Weezer - Maladroit Review/Counter Review #2
Posted by Tom Cocozza on 09.11.2002
Bust out your dice, break out your comic books, Nerd Rock is back, baby!
Weezer’s: Maladroit , by Geffen Records, released in 2002, is the band’s fourth major studio release, following Blue, Pinkerton, and Green. Right off the bat, I’ll say I’m a little disappointed with this album because I thought it was the one with “Hash Pipe” on it, but the only single it has is “Keep Fishin’. ” Okay, fine, I really like that song, but I was hoping for “Hash Pipe”, dammit!
Looking at the album, I’m pretty stoked, because it’s got 13 tracks on it. Thirteen tracks for around twenty bucks, that’s pretty well and good. Oh wait, the albums 34 minutes long. Oh. Well then. It’s okay. I really do like “Keep Fishin’. ” I’m sure the rest of the album will have that same fun, rock/punk, nerd love hybrid of music fun. Really.
The album opens with “American Gigolo”, a more pop-punk number that, although lacking one reference to Richard Gere that I could find, I rather like. Nothing special, but a good opener, getting me psyched for the album.
Let me take this opportunity to say: I am not a Weezer fan. I like their hits, most of them I like quite a bit. But the only album I’ve heard is Pinkerton, which is the one with no hit singles on it. I wasn’t impressed. However, when they do a “Greatest Hits” in a few years, I am all over that disc like white on rice. Or nerds on comic books. Nerds like my good friend, Brendan Johnston. Who loves comic books. And is a huge nerd. Huge.
Sorry. Just needed to do that once.
The second track is “Dope Nose,” which is the bands new single. A good choice for a single, it’s catchy and more rock than the first single, so it shows more of the band’s variety. I also have no idea what it’s about. At all. But he’s got a dope nose! Is he saying his nose is really cool? Or that it’s made of drugs? Or that he uses drugs a lot? I don’t know! But the song’s fun to sing along to, and I do like it.
The third track is “Keep Fishin’.” This is the one you’ve heard on the radio, and have seen on MTV. By the way, if anything can make me a Weezer fan, it’s these guys’ videos. Their first, for “Buddy Holly,” is still one of my favorites, and this song has The Muppets. The band is playing on THE MUPPET SHOW. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to host The Muppet Show. All I have to do is become famous, and get The Muppet Show back on the air.
I know, I have weird dreams.
The song is good, perhaps one of the best songs by Weezer I’ve ever heard. It’s almost straight pop-rock, which I’m sure disappoints hardcore fans of the band, but having widespread appeal isn’t ever a bad thing. Unless you’re The Sex Pistols. Or Curt Cobain, I guess. (Ouch!) Fun track, great groove, good single.
Track four is “Take Control,” and is a more traditional rock song. Good, pounding rhythm, good lyrics, a nice solid song. Incidentally the last song I care about on the album. From track five on, it’s all downhill.
The first time I listen to an album, I don’t look at the CD case, or the liner notes or anything. I put it on, and let it sink in while I’m doing crossword puzzles or reading a newspaper or something. In Maladroit ’s case, I couldn’t tell when one song ended and another began. A bad sign.
Pretty much, from track five (“Death and Destruction”) to track thirteen (“December”), every song sounds the same. Same rhythm, same backing vocals, same feel. Now, it’s not a bad song that they keep doing, but doing it nine times over with minor variations is a bit much.
The only other really good thing I can say about the album is that it comes with a multimedia package, so you can watch live versions of some of the songs. If you like this sort of thing, this is exactly the sort of thing you would like.
Multimedia music CD’s. Perfect for the nerd-rocker in you!
An Addendum: At the beginning of last summer, Brendan Johnston and myself were in a Barnes and Noble’s in Manhattan, waiting on a huge line for the bathroom. Also on the line was this young (18/19, to my 21), attractive girl, covered in green and brown body paint. All over her was painted this symbol that looked like the old WWF logo, but with the “F” lines coming out both sides of the “W”. We had no idea what this meant, and only found out later that it was the Weezer symbol. To the pretty girl, and all other Weezer fans out there. Don’t get mad at me for not liking the CD. I tried, but it’s not my fault.
It is all Brendan Johnston’s fault. For not letting me hit on the girl because she looked weird.
