Well folks, although my intentions are really here, my writing has been lacking... Once my thesis is officially done and out of the way, I'm going to become a "super blogger" but until then you may have to wait weeks or even months between posts, but for today I'm here for the most anticipated album of the year for me (MUSE's The Resistance was also highly anticipated and will one day see the light of day on GGT).
As you all know, I'm about as big of a Weezer fan as they come. Although there have been some things over the years that have made me roll my eyes, I've anticipated every album, and more importantly found the good on each album. Upon Weezer's initial announcement of album 7, I was ecstatic, but as the release date (still next week, you've got to love early leaks) grew nearer, my anticipation turned in to fear. First the title Raditude, then song titles like "Girl Got Hot," and "I'm Your Daddy," and finally the announcement about guest Little Wayne (yeah I know it's Lil'). I reached the point where I had to ask myself, "Is this going to be the album that finally loses me?"
The one redeeming factor was the first single, "(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To" which in my opinion was fantastic, see the previous post for my initial reaction. "I Want You Too" gave me a glimmer of hope. Below we'll discuss whether River's and Co. delivered, or whether Raditude is the straw that broke the camels back... but first...
This is totally random, but I was looking over the track listing, and I'm pretty sure the creation of Raditude started like this. So the Weez's were sitting around and Rivers says, "Hey fella's lets make a new album!" to which Pat replies, "Hey Rivers I think you should write a song called If you're wondering if I want you to, I want you to." They all have a good laugh, but the next day Rivers show's up and demos his newest track. Seeing that the band is thoroughly impressed Rivers comments, "Who's your daddy now?" Over the next few weeks the band members start making up the most random song titles they can like run over by a truck, trippin' down the freeway, girl got hot, and so on... And that was the birth of Raditude.
Okay enough with the senseless babble, lets get to what you came here for.
(If You're Wondering if I Want You Too) I Want You Too - From day one I have loved this track, it's totally different than the traditional Weezer sound, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's upbeat, fun, and the chorus is probably the catchiest thing ever written. Great album opener, great track, and to make things better, the video is awesome!
I'm Your Daddy - I first heard a live version of this track on YouTube from the Fuji festival, and to be honest, I wasn't impressed at all. Honestly I think the lyrics are sub par in comparison to what we know River's is capable of writing (Then again, they are definitely better than the "Everybody Get Dangerous" lyrics). That being said, the chorus is great! Very catch, very fun, not incredibly deep but it's growing on me.
Girl Got Got - I think I already wrote about this in a previous post, but this song has the same theme as a song called "Early Bloomer" I co-wrote with my buddy Devin "Devok" Sheppard, that fact alone makes the song a winner. Like the previous track, I initially heard a live version from Fuji and wasn't impressed, but once I heard the polished version I changed my mind. The lyrics aren't anything special, and from all points of logic I should hate the song, but you know what I don't... in fact I think it's awesome!
I Can't Stop Partying - I was pretty disappointed when I heard this track made the cut, I didn't really like the demo version on Alone II, so I didn't think I'd like this one much. When I heard that Little Wayne was rapping a verse I was convinced that this would be my least favorite track on the album... and you know what, it is. This is pretty much the farthest thing from Weezer that I can imagine. I'm honestly a little disappointed in Pat, Brian, and Scott, I would have thought one of them would have had enough sense to tell River's "Heck No" on this track, but whatever... This may be the first Weezer track ever that I pull from my standard rotation... Oh by the way, did Timberland mix this one... (Okay, that was a really bad joke, but then again so is this entire song).
moving forward...
Put Me Back Together - This is probably my favorite track on the album. When I first heard it, I honestly thought it sounded a little like an AAR song, and I didn't even know that Tyson Ritter co-wrote it with Rivers. Regardless, I love this song, to me this song has ever element of classic Weezer track (well everything minus an amazing guitar solo). I love love love it. I even stayed up late last night figuring it out on the guitar. Yeah, it's that good.
Trippin' Down the Freeway - Okay when this track was released as an iTunes special, everyone on the Weezer forum ranted and raved about what an amazing song this was. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan, it's not good, not bad, just kind of there. The chorus is decent, and the guitar solo's pretty good, but yeah I'm not in love with it.
