Remember Remember! The 3rd of December, Of which you should give several fucks. For that is the day The Rock Critic doth say "The Red Album just kinda sucks." Facebook: www.facebook.c... Twitter: / tehrockcritic
Oh man. I mentionned on your Raditude video that Red album was actually my second-favorite Weezer album after Pinkerton. I just wanted to share with you why. You bring some valid points throughout your video. However, I always saw Red as a concept album. It is about the life of «The Greatest Man That Ever Lived», his rockstar status, his cockiness being expressed in Troublemaker, his IDGAF attitude in Pork and Beans, etc. The three first songs of the album are an introduction to the character. Heart Songs is about his inspirations as a rockstar (wich could also fit for Rivers Cuomo, as he has stated). Everybody Get Dangerous is a little stupid, but it's from the perspective of a reminescing adult about his teenage life, so he remembers it whimsically. And it's from the perspective of a cocky guy, too. Dreamin' is where it gets interesting. This is the first time it is explicitly stated that «The Greatest Man That Ever Lived» (who we'll now refer as TGMTEL) has a huge default: he is immature, irresponsible, he doesn't get along well with his father (keep that in mind for later). He wants to remain a child. Thought I knew is TGMTEL's first relationship with a woman. And spoiler alert, it didn't go well. TGMTEL was obviously not caring about her (he forgot his name and «caused her harm»), yet he stills blames the girl, and like you said, it's a huge Fuck You song. This comes directly after Dreamin' and that can't be a coincidence. TGMTEL is actually a childish, entitled prick. Cold Dark World. He's flirting with a woman he saw at the grocery store. He's OBVIOUSLY trying to lure her into sex, with false promises of «I'll always be there for you». He views her as an object. He even says in the first verse that he thinks she'll «end up a penniless hag». The guy is clearly an asshole. In Automatic, we finally see a little bit of maturity from TGMTEL. This seems to be a song about the first woman he ever truly loved, and this time he knows it («It's automatic when you feel it») In Angel and the One, TGMTEL is faced with something he didn't think was possible until then: defeat. He wants to stay with his love, but he can't. You can feel the emotion, the despair of knowing there is no way out of this situation other than having to let her go. For a man that thinks himself the greatest that ever lived, that must be rough as hell. And even if the lyrics aren't uplifting, the tone is, because the listener hopes TGMTEL will grow from that experience. Miss Sweeney comes next, TGMTEL has found a new girl who he loves more than everything. It is to be noted here that the confidence he showed earlier is absent from this song, probably because of the events of Angel and the One. Pig is the next track. It doesn't talk about TGMTEL. But it is a nice foreshadowing to what comes next, with the character dying. The album takes a very dark turn here. The Spider is TGMTEL talking to his love about his fear of his own death. He sees himself aging, not knowing what to do. He's corrected a lot of defaults in his lifetime: his treatment towards women, his cockiness, etc. But he still won't admit defeat. The perspective of death taking him away is fucking scary and unnaceptable to him. He's drove to madness. The last track is King. TGMTEL is an insane aging man, going in the discos to score with chicks, apparently still convinced he's young. An altercation with another man trying to score too happens, and TGMTEL starts bantering, blabbering about how he owns this town, how he's a winner, how the guy's a loser, he completely snaps. The tone of the song is clearly indicating that something is wrong: this is not a boasting track, this is pathetic, it is sad to watch. The album ends with TGMTEL muttering incessantly to himself «I'm king, I'm king, I'm king...», trying to convince himself in his madness. Pretty depressing, right? Well not that much. Remember how TGMTEL had troubles with his father? Rivers Cuomo has said in the past that he had troubles with his father too. Remember how TGMTEL takes every defeat very harshly, to the point of driving him mad? Rivers Cuomo was drove to near insanity after the bad reception Pinkerton, a very personal album wich he put a lot of effort in, had gotten (the dude painted his room in black, closed the shutters to his windows and fucking bounced a ball on a wall all day). And remember, you even said it yourself: Rivers Cuomo came to terms with Pinkerton around 2008, the year Red was released. Red album is about Rivers Cuomo realising that it is okay to make mistakes. That you cannot be perfect. That if you can't understand that you are flawed as a human being, you will be driven insane, just like TGMTEL. Red album is Rivers Cuomo realising he made mistakes and has to move on, and that's why it is the most mature album ever released by Weezer. I hope you read it all because that was a bitch to write :P also excuse my english, it isn't my first language. PS: «The Greatest Man That Ever Lived»'s sections are each inspired by a different artist: it starts off with rap, then goes to Slipknot, then to Jeff Buckley, then choirs, then Aerosmith (the ooooh baby part), then Nirvana (wich they execute very well if I do say so myself), then The Andrew Sisters, then Green Day (first time I heard this song I really thought they brought in Billy Joe Armstrong to do that part), then Elvis Presley's «Are you Lonesome Tonight?», Bach, Beethoven, and they end it with Weezer style rock. This shows in my opinion a superb mastery of rock music in general, and it also serves well in the context of the album: TGMTEL is highly pretentious because of his artistic talent and it is why he cannot see he's flawed as a human being. Sorry for the wall of text, I just really wanted to vent.
