Weezer

[PopTodd]

Okay, so not so brand new, but...

"If You're Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)"

 

I'm not the biggest Weezer fan, a couple of songs from the first one are still fun to listen to. Other than that they pretty much define "meh". And (more than) occasionally suck.

 

But the chorus in that new song is fucking epic.

 

I am not tempted to buy the record (yet). But, damn that new single is so freaking good. One of those songs that I am compelled to sing along to in the car.

[Guest Runaway Jim]

I disagree.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Great song. I'm a Weezer defendant to this day, but IYW is especially great.

 

They're busting out many turds these days. But the good songs are still there.

[Killer Whales]

Don't bother with the album.. it's very very bad. However, this song rocks, as did their appearance on Letterman performing it

[lamradio]

Just can't get into anything past Maladroit. Speaking of Maladroit (and sorry to veer off subject PT) but I put that record in the other day. Maladriot was their last great album... The guitar on that album is obnoxiously louder than anything else in the mix.. It's that raw Weezer sound that they just don't have anymore.

[bsr8j]

Don't bother with the album...it's very very bad.

 

I'm generally a Weezer apologist but I have to agree here. There are a couple of other songs on the album that are passable, but overall the album is VERY disappointing.

[brianjeremy]

I'm generally a Weezer apologist but I have to agree here. There are a couple of other songs on the album that are passable, but overall the album is VERY disappointing.

 

I agree with this post totally. I think this is the first album that I haven't found one truly redeemable song that even justifies the albums existence. Maybe, If You're Wondering, has some redeeming qualities but still if that's all the album has going for it, then you know that it has to be some sort of awful.

 

My wife is so awesome when it comes to Weezer. She doesn't really like indie or rock music but she has certain bands she likes and one of them is Weezer. She mainly listens to top 40 stuff and so on. I try not to assert my opinion about Weezers' current crappy musical state to her. But even she doesn't like the new stuff. Just yesterday as we were driving back home she was fiddling with the i-pod, listening to Weezer. She came across the Red album and after a minute said "This album sucks!" She promptly found the Blue Album, Pinkerton and Green and we listened to those for the rest of the ride. God, I love that woman.

[OOO]

Not to be a complete self promoter or anything, but if you go to this site and vote for your favorite music video, you can end up winning a signed Weezer guitar.

 

And if you ended up voting for The Singing Nerd's (me) video, that wouldn't be so terrible.

[brianjeremy]

Via Facebook, they have signed to Epitaph Records and their new album "Hurley" will be out on 9/14.

[choo-choo-charlie]

A Pinkerton Deluxe Reissue is out on 10-5. Wonder what's on that?

[brianjeremy]

A Pinkerton Deluxe Reissue is out on 10-5. Wonder what's on that?

 

I would imagine it'll be similar to the Blue Album reissue (the b-sides from the Pinkerton-era singles and some demos, maybe some from the Blackhole sessions). This is the one that I've been waiting on. Pinkerton is such a great album...

[welch79]

Pinkerton is such a great album...

totally. one of my favorite albums. that makes two good ones coming out on 5 oct as far as i know: pinkerton re-issue and live, vol. 3 by the avett bros...and it all happens three days before my birthday. it shall be a good week, reckon.

[brianjeremy]

Article about the new album from Rolling Stone

 

Less than a year after Weezer released Raditude, Rivers Cuomo and Co. are already putting the finishing touches on their next LP, Hurley, which is due September 14th. "We just started mixing, so we'll be done in a week or two," Cuomo tells Rolling Stone. "The way our operation has evolved, we tour for two weeks at the most and then we're back home and we can get in the studio during the week. It keeps me in top shape, performance-wise, because I'm always getting in front of a crowd and yet I can still be in the studio and come up with new things."

 

On Raditude, Cuomo reached out to the All-American Rejects, Butch Walker, Dr. Luke and even Lil Wayne for collaborations. This time around, the band teams with a fleet of songwriters, including Ryan Adams and Mac Davis, who penned Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto." Cuomo says he approached Davis on the recommendation of a mutual friend, and the pair worked on a track called "Time Flies," a "classic Sixties pop song with huge crunchy guitars." Cuomo also has a message for fans who weren't fond of Raditude's "Can't Stop Partying": "There's no Lil Wayne on it."

 

Instead, Hurley will focus on the melodies and major chords of traditional '60s pop. In addition to the planned first single "Memories," other new tracks include "Ruling Me" and "Hang On," another pop-rock track that "sounds like Frankie Valli but mixed with Metallica guitars." There's also "Smart Girls," Cuomo's ode to all the girls that proposition on him on Twitter. "I was really getting into Twitter a year ago, and suddenly there were all these really hot girls that were hitting me on Twitter. I was like, 'Where'd all these hot girls come from now that I'm totally married?' " "Hot Girls" eventually turned into "Smart Girls," which Cuomo compares to the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." in the sense that it sounds like someone else writing a "cheesy Beach Boys type of song."