Love is the Answer - I'm pretty sure the ghost of George Harrison co-wrote this track. This like "Can't Stop Partying" is once again about as far from my idea of what Weezer is that you can get. That being said, I kind of like this track, but I'm not real sure why. It's weird, that's for sure. The sitars are kind of cool, and I like the Indian moaning/vocals at the beginning. I think the lead female vocals in... I don't know Hindi maybe are a bit bizarre, but for some reason I actually like this track quite a bit... It may be the Beatles-esq-weirdness of it... Who knows?
Let it All Hang Out - What's up with River's trying to talk like he's a gangster? Going out with your homies, really? Anyway, this song has probably the best intro of any song on the album. It is very reminiscent of the Green/Maladroit days, which by no means a bad thing. I actually really like this song, I'm not sure why, and I question the word choice of "Homie" but I guess sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
P.S. where can I get 180 proof vitamin water?
In The Mall - On Red, the only track I like that was contributed by a Weez other than Rivers was Pat's Automatic. Once again, Pat shows us that Rivers isn't Weezers only song writer. This track, like the previous has a Maladroit-ish feeling. The lyrics are more fun than deep, but you know what, it's a pretty good song, plus it has a cool guitar solo.
I Don't Want to Let You Go - This was one of my favorite demo's on Alone II, so I was pretty excited for a polished version. I wasn't expecting a "Kokomo Part II," but you know what, it works. I like the 60's pop/surf sound. It reminds me of early classics like "Buddy Holly." I actually really like this track as the closer for the standard version of the album. It's different, but it works.
Bonus Tracks (You can stop reading now if you want the standard version... that is assuming anyone actually reads this far...)
Get Me Some - This song just cracks me up. Lyrically this one is really weak, but the fact that it sounds like a party song from the 80's hair metal era is just too awesome. This song has some of the best guitar work of any Weezer song, and is totally a great addition to the Weezer catalog. I mean who doesn't love a crazy finger tapping solo every now and then?
Run Over by a Truck - Yeah, so I can tell you why this one made bonus status and not album status... It's just not that good. For some reason lots of other people loved this one, but honestly I just get bored which is pretty bad when the song is only 3:33 long. Oh well.
The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World - This is another track that I really liked on Alone II, so I was really anticipating a finished version, and fortunately this one delivers. The tempo is a little slower than what I would have imagined, but its fine. I love the loud bass drum keeping the tempo, it reminds me of Ringo Starr. Lyrically this track has some similarities to "No One Else," which is a great thing. At about 2:30 the song breaks into random guitar parts, heavier drums, and vocal wailing... It sounds a lot like something from the Beatles timeless White Album.
The Underdogs - You know, I really love this one too. I think the lyrics are great, the emotion is there. It's different than what I'd expect from Weezer, but you know what it's really good. This track to me is trying to be the "Angel and the One" of Raditude, I'm not sure it's that good, but I do really like it. Just as a side note, I know I've made several Beatles references, but the piano chord progression at the beginning of this song is like the exact same as the progression in George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass." I'm starting to wonder what River's was listening to when he wrote all of this.
Additional Bonus Tracks
I Hear Bells - From what I understand, this is a Green period reject. It's a good track, it's fun and it totally sounds like early 2000's Weezer. I'm not sure it sticks out among other that songs from that period, but that's fine, it's still a good song.
Turn Me Round - I like the edge to the guitar and vocals at the beginning, the chorus is really good. It's a fun song.
So there you go, Raditude and a bunch of other stuff. As you've probably noticed I made a lot of comparisons throughout this review, everything from the Beatles and the Beach Boys, to Weezer classics. I think that alone should be enough to indicate that there is something special about Raditude. As much as I was fearing a let down, it wasn't delivered by any means. The album has its flaws, generic/shallow lyrics, and Little Wayne but over all I really enjoyed Raditude. In fact, I liked Raditude much more the first time through than I did Red, and I really like most of Red these days. I don't think much more can be said about Raditude other than, it's Rad! I give the album a B+.
Hey Rivers, Scott, Pat and Brian, thanks for not letting me down, I don't know why I ever doubted you guys -ggt
