Now, I myself am not a massive<\/em> fan of Weezer. I like their popular stuff, but I don\u2019t go looking for Weezer songs to listen to on purpose. I\u2019m not a die-hard fan of Rivers Cuomo, and generally speaking, the band just hasn\u2019t invested me in its sound the way it has invested many others. I wouldn\u2019t call my stance on their band negative per se; it\u2019s closer to a neutral feeling. That being said, I do like to hear new music, and I have no bias towards the band itself, positively or negatively. My ears are untainted, and for that reason, I do believe I am up to the task of reviewing this album in an honest way that reflects the actual quality of the work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Started strong with a great opening and lost me around a minute into the song. \u201cSay Yes\u201d is a prime example of exactly the kind of music Weezer likes to make in between hits. Sure, the instrumental is great, but the chorus is repetitive and the song ultimately doesn\u2019t feel cohesive. It\u2019s almost as if the first portion of the song is a different piece entirely, and it ultimately just doesn\u2019t flow in a way that is satisfying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I typically love<\/em> a good divorced dad song, this one is just not<\/em> it. The first nine<\/p>\n\n\n\n seconds are great, but then Rivers Cuomo starts singing. As someone who has no real emotional attachment to Weezer, I\u2019m honestly a little put off by the more whiny nature of his vocals, and the whole loser, 20-year-old rockstar<\/em> sound he\u2019s going for just doesn\u2019t sound amazing now that he\u2019s older. It feels cringey and honestly, it\u2019s just kind of underwhelming. Besides the sound alone, the lyrics aren\u2019t anything special, and this feels like every other \u2018loser-core\u2019 song that\u2019s already been made. I can\u2019t help but feel less and less endeared by this sound as time goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t Make it Weird\u201d was almost good! But then Cuomo started singing, and it all went downhill from there. I promise I\u2019m trying to be nice, but there\u2019s just not much going for this song \u2013 even the lyrics aren’t interesting. For instance, in one section of the song, Cuomo opens a verse with \u201cSome people call me River and then they tell me I don\u2019t got any flow\u201d, which, while a good pun, makes me wonder if he wrote the song with the idea in mind of just stating fun facts for a few minutes. They\u2019re telling me this is a song, but it sounds more like a limerick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>Now this song is much better in comparison to the rest of the album. \u201cWe Might as Well be Strangers\u201d <\/em>is a delightful mixture of musical talent, the sounds of Weezer and surprise guest artist Wednesday, a smaller, independent band complementing one another in a way that reminds me of Weezer\u2019s popular songs \u201cI Just Threw Out the Love of my Dreams\u201d and \u201cGo Away.\u201d <\/em>Wednesday is even given a solo verse, which is very<\/em> satisfying to hear. The only reason this song isn\u2019t rated a 5 out of 5 is simply because of the fact that Cuomo sings about receiving porno magazines on his birthday. I don\u2019t know what it is, but a man pushing 60 and singing about porn magazines just isn\u2019t very appealing. Despite that, this song isn\u2019t half bad, and actually offers an incredibly unique sound that this album really needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then \u201cC.E.O\u201d brings us right back to repetitive music. Which is ironic, because this is literally a song about writing repetitive music. The opening lyrics complain about how Weezer feels they are forced to put out specific music, stating that they\u2019re \u201cCranking out another 90s jam,\u201d and how they wish they could do something new. It makes me laugh because they say that, and yet, the entire album<\/em> so far feels like a forced 90s jam. I\u2019ve heard pop artists make more experimental albums than this. That being said, despite its repetitive nature, this is<\/em> one of the better tunes on this album. The combination of bass and drums here reminds me a lot of \u201cUndone \u2013 the Sweater Song,\u201d<\/em> which is another all-time Weezer classic. Along with the good bass and drum work, this number also came with an incredibly yummy guitar solo. Maybe Weezer should just release instrumentals. In any case, this song is definitely better than some of the other tracks, <\/em>but unfortunately, better doesn\u2019t always mean good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Uninteresting lyrics strike yet again as Cuomo excitedly tells his fans that he \u201cbought a toaster just to make some toast.