Weezer

Weezer: RaditudeRaditude (2009)
Weezer

Reviewer Rating: 2

User Rating:

Contributed by: skankbookskankbook
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on December 4th 2009Weezer never wrote a bad song in the 1990s. Pinkerton is pure brilliance, and the Blue Album is the definition of mid-'90s alternative rock. Their B-sides from that era, such as "Susanne" and "Jamie," are still better than some bands' entire catalogues. The never officially released Songs from the .

Weezer never wrote a bad song in the 1990s. Pinkerton is pure brilliance, and the Blue Album is the definition of mid-'90s alternative rock. Their B-sides from that era, such as "Susanne" and "Jamie," are still better than some bands' entire catalogues. The never officially released Songs from the Black Hole and the Summer Songs of 2000 are forgotten gems. Even the beginning of the decade brought around the Green Album, which is an above-average pop album, and the underappreciated Maladroit, a return to a harder rock sound.

Make Believe was where the band started to go downhill, with "Perfect Situation" being the only real highlight among over-synthesized duds. For last year's Red Album, Weezer tried switching up the musical arrangements, with all four members of the band singing on at least one track and drummer Patrick Wilson playing guitar on select tracks. There wasn't a "musical theme" to the album; it was more of a random collection of 10 songs (or 14, if you bought the deluxe edition). In fact, if you only got the regular version, you'd be missing out on the only highlights of the album, bonus tracks "Pig" and "King."

Raditude is the album Weezer fans have been afraid of, as there are just enough bright moments to regain hope in the band. "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" and "I'm Your Daddy" showcase Rivers Cuomo's ability to write one hell of a catchy tune, while the All American Rejects-co-written tune "Put Me Back Together" is one of the better songs they've released this decade. "Let It All Hang Out" and "The Girl Got Hot" sound like they would fit in great on the Green Album. Even bonus track "The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World" recaptures the feel of the Blue Album, although that's because it's when the song was originally written.

Unfortunately, the band doesn't do much to change the minds of those in 2009 who have sworn off the band. Track four, "Can't Stop Partying," features rapper Lil Wayne and is co-produced by Jermaine Dupri. Yeah, that Lil Wayne. "Love Is the Answer" sounds like a reject from the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, with its sitar and guest female vocals. Raditude ends with "I Don't Want to Let You Go," a song that would be pretty good...if it weren't stealing the exact same vocal pattern and musical arrangement from Red Album standout "Pig," albeit with a faster tempo. Rivers sings on all of the songs this time around, although drummer/guitarist/horrible songwriter Patrick Wilson contributes "At the Mall," one of the blandest, unoriginal songs the band has ever recorded.

Proceed with caution when attempting to listen to Raditude. Unlike Weezer's past two releases, it's good enough to listen to a couple times, but make sure your fingers never go too far from the "skip track" button.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

nickdiesel (December 9, 2009)

if you actually get mad about this album, then it looks like the joke is on you.

rivers always knows what hes doing. don't forget that.

when pinkerton bombed, and weezer fell off the face of the earth, rivers locked himself in a room and DELIBERATELY wrote a record that would sell millions. he wanted the spotlight back, and he got it.

when the diehard fans bitched that Green sucked and rivers forgot about his fans, he let THEM pick what songs would make up Maladroit.

after Maladroit got (mostly) crappy reviews, he decided to say fuck you to his fans. hes not writing for them anymore.

thus, we have make believe and red album...two pop cds.

raditude is just rivers fucking around at this point.

lookingforcorpses (December 8, 2009)

iruineverything- Make Believe is terrible. An absolute abomination.

brucelebruce (December 7, 2009)

weezer are a modern day cheap trick. they make fantastic pop records, and raditude is no exception. i love the over produced glossy pop tunes. screw the anger of pinkerton. rivers is married and has a kid, he doesn't need to sing about lesbians he wishes he could have. can't stop partying to this album! multiple listens to this album, and you'll appreciate it's simple beauty.

