Tag Archives: weezer

some more words on weezer

Posted on by
1

The change began after Maladroit.  Maladroit was the album practically picked by the fans.  Weezer demoed all the songs on their website, and fans said which ones they enjoyed and which they didn’t, and Rivers (sort of) made an album from that.  And they even asked the fans to name the album, and they (the band) picked Maladroit.  Which sounds fitting, since critics and old school fans alike tend to believe that Weezer’s career post-Pink is a bit maladroit.

But when you look at the direction of Weezer — or really, Rivers’ — songcrafting, rather than his songwriting (which, let’s be honest, is pretty crap lately), the whole spectrum has changed.  Weezer went from an emo-indie rock quartet to a bloated mainstream power-rock-pop explosion, except instead of writing the type of songs a typical rock band would write, Rivers writes songs about going to the mall.  So, his images are a bit more positive than they used to be.  He’s a happy guy, what can you do?

The Green Album and Maladroit, however, were both still in the vein, musically, melodically, as Blue and Pink.  There were slight deviations, but for the most part, it was the Weezer Sound, complemented with Rivers’ pure, honest vocal quality.  And in the end, you had two great albums, albums that arguably defined a generation, and then you had a long break followed by two good albums, but poor albums when compared to the first two.

And then you had Make Believe.

The first issue arises in the title: it’s not a color album.  The routine was set: Blue (color), Pinkerton (nicknamed Pink but not technically a color), Green (color), and Maladroit (not color).  Make Believe broke that mold, and ended up breaking a lot more molds in the process.  Musically, the sound had changed.  Lyrically, Rivers gave up writing about things close to his heart and started writing incredibly insipid lyrics.  Again, the band was having fun, but at the cost of, well, musical credibility.

And now we’ve had Red, Raditude, and now Hurley.  There have been some good songs on these albums, but none of them sound like the Weezer Sound.  They have a new, more surfacey rock sound that’s just not very unique anymore.  Gone are the quirky songs like “Undone (The Sweater Song)” or “El Scorcho.”  In place are songs like “Beverly Hills” and truly awful songs like “We Are All On Drugs” and “Heart Songs.”

However, there are songs that have a Weezer Sound to them.  ”Perfect Situation” is a good example.  It opens with a rising riff that is reminiscent of the summer 2000 demos.  The lyrics aren’t great, but hell, you have to acknowledge that Rivers guitar riff at least.  I think “Perfect Situation” is the best song on Make Believe (and not just because Elisha Cuthbert is in the video…).  I like songs like “This is Such a Pity” because they sound different from the typical sound, but they also just don’t sound like Weezer.  ”Peace” actually sounds vaguely Weezeresque too, but it’s just too cookie cutter.  ”Pardon Me” also has a Weezer Sound opening.

The funny thing about Red and the albums that follow is that the b-sides actually sound a lot more like Weezer than the albums proper do.  ”Turn Me Round” is great, and “All My Friends Are Insects”1 from Hurley is really enjoyable.  It’s short, it’s got a fuckin rad guitar solo, and it’s lyrics are simple but suggest something more (as in, all my friends are insects because I’m a loser).  Really, Hurley in general seems to hearken back (both in style and literally in the lyrics) to the “old days,” which I guess for Weezer is back when educated people over the age of 16 gave a shit about them.  It’s not anywhere near Blue or Pink, but it sounds more raw and emotional.

So I’m going to write one more blog about Weezer; specifically, I’m going to compile my ten favorite post-Green album songs in what I would consider to be a Good Weezer Album.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and now I get the chance.  I just like to talk about Weezer in this “I sound like I’m stoned” sort of way.  They’re a band that really influenced my entrance into the world of indie rock and power pop, and despite their later albums not being so great, they’re really fascinating to follow.  So now, sleep, and tomorrow (maybe), another blog!

  1. Okay, I guess “deluxe edition” tracks are b-sides, right?  They’re not on the album proper.  Or something. ↩

a few words on the new weezer album

Posted on by
Reply

I’m not the type of person who writes reviews about albums.  I’m not the kind of guy who finds a ton of meaning in particular albums.  I do, however, find myself attached to particular albums because those albums are just really good.  In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is one of those albums; it’s not like I attribute some long-lost symbolism to the album, or its Anne Frank and strange twin imagery.  It’s not like I first listened to it in an opium den with my closest friends, and let its melodies and Mangum’s voice break new ground in my cerebellum.  I just like it.  It sounds good, it sounds put together.

Such is the case with Weezer’s first two albums.  The Blue Album is an anthem to nerds everywhere.  That’s just it.  Lots of people around my age love that album, but some of us identify with it.  Pinkerton is even more of that kind of vibe, an anthem of frustrated and sometimes unrequited love.  It’s a theme that a lot of people, men and women, identify with.  It’s why most people prefer Pinkerton to Blue.

