New Weezer not so ‘raditude’

Weezer recently released another album since their disappointing Red Album.

Titled “Raditude” expectations were rather bleak for fans of Weezer and after hearing it, those expectations will be fulfilled.

It’s hard to formulate a strong stance on this album.
It’s so all over the place that one can not properly bash or love the album.

Going through the tracks one is filled with the “possibilities” of Maladroit-type success and yet many songs just flat out do not work.

The album kicks off on a fairly good note. “I Want You To” provides a good infusion of acoustic guitar, solid percussion and excellent harmonies. The lyrics tend to get a bit dry but certainly the song allows for optimism that the album would not flop.

The third track “The Girl Got Hot,” continued the potential theme the album was leaning towards.

Musically and vocally the song sounded a lot like older Weezer tracks, but the song was rather disturbing considering lead singer Rivers Cuomo is 39 and the song is about a high school girl who “got hot.”

Statutory rapist aside, the song was solid and was reminiscent of a Green Album up beat tune.

The fourth song, “Can’t Stop Partying,” sounded promising until Lil’ Wayne entered the picture.

As much as the name play of Weezer and Lil” Weezy is appealing, what were they thinking?

Rap and punk rock do not mix, and this song is proof of that.

The Lil Wayne track aside the album was fairly solid at this point and seemed to be turning around from the disaster that was the Red Album.

“Trippin’ Down the Freeway” was another song that backed this up.

The song was a solid Weezer love song that all fans of Weezer are used to hearing. Great harmonies and vocal effects and heartfelt lyrics made this song one of the best on the album.

“Love is the Answer,” did not belong on this album. An attempt at diversifying Weezer’s image by adding a Bollywood theme sank this album faster than the Titanic.

“Let It All Hang Out,” sounded like it belonged on the disastrous Red Album.

With hip-hop lyrics and party persona story, the song stunk. Sadly this song could become popular on the radio, due to the current trauma the music industry is suffering right now (one of the chart-toppers being Flo Rida). However, the song disappoints.

At this point the album takes a nose dive. The songs from here on out don’t make musical sense, it sounds like somebody vomited notes on to a piece of sheet music and Weezer decided to write cheesy lyrics to it.

“Get Me Some” is Weezer’s attempt at metal, something they should have steered clear from. The song is the equivalent of Miley Cyrus doing a cover of “Welcome to the Jungle,” horrible.

In “Run Over by a Truck”, Weezer incorporates what sounds like an old-fashioned Western player piano. The lyrics are like an array of every kind of cheese available.

“The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World,” has lyrics that are sappier than “Marley and Me,” which was a real tear-jerker.

“The Underdogs,” redeems Weezer from the rest of the trash that is most of this album. It is a darker Pinkerton-esque ballad. The song provides hope that Weezer can still produce successful albums in the future.

Raditude fails to meet the standards that fans of Weezer hold the band to. Maybe the pedestal is too high, or maybe they just peeked at Maladroit, but Weezer tanked with this one. Although some songs have potential and are worth listening to and it was better than the Red Album, it did not wow and probably is not worth the price tag.

Older Weezer fans will probably hate this album; more casual fans might identify with some of the risky attempts at diversification.