Weezer - Hurley (formerly The Red Album thread)

[nate.3.0]

So like... this is their 6th album.  I only like two of them.  Does this mean that I don't really like Weezer?

This album isn't terrible.  It's about as good as Maladroit... but some of the songs are just horrible (like "Heart Songs").  I mean... my favorite track on the album isn't even a Rivers track, but the Brian Bell song "Thought I Knew."  

Anyone else "cop dat disc?"

[Dan]

So like... this is their 6th album.  I only like two of them.  Does this mean that I don't really like Weezer?

No, if you're a true fan, you'll pretend like every album they put out is their great return to form, like the rest of us.

Seriously, they haven't had a really good album in over a decade. While I admit that the blue album and Pinkerton are both undeniable classics, I don't think I need to be roasted for suggesting that they suck now.

I haven't heard the red album, though.

[Dalton]

So like... this is their 6th album.  I only like two of them.  Does this mean that I don't really like Weezer?

This album isn't terrible.  It's about as good as Maladroit... but some of the songs are just horrible (like "Heart Songs").  I mean... my favorite track on the album isn't even a Rivers track, but the Brian Bell song "Thought I Knew."  

Anyone else "cop dat disc?"

They kinda suck now.  I mean, "Pork and Beans"?  What the hell is that?

[nate.3.0]

They kinda suck now.  I mean, "Pork and Beans"?  What the hell is that?

In their defense... that one's kinda the label's fault.

This was written by Cuomo as a reaction to a meeting with Geffen where the band was told it needed to record more-commercial material.[3] Cuomo remarked, "I came out of it pretty angry. But ironically, it inspired me to write another song."

[Dan]

That's so weird to me, as far as rock bands go, Weezer is about as radio-friendly as you can get, I wonder what that exec was wanting them to do to be more radio-friendly?

[Raikus]

I fear they're becoming the Devo of the new millennial. I love their early stuff but everything I've heard from them lately (and seen of their videos) seem kitschy and focused way to much on meme and things that define them in the now.

[Dalton]

That's so weird to me, as far as rock bands go, Weezer is about as radio-friendly as you can get, I wonder what that exec was wanting them to do to be more radio-friendly?

Right, and his doing a song whining about his record label is just boring.

[Keith]

Weezer died during the break after Pinkerton. I'm not sure who this new band is.

[nate.3.0]

Weezer died during the break after Pinkerton. I'm not sure who this new band is.

Everyone likes to point to the negative reviews of Pinkerton that ruined Rivers, but I think it was Matt Sharpe leaving the band.  They never really regained their stature after he left to do his own thing full time.

He almost rejoined the band during the "Make Believe" tour as an auxiliary member.  That would've been awesome.

[sean]

Cuomo remarked, "I came out of it pretty angry. But ironically, it inspired me to write another song."

I don't think it counts as irony when a songwriter is inspired to write a song about something that happens, but especially not when the guy writes 2000 songs a year.

The strange thing is, I think Weezer has a really cool attitude towards fans.  The idea of releasing a bunch of demos and letting fans influence the album... now they're apparently doing a tour where they invite people to bring their own instruments and play along.  I like that.  I think that would be fun, if the music they were playing was still remotely enjoyable.

I hadn't heard 'Make Believe' at all when it came out, but several months later, I was in a Best Buy, and a song came on, and I realized within 30 seconds that it was "Beverly Hills", and it made me sad.

[LpF]

I love every album they've ever made.  And I don't refer to any of them as a "return to form," because I don't believe they've ever truly "lost it."  Sure, they're never going to be as introspective as they were on Pinkerton, and that is a sad thing, but they're still solid albums with lots of great tracks on them.

[Wolfe]

I bought it yesterday. On first listen, I don't think it's nearly as blandly terrible as "Make Believe." It's not knocking me to the floor just yet, but I could see it growing on me with a few more listens. Weezer does that sometimes. Even "Pork and Beans," which I thought was a dreadful song the first few times I heard it, has started to sound decent to me.

I still find it odd that so many people have no use for anything they've put out post-"Pinkerton." I love every song on the Green Album and half the songs on "Maladroit." "Make Believe" was their first complete pooch-screw, from where I stand.

B. Wolfe

[sean]

I was recently looking back at Weezer, at the stuff I didn't really like, and I was surprised about 'Green'.  I still don't think it's a great album, but I'm shocked that, without listening, I was able to remember every song on the album from just the title.  That's certainly not the case of 'Maladroit', where the only song I remember is "Dope Nose", which pre-dates that album.  So I don't love 'Green', but I respect that it's a pretty good pop album with a lot of memorable-enough songs.

Here's one complication -- everybody cites post-Pinkerton as the bad Weezer, but the Summer Songs 2000 were almost all *great*.  If they put out an album with "Preacher's Son" and "Too Late To Try", I'd be fairly happy.  Naturally, they chose "Slob", one of my least favorite.  Where's "Modern Dukes"?

[Dan]

Of their post-Pinkerton work, I think Maladroit is the most solid, but even at that, I can think of only four or five songs from that album that I would consider any better than "eh".

[nate.3.0]

Here's one complication -- everybody cites post-Pinkerton as the bad Weezer, but the Summer Songs 2000 were almost all *great*.  

That's true.  I just busted those out pre-Red release, and they are really great songs.

And Red isn't bad... I'd say it's like a C+ record, and it did get better with multiple listens but as I said... some of the songs are eye-roll inducers.