Homes for Butterflies

I just got Weezer’s new album Raditude and have listened to it two times in its entirety already.  It’s so fucking good that I’m taking it upon myself to write a review and try to get as many people as possible to pick it up.  After the Red Album… and I guess Make Believe and Maladroit, I can understand why people have lost their faith in Weezer.  I’m personally a big fan throughout their discography, but it’s time people set aside anything they’ve known about Weezer and start fresh with Raditude.  Instead of all this indie music flooding my iTunes library (and just about everyone else’s), it’s so great to finally have some ROCK music in the house.  Even Erik and Joe, non-weezer fans, are digging this album hardcore.

The CD opens up with the single, “If You’re Wondering If I Want You To,” which really sets the mood for the rest of the awesomeness.  Here we have pretty formulaic rock blended with cathy lyrics, not so formulaic instrumentation, and damn good vocals.  And that’s Raditude’s greatest strength.  It lays on the rock with the perfect amount of pop hooks, great musicianship, and Rivers’ phenomenal voice leading it all.

The lyrics are a real joy to listen to.  Rivers’ way of talking so plainly is often times so endearing and terribly relatable.  You’d never think that the line, “I thought tonight would suck like any other night,” could sound so poetic.  There’s one song in particular that resonates scarily well with me which I’ll share the lyrics to at the end here.  It’s a tune called Tripping Down the Freeway.  And then the infamous new song with Lil Wayne, “Can’t Stop Partying” is oddly infectious and will have you singing immediately.  Actually, the whole friggin ALBUM is that way.  Even through the first listen we all caught on to the lyrics quickly and were singing along by the second chorus of almost every song.

One song in particular, “Love is the Answer” is almost surreal to listen to.  It takes Indian music to a level you didn’t know it could reach. If Slumdog Millionaire and the vibe it produces didn’t inspire this song, I’m not sure what did.  It’s not going to be for every one and I can already tell that fans + reviewers are going to shit all over it saying “What the hell is this?”  But it’s easily one of my favorites by far.  Then you’ve got “Let It All Hang Out” that easily could have reached number 1 during the 80s which seriously makes you want to “let it all hang out.”  The genuine rock vibe exploding out of Raditude has made me hop around the apartment like a bunny until my legs have gone sore and I definitely rocked out with my Guitar Hero guitar while clothed in nothing but a towel to “The Girl Got Hot.”

In short, you HAVE to get this album.  Weezer fan or not, it’s a breath of fresh air from anything else being released by a major label and in fact, I’ll go so far as to say even anything from an independent label.  I know I haven’t bought an album like this in a long time and it feels freaking good.  Even right now I’m so tired and need sleep and need to do homework, but all I wanna do instead is sit here listening to Weezer.

Now, as promised… here are the lyrics that touch me deep every time I listen to it.

no way, we ain’t gonna break up
we made a promise and our will won’t fade out
not just in ‘09 and ‘10
we’ll be together from now until the very end
you’ve got the Shirley Applebee look
i’m totally caught up on your hook
you know that we are gonna be ok
we’ll stick together as we’re tripping down the freeway

Also, click the following link to see the most delightful music video I’ve come across in ages.

Weezer : Now Playing : (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.