Additionally, correct me if I'm wrong but from what I heard Rivers during the time of Pinkerton wanted to be front and center of the band, even being angry at Matt Sharp for taking some of his spotlight eventually kicking him from the band to an extent. This album River's gives the other band mates their own chance at the spotlight and it really pays off aswell. Goes along with the idea of Rivers coming to accept Pinkerton IDK just a thought. I'm also super late to the conversation but yeah just a thought.
I listened to the Red album and I didn't like it that much except for a few songs, after reading this comment I listened to the whole album and I could appreciate all of them now, even if I didn't like them all.
Here to defend The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. A medley of their favorite styes, with lyrics ironically deconstructing a performer's ego. I like it a lot!
+A NymphomiacWalrus Wow. That is actually an very intriguing theory! It's weird how well the pieces fit into place for that one too. No joke, that is some next level analysis there! Thank you very much for the insight! I'll have to listen to Red again taking your comments in mind and see how it flows. High-five!
You do know Troublemaker is satire right? They dont mean to be badass. Most of the themes of being "hardcore badasses" was because of a conference from Geffen to try and keep up the sales Make Believe brought. But Rivers had finally got brave enough to want to try and be experimental and thumb his nose at them. Now Troublemaker isnt a great song, but it is catchy. And actually more thought out than you thought. While Pork And Beans' lyrics are direct from the execs mouths. Rogaine and timbaland were both sarcastic quips in the song. In fact, the album goes down hill on Heart Songs, Dangerous and every song the other guys sing on the standard edition. Ive already given you an essay here so i wont go into it. But the bonus tracks that stemmed from this album shouldve replaced a good chunk of the album. But Troublemaker is Rivers' attempt at satire. Its much more clever than youre giving it credit for.
And im pretty sure the performance of Greatest Man you used for the review was shot a little after Cuomo was caught in a car accident that i think destroyed his ribs. Im sorry, i just really understand where they were coming from on this album and they just chose some wrong tracks. Youre awesome!
Recently subscribed because I enjoy your vids, humour and personality but I think, as a critic, you completely ignored/missed the whole concept of this album imho.
Personally "Greatest Man" is probably my favorite of Weezer's songs, if only because it just puts me in a good mood and I always just took it as being one of those bombastic, yet joking, boast songs. Plus, most of the song styles after the beginning feel really great to me. But yeah, calling it a 21st century "Bohemian Rhapsody" is quite a stretch; it's big, but definitely not as finely tuned. Other than that I can agree with your stances on most of the other songs.
On the greatest man thatever lived, rivers combined the lead singers of all of his favorite bands and molded them into a giant macho badass, and made him the basis of the songs lyrics(not joking). All of the movements signify all of the bands that he took the front men out of. There is actually a list on some site. Tupac Shakur 0:35 Slipknot 1:00 Jeff Buckley 1:26 Choral (not specified to a single person) 1:51 Aerosmith 2:17 Nirvana 2:43 Andrews Sisters 3:08 Green Day 3:33 Spoken word (heavily inspired by Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight?") 4:06 Bach 4:37, Beethoven 4:54 Weezer (himself) 5:10 That is the reason for all of the movements.
