Review Summary: An album that pits old weezer with new weezer, and old weezer wins.
Wow. I have always been a fan of weezer, everything they have ever done, except raditude. For me, the album seemed to take all of the hate they had been receiving, and seemed to compile it with one record. Here'e the thing though....i loved maladroit. I liked green and red and make believe. And we all know that the Blue Album is a classic and that Pinkerton is considered by me to be the greatest record ever recorded by a band other than the Beatles. Why did't i like raditude? I could sit here all day and pick apart the technical difficulties, song inconsistency, childish lyrics, overproduced sound, and bad structure, but that wasn't why it was really bad. Look at an album like the Blue Album. It did't have really great lyrics or revolutionary music. The reason why it is so loved is because it connected with people. Not only were the songs catchy, but they were coherent, simple, refreshing, songs,and thats why people loved them. I'm sure people would love to talk about how the album was a feat of recording, but it wasnt. The reason it was so perfect was because each song was a small masterpiece, and it appealed to almost everybody. This is what makes an album good. The ability to connect with it's audience and provide them with moments in the music they will never forget. I remember where i was and what i was doing the last time I listened to Pinkerton. Where was i when i last heard Raditude?
The album wasn't a terrible album. It had it's moments, like any weezer album. You see, every weezer album has a high number of "hits", songs that were great. Make Believe, which was panned, even had a good 5 songs to support the album despite the 2 worst songs of weezer's career. That's why i find it hard to hate on all other weezer albums. Raditude had barely any. Which is why I lost hope.
But then, i picked up hurley. Here is what the album is like....2 caged animals fighting each other. Old weezer, and new weezer. One of them is clearly the stronger. Which one is it? Well, i told you in the beginning. Read next time.
The album kicks off with memories, the leading singles. I was fairly happy when i heard it. It seemed like a solid track, but weezer has a bit of a reputation as their best songs being singles. So, i continued. To my great surprise, the nest track, ruling me, was terrific. It was truly a song that was so simple, so un inventive....it was refreshing. It was the perfect track to play when you wake up, get home from school, anything. Im not raving about the technical accomplishments, there aren't any. It was simply a great way to kick off a great album. Trainwrecks is up next, a good song, that tells a good story, with some good lyrics. Its pretty decent, albeit repetitive. Unspoken is the next song, and its a great one. it starts off acoustic, but goes full rock later. The lyrics are a tad bit childish, but the song, musically, is an accomplishment. And then, as I am thinking about how redeeming this album is....up comes a song called.....wheres my sex? What the ***? I mean come on. It's like weezer makes 9 perfect songs and then just to *** with people comes up with the worst possible name for a song. But here is the kicker...the song is a play on the word socks. WHERES MY SOCKS? WHAT THE ***!?!? And it get's better.....the opening track to the mind blowing pinkerton? Tired of Sex. Tired of sex....wheres my sex. HOW CAN I LISTEN TO THE TARNISHED OPENING TRACK OF PINKERTON NOW? Well, i hit the unpause button, and the song is not that bad. Pretty average, in fact, which is a good thing. I just am so pissed off by the idea. But the music isnt bad. So just as I begin to think "This is like the red album, where the first half is awesome, but the second half is average", a mind numbing song bursts in. It's called Run Away. and shoot me, but its about 100 times better than kanye's. This song was such a great track. It's hard to explain...like almost any weezer song on this album....its not technically advanced, or revolutionary, or provacative...they are just simply awesome songs, which is refreshing once in a while. I think of this album like the movie Star Trek(2009). I didn't expect much, and it wasnt a revolution, but its a damn good movie. It's like Christopher Nolan popped in and decided to remake Batman. And then Batman begins came out, and, well....you get the metaphor. So by this time...I am afraid. I am afraid that one ***ty song will appear and make me hate the album, and i thought that is why the album got mixed reviews, but more on that later.
The next song is called hang on, done with micheal cera. Let me say something right now. This song is the best song of 2010, the new single, and, simply, a feat of musicanship. The lyrics are average enough. "This was, just a very first start, but there's more, that I hold in my heart, I'll know the words to say to draw you in so close to me" but that is not where the song shines. Its like Christopher Nolan realized how good batman begins was with Run Away, and then decided to come back for seconds and top it with the Dark Knight. This song is a great example of why music is still awesome.
But I knew it. Here it comes. The Averageness of the album. Smart girls. Wow. Let me begin by saying this song could replace "smart" with dumb, fun, cool, gay, hot, or any other 1 synonym word you can think of. That is why it fails. However, the bridge is classic weezer, disguising a very intricate musical melody within a small part of the song. An average song. the Next two don't do much to help the situation, they are both pretty good songs. Brave new world has some awesome musical aspects, some "meh" lyrics, but overall is what the red album was in one song - very experimental, very fun, very awesome in small doses. Good song. Which brings us to the last song...time flies. Now, I don't know why everyone praises this song. It's a lo-fi/indie recording of an acoustic jam talking about how old he is getting. Don't get me wrong, nothing about it is bad. But nothing about is as epic as any other weezer closer. In fact, i think it's the worst weezer closer, which is a shame, because weezer usually puts its best songs at the beginning and end of the album. opposite here.
So, why did I give this album a 3.5? In summary, it's a great album. It's got a hefty number of songs i will still listen to in a couple years. However, it needs 1 or 2 more "great" tracks to top the 3rd best weezer album, maladroit. So in closing, this outing by weezer is great. Weezer is one of my favorite bands because they connect with me, and provide me with great songs.
Memories - 3/5
Ruling Me - 4/5
Trainwrecks - 3.5/5
Unspoken - 4/5
Wheres My Sex - 2.5/5
Run Away - 4.5/5
Hang On - 5/5
Smart Girls - 2.5/5
Brave New World - 3.5/5
Time Flies 3.5/5
Check out my weezer list on my profile, my upcoming reviews (not necessarily by weezer) and you should check them out live. They rock :D
-Dr Epic
