Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:The word on the street is that Rivers is getting back to the good life. And by that we mean all night cocaine rodeos and teenage asian girls!
check out the rolling stone cover story on Rivers … that's actually just an excerpt, but it gives you the idea … i had no idea how crazy he was and how fractured the band is …
Holy Weezer!
Originally posted by sonickteam3:Rolling Stone and EW agreed with you
I have never felt so good about disagreeing with some Pitchfork snot 100%.
I guess the real issue with reviews is personal preference. Sometimes I get frustrated by the fact that Rolling Stone and AllMusic have such historical perspectives. As long as the album is well produced and decently written, they're very quick to give it 3 stars (out of 5). There was an issue of RS a couple months ago that had a wide variety of indie releases reviewed and EVERY SINGLE ONE got either 3 stars or 3.5 stars. It just gets frustrating sometimes.
That said, when I'm browsing through allmusic I'm glad they don't really place much personal preference in their star ratings. If the album succeeds in doing what it attempts to do, they usually give it 4 stars, whether or not the music is crap or not. And when you have such a broad perspective as AM or RS, that's probably a good thing. I'm just glad there are places like pitchfork that provide an alternate (and very personal) perspective.
good points.
truth is, though, I only read CD reviews when they are posted on this board. And i hated writing them for "the Yawn" I dont know what it is about them….
also, maybe the new Weezer album is much better live than in your living room.
(funny, I have never had a stereo in my living room, yet i always seem to say that.)
truth is, though, I only read CD reviews when they are posted on this board. And i hated writing them for "the Yawn" I dont know what it is about them….
also, maybe the new Weezer album is much better live than in your living room.
(funny, I have never had a stereo in my living room, yet i always seem to say that.)
I listened to the Weezer album streaming online twice and I loved it. Fuck Pitchfork. They're too cool for me anyway.
Does Weezer have a DC date lined up already? I thought they did, but I could be confusing them with someone else…
Thanks for the review sonick, I'm inspired to try to see them now.
Does Weezer have a DC date lined up already? I thought they did, but I could be confusing them with someone else…
Thanks for the review sonick, I'm inspired to try to see them now.
Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:? You didn't? silly boy. And this doesn't even cover the "dark year".
Originally posted by bearman:check out the rolling stone cover story on Rivers … that's actually just an excerpt, but it gives you the idea … i had no idea how crazy he was and how fractured the band is …
I met the guys in the band back in 2001 I think, whenever it was they reformed. Rivers is extremely shy and reserved. He seemed alright, but I really ended up probably feeling more uncomfortable than he did. Sometimes that happens with a musician. They clearly are thrust into this crazy place that they probably never expected.
I don't read any of those review sites. AllMusic for bios but even then I still go listen to streams/samples. No DC date. Philly probably sold out.
Oh, and if and when they do come to DC, I'd like to plug Kosmo for DJ if he wants the role.
Originally posted by abulum:nope, i knew he was a little nutty, but i just hadn't kept up with his life / weezer's career over the last 8 or 9 years or so.
? You didn't? silly boy. And this doesn't even cover the "dark year".
washingtonpost.com
Feeling Single: The Wobbly Weezer
By Sean Daly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005; C01
One of rock-and-roll's great social misfits, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is, among other things, a recluse, a masochist, a nerd, a narc and, on the band's 1996 album "Pinkerton," a bit of a perv. His latest oddball behavior involves strict celibacy and intense vipassana meditation, a regimen that makes a monk's life look like spring break in Daytona. No wonder his band mates reportedly treat the guy like a punch line.
At the same time, the singer-songwriter-guitarist is one of our great practitioners of power pop, a man responsible for such catchy slices of sun as "Buddy Holly," "Hash Pipe" and "Beverly Hills," the last of which kicks off the SoCal quartet's just-released fifth album, "Make Believe." Credit Cuomo and only Cuomo for the band's remarkable 11-year run: Weezer – unlike, say, power-poppers Fountains of Wayne – has stayed huge during surges from rap-metal goons, Brit-pop dandies and hip-hop thugs. The other guys in Weezer (drummer Pat Wilson, guitarist Brian Bell and bassist Scott Shriner) may mock their bespectacled leader, but they shouldn't get too nasty. For all his mania, Cuomo remains the rare sure-thing meal ticket.
