Weezer – Green Album – 2001 (iTunes –Amazon)
In 2001, without warning, all of a sudden, Weezer was back. Five years after Pinkerton. Rolling Stone said it was the first 5 star album of the new decade, the new century. At 29 minutes it’s the shortest they had ever put out. And Pinkerton was 33 minutes. The thing about short albums (and those of you who read Septenary regularly know that if an album is more than 40 minutes, my feeling is, it better be worth it. More often than not, it’s crammed with filler and would easily be a stronger record with 1/3 cut out), is that they better really bring it. If you’re only gonna give us 30 minutes, every song needs to be strong, right?
Green is a very different animal than Blue or Pinkerton. I don’t think Blue was supposed to be called “Blue”. I think it was called “Weezer”. But with the need to reinvent himself, Cuomo, in a sense, was trying to wipe away the previous incarnation of his band and starting anew.
Trouble with ignoring your past is that your fans have to do the same thing or else, well, you’re spitting in the wind. And the fans loved Pinkerton. And they ADORED the debut. What would they make of Green?
“Hash Pipe” is the first real sense that Rivers and the gang are more interested in hooks than substance. “I can’t help my boogies, they get out of control, I know that you don’t care but I want you to know.” is laid against a musical bedrock that calls to mind the theme to The Munsters. But it works. It works hard to work but it does the job. And, dammit, if you can’t shake the song out of your head. It’s like ear candy. You want to hear it again because it’s at once familiar, aggressive, fun and snarky.
“Island in the Sun” could be Weezer’s “Kokomo”. Except that, unlike that song, you don’t want to go back and burn all your Beach Boys records in contempt. That doesn’t mean that “Island” couldn’t also double as the music for a “Sandals Resorts” commercial. Which also doesn’t mean it’s bad.
“Crab”, “Knock-Down, Drag Out”, “Smile” &”Simple Pages” could all easily have been crafted in the “Rivers Cuomo Song & Taffy Factory”, on some assembly line, but they’re good. And they don’t stick around long enough to crumble under the weight of their own disposability.
At this point in time, groups like Bowling For Soup were doing this kind of stuff, and doing it better (see “Girls All The Bad Guys Want” & “Emily”) and having more fun. But Weezer’s re-entry is by no means a failure. It’s not one of the greatest albums of the decade, but, it’ll do.
Grade B+
Aside: Don’t Let Go, Hash Pipe, Island in the Sun,
BlindSide: Crab, Knock-Down Drag Out, O Girlfriend
DownSide: Glorious Day
