Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
I’m going to start this blog entry out by saying that (a) previous to reviewing Weezer’s new album, ‘Raditude’, I had (b) a very minimal knowledge of the band’s back catalog, and that (c) my view of the band was luke-warm at best. Keeping this in mind, I’m writing this review as a person who previously didn’t like Weezer that much, listened to ‘Raditude’ and became a fan because of it. I’m fairly confident that if you’re a die-hard believer in Weezer’s Blue and Pinkerton albums, you probably won’t like ‘Raditude’. Thankfully, however, because I’m “new” to Weezer, my initial reaction to the new album was, “Wow, where has this band been my whole life?” It was after that that I backtracked into Weezer’s blue, green, and red catalog and caught up on everything I should have heard (that wasn’t on the radio) before. I think if it’d been the other way around, I would have had a lot of resentment for ‘Raditude’, because, let’s face it, its a pop album from an arguably once “alternative-indie band” from the 90′s, and if you’re expecting them to sound like Pavement or The Rentals on this album, well, that Weezer simply doesn’t exist any more. ‘Raditude’ is not without merit, however. Since 2005′s ‘Make Believe’, Rivers Cuomo and the rest of Weezer seemed to have taken on writing mainstream pop songs pretty seriously, and given that mindset, new songs like ‘The Girl Got Hot’ and ‘Tripping Down The Freeway’ (a song about Cuomo’s struggle with a relationship that is obviously destructive, but he doesn’t want to end) fit very comfortably next to songs like ‘Beverly Hills’, ‘Pork & Beans’, and ‘Perfect Situation’.
Coming from a young point of view (and I say young, because I was a kid when ‘Pinkerton’ came out, to be fair), ‘Raditude’ is a great pop album. From the moment I put the CD in, I couldn’t stop listening, and while at times the songs did seem somewhat ’8th grade-oriented’ coming from Cuomo’s almost-middle aged POV, I would argue that (and I think most people would agree with me) listening to a song about a 30-going-on-40-something-year-old’s life would be somewhat alienating…and well, boring. Cuomo realizes this, I think, and instead of trying to please “old Weezer” fans, he’s started playing the type of music that he enjoys, pop music. The difference between Cuomo and say, the All-American Rejects (who he co-wrote a song with), is that Cuomo arguably does it better, with more experience, and with a lot more breadth than most bands on the radio playing the same type of songs. And while a song like ‘Can’t Stop Partying’, featuring Lil’ Wayne, doesn’t quite fit in with the band’s back catalog, the song does say a lot about the genius of a good pop song that embraces what’s playing on modern radio, and yet still tries to be original. (You can argue that if you want to, but I think Weezer releasing a “hip-hop” song is both wildly ridiculous and yet oddly innovative at the same time.)
I guess the real reason I like this album is because, unlike a lot of bands these days, Weezer’s doing what they want instead of becoming stagnant and trying to write another ‘My Name Is Jonas’ over and over again. They’re trying to change as a band, and Raditude is a good change, with great, catchy, signature Weezer songs that are going to get stuck in your head for days. And to me, that says a lot about a band that’s been around for almost 17 years.
Oh yeah, not to mention, they’re geniuses when it comes to selling snuggies.
Below is ‘The Girl Got Hot’ from ‘Raditude’, and I’ve included a couple of cool little b-sides I picked up (Edit: It’s been brought to my attention that these two songs were actually demos that were up for consideration for album number 5, but didn’t make the cut. Thanks to a couple of fans for clarifying, since I didn’t know that! :3) Thanks to The Good, The Bad, & The Unknown for bringing them to my attention, since I had no idea these songs existed before.
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”The Girl Got Hot” – Weezer (download)
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”Saturday Night” (B-side from the Grey Album) – Weezer (download)
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”Change The World” (B-side from the Grey Album) – Weezer (download)
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Buy Weezer’s ‘Raditude’ on Amazon, or at their website.
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Comments ( 20 )
Those songs aren’t “b-sides”, I’m guessing you were also a tiny child when that phrase was used correctly
Me added these pithy words on
Nov 19 09 at
7:34 pm
Jamie added these pithy words on Indeed! I’m coming from the same point of view. Only…kind of different. I heard El Scorcho for the first time a few weeks ago and suddenly I have a “new” awesome band with hundreds of songs, a coincidental brand new album, no “Blue Album” expectations perspective, and a new voice to add to my list of male voices that inexplicably melt me: Jim Adkins, Glen Phillips, and Rivers Cuomo. I think they’re great.
Gracieloohoo added these pithy words on
Nov 19 09 at
8:19 pm
This review rocks! It’s s fresh but real perspective. Everything I was thinking and feeling about “Raditude” she summed up nicely!
I think women, as a rule-get Rivers more-in his more playful state.
Not to say guys don’t dig this Weezer too-just women can “feel” his music better and appreciate the mindset it comes from. Woman’s intuition-perhaps?
chicks.abound added these pithy words on
Nov 19 09 at
8:43 pm
I am what you would call the “old” weezer fan – Pinkerton is hands down the best album they have and probably will ever produce, in my opinion. Although I may not enjoy Ratitude as much as old albums, surprisingly I do like most of it. I used to hate when bands would do something new that was “radically” different from their classic repretoire…and one day I realized that doing something ‘new’ is not necessarily bad. Weezer is awesome. They always will be. I can respect their creativity, no matter where it takes them. If I don’t like a few songs because they are not the typical style I enjoy, it does not mean I will refuse to listen to anything new Weezer comes up with.
