When asked the all-too-narrow question of who my all-time favourite band are, I have answered Weezer many a time. Their first two albums are still as fresh upon every listen as the first time they stopped me dead in my tracks as a teenager. The Green Album is pretty alright, Maladriot is excellent and Make Believe has a few alright tracks. The Red Album was the last album I got excited about and enjoyed of theirs; I would say the first half of the album is great and the second half is awful. However, since then they have released two albums in two years, neither of which have really had any half-decent tracks on.
This, unfortunately, is the point where I come across as one of those wankers who tries to make themselves superior by saying they 'prefer a band's earlier material' when in fact everyone knows their later material is better developed, constructed etc but more popular. I am, of course, guilty of this crime, but that's a story for another blog. My sincerest apologies for coming across as such, but with Weezer I have had my opinions reinforced by such events as this internet campaign and I now feel compared to share them.
I don't feel that all is lost for Weezer - rumours abound of a Pinkerton tour - but I do think they need to stop messing around and writing inane, vacuous songs in a hurry. Rivers Cuomo has always been a law unto himself and that is why I admire him, but he just has a bit of a weird obsession with pop culture and it's stopping him writing the poignant, blistering love songs he was born to write. Now I like Lady Gaga and MGMT, but I don't need Weezer to cover them, nor do I think the hilarious joke of them covering 'Teenage Dirtbag' is worth losing one of their own songs in a live setlist.
I'm sure they could still write a decent record if they reconnected with their roots and took some time about it. The esteemed critic, social network guru and grime superstar Jonny Rose said that if you took the best tracks from their last four albums, you'd get a brilliant album, and I agree. Now I'm off to listen to Pinkerton and cry myself to sleep. Watch this video and then you can too!
And if you want to get behind said internet campaign, go ahead. I don't think I want them to split up so I won't be giving them any of my hard-earned cash, but good on the man for alerting people to the fact that a once great band are now a bit silly.
To balance the rant, here are some awesome things.
I just finished reading the graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier and it's lovely. As the cover suggests its central theme is Raina's dental treatment, but it's a brilliant portrait of growing up without too much focus on the latter, coming-of-age side of things. Rather, Raina begins and ends the autobiographical comic a child, but learns a lot along the way. And it's in beautiful colour. If you were ever a teenager, you should read it. I know some people deny that they were ever teenagers. I will find these people and their year ten photographs.
My former flatmate and purveyor of slightly unhinged literature and folk music Rob Sherman has a poetry collection out called Valve Works, and you can get it as a free ebook here. It is also illustrated by the marvelously talented Sarah Ogilvie who you should give money to to draw you baboons and such. Free ebooks are pretty much the best thing ever. You can read them on iphones and stuff. Get on it. It's some bizarrely touching and strangely resonant poetry which pervade in Valve Works, but there's all sorts available. I might not sleep tonight.
Finally, The Xcerts have a new record out, and I get the feeling it's a grower after a couple of listens. It's noisier, angrier and even more energetic than their debut, and it's great. You should buy it from Banquet Records because independent record shops are awesome. I saw them play acoustic in Banquet's shop once. That was nice.
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