Maroon Weekly

By Brice Nichols

Weezer’s newest album Raditude is a serious conundrum. My initial listen through left me simply confused and dumbfounded, unsure how to react to the thinly stretched powerpop I had been anticipating for several months. Stuck in such a crux, I turned toward the professional reviewers, which left with me even more of a loss.

My most allied source All Music Guide went with a staggeringly overzealous 9/10 while Pitchfork skewered them with a 4.3/10. Some reviewers were even disgusted enough to toss a 1/10 into the mix, giving me the overall consensus of “No friggin’ clue/10.” Simply because I have a long history of respect for this band, I’d really like to lean toward the higher reviews, but my musical taste buds simply won’t let me give Raditude much more than a 7.

Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo is getting older just like any other person, but somehow his music consistently shrinks in maturity like the musical version of Benjamin Button – Mozart perfecting “Three Blind Mice.” After a series of albums with significant stylistic variation, the newest addition to Weezer’s discography “Raditude” is an ambitious plunge into pop senselessness, which isn’t necessarily a bad territory for the band.

Unfortunately, the dive might be into shallow water. With a guest appearance by Lil’ Wayne on “Can’t Stop Partyin’,” tunes like “The Girl Got Hot” (and did I mention the album name Raditude for God sake…) Weezer seems to be trying desperately to appeal light heartedly to a younger generation, which only manages to produce watery rabble that alienates anyone expecting at least a hint of poignancy.

My eyes are squinted, eyebrow cocked in doubt, trying to figure out just how this nerdy guy Rivers can’t seem to “stop partyin’” or is addictively “tripping down the freeway.” Maybe Rivers does this. Maybe he does a lot of crazy drugs and drives down U.S 101 in a big pink Cadillac, but what happened to the insecure guy that was depressingly infatuated with Asian girls during the Pinkerton album? What about the guy that sung about life in the garage and heartaches over a sweater from the self titled Blue album? Is this same guy at the club with Lil Wayne now, consuming “crunk juice” and sipping on “sizzurp?”

Alright, Negative Nathan will step aside now so we can view the positives of the album, which there of course always are! The album opener “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” is an absolutely great track that works with any era of Weezer music, and really the only track I completely like. Positive Paul also wants to note that the album cover art makes the best of a very stupid album title by having a very kick ass dog apparently flying through the air in a living room. I want that dog to sail through the air of my living room. That is all.

So, the problem with this album is not the powerpop hooks. The music is simple Weezer goodness, just some easy, happy guitar slop with catchy vocals. The only thing that separates it from earlier albums is that there is such a lack of relevance and connection to the listener within the songs.

Undoubtedly, teenagers will still support Weezer, but the band’s original fan base, now in their early to late twenties is losing touch with Weezer’s spastic antics. Like your parents may have said about your JNCO jeans, Raditude is hopefully “just a phase,” a phase to never be proud of.