Weezer - "Weezer" (White)

Weezer - Weezer (White)
2016, Atlantic

1. California Kids
2. Wind In Our Sails
3. Thank God For Girls
4. (Girl We Got A) Good Thing
5. Do You Wanna Get High?
6. King Of The World
7. Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori
8. L.A. Girlz
9. Jacked Up
10. Endless Bummer

It's no secret that I loved, loved, loved Weezer's last album, Everything Will Be Alright In The End. It was exactly the return to form that longtime fans wanted to see. It restored people's faith in the band, including mine. People who had given up on these guys. It's a stellar album and a hard act to follow. So what does the band do for their follow-up? Something completely different. This album is a short, snappy, breezy pop (ish) album that was meant to be enjoyed on the beach. It's got that definite Beach Boys vibe - you can almost see yourself on the pier and smell the ocean while you listen. I was nervous that this album wouldn't be up to snuff, but it totally is. In fact, while it's not quite "classic" status, this is one of the few later-era albums that maintains its quality all the way through. We've even got kind of a throwback to Pinkerton with "Do You Wanna Get High?." Like I said, it's not in my top three (Blue, Pinkerton, and EWBAITE) but it's a solid four and better than I expected.

Useless Fact: "Do You Wanna Get High?" is reportedly inspired by Rivers Cuomo's struggle with pain pill addiction.

Weezer - "Everything Will Be Alright In The End"

Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright In The End
2014, Universal

1. Ain't Got Nobody
2. Back to the Shack
3. Eulogy For a Rock Band
4. Lonely Girl
5. I've Had it Up to Here
6. The British Are Coming
7. Da Vinci
8. Go Away
9. Cleopatra
10. Foolish Father
11. The Futurescope Trilogy
          a. The Waste Lands
          b. Anonymous
          c. Return to Ithaka

I was pretty much done with Weezer after Raditude. A lot of people were. Raditude was such a light inconsequential album. There was one good song that I remember and the rest was just filler and fluff. Shortly thereafter they released Hurley which I didn't even bother to investigate. I was justified in doing so by the reviews which amount to, "not as bad as Raditude." I'd written off Weezer as a band who'd never make another good album again. However, a couple months ago a Rolling Stone article passed before my eyes announcing Weezer's new album and their "return to their roots." I usually roll my eyes at this because waning bands have a tendency to say this whenever a new album comes out. It's usually all smoke and mirrors and the band makes whatever album they feel like. I did hold a cautious hope that maybe this time was true...

Then I heard, "Back to the Shack." A song were Rivers Cuomo pretty much states outright that, "Yeah, all those albums weren't very good because I was trying to be world famous." "Back to the Shack" was a fun song and my hope for a good album burned brighter. It also takes a a certain kind of person to write an apology song like that. Now that I've digested this album for almost a month do I have good news or bad news?

Good news. Great news. Everything Will Be Alirght In The End is a fantastic album. It does represent a return to their roots in some aspects. "Ain't Got Nobody" sounds like it could have come from Pinkerton and "Lonely Girl" echoes the thick chords and down picking that characterized a lot of the Blue Album. I think the thing that really makes this a good album, aside from some of the best songs the band has put out in fifteen years or so, is the energy. There's so much infectious energy here! You can tell the band decided that, successful or no, they would put out the absolute best album they could without worrying about the charts. Heck, they've even got an epic closing track ("The Futurescope Trilogy") that's dang near progressive. I kind of like seeing that side of them. Welcome back, Weezer! We missed you!

Useless Fact: "The British Are Coming" is about the American Revolution. No, really. I guess they wanted to write an Iron Maiden song in Weezer style!

Weezer - "Raditude"

Weezer - Raditude

2009, Interscope

1. (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

2. I'm Your Daddy

3. The Girl Got Hot

4. Can't Stop Partying

5. Put Me Back Together

6. Trippin' Down the Freeway

7. Love is the Answer

8. Let It All Hang Out

9. In the Mall

10. I Don't Want To Let You Go

Weezer returns with another radio friendly album in the vein of Make Believe. Thankfully I think this disc is more enjoyable than that one. A lot less hit and miss that's for sure. The theme here is parties, girls, and hanging out. It's not so bad but I think Rivers Cuomo (who's married and in his 40's I think) needs to grow up a little. "Can't Stop Partying" features rap troll Lil' Wayne. I think I can do without any of that crap in my Weezer, but at least he doesn't completely ruin the song. And as always with newer Weezer there's some throw away tracks like "Put Me Back Together" and "Love is the Answer." The latter is a sitar-infused pseudo hippy track complete with an eastern singer (I'm not sure who she is or what language she's singing in). It also contains the hilarious lyric, "You've just got to trust in the world." What? Are you CRAZY? If there is one thing in which I am absolutely NOT putting my trust it's "the world." Despite all that Raditude is a fun listen though I'm not sure how much staying power these simple and shallow songs will really have.

Useless Fact: There's a video of Weezer and Sara Bareilles singing "(If You're Wondering...)" and Haley from Paramore shows up in the video for "I'm Your Daddy."