I, like many people, first found Weezer through the “Buddy Holly” music video, which was brilliantly placed on the Windows 95 CD.  It couldn’t be any more perfect — me, and countless millions of other nerds, were delving into the CD, this new format which holds music and data — pouring through file folders, and we all found the hidden cache of videos and demos.  And that was it.  Buddy Holly was ours.  (It arguably is one the greatest songs of the 20th century.)

And like many other people, I found myself a bit obsessed with the band.  After they began to play in 2000, I started downloading tracks from their summer demos, and eagerly awaited their “comeback” with the Green Album.

When it arrived, it was quick, but it was good.  It wasn’t Blue or Pink good, but it was good.  It still contained that Weezeresque identity, and a lot of fans who were following the demos knew the songs from there.  Which was a lot of fun.

But, this was also the beginning of the “We want another Blue/Pink” syndrome, in which fans longed to hear an album from Rivers that contained the same fervor, the same frustration, the same … something, that powered Weezer’s first two albums.

Now we’re on, what, album seven? Eight? And it’s called “Hurley.”  And it has a picture of Jorge Garcia (aka Hurley from LOST) on the cover.

The point, I think, is that Rivers doesn’t give a shit what his fans want.  He just wants to have fun.  And a new gaggle of kids are latching onto that.  The rest of us, the old fans, are angry, but who cares?  We’re starting to be angry at all kinds of hipster bullshit things1.

The past few albums have had a lot of terrible songs on them2.  But there are some genuine good songs there as well.  And this album has an edge to it that I haven’t heard in a long time.  There seems to be a power to Rivers’s voice that wasn’t there before.  I suspect a switch to Epitaph is the reason behind this.  But regardless, it’s not a great album, but it’s not a bad album either.  Like, I might listen to this one all the way through.  More than once.

It seems that as Rivers gets older, he just doesn’t feel like writing sad songs anymore.  Any why should he?  It’s not like he’s having a bad time with his life right now.  So he writes this power pop stuff and some of it is awful, but some of it’s not bad either.

So far the best stuff I’ve heard from Rivers recently were the B-sides to the Red Album.  It’s the closest to that 2000-era level of songwriting (especially “Turn Me Round).  Nothing will touch Blue or Pink.  I think Rivers knows that, which is why he’s just enjoying himself.

Unfortunately, when he enjoys himself, his music’s not that great.

Still, I follow Weezer and steal all their albums, because they’re fun to listen to sometimes.  One of these days I’ll compile a “Top 10 Tracks Beyond Green” blog, because their first two albums were only 10 tracks, and it would be fitting to find the best of the rest, if you know what I mean.

I feel like I rambled a bit here.  My point is that I like Hurley, even if it sounds like some kind of All-American Rejects bullshit occasionally.

  1. For example: I realized the other day that I really hate the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  I can’t stand them, and I hate the singer’s hair.  There.  I said it. ↩
  2. Can’t Stop Partying?  Love is the Answer?  Heart Songs?  Etc etc ↩

music roundup

Posted on by
Reply

Fleet Foxes! Fleet Foxes is out and it is great! It’s just like their demos on their myspace, but better. It’s a great summery folky album with lots of cathedral-esque reverb. Everyone should listen to it with their blinds open, or outside, maybe while fishing. I bet it’s a great fishing album. Or maybe on a long drive down a country backroad. While blowing the seeds off a dandelion. I don’t know.

I also got the new Weezer album … I consider it a step up from Make Believe, but still not even as good as the Green Album, which means they’ve still got a ways to go before they reach Blue status. I doubt they ever will. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean that I think Rivers is done writing songs that are socially relevant in the way Blue was. I mean, nerds loved that album, let’s just be honest about it. And Pinkerton. They shaped a nation of true emo kids, back when emo was sweater vests and quiet songs, and when Dashboard Confessional was relevant. Not this dress all in black shit.

Anyway, Rivers is too old to write songs like that. He doesn’t have those problems anymore. Does that mean he should stop making music? Of course not. In a way it means he gets to write about whatever he wants — which he does these days. But sonically, aurally, I guess, as an album, Maladroit and Make Believe weren’t that great. At least Red sounds good. It has a good flow to it, and some of the songs rock out and some fall flat (Heart Songs, anyone?). I really like the Pat Wilson song, Automatic, though. I like Wilson’s stuff. The Special Goodness is nice, I think.

Oh yeah, that was the other album I got. Land, Air, Sea or whatever it’s called. I like it. It’s a bit samey, but it’s good and rockin’, and Pat really knows how to shred.

Well, right now I’m working on yet another play idea. I won’t talk about it other than to say it’s kind of epic, which is cool. So I’ll continue with that. ‘Til we meet again!