Weezer - Make Believe

[cthomer5000]

-I wish i could Make Believe it was good.

This album broke my heart. In less than 4 years this band has gone from probably my favorite to something I'm embarrased to listen to.

This album has the sound of either:

A. A writer (Rivers Cuomo) completely empty of any new or original thought

B. A band realizing they have maybe 1-2 albums left before the media could care less, and know that they don't ever want to have to work for a living. Most songs sound like they were written in the bathroom 5 minutes before being recorded.


The Green Album was decent. We accepted it's flaws because we were simply happy to have the band back after such a long absence. Maladroit showed some serious cracks in the armor, but had enough bright spots ('Keep Fishin'" for example), that I tolerated it's mediocrity. But there is no excuse for this album. The single ("Beverly Hills") had me scared shitless, and my fears were fully realized when hearing the entire album.

After 6 thorough listens over the course of the last week, I grade this album an F. Save yourself the money and do not buy it. Invest in a copy of the original self-titled (the "blue" album) or better yet Pinkerton instead if you don't own them. If you do own them, go out and buy something else new (the new Aimee Mann and Ben Folds both get my thumbs up).

Caveat Emptor. You've been warned.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

-I wish i could Make Believe it was good.

This album broke my heart. In less than 4 years this band has gone from probably my favorite to something I'm embarrased to listen to.

This album has the sound of either:

A. A writer (Rivers Cuomo) completely empty of any new or original thought

B. A band realizing they have maybe 1-2 albums left before the media could care less, and know that they don't ever want to have to work for a living. Most songs sound like they were written in the bathroom 5 minutes before being recorded.


The Green Album was decent. We accepted it's flaws because we were simply happy to have the band back after such a long absence. Maladroit showed some serious cracks in the armor, but had enough bright spots ('Keep Fishin'" for example), that I tolerated it's mediocrity. But there is no excuse for this album. The single ("Beverly Hills") had me scared shitless, and my fears were fully realized when hearing the entire album.

After 6 thorough listens over the course of the last week, I grade this album an F. Save yourself the money and do not buy it. Invest in a copy of the original self-titled (the "blue" album) or better yet Pinkerton instead if you don't own them. If you do own them, go out and buy something else new (the new Aimee Mann and Ben Folds both get my thumbs up).

Caveat Emptor. You've been warned.

Sad to hear (no pun intended.) Their debut album is, and always will be, one of my favorites of all time. I can't think of better "geek rock."

[timmynausea]

That drugs song seriously has the worst lyrics ever.

[Draft Dodger]

I still don't even "get" Pinkerton, so I'm guessing this one wont be for me either.
gotta say, though, that Say It Ain't So is one of the coolest guitar riffs of all time.

[Icy]

I really loved the debut album, also at that time i started to play with my band and we played some covers from that album in our first show.

[Ksyrup]

I've never been able to get into Weezer. Don't ask me why, it should be right up my alley. That said, I don't think I would have liked this one even if I liked Weezer. It's like they've tried to do what FoW have done, and couldn't pull it off. I think Beverly Hills is their answer to Stacy's Mom, but with FoW, you know it's part of a joke they're in on, while with Weezer, you're just not sure...

A few disappointments already this year, with this one, Ben Folds, and Nine Inch Nails (With-uh Teeth-uh! How freakin' embarrassing...). I just got a listen to a web-ripped version of the new System of a Down, though , and that one makes me happy happy.

I need to check out Aimee Mann. I was never a Til Tuesday fan, but I heard great things about Lost In Space (Jason Falkner was involved, so it must be good) and now the new one. I just have severe issues with female singers, so I've stayed away. But I may have to check it out anyway.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I need to check out Aimee Mann. I was never a Til Tuesday fan, but I heard great things about Lost In Space (Jason Falkner was involved, so it must be good) and now the new one. I just have severe issues with female singers, so I've stayed away. But I may have to check it out anyway.

whenever I heard anything about Mann, I just laughed it off thinking back to "Voices Carry". Then a couple of weeks ago I finally got around to seeing "Magnolia" and was blown away by her stuff on the soundtrack. YMMV, however, because I generally prefer female singers in general.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

I still don't even "get" Pinkerton

Neither do I (well, aside from "God damn you half-Japanese girls"), but I loved the Blue and Green albums... and stayed far away from Maladroit.... and will stay far away from this one. Maybe Cuomo needs to have another mental breakdown... or maybe he's suffering through another one right now.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

whenever I heard anything about Mann, I just laughed it off thinking back to "Voices Carry". Then a couple of weeks ago I finally got around to seeing "Magnolia" and was blown away by her stuff on the soundtrack. YMMV, however, because I generally prefer female singers in general.

