I remember when the song “Beverly Hills” came out and I was like “What the fuck are these guys doing, have they just become a bunch of bro-dues?” The response was that no, they had not, in fact, become a bunch of bro-dudes, but were being very tongue-in-cheek. Well, here comes Raditude to fuck up their story.
I must admit that I was anticipating this album (something I have never done with a Weezer album because I didn’t start listening to them until long after they had made anything decent) because of the single “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”. I will stand by that song as one of the best power-pop songs of the decade this side of “Stacy’s Mom”. But after those three-and-a-half minutes of bliss (Track 1), you have to listen to the rest of the album, and that’s where the fun ends.
The three songs following “…I Want You To” effectively kill any hope that song may have given you for Weezer. They are firmly rooted in the “Beverly Hills” notions of “We like to get drunk and fuck hos, but we’re goofy!” Alright guys, let me break this down; One song about that shit: MAYBE tongue-in-cheek; Four songs: You’re fucking bro-dudes. You’re not actually being goofy. You’re the nerdy version of Nickelback, albeit with better influences. And that might even be worse than actually BEING Nickelback, because at least their not trying to hide anything. Everyone already knows that they’re gross as shit.
After that, things pretty much go from disgusting to sad, with the band approximating a second-rate Fountains of Wayne at best. At worst, you get the track “Love Is the Answer”. Sitar? Bollywood vocals? Are they trying to get on the Slumdog Millionaire 2 soundtrack, because that’s the only possible explanation I can think of. It’s definitely the weirdest thing on the album, and this is a Weezer album with Lil Wayne on it, so chew on that for a bit.
I’d like to end this thing on a positive note, so here’s the letter I am going to send Weezer about the last track on the album, “I Don’t Want To Let You Go”:
Dear Weezer,
I really like the cover of Hoobastank’s “The Reason” you did on your new record. I think I like it even better than the original, which is saying a lot. I appreciate that you changed the title and lyrics so that even though it’s a song I’ve heard before, it almost seems like I’m actually listening to something new that you wrote. Please do that one Snow Patrol song on your next CD.
Love,
Jack
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