I’m going to their show on the new tour…and I know I will love it. They put on a fun show, they are great at what they do and I will love them forever.
Maria added these pithy words on
Nov 19 09 at
8:45 pm
Concerning those “B-sides”: There is no such thing as “the Grey Album”. Those are demos for what would become Maladroit.
Charlie added these pithy words on
Nov 19 09 at
10:45 pm
Welcome to the world of Weezer fandom. I’m an old timey fan who seems to be among the minority who actually enjoys the new stuff. It’s nice to hear from someone who’s just getting into the band now. There’s a lot in their back catalog to catch up on!
King Tom added these pithy words on
Nov 19 09 at
11:30 pm
Thanks for clarifying… I just barely came across the demos/unreleased songs from (I’m guessing) unofficial fan collections (Purple, Orange, Pink, Grey, Black & White), and since I’d only heard their studio recordings, I wasn’t aware that these songs were cut from Maladroit. Good to know, though, so thanks!
Heather added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
2:08 am
As a Weezer fan, I go way back. I’ve read almost every review of each of their albums, and I can say that this is easily the most objective critique of their work since The Green Album came out in 2001.
Most Weezer albums are reviewed for what they’re not rather than what they are. I’m glad you took advantage of a unique perspective and did the opposite. I usually say that most Weezer fans would be thrilled with all of these albums if they’d been released in reverse, and your commentary leads me to believe that’s true.The most prescient thing you wrote: “I guess the real reason I like this album is because, unlike a lot of bands these days, Weezer’s doing what they want instead of becoming stagnant and trying to write another ‘My Name Is Jonas’ over and over again.”
Indeed, if Weezer didn’t make it it’s business to change, it would have faded into obscurity long ago. The self-destruct sequence for most bands begins when they succumb to a perceived obligation to make the same music in perpetuity. That’s boring. Why do you think Everclear’s “Songs From American Movie Vol. 2″ sold 100,000 copies after Vol. 1 sold 1.28 million (a 90 percent decline!)? Because Everclear was incapable of operating outside of certain sonic parameters, and their relevance within those parameters had an expiration date.
Anyway, good job. It appears that think for yourself and unlike most indie bloggers, you don’t write to a prescription of what you think good music is supposed to be.
Word.
joebronx added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
10:00 am
The article makes some good points and you’ve done your research. However, I must point out, “Saturday Night” and “Change the World” are not B-Sides. They are simply unreleased songs that were recorded during The Maladroit sessions. I have about 4 different versions of “Saturday Night” alone. From 2001 – 2003, Rivers Cuomo was posting the sessions from Maladroit and Album 5 on the main Weezer site (which Geffen did not approve of).
Also, you typed “The Grey Album.” I think you meant “Green.”
I have been a fan for 15 years and I enjoy the album. After “Raditude” nothing Weezer does, as wacky as it may be, will surprise me. I think “Trippin’ Down The Freeway” and “I Want You To” are fantastic. I also like the newly recorded version of “The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World” which is a bonus song on the deluxe version. This song was first played in the late 90′s when Rivers was up in Boston. I love the old demos and live versions but as a band they really channeled that old Weezer feeling. The production and playing sounds similar to Pinkerton, although a bit cleaner.
Big Weezer Fan added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
4:10 pm
I think you make some interesting points in your review. Undoubtedly this new album, Raditude, is a pop album and Weezer has moved away from that indie persona that they use to have. They are expanding their fans with more catchy mainstream songs. It seems like you are included in that mix of new fans. I love the Green Album which is what I consider Weezer’s first pop record. The task now is to use that popularity to put something out there that’s fresh and innovative. Think the Beach Boy’s and Pet Sounds. That is what I hope the band has in mind for there next album.
teapot added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
7:49 pm
BRAVO! When I was in the 6th grade I got and iPod and was opened up into the musical abyss that is itunes. I downloaded “Island in the Sun” because I loved it as that-song-from-that-MaryKate-and-Ashley movie. I was 11, cut me some slack. Then in May, Make Believe came out, “Beverly Hills” was a hit, and I was hooked. Their catalogue is just so deep though. I started off with the fun “Keep Fishing”, the emotional “Only in Dreams”, and only tapped Pinkerton with “The Good Life”. In 7th grade, while cleaning up at my friends Halloween party, “Jaime” came on and it was a total “What is this song???” moment. I went home, typed “Jaime” into my itunes search engine, and sure enough, it was Weezer. As I sunk further and further into my teenage years I needed Weezer more than ever. Blue was for starting my day off right, and Pinkerton was for soothing the wounds in the evening. My freshman year of high school I listened to “Across the Sea” religiously. It was the nearest and dearest to my heart because Rivers wrote it for a fan. I was a fan! 10 years sooner that could’ve been me, and that was something special! The Red album came out in 2008, 5 years after Make Believe, and I was more loyal than ever. September 26th, 2008 I was 15-years-old and saw Weezer front row with my best friend. It was the single greatest night of my entire life. I had never felt happiness like that before and the high lasted for months on end. Then when I heard the first single off of Raditude this summer I was terrified. “People are going to be mean,” was all I could keep thinking. But, they just don’t understand. Without Blue and Pinkerton, sure Weezer may not have had the same imense impact on me that they did, but because of those 2 albums I love them completely unconditionally with the utmost loyalty. Those 2 albums are masterpieces, everyone knows that, but Weezer isn’t an ironic hipster band that Pitchfork gives good scores so that everyone can listen to their new album for a week and pretend to like them. Pitchfork gave Make Believe a 0.4 score, which is so absurdly low it can only be attributed to douchebaggery in its sneakiest form. Holier-than-thou music fans want to be able to say they love Weezer, but they are too unemotionally atattched to accept them. Weezer never was and never will be a trend. If and when you choose it, Weezer is for life.