Hey_Asshole (December 7, 2009)

first, just because it is a cliche does not mean it is not true.

second, what fucking good are you doing getting all pissy about a review posted on a website? if you think the review sucks, fucking write your own and quit bitching

nikko (December 7, 2009)

"Hey asshole".....yes anyone can write a review, but they should not all be posted. Obviously it's cliche to say their old stuff was so much better, but saying they never wrote a bad song in the 1990's is a bit much. Not the best way to start a review either.

mill83 (December 7, 2009)

Flipbus

mattramone (December 7, 2009)

Busflip.

keasbey (December 7, 2009)

A solid record with one very regrettable cut. No one should expect any band's sound to stay exactly the same, and while I agree that Make Believe and The Red Album were bad, this is a step in a good direction. This is definitely not their best, but who knows, they might have another Pinkerton hidden up their sleeve, if people give them a chance. Everyone wants to try something different occasionally...

ReedAreTheUnion (December 6, 2009)

I actually like this record - and I hate Weezer. The whole thing feels like a joke on people who are still trying to take them seriously.

robotler (December 6, 2009)

When Blue and then Pinkerton came out they were original. heartfelt, amazingly lyrical rock albums. Yes, Pinkerton bombed initially (I loved it from the start), but is still considered one of their bests.

Here's the thing that kills me with Weezer. River manages to construct these amazing tunes, goes to Harvard for English and then "crafts" the last few albums. How do you go from writing well, to getting a degree and falling off to the wayside? I guess it's like showing a painter how to actually use the brush, should've never been shown.

burk (December 6, 2009)

why did they put out an album with 95% of mediocre songs? Me myself can write better songs.

Hey_Asshole (December 5, 2009)

yes. anyone CAN write reviews. kind of the point of a community based website that is heavily based on user submissions

nikko (December 5, 2009)

wow what a bad review....I guess anyone can write them

Hey_Asshole (December 5, 2009)

blah blah this record is not as good as their old stuff blah blah.

look...Blue and Pinkerton came out 15 and 13 years ago, respectively. since then, this band has put out 2 mediocre albums and 3 horrible ones. does anyone really expect another great record this far along in the game?

keithybobeefy (December 5, 2009)

"And you wouldn't want another Blue Album or Pinkerton? Are you fucking serious? You would NOT want them to put out another great album? You'd rather have them write terrible, terrible, terrible dance songs than put out greatness?
Alright, buddy. Get back to the hospital."

I would love an album that was as equally as great as those two albums, but if they were to make another album like Pinkerton I would find it to be fake. That album was in a time where it worked. I don't think that if they released Pinkerton now that it would have the same appeal.

nick_s (December 5, 2009)

This isn't a bad album, it juat feels like they're coasting. Pinkerton was so good because it was a nautral progression from the Blue album, it felt like a lot of effort had been put into developing the song writing and come up with something new without reinventing the wheel. This just feels like a collection of ok to pretty good songs.

iruineverything (December 5, 2009)

This album is pretty awful. But what's with all the hate for Green and Make Believe? Those are both solid albums. In my opinion:

1. Pinkerton
2. Blue Album
3. Green Album
4. Make Believe
5. Red Album
6. Raditude
7. Maladroit

telegraphrocks (December 5, 2009)

"Hey telegraph. Remember when i taught you how to use italics in comments?"

Yes. I fucking love you!

RedElephant (December 5, 2009)

this band is like the Offspring.. first couple albums back in the 90's were great.. than they just bombed with horrible horrible pop.

mikexdude (December 5, 2009)

Hey telegraph. Remember when i taught you how to use italics in comments?

telegraphrocks (December 5, 2009)

"and yet people think that if they don't make another blue album or pinkerton that Weezer can't put out quality music. Face it, they won't put out another blue album or another pinkerton. Nor would I want them to."
Score is for this dumb comment.

It's not that I think they're gonna put out another Blue Album or Pinkerton, but it just baffles me that everything they put out just gets worse and worse.
At this point they could put out another Green Album, Maladroit, or Make Believe and it wouldn't be nearly as awful as this or The Red Album.
This shit is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar from "quality".

