 Make
Believe |
 Maladroit
They have really poured on the pop for this
one. "Dope Nose" is a great, great pop song in all
its power chord glory. It's never really clear when Weezer is
being serious with their music, though. I mean there's a fine
line between parody and authenticity, especially when it comes
to really smart Harvard grads. Is Cuomo serious with this churning
brand of head-bobbing 70s/80s arena rock, or is he just pulling
a huge prank on all of us? I think he's actually being earnest
in his love of all that is huge about music, and this is certainly
the biggest of his career. There is so much guitar in this album
it's almost retarded. To think that a little skinny dude in
jeans and glasses is banging out this craziness is pretty funny.
I've honestly forgotten how solid this album is, and the enormity
and aggression of the music, all heavy metal symbols and chugging
guitars and solos (solos!). It really is stunning, just stunning. |
 Pinkerton
These guys got totally hosed on this album.
Actually, it's a better all around record than their debut.
It's more textured and emotional and the songwriting doesn't
depend on sunny pop melodies to get by. This thing is way thicker
and pulsating (ew) and rockin'. It's like the geeks have really
manned up on this one, dropped the cuteness in favor of distortion
pedals and songwriting. Apparently the denseness of the album
put off some of the fans of the debut, but while that album
was awesome in its own right, it was a little light on content.
This one is the dork rockin' out as if his heart depended on
it-for a girl, for respect, for whatever. "Goddamn you
half-Japanese girls, y'do it to me every time!" So solid,
man. So good. |
 Raditude |
 Weezer
[blue]
My introduction to this album came upon me
like a sign. KROQ played "(Undone) The Sweater Song"
one day, and I happened to catch the middle and tail end of
the song and had to get out of the car before the DJ said who
the song was by. Believing it to be a new Pixies
song for some reason, I almost shat my pants. Three years after
their breakup and now a new song!? Sure, it sounded a bit different,
but it was definitely the Pixies. Wow, was I way off. So I walk
into my neighborhood record store, Moby Disc, to confirm my
suspicions, and while waiting to talk to the guy at the counter,
this cool album is playing something about "Buddy Holly"
and whatnot, and what comes on but that song! And sitting on
the high counter, as it always was was the CD cover and the
handmade "now playing" sign, but instead of some weird
cover full of debris there was this clean blue cover with some
dorky dudes standing on it. Of course I purchased it immediately
and spent the next week listening to it on repeat. It was a
such a fresh breath of power pop air in an era of dingy grunge
aftermath. "Say It Ain't So" is still one of my favorite
songs of all time, and a jukebox staple. It's also one of the
dorkiest records ever, which makes my geeky heart do back flips. |
 Weezer
[green]
There we go. This oughta make some of those
Pinkerton-haters happy. Keeping the rockin' attitude
of Pinkerton, but adding back in some of the funniness
of the Blue Album, this album, the third from Weezer,
turns on the power pop to eleven. Back from seclusion after
the commercial bomb of their second album, Rivers Cuomo relented
and brought forth this short pop gem of an album. While Ric
Ocasek was busy wrecking Guided
by Voices albums, his touch on this one works well for the
Cheap Trick stadium rock band that Weezer always aspired to
be. Their sound is actually more straight forward on this record,
without Matt Sharp's organ flourishes (which he had taken over
to The Rentals), but it's a great
little rock album all the same. |
 Weezer
[red] |
Musical Connections:
The Kickovers
The Rentals
|
Booze
& Grub
Hipster
Movie Reviews
Hipster
Book Reviews