Review 1 of 1

mikemac555 writes:

2of 5 Stars

"Pork and Beans", eh? This from the faux-cult leaders of the geek-rock revolution. Ten years since the end of their relevance, Weezer is still hanging on and making noise in their $10 million garage, feeling safe as can be. Their first self-titled album, now longingly referred to as "the Blue album", fell squarely into a fringe in the early nineties where tounge-in-cheek was chic and metrosexuals were just skinny guys who wore sweaters and geometric black rimmed glasses. The beauty of the album, though, was its complexity among the simplicity of catchy melodic guitar riffs and surf music. Musically, these songs never FELT geeky. Even when referencing Dungeons and Dragons and pining for Mary Tyler Moore, they elicited the feel-good vibe of modern day Beach Boys, of surfing, girls, and rock and roll.

After an epic follow up that served to demolish the glossy exterior of a pop band and dig into the depths of insecurity, narcissism, and quirky perspectives on asian women, Rivers was elevated to the modern rock anti-hero. Four albums later, that gloss has piled back on, and the resulting single is all shell. Nowhere to be found are the little ol' three chord heartaching anthems and emotional wreckage. Weezer could have taken their music in myriad directions and built a dynasty. Insted, they've secured their place among the masses of the culturally irrelevant. A mere flash in the pan remembered with fondness.

With an opening guitar riff that sounds more like Cake's 'Fashion Nugget' than 'Pinkerton', "Pork and Beans" sets us up for inevitability. Over-produced and underwhelming, the Stratocasters and keyboards have lost their edge, and the ooh's and ahh's are better left to Jack White these days. With pungent lines about Oakleys and Rogaine, the song brings to mind another post-punk pop culture skewer from the The Offspring, who brought the same saccharine sound, tired bark, and witless sarcasm to "Pretty Fly (for a white guy)" a decade ago. Like that record, Weezer's newest track may very well appeal to lonely 14 year old guys looking for some redemption against the jock, and the perfect front man to voice their high school woes.

Lazy lyrics calling out Timbaland and piling onto a music business that went out with a whimper around the same time as Maladroit are hardly unexpected, but still plainly sad to hear from one of our most beloved bands of the 90's. The song's message, apparently, is that Weezer, and presumably Mr. Cuomo, are playing the music they want to play without regard for their popularity. That's just fine, Rivers, you can have candy with your pork and beans. Sorry to say, but it's hard to "give a hoot" about what you sing these days. Me, I've moved on to tofu and lentils.

May 4, 2008 19:30:52