\u201d Right. Is it bad that I\u2019m underwhelmed? We\u2019re over halfway through this album, and I feel like I\u2019ve just been hearing the same song for the past 15 minutes. Ultimately, I\u2019m getting the feeling that Weezer\u2019s sound on this album can be described in one word: unseasoned<\/em>. The only reason this song doesn\u2019t get a zero is because the toaster lyric, in all of its blandness, did make me laugh just because of how unapologetically stupid it is. That is something I will give to this album: in all of its crumminess, it\u2019s not sorry at all<\/em> for being mediocre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>So far in this album, I\u2019ve had this impression that Cuomo is trying to sound as young as he was when Weezer released their original core album, and he did<\/em> succeed in sounding younger here \u2013 though, not quite in the way he might\u2019ve wanted. This song doesn\u2019t really give me rock star in his early twenties \u2013<\/em> it more so gives me middle schoolers flirting with each other.<\/em> It\u2019s just awkward, and the repetition of \u201cthe sky is blue\u201d as a lyric is genuinely kind of laughable just because of how little it seems to mean. It just makes me think: yes, Rivers Cuomo, we know the sky is blue \u2013 do you know the sky is blue? Did you just figure that out? I\u2019m concerned for you, Rivers Cuomo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Does<\/em> the show have to go on? <\/em>I feel like this album should\u2019ve ended an entire song ago, and I\u2019m getting more and more bored of this sound as it goes on. It\u2019s becoming painful to sit through these songs. I will never get this time back. Anyway, enough complaining about the job I agreed to do, \u201cThe Show Must Go On\u201d is bland, mediocre, and just like every other song on this album. Yes, the instruments are great. Yes, everyone (except for Rivers Cuomo) is extremely talented. But talent can\u2019t make up for a lack of creativity, and this song is basically just \u201cTroublemaker\u201d off of Weezer\u2019s red album without any of the sauce. This track could\u2019ve been titled \u201cBoiled Chicken: the Song,\u201d and that would\u2019ve made more sense than its actual title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>Fun fact \u2013 when I was listening to this album, I actually had my partner on the phone with me! I was trying to be a good boyfriend, playing the music out loud so we could both hear it. When this song played, he promptly asked me if I could put my headphones in. I genuinely don\u2019t have anything else to say about this song. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe LA Sound\u201d,<\/em> the last track on this album, is where I really feel that the core issue with this album shows \u2013 specifically with the lyric \u201csuch is the folly of youth.\u201d Rivers Cuomo, you are 56 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And ultimately, that\u2019s the issue. See, instead of writing about anything new,<\/em> Weezer is seemingly attempting to recreate their old hits by playing up the same gimmick they played up in the 90s \u2013 only, it\u2019s not nearly as effective anymore thanks to the age of the band. Of course, there\u2019s nothing wrong with reminiscing, but for an album meant to be the golden album<\/em> amongst their other color-themed albums, this is not anything special. At best it\u2019s boring; at worst it\u2019s annoying in the ways it so obviously clings to the youth of Weezer\u2019s previous work without, at the very least, saying anything new. This album earns a 1.5 out of 5 from me. If Weezer wants to continue releasing music, I think they need to remember their Golden <\/em>years were in the 90s, and maybe invest in some singing lessons for ol\u2019 Cuomo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Olyver LaGabed, Staff Writer Anyone from divorced dads to teen girls and even frat bros can get down to a good Blue album. There\u2019s no denying that Weezer is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-7010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7011,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7010\/revisions\/7011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7010"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=7010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1: \u201cSay Yes\u201d \u2013\u00a0 2.5 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2: \u201cShine Again\u201d \u2013 0 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3: \u201cDon\u2019t Make it Weird\u201d \u2013 0 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4: \u201cWe Might as Well be Strangers\u201d \u2013 4.5 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5: \u201cC.E.O\u201d \u2013 3 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6: \u201cHoops\u201d \u2013 1.5 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7: \u201cNowhere\u201d \u2013\u00a0 0 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8: \u201cThe Show Must Go On\u201d \u2013 0 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9: \u201cUp in the Clouds\u201d \u2013 0 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
10: \u201cThe LA Sound\u201d \u2013 0 out of 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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