"Get Dangerous" is actually just a tongue in cheek song. He keeps listing stuff that isn't dangerous, but actually just weird. It reads like someone making fun of a lot of other groups attempts to appear dangerous. Listen to it with the sarcasm its intended, and it becomes clear.
To me heart songs is much better because of the artists he chose to sing about. Everybody loves Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Beach Boys etc, but I think artists learn how to truly create something original by having weird influences. Whenever I write songs I find that my guilty pleasures tend to subconsciously work their way into my music frequently. I almost appreciate those artists more in a way because the connection feels more personal to me.
@@artanmcmanusarchives Yeah, I haven't watched thie guy in a bunch of years, but he's got some Doug Walker tier opinions. Especially with how he takes all the lyrics at face value, and criticizes Rivers for including references to his guilty pleasure tracks on Heart Song, even tho that was literally the entire point lol
Alright, I love Pork and Beans too--but I love it for three reasons. 1) I don't have that much experience with Weezer in general, so it being a departure from their other music doesn't bother me as much. 2) The video is a lot of fun to me, even today. And 3) Unlike Beverly Hills, this IS an uplifting song about being yourself, and screw what anyone else thinks. I still think that's a good message.
Greatest Man Who Ever lived is a play on the idea of variations (using the same theme and making it different styles) that's why it's structured so strange (the term variations is even in the title haha) It's a pretty smart musical idea actually
Dude You're the Best Rock Critic I've Heard. The information & opinions you share are flawless, Added to the Fact That Your Humor Is Easy to understand and just plain hilarious. Great Job, I Can Definitely See your Channel getting big soon. :D
I can respect the fact that you like the greatest man that ever lived, it’s your opinion but please don’t just say that it’s good, give some points to support your statement
"The parts where they try to sound threatening just come across as... Ew. They never seemed all that cocky or arrogant or dangerous to me, in fact I think a part of their biggest appeal is that they're so good at NOT being cocky, arrogant or dangerous." This is exactly the point they're making with ridiculous songs like Everybody Get Dangerous and The Greatest Man That Ever Lived... you couldn't possibly take them seriously. It's done with the same ironic sense of pisstake as Rivers growing a moustache just to piss off the fans. You have completely missed the fucking boat on this one. Big kudos on what you had to say about The Angel And The One though. That song is incredible.
Enjoying watching the series so far, but something caught my eye at 11:24. That view for the Live video of 'The Angel and the One' looked awfully similar to the live video that I recorded and uploaded all those years ago. Went to re-watch my video to compare and what do you know, complete match. You are so Busted!!! Haha jk, all good. Good to know it came to good use. I only uploaded it because the sound came out alright for it, and it was the first (and still only) live performance of the song.
Been digging this series. I chuckle every time with the Rivers "Oh no" I must say. Also, as a Canadian, great hearing another Hip fan out there man. Keep this up!
Yeah, I get that. And again, there's no accounting for personal taste. Everyone has an eclectic mix of stuff that makes them happy. I can actually respect the boldness with coming out with some of your guilty pleasures publicly. I almost thought about not touching on Heart Songs for that reason, but what convinced me to keep it in was discussing this song with different groups of friends. At least in my circles, there are always people who are taken aback by at least one if not many of the artists referenced. The interesting thing about that though... it's NEVER the same artists. In fact, here's a fun experiment you can try with your Weezer fan friends. (At least it was fun when I did it.) Bring up that song to them when in you're in a group setting. Particularly if there are people there who don't know each other. Bring up your opinions or wait to see who brings up their opinions about any one particular band in general, and watch the powder keg go off. The debate that song can stir up can be downright fascinating. Hell, it was the best 20-30 minutes I've ever spent talking about Terrence Trent D'Arby, at least.
I really appreciate your insight. Weezer is one of my favorite bands, and I really don't get to engage in any sort of real conversation about their work with many people because...well most people know only the singles and such. That being said I agree with nearly every point you made here (Except I Am The Gre...) Something about that song catches the ironic Weezerness that I enjoy so much. It is Rivers attempting to be someone who he is not and I find that a pretty fascinating concept. Especially compared to his early work where all he wanted to do was be himself. Also, I'd never given that much thought towards the fact that Rivers is singing about what his friends did in Everybody Get Dangerous--brought a chuckle. **DANGEROUS!** That being said Angel and The One is by far the absolute best piece this band has composed as a unit. EVERY time I listen to it chills run down my body. It is beautiful. Thanks again for this honest, fair, and forgiving review. I'm pretty excited to watch this Ratitude slaughter.