And on Magnolia, she was assisted by Jon Brion, who I love, and her husband Michael Penn, who is a fine songwriter in his own right.

I'm just not all that fond of female singers. I think the only CDs I own with female lead singers are Tori Amos and Grey Eye Glances. And I've got a boat load of CDs.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

And on Magnolia, she was assisted by Jon Brion, who I love, and her husband Michael Penn, who is a fine songwriter in his own right.

I'm just not all that fond of female singers. I think the only CDs I own with female lead singers are Tori Amos and Grey Eye Glances. And I've got a boat load of CDs.

Jon Brion's stuff is solid. I haven't heard his true solo work, but have been very, very impressed with the scores for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I Heart Huckabees (which has been in regular rotation for me).

"Knock Yourself Out" is one of the better songs I've heard in a while.

[Ksyrup]

He's produced and/or played on all sorts of great albums, as well, from Jellyfish to Fiona Apple to Elliott Smith. Aside from Huckabees, his only true solo album is Meaningless from 2001. I''m sorry to say I've only got a burn of it, and a bad one at that, but I've been trying to track it down for awhile.

Of course, he was also in the "anti-band" The Grays with Jason Falkner - they formed as a group only to play each other's songs. I think Falkner outshines him on that album, but Brion's stuff is still very good.

[CentralMassHokie]

I'm not down on the Ben Folds or Weezer albums nearly as much as everyone else is.

The Ben Folds album I'm kind digging--certainly not my favorite of his, but it's got enough good stuff on it that it will end up on my iPod.

The Weezer album has "Beverly Hills" and "We Are All On Drugs", which are both bad. But "This is Such a Pity" is pretty great, and there's a couple of other songs on there that I liked the first 2 times through the album. I need to burn it to CD and listen in the car, that's how I make final judgements on albums.

[CentralMassHokie]

Oh, and Aimee Mann is really good.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by CentralMassHokie

listen in the car, that's how I make final judgements on albums.

Same here. The Car Test is a biggie. Although, I find the "am I still listening to it 2 months later? test to be the final judgment on whether I really like an album or not. Too many times I've played a new album constantly for a week or two, then 6 months later I realize I haven't touched it since it came out.

[Draft Dodger]

well, just gave Beverly Hills a listen...and wow that really was disappointing

[CamEdwards]

huh. I actually like "Beverly Hills". Haven't been too impressed with the new Ben Folds, however. So far I've resisted the urge to buy it off iTunes.

[Pyser]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I just have severe issues with female singers, so I've stayed away. But I may have to check it out anyway.

ive often been accused of being sexist because i dont have hardly any female singers in my collection. maybe 5 songs, tops.

i keep saying, if the girls would write better songs, id listen. i feel im equal opportunity, the girls just arent keeping up their end of the deal.

as far as weezer:

did rick rubin produce this? i heard he was going to work with weezer, dont know if it happened. if it did, ill tell you why the album is bad...later.

and weezer, in general, ive never liked. i enjoy a song here and there, and have seen them live, and...meh. they are fine, sometimes. but basically, ive never "gotten" them. never understood why people think they are such an important band (a writer at mtv recently said something like the band is the most influential since nirvana. what?!)

the FoW comparison makes a lot of sense, above. and id agree. ive always been a HUGE fan of them, and maybe you just cant like both bands.

[Fidatelo]

I'm on my second listen of the new Weezer, I actually kind of like it. "We are all on drugs" is f-in' terrible, but I kind of like Beverly Hills, and lots of the other songs are nice too.

But as always, time will tell.

[judicial clerk]

Hey, Weezer. I like those guys.

I will now sing there songs undemy breath for the rest of the morning, annoying everyone in my office to no end. I also make a noise for the guitar riffs. I'm off.

If you want to destroy my sweater, woh oh woh oh woh ...

