Raditude and the Disappointing Happiness of Rivers Cuomo

There may be no band in the history of popular music more controversial among its own fans than Weezer. Most of Weezer's fans are my age or older, discovering Weezer in the wake of their 2001 album or from their first album in 1994. Among these fans and most music critics, Weezer's debut album and 1996's Pinkerton are the high points of their career. 

One of the reason for the success of early Weezer is that geeks finally had a band they could identify with. Weezer spoke to people who were outsiders in high school as peers, on their level, and in a way they understood. This trend continued into 2002's Maladroit, which while good, showed Cuomo's limits as a person on the outside. 

You see, what made Pinkerton such a later success (and the most influential album of the past 15 years) is Cuomo's heartfelt and personal lyrics. He perfectly captured the feelings of being an outsider, not being able to get the girl, loneliness, not being cool, etc. 

Flash forward to 2005's Make Believe, and "Beverly Hills." Something hand changed. Rivers Cuomo got happy. Basically, from the fans' perspective, this is a disaster. I quite like Make Believe, and I actually think it's better than Maladroit. However, last year's Red Album was an absolute disaster. Some of the songs were fun, but it was like cereal with too many marshmallows. So sweet and sacchrine, you get sick before you finish the bowl. 

And that brings us to Raditude. It is so obvious that Cuomo is a great pop song writer, and he really enjoys writing songs. However, he is only good writing in a pseudo-autobiographical manner. Given that Cuomo is married with children and seems to be really freakin' happy about it. 

Raditude is meant to be an ironic party album. The album you pop in when all your friends are drunk...ironically. It's meant for older hipsters who want to love pop but are too cool for it. Basically, if you're cool enough to listen to Weezer and can survive Miley Cyrus, this might be the greatest albums of all time. 

Moreso than their previous effort, the songs are catchy, if shallow-seeming, and the band has a much more cohesive sound. "(If Your Wandering If I Want You To) I Want You To" is my favorite song on the album, and the best song they've done in four years. Also, "The Girl Got Hot," is an excellent high school revenge fantasy when you consider that Cuomo is the girl in question. 

None of this can explain the embarrassment I feel over even listening to "Can't Stop Partying," which seems to be destined to be the new "Fight For Your Right." Expect most people to miss the point. 

Overall, I actually really enjoyed the album, but as a long time Weezer fan, I almost hate myself for liking it at all.