Dude, I'm really liking this series of videos. It kinda reminds me of Red Letter Media's series on the Star Wars prequels. I disagree with some things here and there, but you make really valid points. The best point you made was the fact that these lyrics come across as cocky jock bullshit and how it's the opposite of what got us to like Weezer in the first place. In some ways it's like an anti-weezer album. I feel like it's him rebelling against his fanbase for hating his newer work. It's like when they told Neil Young he couldn't play country. I like goofy nonsense. Sweater song is in my top five favorite Weezer tunes. So, I tried to brush off the douchey lyrics in Red as being goofy nonsense but, like you said, there's a grossness to it. If you've ever read the book "River's Edge" you start to understand them a little bit more. River's started off wanting to be a sex god metal head kinda douche. Even songs like "Greatest Man" seem tongue and cheek you can feel underneath he kinda really wants to be that cock rock douche. The book also talks about this weird phase he went through where he completely bashed Pinkerton and called it "gay" and got into arguments with his fans on his forum. I'm not saying I don't like the album I'm just........ blargudy blarg blarg Anyway, this comment is really long and these videos are really good.
What I've noticed about the "the greatest man that ever lived" is that people either love it or hate it. I personally love it, I think the 7 different themes are awesome.
So a fun fact I think you might find interesting that I read during my research, Pork and Beans and Troublemaker were added after the album was finished. Basically Geffen was unimpressed and decided that "The Red Album" was lacking any hits, so thy told Weezer they better add some hits Knowing that, and how well received Troublemaker was, Its actually kind of a good example of Weezers masterful abilities. I mean its simple, which I dont mind, but its also punchy and the humor might not be "funny", but if you can kind of distance yourself from what it is, it makes the song cute and fun if nothing else. Pork And Beans is good but your right, the lyrics are a little funky. Troublemaker is one of my favorite Weezer jams one big disagreement I have with your take on this album is your opinion on "Heart Songs" I mean Its not so much a tribute to "great artists" as its a nod to the music he grew up on. To judge this pretty little number by his taste in music seems a little unfair. Which I guess you did touch on a little.
MichaelCoon That's fair. This album was a weird one in that it resonated with people in many different ways. It's a bit of a polarizing one, but regardless, it has plenty of bright spots. I guess this album, like most albums really, just boiled down to taste.
My band is working on just throwing a few videos of us playing our songs online right now, I don't guess you'd like to run your opinion by it? nothing fancy just what you think, It would be fun to get such a different opinion from a fellow rock enthusiast
Hey man, I just finished watching all of your Weezer videos. Well done! You're a great writer and have the ability to put together a funny and entertaining video while getting your point across clearly. While I disagree with some of your points, I will absolutely keep coming back to watch the rest when you make them. I am a huge Weezer fan, and while I think you've been a bit too harsh on the band, I've come to expect these types of criticisms from other fans. But I appreciate how you took the time to explain exactly what your points are, which is something other Weeze fans don't do (most of the time its just "everything sucks after Blue and Pinkerton!"). Red is one of my favorite albums, and I'm glad that you've given it a detailed review and threw a lot of love at it. But dang! I don't think I've ever heard so much hate on The Greatest Man before. That really surprised me. I see your points, but I do like how experimental and different it is. And like a previous poster said, the beginning of the album is all about confidence, which is a departure from their recurring themes of, well, lack of confidence. Troublemaker and Greatest Man may come off a little corny and silly, but I think they're supposed to. I think they're meant to be fun, kick-ass songs that kinda play with the idea of this newfound confidence, and then by the time Pork and Beans comes around, they give a more mature and healthy approach to having self-confidence. I think the songs all really compliment each other nicely. I wish you spent more time with the b-sides too! Those songs are a big reason why this album's one of my favorites. But all in all, I really enjoyed your videos and look forward to seeing your other stuff!