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Pyser

ive often been accused of being sexist because i dont have hardly any female singers in my collection. maybe 5 songs, tops.

i keep saying, if the girls would write better songs, id listen. i feel im equal opportunity, the girls just arent keeping up their end of the deal.

as far as weezer:

did rick rubin produce this? i heard he was going to work with weezer, dont know if it happened. if it did, ill tell you why the album is bad...later.

I don't have a problem with the songs females write, it's just the vocals themselves. I simply enjoy male vocals better, with very few exceptions. A lot of it has to do with the type of music I listen to - I absolutely cannot stand female vocals over hard rock/metal - but even the stuff that female vocals aren't out of place on, I just don't like. I'd like bands like The Churchills and New Pornographers a whole lot better without the female vocals.



I know Rubin was working with Weezer at one point, and I know that they apparently scrapped an entire album and started over. I'm just not sure if it was the Rubin album they scrapped, or if they ended up working with himon this one.

[kurtism]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'd like bands like The Churchills and New Pornographers a whole lot better without the female vocals.

Ack! How can you say this?!? Neko Case gives Electric Version it's two highest moments. "The Laws Have Changed" is one of my favorite "crank the car stereo" songs of all time...

[Crapshoot]

I'm actually going to a Weezer concert this Sunday, so that's mildy depressing. Oh well- hopefully, they stick to the old stuff.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by kurtism

Ack! How can you say this?!? Neko Case gives Electric Version it's two highest moments. "The Laws Have Changed" is one of my favorite "crank the car stereo" songs of all time...

Let's just put it this way - AC Newman's solo disk kills either NP CD. NP is still good, but she detracts from it for me. Again, just ap ersonal preference, the songs themselves are very good.

They have a new one coming out on August 23, I think it is.

[kurtism]

To each his own, I guess Neko has the voice of an angel in my eyes (ears?); I even love her solo stuff, which is primarily country...

[Karlifornia]

I heard some of the new songs at Coachella, and while "we are on drugs" isn't all that good, the other ones I heard sounded like fun, catchy tunes. I'll be picking up the new album LEGALLY on Tuesday and give it a few days before I decide how much I like it.

-Beverly Hills is Weezer's answer to Stacy's Mom? Somehow I doubt Weezer is too envious of Fountains Of Wayne. You never really know with Rivers, though.

-The Pinkerton album was actually quite influential. Despite being a commercial flop at it's inception, it has gone on to become a touchstone for a lot of what would be called "emo" bands today. Was "emo" even a term back in 1996?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

-Beverly Hills is Weezer's answer to Stacy's Mom? Somehow I doubt Weezer is too envious of Fountains Of Wayne. You never really know with Rivers, though.

In the sense that both are apparently meant as a tongue-in-cheek send-ups of older music. I'm not saying they consciously set out to try to one-up FoW, but that's the way that song comes off to me, since they seem to be trying to capture a similar "way back machine" vibe with it.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by kurtism

Ack! How can you say this?!? Neko Case gives Electric Version it's two highest moments. "The Laws Have Changed" is one of my favorite "crank the car stereo" songs of all time...

Electric Version by the New Pornographers is one of the 10 best albums to come out in the last 10 years. Just an amazing piece of work.

Neko Case's most recent (live) album is great as well. And A.C. Newman hit a grand slam on Slow Wonder as well. I'm eagerly looking forward to the forthcoming third album from the New Pornos.

[rexallllsc]

Blue and Pinkerton are GREAT, IMO. Green is good. Maladroit is forgetable.

[CentralMassHokie]

I think I'm actually the opposite of Ksyrup. I love female singers. I love female rockers -- Aimee Mann, Anna Waronker, Kay Hanley -- I'd crawl over people to see them live. Bands like Damone or even stellastarr* are made better because of prominent contributions by their female members. stellastarr* in particular was a far more compelling group because of their female bassist. Not just because she's attractive (she is), but because the dynamic she adds to the vocals of the band make a song like "Somewhere Across Forever" just fanastic.

I made an April mix CD of songs I was listening to a lot, and I think I actually had a spot with 3 female artists right in a row: "Thinking About You" by Ivy, "Dead Disco" by Metric, and "Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple.

[CentralMassHokie]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

And A.C. Newman hit a grand slam on Slow Wonder as well. I'm eagerly looking forward to the forthcoming third album from the New Pornos.

