WEEZER / Maladroit (2002)

 

 

It’s about time I made some decisions, repercussions be damned.

Maladroit is better than Pinkerton.

There’s a fistful of ridiculously great Weezer albums, but Maladroit is the only one that’s an INESCAPABLE STEAMROLLING WALL OF 100% FULL POWER. Lyrically and sonically, in equal measure. Those guitars, JEEBUS! They are not fucking around; not for a single nanosecond. Rivers isn’t pulling any punches, and he isn’t taking any more of your shit. When emotional fragility hardens to bulletproof self-respect, be afraid.

Be very afraid.

Songs of Note: Slob; Love Explosion

5 Reasons Fighting is Weak to Fairy out of 5

WEEZER / Weezer (Red; 2008)

Keep it on the up!

 

I do still agree with a once-upon-a-time friend of mine that some of the best tracks recorded for this album were held back as b-sides (and promotional downloads, if my horrible, schizophrenic memory serves). Two of them are S-tier heart puncturing in the same manner as the most personal tracks on Katy’s masterwork. One is a second missive with Scott Shriner at the helm, and you already know how I feel about that guy~<3

HOWEVER, this slightly unfortunate turn of events doesn’t mean that the regular release isn’t worthwhile in its own right. It’s a bit ramshackle and raucous in places, but that’s honestly the (intermittent) charm of latter-day Weezer, in a nutshell. The rest is both brilliantly emotional and audacious, acting as the origins of Rivers having the balls to get away with things that would easily see lesser mortals trampled under society’s pitchforks and torches.

There’s a song for Patrick, Scott, and Brian, each, with Brian’s being especially pleasing to my ear, perfectly emulating Fastball, as it does. I would love to live in a world where the four of them traded vocals, consistently.

This world ain’t so bad, though~

Just (legally) download and burn Miss Sweeney, Pig, The Spider, and King, since the Deluxe version is a bit pricey and slightly troublesome to come by.

Songs of Note: The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn); The Spider


Vanilla: 3 Rightfully Resplendent Renegades out of 5
Deluxe Edition: 4 Ruinously Raw and Regretful Tales of Love and Death out of 5

WEEZER / Weezer (Green; 2001)

There’s nothing overtly wrong with Green, it’s just that it’s very generic. It’s entirely encircled by monumental albums, which absolutely doesn’t help its case. Thankfully, nothing here is remotely as artificial as Beverly Hills. You won’t suffer by throwing this on, on a lazy afternoon half hour while you’re doing something else that actually requires your attention. But, should you really? No. Hash Pipe exists as a prototype or prequel to Dope Nose, which is neat. Around the time that this was being promoted Scott Shriner joined the band and I just love that guy 😄

Songs of Note: No, not really, unfortunately.

1½….Wait, did he say “I got my ass wiped?” out of 5

WEEZER / Make Believe (2005)

We're starting with this one? Yes. Yes, we fucking are. I hate Beverly Hills. It's single-bait gimmickry and it can G.T.F.O. Cut it off the same as Jonathan Davis's song on the Downpour soundtrack. The resultant album is as perfect as anything that's not Pinkerton (or Maladroit) can be. In some ways, it seems like Rivers was trying to take a basic approach like he did with Green, but accidentally fell into startlingly stirring sincerity without any undue effort. I'd personally argue that some pieces here rival Pinkerton's unabashed starkness.

Songs of Note: Damage in Your Heart; The Other Way

4½ Guys Actually Self-Aware Enough to Know What They Are out of 5