Thank you very much! I'm glad you've enjoyed the videos. I can see where you're coming from with the opening tracks, too. I can kinda grasp why there is a certain appeal behind them. They do certainly have their charm (even if their charm wasn't particularly effective on me), and I can see how they do interconnect with the overall themes of the album. If nothing else, I'll give them credit for just going out on a limb like that and stepping outside of their comfort zone. There are plenty of bands who don't have the cojones to do that, so that alone is worthy of respect.
The cockiness of TRA is a lot of fun, IMO. It seems playful. And much (much) preferable to the whininess of Make Believe. Loving all your Weezer videos! Just discovered them today.
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived is one of my favorite Weezer songs ever, simply because they really came out left field with that track. Granted, it is sporadic and off so I can get the hate, but I love that experimentation.
I'd just like to let you know that "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is my favourite song. It's a wonderful, joyous, life-affirming song. It's exactly the kind of song I want to hear when I'm feeling sad, small, let down, lacking in confidence. It's my go-to song. It doesn't just lift you above your problems, it SMASHES you above them. If anything, the fact that a smug, self-important, "listen to me, I'm so clever!" self-appointed critic doesn't like it only serves to demonstrate what a success the song is. This song is Rivers saying "fuck you" to people exactly like you.
That's fine. To each their own. I'm glad you can get that kind of feeling out of the song! I do believe that that was it's original intention when it was written. Many other people have commented on how it uplifting and inspiring it can be, and I'm glad you can find enjoyment in the song where I couldn't. It just seemed a bit too out of character for my tastes, but again, those are only my tastes. If you like this song, like it, and don't let anybody else tell you that you can't. Thank you for your honest feedback. Cheers!
Hey I just wanted to say, I'm 18 and just entering college as a music student, about to get a Weezer tattoo on my right arm, and love your work. I appreciate your perspective and critical eye. I got this album when I was 12 and I liked most of it and even then some of it was off putting. Thank you so much for the amazing videos and this amazing series. You have a new subscriber and I will be telling any Weezer fans I know to get the hell over here. (Also we have the same Rush shirt which is bad ass.) Thanks you!
Yes man!! I knew I had faith in you from coming across your video randomly! When I reached you mentioning one of your favorite songs by weezer ever being The Angel and the one, my faith was completed! could listen to that song over and over and the final minute and a half of controlled sustain, gives me the shivers! Haven't fully watched the entire video but pig is a great song and would have been a great album opener and King too! Hopefully I'll hear your thoughts on them as I continue watching this video!:)
I'm glad you didn't rip this album to shreds because I enjoy it. Even though it is hard to get past some stuff. Weezer will never have the 90's alt rock sound any more. Though no one has the sound anymore :(. I like most songs on here I like "Greatest Man That Ever Lived" but it is corny and dumb. Wish you would have talked about Dreaming. My order would be 1) Pinkerton/Blue, 2) Maladroit 3) Red Album, 4) Hurley 5) Green album (to safe and loses my interests after 5th track), 6) Make Believe (Peace and Hold Me only ones I like) and of course 7) Raditude (Horrible catchy songs that are to shiny and annoying)
I feel like "The Angel and The One" is Weezer's "Bohemian Rhapsody". They both start off with minimal instrumentation and slowly build up as they go along and then back to the minimal instrumentation. "The Angel and The One" is one of the very best songs from Weezer in my opinion.
I love your videos, but the reason that makes The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, so awesome it's the change of atmospheres, it's a tribute to the main composition professor of rivers. He died 3 days after he can give it, in fact maybe it's the first "academic" composition of rivers. I love the final part of the video, you defined the best weezer. I love your videos, please make MORE!, regards from Costa Rica!
Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the show. It's nice seeing the differing opinions come in on that particular track. It certainly does seem to be a polarizing one.
Hey man, I'm a huge weezer fan, and I still hold out hope they'll return to form...but I think all your reviews are spot on and hilarious. I appreciate you taking the time to make them.
FYI, The Piano intro to "Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" and the consequent variations are from an 1870s Shaker Hymn ("Simple Gifts") which was famously used in Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring. I actually like this song and thought it was the most adventurous tracks on the album due to theme + variations form and the inventiveness of thematic transformation through different styles. Watching that live video, it's hard to tell if Rivers is completely serious or just being a massive troll, either way I found the song humourous and enjoyable as a work of art.