Of course the problem with musical eccentrics is their unpredictability. The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson did some beautiful things on the road to Bonkersville. But Cuomo, as he's spiraled deeper and deeper into his own dark places, has become less and less interested in making cohesively great albums. The band's self-titled 1994 debut (aka "The Blue Album") was filled with hook-rich promises that Weezer would one day make a classic album. It never happened. Follow-up disc "Pinkerton" was captivating, yes, but mainly because Cuomo was more interested in writing about his fetish for young Asian women than writing hits. The two albums that followed were uneven at best, but a smattering of tunes on each were so darn good that 2001's self-titled disc (aka "The Green Album") and 2002's "Maladroit" sold well anyway.
The trend continues on the new "Make Believe," the band's first batch of brand-new stuff since "Maladroit." Super-producer Rick Rubin has been hired to work the sound board, but there's no mistaking who's really in charge here. Cuomo sprinkles the album with some wickedly fun stuff (heavier than "Pinkerton," not as heavy as "Maladroit"), but eventually loses steam, focus and interest – as if he'd much rather be cross-legged in a cave pondering the meaning of life. "Make Believe" is further proof that if there is a great Weezer album lurking in the future, it will no doubt be a greatest-hits collection. The best we can hope for now is that Cuomo remains a fine singles artist and fills up our iPods.
As always, the radio-ready keepers on "Make Believe" deal with Cuomo's disastrous romantic track record. "What's the deal with my brain? Why am I so obviously insane?" he asks on the sublime "Perfect Situation," a guitar-washed mid-tempo lament about a weird wallflower ("I'm a hero . . . I'm a zero") who can't hold on to the girl. The sad chorus of "oh oh oh" contrasts nicely with the song's edgy framework. On the sock-hop throwback "Hold Me," Cuomo admits, "I am terrified of all things," first and foremost the gal who just dumped his sorry self.
Another telling lyric is found on the stomp-and-shout first single, "Beverly Hills," a shameless party cut with a big beat reminiscent of "We Will Rock You" and a guitar solo inspired by too many rotations of Peter Frampton's "Comes Alive." In waxing on about Zsa Zsa Gabor's stomping grounds, Cuomo speak-sings, "Look at all those movie stars, they're all so beautiful and clean." Clean? Oh, he must feel sooo dirty. It's a wonder he hasn't scrubbed off all his skin by now.
Cuomo is incapable of making a boring album, but listenable doesn't necessarily mean likable. "We Are All on Drugs" flat-out cooks – and the "Give it to me!" bridge is one of those power-pop details that Weezer does best – but listen more closely ("The best of your days will all vanish in the haze") and you realize it's a treacly "just say no" song, Cuomo's awkward penance for whatever bad things he once ingested. "I want to confiscate your drugs," he warns.
"The Other Way," "Peace" and "Freak Me Out" are blah, go-nowhere fillers – not only can Cuomo write these tunes in his sleep, he probably did. "My Best Friend" has a perky beat but is mired by an earnest up-with-people sentiment, a Hallmarkian bit of joy joy joy that is just as creepy as anything on "Pinkerton." And then there's the album closer, "Haunt You Every Day." Awash in fuzz and guitars and depression, it sounds like the musings of a man who may be lost for good. "I am just insane / Walking on my own." Oh boy. Something tells me not even eight hours in the lotus position is going to solve that problem.
Feeling Single: The Wobbly Weezer
By Sean Daly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005; C01
One of rock-and-roll's great social misfits, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is, among other things, a recluse, a masochist, a nerd, a narc and, on the band's 1996 album "Pinkerton," a bit of a perv. His latest oddball behavior involves strict celibacy and intense vipassana meditation, a regimen that makes a monk's life look like spring break in Daytona. No wonder his band mates reportedly treat the guy like a punch line.