And you wouldn't want another Blue Album or Pinkerton? Are you fucking serious? You would NOT want them to put out another great album? You'd rather have them write terrible, terrible, terrible dance songs than put out greatness?
Alright, buddy. Get back to the hospital.< b>

keithybobeefy (December 5, 2009)

This is the third best Weezer album.

The hate for this band kind of blows me away. They obviously don't take themselves that seriously anymore, and yet people think that if they don't make another blue album or pinkerton that Weezer can't put out quality music. Face it, they won't put out another blue album or another pinkerton. Nor would I want them to.

This is a fun record. The songs are catchy and sometimes silly and make for a good time. Will definately make its way onto my year end list.

kylewagoner (December 4, 2009)

Score is for the album, the band, the music on it. Everything about it. I guess my review for it wasn't punk and/or hateful enough. I'm not surprised.

pufferfish (December 4, 2009)

"Weezer is a band that you don't get pissed as to how bad they've gotten, you get sad. I feel like they still can make music...but they just refuse to?"

This.

TheChemist (December 4, 2009)

Weezer is a band that you don't get pissed as to how bad they've gotten, you get sad. I feel like they still can make music...but they just refuse to?

colin (December 4, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0X6Je8B5Ak

telegraphrocks (December 4, 2009)

With this release, I believe Punknews.org should get rid of their their Weezer logo for stories... they don't deserve it at all.

fattony (December 4, 2009)

These guys lost me with The Green Album and none of the bits and pieces I've heard since have done anything to win me back. Oh well, at least we have Pinkerton and The Blue Album.

startrekthenextgeneration (December 4, 2009)

This band has gotten so fucking bad that it makes me want to puke. Probably the worst drop-off in rock and roll history. Rapes, murders, and suicides included.

How the introspective and emotive brilliance behind Pinkerton can spawn something like "Can't Stop Partying," featuring Lil Wayne, is beyond me.

The only plausible explanation is that Rivers Cuomo is playing a humungous, hilarious, Andy Kaufman style joke on the world.

damnitsderek (December 4, 2009)

Lil Wayne? Seriously?

Yeah, no care ever about this band.

Torgo (December 4, 2009)

"Let It All Hang Out” and “The Girl Got Hot” sound like they would fit in great on the Green Album.

What?

Score is for the album

telegraphrocks (December 4, 2009)

P.S.
Score's for the cover-art... the only quality thing about this release.

Take away 10, and there's the music within.

telegraphrocks (December 4, 2009)

I'm blown-the-fuck-away that anyone actually likes this garbage.

Just... holy shit! I listened to this once, and it's definitely the biggest slab of fucking garbage put out this year. It actually makes The Red Album look like a masterpiece.

Fuck this album... fuck it hard. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad!

blanktapesemptybottles (December 4, 2009)

Rainn Wilson named this album that makes it one of the best ever

Tom_Delonge (December 4, 2009)

It's a circular narrative in many ways where it kind of sums up the human race in a time capsule.

Tye (December 4, 2009)

love this. seriously. with all american rejects doing so well with ben weasel and helping write "put me back together" on this album.. well, you'd wonder how they themselves are so terrible.

chadreligion (December 4, 2009)

Hate this band, hate their music, hate their fans, but score is for best album title of the decade.

bathroom_surgery (December 4, 2009)

am I the only one that actually likes the green album?

red_eye_inc (December 4, 2009)

This album has a lot of variety, most of which works well. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

thatguyfromthatband (December 4, 2009)

this is a pretty solid record. Make Believe was crap. Red Album was better. Raditude was a great step up from both of those. Will we ever get another Pinkerton? Probably not. we should not expect any new Weezer record to be the next Pinkerton.

Raditude - great disc with great replay value.

ZappBrannigan (December 4, 2009)

“(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” sounds like complete shit. This band doesn't even sound like themselves anymore.

scorpiondeathlock (December 4, 2009)

pinkerton and the blue album were great. and i even had a soft spot for maladroit....but all of that goodwill was officially cancelled out by the "gimme gimme's" in the background of "beverly hills". this band is dead to me.