For the Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Rivers took the styles of his favorite artists and combined them into this song. That's why it changes so often and quickly.
I honestly have a soft spot for Troublemaker and Everybody Get Dangerous, mainly because of the catchy rhythm behind them despite having a few spotty lines.
To start this off, I'll say that you NAILED the broad problems with the album; when I agreed with you, I agreed 100%. And even though I disagree with your thoughts on the tracks you like, I'm glad to be able to hear someone's positive thoughts on this album that actually have substance and aren't defensive or obnoxious (and I apologize in advance for anything I say that may come off as obnoxious). That said... Red is my absolute least-favorite Weezer album. Others may have worse production or a general air of laziness, but this is the only album with not one second of music that I ever want to return to. More accurately, the lyrics completely ruin whatever goodwill I might have been able to muster for the admittedly decent music; but even with that in mind, there are no songs or even moments from this album that I've wanted to hear again since the last time I sat through it. To me, the non-Rivers-fronted songs are the worst; I guess I can give them some credit for changing things up in an unexpected way, but "Thought I Knew", "Cold Dark World" and "Automatic" are the most joyless songs they've ever written. "Cold Dark World" has always struck me as incredibly creepy, the kind of song that Weezer's detractors think that Pinkerton was loaded with; the rhythms are stiff and the half-rapped verses make the narrator sound like a stalker. "The Angel and the One" is the album's one spot of genuine emotion, but it's pretty redundant when we already have the infinitely better "Only In Dreams". "Pork and Beans" could have been the album's one great capital-P pop song, but Rivers's singing is so monotonous it just brings the whole thing down to a shocking level of boredom, and the lyrics are just an insincere, middle-aged update of "In the Garage".
everybody get dangerous came on shuffle once when i was playing a game and it made it look cooler lmao. i also remember it from the commercials for g force, that disney guinea pig movie from like 10 years ago. (every day i feel older.)
I agree with a LOT of stuff you said in this review. For me, this album is a bit of a mixed bag. I really dig the second half of this album, specifically tracks 7-10. And I also enjoy the bonus tracks, too! I tried listening to the album with the first six tracks removed in favor of the bonus tracks (minus the cover songs) and then rearranged the order. By doing this, the album suddenly has a more darker and melancholic feel to it. And it just baffles me on why any of these bonus tracks didn't make the final cut!
Considering you didnt bring it up in the review, I have to ask: how do you feel about Dreamin? I really like the first half of the song but I feel like everything after the second chorus is out of place and the ideas are all under developed.
Oh shit!! First of all, I give you SUCH props for your RU-vid video mastery. This is a VERY entertaining video, and I laughed many times, despite a certain opposite-ness of opinion with you about the actual quality of the album, track by track. I'm not going to try on Greatest Man, because I REALLY think you didn't get it and it would just take too long, and I'd have to get into Classical Theme and Variation, and the inherent oppositeness of the Rivers lyrics from the lyrics of the Shaker Hymn and herewithin the purposeful irony of the song etc and so forth. Not to mention the falsity of using that live rendition as you tear the song apart... the song works because of the production on the album, especially the vocal layering, which is where the "Queenlike" aspect comes in, not from the lyrical content or purposely disjointed arrangement. Oops, I did it anyway. So instead: Heartsong: which we both agree is very good musically. However you literally write the song off because you don't agree with Rivers choice of songs he highlights that influenced his life from a HEART perspective. You seem to want to judge the song itself based on your personal opinion of each song within the song. THAT IS NOT WHAT THE SONG IS ABOUT. Its about him daydreaming year by year through his life and thinking about what he was listening to at the moment. Also, Rivers is not saying: Quiet Riot is as good as Judas Priest, or that Rick Astley is equal to Nirvana. He is saying: we all fucking listen to the radio and hear snatches of beauty in the strangest combination of songs... that ultimately is the whole subjective beauty of musical taste, and you seem to want to put some quantification on that: This song is less because Rivers picks "bad" music to like. Very strange to my sensibility of life, but still... good point on the Debbie Gibson/Tiffany mess up. That said, I love that you make 37 minute to hour plus album reviews of Weezer albums. What a beautifully nerdy thing to do! I approve.