Am I the only person not completely enamored with "The Slow Wonder"? I like it, and think "Miracle Drug" and "Drink to Me Babe, Then" are both fantastic songs. But the rest of the album has yet to connect with me.

I think I'm biased, because I've seen them live like 6 times and I loved The Sheila Divine, but Aaron Perrino's newish band Dear Leader is fantastic. I think I've listened to their most recent release "All I Ever Wanted Was Tonight" about 40 times over the past few months. Every time I think I'm getting sick of it, I'll see them live, hear a new version of a song, and fall in love all over again. If you remember The Sheila Divine, it's worth tracking the CD down and checking it out. Really really good.

[Recoil]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

-The Pinkerton album was actually quite influential. Despite being a commercial flop at it's inception, it has gone on to become a touchstone for a lot of what would be called "emo" bands today. Was "emo" even a term back in 1996?

Emo was a term back in the late 80's...

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by CentralMassHokie

Am I the only person not completely enamored with "The Slow Wonder"? I like it, and think "Miracle Drug" and "Drink to Me Babe, Then" are both fantastic songs. But the rest of the album has yet to connect with me.

I love the whole damn thing. Town Halo was probably my favorite song from last year. That cello bassline rocks my world. Brilliant.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Recoil

Emo was a term back in the late 80's...

Really? Are you referring to a band like sunny day real estate? I don't think they were late 80's, though...hmm..Could you maybe give me a couple examples? I'm honestly at a loss.


I listened to the new record 1 1/2 times today, and I have to say I am really enjoying the first half of the album. The second half seems just ok right now, but it may grow on me. "This is such a pity" "Peace" and "Hold Me" are really cool. I admit that I would probably ridicule "We Are All On Drugs" until I collapsed a lung if it were by someone other than Weezer, but I'm willing to give them a pass. I actually like Beverly Hills more each time I hear it, the opposite of which being what I thought would happen. I guess you either "get it" or you don't, as with Buddy Holly. I'm sure a lot of people thought Buddy Holly was an annoying piece of fluff when it came out, which it just may have been.

[Recoil]

Sure. BTW, it seems as though I'm one of the few people who actually enjoy the new Weezer album. I've never been a hardcore fan though, so ofcourse I don't take into account Pinkerton or Blue.

Anyways, back to emo in the 80's. Ian McKaye (Fugazi/Minor Threat) started a band called Embrace around 1985 or '86, I believe. That pretty much started it all. It was known at the time as the "D.C. Sound". Other important emo bands of the 80's were Dag Nasty, Rites of Spring, Ignition, Policy of Three, and Elliot.

Emo started in the mid to late 80's, but it really caught on in the early 90's. It's pretty much a dead genre as of now. Bands that are labeled "emo" nowadays, aren't really emo at all.

[gottimd]

Originally Posted by Recoil

Emo started in the mid to late 80's, but it really caught on in the early 90's.

[Recoil]

Damn right. Doesn't get much more emo than Philips.

[Crapshoot]

Well, saw them at Avalon Sunday night, and it was pretty damn good. They played a lot of Pinkerton culminating in The Good Life, and Rivers even talked as it were. The fact that they were only 1500 people or so also made it awesome - we were 30 feet away from the stage. Good times.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Electric Version by the New Pornographers is one of the 10 best albums to come out in the last 10 years. Just an amazing piece of work.

Neko Case's most recent (live) album is great as well. And A.C. Newman hit a grand slam on Slow Wonder as well. I'm eagerly looking forward to the forthcoming third album from the New Pornos.

Song from the New Pornographers album coming out in August:


http://www.matadorrecords.com/mpeg/t...win_cinema.mp3

[sachmo71]

I really like the New Pornographers, but I think they still have some room to grow. Can't explain it, really. Some of the songs on that album are great, but some are just "meh".

Looking forward to their new stuff.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Song from the New Pornographers album coming out in August:


http://www.matadorrecords.com/mpeg/t...win_cinema.mp3

Yeah, I've listened to that about 10 times now. I have to see that song has calmed my enthusiasm for the new album. It sounds like a reject from A.C. Newman's last album.....

Still, I have to say I'm looking forward to this album more than any album in the last 7 years.