they do next?” precedent most bands, even the super serious ones, should be jealous of.

What are they doing next? Having YouTube’s biggest stars (who have aggregated over a billion views) direct their next video in a free-form environment. Here’s who is participating:

AutoTune The News: http://www.youtube.com/schmoyoho
Cyr1216: http://www.youtube.com/cyr1216
DaveDays: http://www.youtube.com/davedays
Fred: http://www.youtube.com/fred
Hot For Words: http://www.youtube.com/hotforwords
MagicHugs: http://www.youtube.com/user/magichugs
Mystery Guitar Man: http://www.youtube.com/user/mysteryguitarman
Onision: http://www.youtube.com/onision
Ray William Johnson: http://www.youtube.com/user/RayWilliamJohnson
Real Annoying Orange: http://www.youtube.com/user/realannoyingorange
StSanders aka Kiss Shreds: http://www.youtube.com/StSanders
Tay Zonday: http://www.youtube.com/user/TayZonday
The Key of Awesome: http://www.youtube.com/barelypolitical
UsofAnderson: http://www.youtube.com/usofanderson
KeepTheHeat (Snuggie cameo) http://youtube.com/keeptheheat

Weezer seem obsessed with pageviews, which has them thinking more like web publishers and less like a rock band. Being the geekiest guys in rock music has gone a long way in keeping the band vital.