Aww man. I love this album! I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it as much as i did. But thats probably because you didn't interpret the pompous and overly confident attitude of the songs as being joking and humous. I can understand that if someone were to throw out an album screaming, "i am the best", I would have the opposite reaction to it as well, but i don't think that Weezer's intentions were to offend it's audience, but to share in the humor of there being an idea of "the greatest man who ever lived". I felt that it was obvious that the scrawny little Rivers was joking about being :dangerous", and "the greatest man that ever lived". The tone of the album in my opinion was just made for fun and games, and was not supposed to be taken very seriously, but as one of those feel-good albums. Like you said, everyone has their own opinions on the subject of music and so not one band can ever truly be the greatest band in the world, so instead of being part of the rankings, I feel that Weezer was trying to say that they aren't the greatest band in the world, but they are having fun, and they aren't trying to be the greatest band in the world. Eluding to the silliness, I think the album art also gives the audience a little sneak peak of what to expect. River's cowboy getup is if i must say, is pretty great. ((and i totally agree with what you said about how he seemed to be the only one out of the group who is fully committed to the photoshoot, which makes it that much more funny)) His geeky, almost under-dog-like appearance clashes with the typical Fabio/Thor lookalikes of the rock and roll ages but i think he managed to create this entertaining and ironic character for us to see, being the overly confident nerd that he publicizes. Although i may be a little bias because of how this, similar to how you reacted to the blue album, was one of the first albums ever that really listened to, start to finish, It was the introduction to my love of music and helped me understand the enjoyment/ playfullness of being in a band with friends and i think has helped me make better judgement towards who are in "my favorite bands" list. Weezer definitely has a huge place in my heart and i think that they unfortunately do not get the recognition that they truly deserve. They are smart, experimental, silly, and talented. And although they appear to be unaware of being somewhat "Sell outs" or are guilty of making a few songs for fan service, I think they are strategically playing the game, "Music industry" very well, so who can blame them for making a little money? ;) (or millions) Like "beverly hills" it was catchy and was one of the mindless songs that got them recognized, along with "Say it aint so" on guitar hero and "Perfect situation". I think that they are kind of like master manipulators in this aspect, because they have the capability to create hits, but it seems like the money gathered from those are used to help further the production of their more experimental songs and their love for music. The fan service songs are also pretty spread out in my opinion. But in conclusion, I still think Weezer is awesome, and i liked this album.... like ... alot. Thank you very much for posting your video. I had fun watching it. You seem to know what you're talking about so ill subscribe. Keep up the great work!
Weezer's song Greatest Man is similar to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, its just not as polished; its the Weezer version of Queen's song. Just like a lot of other Weezer songs are disjointed and flow between different genres, Greatest Man is disjointed in the same way. I like it and I think it would fall within the same range of acceptability if other bands tried to produce a version of Bohemian Rhapsody themselves.
I don't know why you keep throwing shade at the undone, it has a strong message. The message is that the protagonist is being pulled every which way, such as someone pulling a sweater undone. The verse parts where there's a crowd are talking about the party is showing examples of everyone pulling this man against his will. Just because it's not blantaly obvious doesn't mean it's bad.
So true about the B-sides. Would have preferred those tracks on the album in place of "Troublemaker" and "Everybody Get Dangerous". Would have been a completely different album for me. I don't even know how to list it in comparison to other Weezer albums bc I feel like the B-sides need to be discounted.
"Troublemaker", "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" and "Pork and Beans" are three of my personal favorite Weezer songs... and I think we have a completely opposite view on their lyrical content. "Heart Songs" is shit, as is "Everybody Get Dangerous". I really do enjoy "Dreamin'" I'm lukewarm on the other guy's songs and I completely agree with you on "The Angel and The One". Damn good B-Sides on here too. It's actually terribly upsetting to me how good this album should've been.
