Weezer (The Red Album)

Weezer has always been one of my favorite bands; in fact, they are probably the only band I like. Of course, that doesn't mean I only like Weezer's music (Trance is probably my favorite genre), but that they are the only band which produces music that is consistently good, in my opinion. Rarely do I like more than 2 or 3 songs from the same band.



When I heard a few years ago that Weezer was working on a new album I was overjoyed. I think it was the only time I've ever been excited about the release of a music album.



They aren't your average rock bank. While most other bands are singing about how great they are, how tough they are, how mad they are, and how much the women love them (though this is generally more true of Rap music than Rock), Weezer's songs have always had a self-depreciating quality. Yet the self-depreciation has never been depressing or dark as it is in emo-tennage-angst music. Rather, it has always come across as light, sometimes humorous (see "Freak Me Out"), honest and usually with the subject maintaining redeemable qualities (see "Pardon Me"). All of this was reflected perfectly in the melodies and riffs (see "El Scorcho" but plug your ears for the curse word at the beginning).



Or at least, this was the case with all their previous albums. The Red Album, released June 2008, has little resemblance with the band's previous persona. I hate to use a stupid analogy, but it's sort of like that kid from American Idol, Kevin Covais aka Chicken Little (no, I didn't know that off the top of my head... I looked it up). The kid started the season with a humble attitude. He was a dork and he knew it and it made him kinda charming to the public. But at some point the fame got to him and his over-sized head got even bigger. For example, compare this with this (skip 1 minute into the second video). At that point, Chicken Little became more of a joke than charming and his attempts to make himself more than a dork came off as pathetic.


While The Red Album doesn't strike me as pathetic it does lose the charming qualities that Weezer was able to create with their previous albums. Alas, it seems they have become just another rock band with an over inflated ego.


Nevertheless, Weezer shows that it still has a unique symphonic talent with songs like "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" (although the lyrics to this song are the perfect case in point of the egotistical rubbish that pervades the rest of the album) and "Pig" retains the charm, both lyrically and instrumentally, that made them great. Interestingly, "Pork and Beans" captures the essence of what Weezer has always been. Weezer never seemed to care if they were uncool to the general crowd, the difference is that now they seem to think they're too cool for the general crowd.


For me, what makes the egotistism unbearable is that this album, like the others, comes across as honest. But maybe this is more apparent to me as an avid follower of Weezer. Perhaps you would have to know more about Rivers and the previous albums to get it. Anyway, I get the impression that Rivers isn't just trying to sell a record with a formula that works (narcissism sells to the youth), but that he actually believes this crap.


Nevertheless, I will cut them a little slack since Rivers Cuomo has described the album as "experimental." Hopefully, they come out with another album soon that stops experimenting. But that's doubtful.


If it ain't broke, don't fix it.



P.S. While I'm on the topic of music: you might want to check out the vocal trance radio player sidebar gadget. Naturally I don't endorse every piece of music played there, but I listened to a few songs today and they were pretty good. One day I'd like to go to Geneva for historical purposes but also because some good trance comes from that part of the world.