At the same time, the singer-songwriter-guitarist is one of our great practitioners of power pop, a man responsible for such catchy slices of sun as "Buddy Holly," "Hash Pipe" and "Beverly Hills," the last of which kicks off the SoCal quartet's just-released fifth album, "Make Believe." Credit Cuomo and only Cuomo for the band's remarkable 11-year run: Weezer – unlike, say, power-poppers Fountains of Wayne – has stayed huge during surges from rap-metal goons, Brit-pop dandies and hip-hop thugs. The other guys in Weezer (drummer Pat Wilson, guitarist Brian Bell and bassist Scott Shriner) may mock their bespectacled leader, but they shouldn't get too nasty. For all his mania, Cuomo remains the rare sure-thing meal ticket.
Of course the problem with musical eccentrics is their unpredictability. The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson did some beautiful things on the road to Bonkersville. But Cuomo, as he's spiraled deeper and deeper into his own dark places, has become less and less interested in making cohesively great albums. The band's self-titled 1994 debut (aka "The Blue Album") was filled with hook-rich promises that Weezer would one day make a classic album. It never happened. Follow-up disc "Pinkerton" was captivating, yes, but mainly because Cuomo was more interested in writing about his fetish for young Asian women than writing hits. The two albums that followed were uneven at best, but a smattering of tunes on each were so darn good that 2001's self-titled disc (aka "The Green Album") and 2002's "Maladroit" sold well anyway.
The trend continues on the new "Make Believe," the band's first batch of brand-new stuff since "Maladroit." Super-producer Rick Rubin has been hired to work the sound board, but there's no mistaking who's really in charge here. Cuomo sprinkles the album with some wickedly fun stuff (heavier than "Pinkerton," not as heavy as "Maladroit"), but eventually loses steam, focus and interest – as if he'd much rather be cross-legged in a cave pondering the meaning of life. "Make Believe" is further proof that if there is a great Weezer album lurking in the future, it will no doubt be a greatest-hits collection. The best we can hope for now is that Cuomo remains a fine singles artist and fills up our iPods.
As always, the radio-ready keepers on "Make Believe" deal with Cuomo's disastrous romantic track record. "What's the deal with my brain? Why am I so obviously insane?" he asks on the sublime "Perfect Situation," a guitar-washed mid-tempo lament about a weird wallflower ("I'm a hero . . . I'm a zero") who can't hold on to the girl. The sad chorus of "oh oh oh" contrasts nicely with the song's edgy framework. On the sock-hop throwback "Hold Me," Cuomo admits, "I am terrified of all things," first and foremost the gal who just dumped his sorry self.
Another telling lyric is found on the stomp-and-shout first single, "Beverly Hills," a shameless party cut with a big beat reminiscent of "We Will Rock You" and a guitar solo inspired by too many rotations of Peter Frampton's "Comes Alive." In waxing on about Zsa Zsa Gabor's stomping grounds, Cuomo speak-sings, "Look at all those movie stars, they're all so beautiful and clean." Clean? Oh, he must feel sooo dirty. It's a wonder he hasn't scrubbed off all his skin by now.
Cuomo is incapable of making a boring album, but listenable doesn't necessarily mean likable. "We Are All on Drugs" flat-out cooks – and the "Give it to me!" bridge is one of those power-pop details that Weezer does best – but listen more closely ("The best of your days will all vanish in the haze") and you realize it's a treacly "just say no" song, Cuomo's awkward penance for whatever bad things he once ingested. "I want to confiscate your drugs," he warns.
"The Other Way," "Peace" and "Freak Me Out" are blah, go-nowhere fillers – not only can Cuomo write these tunes in his sleep, he probably did. "My Best Friend" has a perky beat but is mired by an earnest up-with-people sentiment, a Hallmarkian bit of joy joy joy that is just as creepy as anything on "Pinkerton." And then there's the album closer, "Haunt You Every Day." Awash in fuzz and guitars and depression, it sounds like the musings of a man who may be lost for good. "I am just insane / Walking on my own." Oh boy. Something tells me not even eight hours in the lotus position is going to solve that problem.
i've never seen the big deal about weezer? what have they done that's been exceptionally good? or innovative? or interesting?