 

After parting ways with their longtime label Geffen/Interscope, Weezer will release Hurley — which may be named after the portly Lost character — through California-based punk label Epitaph. "At this moment in our career, it feels like we don't need a major label, and the major label culture isn't inline with our values," Cuomo tells RS. "We like [Epitaph head] Brett Gurewitz and it feels like a smaller and more appropriate operation for what we like doing at the moment."

 

For more on Hurley, keep an eye out for our interview with Rivers Cuomo in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

[brianjeremy]

Album cover:

 

New single: Listen here.

 

 

At this point, Weezer may be better at creating WTF internet memes than making songs. Here they go again with the cover for their upcoming record Hurley, due out on Epitaph September 14. As Spinner reports, the cover is a close-up photo of Jorge Garcia-- aka Hurley from "Lost"-- as you can see. He looks happy to be off the island.

 

In an e-mail interview, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo told us the rationale behind the sleeve: "We just wanted to use that picture of Jorge Garcia's face on the cover. It's such an amazing album cover, and we didn't want to have any other words on it, so we just figured everyone was going to call it Hurley, so that's what we call it."

 

In other Hurley news, the record features a track called "Run Away" that's co-written by none other than Ryan Adams. Listen to the new Weezer single "Memories" here and click on to read the rest of our brief e-mail Q&A with Rivers about Hurley:

 

Pitchfork: Why did you decide to sign with Epitaph Records for this release?

 

Rivers Cuomo: Our seven-record deal with Geffen was up. [Epitaph owner and Bad Religion guitarist] Brett Gurewitz made us an offer we couldn't refuse. He is a fan of the band and was helpful with getting the mixing and mastering done at the end of the record. It is cool to have a label head that is also a songwriter, in a band, and produces records.

 

Pitchfork: What are some advantages of being on Epitaph as opposed to Geffen?

 

RC: The record deal is about a million times better. We own the masters. It's an experiment and we're all going to find out what the advantages are.

 

Pitchfork: Could you have re-signed with Geffen if you wanted to?

 

RC: Yes.

 

Pitchfork: Did you work with Ryan Adams in the studio? Did you guys bond over obscure metal albums?

 

RC: We were mostly so excited with what we were writing that we didn't have a chance to talk about old metal. In any case, I think his knowledge of metal lore is deeper even than mine, so I was out of my league.

 

Pitchfork: Some people reacted negatively to the mainstream pop production and sound of Raditude. Does Hurley continue with that sound or is it different?

 

RC: Hurley is definitely a raw, unpolished, high energy "alt-rock" album.

 

Pitchfork: Now that you're on an independent label is your music going to be more "indie" i.e. less polished and pop-sounding?

 

RC: No.

 

Pitchfork: Are any of the songs you did with Katy Perry going to be on this new Weezer album?

 

RC: Nope.

 

Pitchfork: Are there any more Weezer-brand products in the works a la the Wuggie?

 

RC: No.

 

Posted by Ryan Dombal on August 9, 2010 at 2 p.m.

 

The single is not too bad, but the album cover...

[brianjeremy]

Is Weezer's Hurley just a ruse to sell some clothes?

 

Didn't even hear about this until recently but it sounds possible...Weezer selling out, no way! Get Out! I mean, no way!

 

The album leaked the other day, but I have yet to listen to it.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

It's not bad. There's nothing that approaches the low points of the past few albums. And there are some pretty good high points. A lot of it reminds me of past Weezer material, in a good way. I only expect 2/3 decent songs per Weezer album these days, and my expectations were super low for this one, but it's been a pleasant surprise so far.

[Moss]

I don't know. Once I hear a band is bringing in Linda Perry and Desmond Child to help write songs, I know their best days are way behind them.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I don't know. Once I hear a band is bringing in Linda Perry and Desmond Child to help write songs, I know their best days are way behind them.

If it produces a consistently non-embarrassing album and potentially brings Rivers back on the right track, I couldn't care less who helped write the songs. Hurley's (so far) not an embarrassing album, and time will tell how Rivers moves on. But there's nothing on here that makes me cringe. Nothing mindblowing either. But it feels like a step in the right direction. He might have worked with other songwriters, but they sound like his songs, as opposed to awkward forced team ups.

 

And collaborating with seasoned pop songwriters is infinitely more appealing than collaborating with Lil' Wayne.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Really? Cause they have a song called, "Where's my Sex?", and I don't think anyone can write a song called "Where's my sex" without having to admit that their best days are behind them.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Where's My Sex is the closest to an embarrassing song on here. Stupid lyrics stemming from one of those cute baby stories that loses its humor the more you tell it. But the music/chorus comes close enough to making up for it.

 

Just to clarify, I won't ever argue that their best days aren't behind them. Can't be done. But I've found worthwhile tracks on every Weezer album, this one included.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Rivers now is what Ryan Adams would be like if he tried to make a living on fart jokes after Heartbreaker; very steady output with a few (arguable) hits.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I think it's an amazing thing that Weezer has basically six records in a row (Green-Hurley) that can be ranked anywhere from 0-8, depending on who you ask. How many bands can claim that?

[Guest Speed Racer]

Nickelback? Insane Clown Posse?

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

See? It's an elite crew.

[brianjeremy]