"In the Garage" is a pop song penned by Rivers Cuomo for Weezer's The Blue Album in 1994. Cuomo had most of the songs for the album already written when Weezer was signed to Geffen Records in 1993. Cuomo has said that he was excited after being signed to a label and quickly wrote "In the Garage" and "Holiday", which appear as the next-to-last tracks at the end of the album.
The song employs many pop-culture references during the first verse. Cuomo mentions Ace Frehley and Peter Criss from the band KISS, Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde from the X-Men, and a 12-sided die and a Dungeon Master's Guide (used in Dungeons & Dragons). The second verse alludes to the geek rock qualities of Weezer that Cuomo embraces: "I've got electric guitar/I play my stupid songs/I write these stupid words/And I love everyone/Waiting there for me, Yes I do".
Oddly enough, Kitty Pryde and having a KISS poster on a wall are mentioned in the same verse. In X-Men #129, the first to feature Kitty Pryde, she is seen in one panel lying on her bed with a KISS poster on her wall.
The intro of the song features harmonica, which also appears in "My Name Is Jonas," the B-side "Mykel and Carli" and the Make Believe track "Freak Me Out." When "In the Garage" is played live, Brian Bell plays the harmonica part.
While on tour in 2005 occasionally Weezer bassist Scott Shriner would sing the lead part on "In the Garage."