I love how he complains about Rivers talking about his sex life on The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, yet most of Pinkerton talks about Rivers sex life and yet it’s one of his favorite Weezer albums
My Itunes bugged out as I only downloaded "The angel and the one" It just added the song to the blue album. It doesn't fully fit but it does mean I have one of their best songs on an even more deserving album. It's my favourite Weezer slow jam
I can normally forgive a lot of odd or stupid lyricism if the instrumentals and overall sound is good. Heck, my favorite band Dance Gavin Dance literally had their clean vocalist at the time Jonny Craig improvise all his lyrics for Downtown Battle Mountain 1 and that album is still my favorite of theirs because it sounds so amazing. Jon Mess, their scream vocalist, is basically known for utter batshit insanity in terms of lyrics and it's absolutely amazing. That said, I've got a point here and how it pertains to Weezer. It isn't so much that the lyrical content itself is whacky or dumb it's more or less the lyrical tone that it brings to the music if that makes sense. Weezer's earlier weird lyrics like Undone and El Scorcho fit with Weezer's style of nerdy, quirky rock music. The problem I saw you outline here wasn't just that the lyrics were weird (because nothing's wrong with weird lyrics by themselves) but that they were weird for Weezer to be singing. What I see with Weezer is an identity crisis and I think there's a really good reason for that. You outlined during your Make Believe video that they didn't compromise their integrity and with drive, creativity, and passion they found mainstream success anyway. Where the identity crisis comes in is that with the fact that they're super rich rock stars, they've essentially become the very system they rebelled against. What I saw Make Believe as wasn't as a sign of them having stopped trying but instead as something of a cry for help. They couldn't exactly keep making quirky, nerdy rock and living like they're still in their early twenties because quite simply, that wasn't what they were anymore. It's said that you should write what you know and what Weezer knew on Make Believe, Red, and Raditude was mainstream success. This isn't to say that fame automatically leads to selling out and a loss of integrity, I may be a hipster but I'm not THAT bad. In fact, if I'm allowed to venture outside of rock for a moment, Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt's newest releases Cherry Bomb and I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside respectively are some of their strongest works in my opinion and both talk about the darker sides of fame. Additionally, even though he's something of a meme, Kanye West I think is especially insightful in terms of what super stardom does to a person as well as the plight of being a black artist in a white dominated world. Seriously, New Slaves is really REALLY legit stuff, even if you absolutely hate Kanye listen to that song. In my opinion, if an artists wants to keep their integrity while achieving mainstream success, they need a unique take on the fame they acquire, something quintessentially them and Weezer couldn't quite find what that was.They weren't being exploited by an uncaring, cynical culture and they didn't have a grand statement about society. Heck, for them fame didn't even bring about annoyances like paparazzi and invasions of privacy. For Weezer, fame was awesome. They liked the attention from people and they liked it a lot. Fame took Weezer away from their geeky, nerdy roots and as a result they had no idea what to do with themselves.
FIVE YEARS LATER... Red is one of my favorite albums. I like your videos even though I usually don't share your opinion. I'm curious to see your review of the Black Album.
The angel and the one is precisely the situation I just sorta walked out of. I'm friends with the person still, but I've moved on mentally and spiritually from where I was. I just realized, i am complete, I don't need them. I am fine on my own. That's what the song is about I think. Realizing that you need to move on from someone.
Crash, could you tell me which part of the Weezer series, and at which point in the video, was the one where you explained why "Beverly Hills" doesn't work as satire? I know it wasn't the one on Make Believe, but it would be a tad inefficient to just rewatch all the other videos until I get to that part :P
I've never heard anyone say they like "Thought I Knew" and didn't like "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived". I honestly thought that the overwhelming (and correct) consensus was the other way around.
Contrary with all you feel about the two albums, I like both Make Believe and Red. Not really sure why they and Hurley can be compared with Raditude. And what about Dreamin'? Not sure why that wasn't included in your review.
you have to look at the greatest man that ever lived with a different angle. not rivers trying to make himself look like a badass but him looking back on his old mindsets. the mindset of teenagers and adolescents. greatest man that ever lived and troublemaker are genius if you look at it as rivers looking back on himself. "I'm invincible" "everything I do is the best thing and everyone should look at me" "I am so cool you can't compare", those are the mindsets portrayed. you can even see some self doubt about those mindsets in some of the lyrics. you kinda have to put the pieces together