Weezer - "Weezer (Red)"

Weezer - Weezer (Red)
2008, Geffin

1. Troublemaker
2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)
3. Pork n' Beans
4. Heart Songs
5. Everybody Get Dangerous
6. Dreamin'
7. Thought I Knew
8. Cold Dark World
9. Automatic
10. The Angel and the One

A lot of people decry this album's more experimental nature but for me it's one of the most enjoyable albums since Pinkerton. I mean I actually listen to this one all the way through without skipping any tracks (except the last one). I don't even care that the other band members sing on the latter half of the album. Will this one ever be considered a classic like the band's first two offerings? Probably not. But it is a decent follow-up and certainly the best total package they've put out in a while.

Useless Fact: This album is also available in a special edition with extra songs and what not. "Thought I Knew," "Cold Dark World," and "Automatic" were all written by the other members of the band and each one sings the song they wrote.

Weezer - "Make Believe"

Weezer - Make Believe

2005, Geffin

1. Beverly Hills

2. Perfect Situation

3. This is Such a Pity

4. Hold Me

5. Peace

6. We Are All On Drugs

7. The Damage in Your Heart

8. Pardon Me

9. My Best Friend

10. The Other Way

11. Freak Me Out

12. Haunt You Every Day

Y'know, if you took the great songs off of Weezer (Green), Maladroit, and this one you'd have a classic album worthy of the first two. As it stands, Make Believe is definitely one of the more enjoyable of the later albums. There's a lot more songs here to like even though it still is about a 1:1 ratio of hit to miss. I also don't mind the more commercial direction here either as that usually results in better songs.

Useless Fact: I think Paris Hilton was in the "Beverly Hills" video.

Weezer - "Maladroit"

Weezer - Maladroit
2002, Geffin

1. American Gigolo
2. Dope Nose
3. Keep Fishin'
4. Take Control
5. Death and Destruction
6. Slob
7. Burndt Jam
8. Space Rock
9. Slave
10. Fall Together
11. Possibilities
12. Love Explosion
13. December

Meh. I like "Dope Nose" and "Keep Fishin'." That's it. Good heavens what happened here?

Useless Fact: I guess Rivers Cuomo got the fans really involved on this one to the point where they were suggesting chord progressions. Hey... let's not do that anymore okay?

Weezer - "Weezer (Green)"

Weezer - Weezer (Green)

2001, Insterscope

1. Don't Let Go

2. Photograph

3. Hash Pipe

4. Island in the Sun

5. Crab

6. Knockdown Dragout

7. Smile

8. Simple Pages

9. Glorious Days

10. O Girlfriend

After a five year hiatus Weezer returns to offer us... not much it turns out. This disc is fairly boring with only a few bright spots - "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun" being among them. I guess Rivers was trying to create something that would be a smash hit. I think he only succeeded in pissing off the fans. I still cannot remember one song on the second half of this disc.

Useless Fact: MTV won't say "hash" on air because it's a drug reference so they just called it "Pipe" or "**** Pipe." Sometimes I think the censors just put a bunch of words in a hat and whatever they pull out is considered "offensive."

Weezer - "Pinkerton"

Weezer - Pinkerton

1996, Geffin

1. Tired of Sex

2. Getchoo

3. No Other One

4. Why Bother?

5. Across the Sea

6. The Good Life

7. El Scorcho

8. Pink Triangle

9. Falling For You

10. Butterfly

Score another classic for Weezer. A lot of other fans I've talked to cite this disc as their favorite. It's my favorite too but I'm not sure why. The production seems a bit sloppier and the whole "wall-of-guitar" thing isn't quite there anymore but I LOVE the songs. Each one has a monster hook and is a lot of fun. "Pink Triangle" was my jam for awhile. Don't ask why. I also love the quirkier tunes like "El Scorcho." Why this one wasn't more famous I'll never know I guess because it didn't quite have the commercial appeal the last one had. Oh well... their loss.

Useless Fact: In "Across the Sea" Rivers Cuomo sings about writing to some girl in Japan and several years later I think he married a Japanese girl. I wonder if it was the same one as in the song? Anyone know?

Weezer - "Weezer (Blue)"

Weezer - Weezer (Blue)
1994, Geffin

1. My Name is Jonas
2. No One Else
3. The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
4. Buddy Holly
5. Undone - The Sweater Song
6. Surf Wax America
7. Say It Ain't So
8. In the Garage
9. Holiday
10. Only in Dreams

Weezer's debut is a bonna fide classic. It's a fun side to alt-rock that stood in stark contrast to the sad-sack ramblings of Nirvana. The songs are simple and memorable with just enough of that dork charm to appeal to everyone. Probably the best feature is the thick distortion on the guitars which are almost shoegazer-esque in their viscosity. Pure brilliance.

Useless Fact: For the few who don't know the video for "Buddy Holly" features some of the cast from Happy Days. Probably one of the more creative vidoes to come out at the time.