Leah added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
10:36 pm
It’s funny, because I became a fan of Weezer after listening to The Red Album, and I too had thought of them as lukewarm at best before. Now I love everything they do, and I really don’t get the hate for new Weezer from old fans. They just want another Blue or Pinkerton, and can’t accept that its never going to happen, so they write off every new album after one listen.
Despite being a new fan though, I agree with the opinion that Pinkerton is the best thing they’ve ever done.
Joey added these pithy words on
Nov 21 09 at
12:27 am
great post. I am a weez fan from day one. They are the only band to put out good songs (not all of them, but that is just impossible for any band)year after year. They stay fresh whether you like it or not! Some people can’t stop living their high school years and stop listening to new music, they are the ones that have died… Give weezer the respect. that have not slowed down or become nostalgic. They live it now! Mind you, Raditude does have a few stinkers, but man, compared to any CD by any band & it rocks. Metallica ruled the world for a few years then sucked for 18 years with not one good song for 18 years. Weezer had a FEW genious songs every album for 17 years! Weezer will get its due respect, through time. They have the song writing to carry them past every fad band that will come along. Thanks for the article man. Demo Kid.
demo kid added these pithy words on
Nov 21 09 at
2:28 am
As an old school fan, this review saddens me. It’s actually a great review and has that ring of truth, and that’s the sad part. I like a band that no longer exists – which would be fine, except to see the same guys out there creating and performing music I don’t like is heartbreaking and frustrating.
I actually do think Rivers could have evolved the Weezer sound in exciting and interesting ways without resorting to the teenybopper POV though. And though Raditude is a good example of modern pop music, I do feel Rivers is now chasing trends rather than setting them like he used to.
Jason added these pithy words on
Nov 21 09 at
3:44 pm
In my opinion, the best to least best Weezer albums:
Blue-best
Pink-better
Red-great
Make Believe-good
Green/ Ratitude-decent
Maladroit-decentishI like them all for different reasons. But I respect the song writing and unique aspects of: Blue, Pink, and Red. Those three CD’s stand on their own, while the others use these three as a crutch. The catalog as a whole is always compared against Blue & Pink. Red, when compared, is the best work post Blue & pink. Thanks Rivers for the memories, past and future!
Raymond Wakefield added these pithy words on
Nov 24 09 at
10:58 am
…my initial reaction to the new album was, “Wow, where has this band been my whole life?”
My initial reaction was, “Wow, this band is still laughing at everyone’s expense by profiting off of them with intentionally horrible albums after enjoying success with their first two.” There is absolutely no musical value in this album and everyone needs to move on. Deluxe albums, B-side releases… Weezer has become nothing more than a marketing gimmick for tweens. It’s downright sad.
Michael added these pithy words on
Nov 25 09 at
11:17 am
I’m with Michael, these last few albums do sound intentionally bad. It’s a real slap in the face to all the fans that stuck with Weezer after their post-Pinkerton hiatus and the only reason the band’s been able to exist since. I wish they woulda just broken up instead.
Josh Dingus added these pithy words on
Nov 27 09 at
9:26 pm
I have been a weezer fan since “undone the sweater song” was first deemed “buzzworthy” on mtv. I listened to “blue” every night before bed for months and It has never been out of my cd case.Pinkerton was jarring at first ” I remember really not liking it at all on first listen) But like everyone else has said, It Is a masterpiece, I think I have listened to it more than blue by now. I have purchased every new weezer album on day one since Pinkerton, and they all have had pros and cons (maladroit has very short, similar sounding songs) but I still love Weezer. I have no problem with a band evolving, I think It is great. To me Raditude is a pretty good album, I want you too is very catchy. The girl got hot is a great song that I hope will be a single and a fun video. I must say I like the alone 2 version of can’t stop partying better. can’t wait for whats next. enjoy the ride weezer fans.
steve added these pithy words on
Dec 05 09 at
11:13 am
Weezer are giving fans a chance to mix their demo for new track ‘Shusui’. There’s more about it here http://bit.ly/8lnOx1
Chris added these pithy words on
Dec 23 09 at
9:05 am