Originally posted by distance:i think they largely appeal to generation Yers like myself who were in their young teens when The Blue Album was released
i've never seen the big deal about weezer? what have they done that's been exceptionally good? or innovative? or interesting?
n the context of widely accessible commercial music, that album was like a breath of fresh air in a 'modern rock' world ruled by crappy grunge and post-grunge … sure other people/bands had done and were doing similar things, but they didn't break through to the mainstream like weezer did, so they captured the attention of a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't have heard that kind of fresh guitar pop … they also appealed to nerdy kids who identified with rivers
so take that, and add all the emo kids who claim weezer as their ancestors, then add all the younger people who discovered them in their less-personal-lyrics, post-pinkerton era and you have a pretty sizeable/rabid fanbase
Originally posted by distance:they're like the 70s band that never came out on 8-track.
i've never seen the big deal about weezer? what have they done that's been exceptionally good? or innovative? or interesting?
Weezers songs are usually exceptionally written and the lyrics are usually quite interesting.
innovative….i wont get into that, but good and interesting? sure.
Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:which ALWAYS makes for such a fun live show!
a pretty sizeable/rabid fanbase
Originally posted by sonickteam3:i loved the lyrics on The Blue Album and Pinkerton … maybe it was because i was 13 and 15 when they were released, but they were great, quirky, nerdy confessional albums that didn't stray into slop like today's emo
Weezers songs are usually exceptionally written and the lyrics are usually quite interesting.
the lyrics on the last 2 albums were just kinda blah to me, they're much more universal and just didn't have the same quirks as the first two … haven't heard the new one yet …
Originally posted by sonickteam3:But are they relevant?? Today? :cool:
innovative….i wont get into that, but good and interesting? sure.
Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:well, i was in my teens when the first album came out. i owned it at one point, i think? it was ok. a couple songs i heard off pinkerton were ok, but then they disappeared.
i think they largely appeal to generation Yers like myself who were in their young teens when The Blue Album was released
n the context of widely accessible commercial music, that album was like a breath of fresh air in a 'modern rock' world ruled by crappy grunge and post-grunge … sure other people/bands had done and were doing similar things, but they didn't break through to the mainstream like weezer did, so they captured the attention of a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't have heard that kind of fresh guitar pop … they also appealed to nerdy kids who identified with rivers
so take that, and add all the emo kids who claim weezer as their ancestors, then add all the younger people who discovered them in their less-personal-lyrics, post-pinkerton era and you have a pretty sizeable/rabid fanbase
then they came back in 99/00? and all they sudden they are now emo? were they emo in 1994? am i missing something here? everything i've heard since they came back has been utter crap and i'm not seeing what the current draw is really. maybe i just don't 'get it'. maybe i just don't want to.
Originally posted by Bags:ahhhh. you'll have to ask our resident "journalist" that question. I am sure he can dig up a well thought out answer from somewhere on the internet…
Originally posted by sonickteam3:But are they relevant?? Today? :cool:
innovative….i wont get into that, but good and interesting? sure.
Originally posted by distance:eh, i don't think the band themselves (or rivers) was ever self-consciously "emo", but they were co-opted by emo kids who look to them like punk kids looked to the stooges or MC5 … proto-emo?
then they came back in 99/00? and all they sudden they are now emo? were they emo in 1994? am i missing something here?
Originally posted by Bags:=)
Originally posted by sonickteam3:But are they relevant?? Today? :cool:
innovative….i wont get into that, but good and interesting? sure.
they were just on the front cover of rolling stone, their new album will sell tons and tons, they're definitely "relevant" in the pop-culture landscape
on the other hand, the hipsterati has long since dismissed them as "irrelevant"
guess it depends on what context you're looking at
Originally posted by sonickteam3:i'll have to disagree with you here.
Weezers songs are usually exceptionally written and the lyrics are usually quite interesting.
but that's ok.
Originally posted by distance:of course, else you would like them!
i'll have to disagree with you here.