I’ve always found Weezer irksome, but I can’t deny the pleasures of
Raditude.
Take “Can’t Stop Partying,” one of the tracks destined to be a
single and make appearances on soundtracks galore for future teen
comedies and hour-long dramas on the CW (if they can shoehorn it in
under Leighton Meester’s stranglehold). The song is undeniably
listenable, while letting Weezer have their cake and eat it, too.
Rivers Cuomo parodies American excess by singing “I gotta have the
cars/ I gotta have the jewels” to a hip-hop beat. You can’t help but
wince thinking of all the folks who’ll be blasting this from their SUVs
while failing to realize they’re the ones being made fun of. Let’s not
forget: Weezer make their critique by just invoking everything they’re
allegedly scorning. Oh, Weezer, your cultural criticism is so finely
barbed.
Assumedly, these ideological double entendres are responsible for
the slavishness of Weezer’s fanbase. “Cuomo’s a genius!” they
exclaim.
No, he’s not. But he’s pretty good at this whole pop-schlock thing,
which is the side of Weezer that makes Raditude enjoyable. While
it’s fair to roll one’s eyes at the emo crooning on “I Don’t Want to
Let You Go,” it’s still strangely compelling. Plus, songs like “I’m
Your Daddy,” “Put Me Back Together” and “Let It All Hang Out” are just
pure cotton-candy-pop fun.
The only serious offense here is “The Girl Got Hot.” Oh,
heterosexual white-male subjectivity, you’re so precocious! Seriously:
The song’s terrible. But the album’s great.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2009.
I think you’ve given this turd a little more credit than it deserves. And the social criticism in this album is about as pointed and credible as that Beverly Hills song they had a while back that you can still hear in TJ Maxxx. This doesn’t even pass the greasy hipster I-like-it-ironically-hurr standards. Way more painful than fun.