WERS 88.9 fm - Album Review: Weezer - Raditude

December 3^rd, 2009

Weezer is a curious band.  In fifteen years they've shifted from geek rock with heart to emo-revolutionizing hopelessness and searing disparity.  Then they went from a surprising resurgence as more and more people discovered their music, to releasing a long-awaited followup that betrayed almost everything that made their previous release so retroactively acclaimed. They've certainly had one of the least predictable journeys in rock music history, and with their new album Raditude, it is, as always, anyone's guess as to what they'll do next.  Unfortunately, it's going to be a lot tougher for anyone to care after this one.

The album opens with lead single "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To." It's pretty much the only moment that Raditude fully accomplishes its goal of delivering sublime pop sing-alongs.  In the chorus Cuomo's awkward protagonist pleads for his girl to take the lead in the relationship.  The song then shifts to the giddy, nervous excitement of marriage before finally spoiling the whimsy when the marriage isn't what it was supposed to be.  The chorus suddenly gains deeper implications, leaving the narrator to beg his wife to save their relationship.  It's a vivid, deceptively simple song with lyrics far more meaningful than the rest of the disc. 

Ultimately the most disappointing part of the album is the minor scope of its ambition.  Weezer has certainly had their share of failures in the past, but what always seemed somewhat redeeming is that they had hoped to make better music than they did.  Maladroit's radio-friendly melodies crossed with hard rocking production was uneven, and Make Believe was a modern disaster. The Red Album was a bizarre mess of odd motivations and some sheer weirdness, but in all those cases Weezer was striving to create something more than what they ended up with.  Occasionally they would achieve their ambitions – "Keep Fishing," is their best song of the decade. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," is a wild journey through countless musical styles, and "Perfect Situation," is...well, not a disaster. That's why Raditude isn't just a typical latter-day Weezer disappointment, but an especially depressing one.  Raditude is a collection of songs that fit right alongside your average campy Radio Disney fair, and that's what Rivers was aiming for.  He recently shared the top-played songs in his iTunes library with Pitchfork Media, a list that included Hannah Montana, Aly & AJ, and Katy Perry.  That's the kind of music he's been taking his inspiration from.  In that context, Raditude has succeeded, because it's better music than any of those artists.  But in the context of American pop music as a whole right now, it's thoroughly unremarkable.  In a year with Dirty Projectors' "Stillness Is the Move," no respectable pop musician should still be aspiring to Hannah Montana.

Weezer fans are notorious for holding out hope that Cuomo will someday record another album on par with his initial classics.  It was somehow possible to keep rooting for them to come out with another Pinkerton, even as the evidence that Rivers still has the skills to do so dwindled and his ambition shifted to something less lofty.  But Raditude officially announces that he is no longer even trying to make something that good.  It was easier to be outraged over Make Believe because people were still invested in Weezer.  But don't be surprised if the reaction to Raditude is people deciding they no longer care enough to get outraged.

- By Zach Haldeman