Jump to content

Weezer (Red Album): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Alex G (talk | contribs)
294 edits
No edit summary
Line 97: Line 97:
On [[April 1]], [[2008]], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' reported that the album would once again be self-titled and become known as "The Red Album", with the first single being titled "Pork and Beans".<ref name ="RSfamiliartitle">{{cite web | last =| first = | url =http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/01/spring-music-preview-weezer-unveil-familiar-title-for-new-album/| title = Spring Music Preview: Weezer Unveil Familiar Title for New Album | format = | work = | publisher =[[Rolling Stone]] |date=2008-04-01 | accessdate = 2008-05-08}}</ref> Weezer later announced that the release date had been moved up to [[June 3]], [[2008]], from [[June 24]], [[2008]]. On [[May 7]], [[2008]], the first 8 tracks from the album were leaked to the internet, leading to mixed responses from Weezer message boards and fan blogs. On [[May 26]], [[2008]], the final two tracks from the album were leaked along with bonus cover "The Weight" . On [[May 31]], [[2008]], the 4 bonus tracks from the US Deluxe Edition were leaked.
On [[April 1]], [[2008]], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' reported that the album would once again be self-titled and become known as "The Red Album", with the first single being titled "Pork and Beans".<ref name ="RSfamiliartitle">{{cite web | last =| first = | url =http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/01/spring-music-preview-weezer-unveil-familiar-title-for-new-album/| title = Spring Music Preview: Weezer Unveil Familiar Title for New Album | format = | work = | publisher =[[Rolling Stone]] |date=2008-04-01 | accessdate = 2008-05-08}}</ref> Weezer later announced that the release date had been moved up to [[June 3]], [[2008]], from [[June 24]], [[2008]]. On [[May 7]], [[2008]], the first 8 tracks from the album were leaked to the internet, leading to mixed responses from Weezer message boards and fan blogs. On [[May 26]], [[2008]], the final two tracks from the album were leaked along with bonus cover "The Weight" . On [[May 31]], [[2008]], the 4 bonus tracks from the US Deluxe Edition were leaked.


The album received positive reviews, with a [[Metacritic]] score of 61%. The [[Onion AV Club]] wrote that the "blame for Weezer can't all be laid on Cuomo — his bandmates' songwriting contributions (particularly Brian Bell's [[Uncle Kracker]] stab 'Thought I Knew') are just as unforgivably soulless."<ref>http://www.avclub.com/content/music/weezer</ref> [[Tiny Mix Tapes]] gave the album only one star of a possible five, saying, "The only difference between the Weezer who shat out ''Make Believe'' and the Weezer of today is that the band isn’t so obviously gunning for the [[Warped Tour]] crowd anymore, but instead attempting to lure back the attentions of an older crowd, maybe those who vaguely remember hearing '[[Buddy Holly (song)|Buddy Holly]]' on the radio or aging rockers who also shun [[Rogaine]]... Despite what they’d like us to think, ''The Red Album'' sounds like every one of Weezer’s misfires since ''The Green Album''.<ref>http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Weezer,6341</ref> The [[LA Times]] was more positive, saying that the album "is a rush, starting with a sustained, four-song soliloquy on pop music's allure."<ref>http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/music/la-et-recordrack3-2008jun03,0,2423.story</ref>
The album received mixed reviews, with a [[Metacritic]] score of 60. The [[Onion AV Club]] wrote that the "blame for Weezer can't all be laid on Cuomo — his bandmates' songwriting contributions (particularly Brian Bell's [[Uncle Kracker]] stab 'Thought I Knew') are just as unforgivably soulless."<ref>http://www.avclub.com/content/music/weezer</ref> [[Tiny Mix Tapes]] gave the album only one star of a possible five, saying, "The only difference between the Weezer who shat out ''Make Believe'' and the Weezer of today is that the band isn’t so obviously gunning for the [[Warped Tour]] crowd anymore, but instead attempting to lure back the attentions of an older crowd, maybe those who vaguely remember hearing '[[Buddy Holly (song)|Buddy Holly]]' on the radio or aging rockers who also shun [[Rogaine]]... Despite what they’d like us to think, ''The Red Album'' sounds like every one of Weezer’s misfires since ''The Green Album''.<ref>http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Weezer,6341</ref> The [[LA Times]] was more positive, saying that the album "is a rush, starting with a sustained, four-song soliloquy on pop music's allure."<ref>http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/music/la-et-recordrack3-2008jun03,0,2423.story</ref>


== Track listing ==
== Track listing ==

Revision as of 12:21, 7 June 2008

Untitled

Weezer, also known as The Red Album, is the sixth studio album by American rock band Weezer, released on June 3, 2008.[1] Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee both helped to produce the album.[2] Unlike past Weezer records that featured Rivers Cuomo as the main songwriter and vocalist, other band members contributed to songwriting and lead vocals. The first eight tracks of the album leaked in early May. The full album leaked onto the music site thebillbored.com May 26.

Background

After the platinum success of their fifth album Make Believe, the band once again was put on hiatus.[3] Frontman Rivers Cuomo returned to Harvard University to complete his education. He ended up graduating Phi Beta Kappa.[4] Cuomo also married Kyoko Ito on June 18, 2006, a woman he had known since March 1997. He proposed to her in Tokyo shortly before Christmas of 2005.[5] The wedding was held at a secluded beach on Paradise Cove in Malibu and was attended by over a hundred people, including six of the seven members who played in Weezer (Mikey Welsh being the only no show) as well as notables Justin Fisher, Kevin Ridel and Rick Rubin.[6]

Meanwhile, members Patrick Wilson and Brian Bell appeared in the 2006 film Factory Girl playing John Cale and Lou Reed respectively[7] and contributing a cover of the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" for the film.[8] Also during this time, Bell formed a new side-band called The Relationship[9] while Wilson started work on material for the next Special Goodness album.[10] He also had a second child, Ian Patrick Wilson, with his wife in early 2008.[11]

The band announced in June 2007 that recording sessions for the album would begin in July.[12] In December of 2007, Cuomo released Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, which featured home demos that Cuomo has recorded from 1992-2007.[13] It was also during this time that a mysterious website called albumsix.com started to crop up.[3] The website gave false information about the album such as the album title would be "Tout Ensemble" and a fake release date.[14] The website fooled several news outlets such as Pitchfork Media and Rolling Stone.[15][16] The website was later revealed to be a hoax by some fans with band historian/webmaster Karl Koch stating on Weezer's official website:

Please note that Weezer and Geffen Records have no affiliation with www.albumsix.com. The new Weezer record is not called Tout Ensemble and there is no official release date yet for the album. Remember, when it's on Weezer.com, it's for sure. (Though I will say, 'well played', to the authors of that site.)[17]

Recording process

At the beginning of the album's creation each Weezer member asked themselves what they wanted to get out of the album. With that in mind, they set out to record. Recording was done in three sessions. Half of the album was recorded during the Spring of 2007 with Rick Rubin overseeing production. The second session, started in July and finished on October 18, was produced by Weezer themselves at Mali. The third, and final session of recording was done at the request of Geffen records, who claimed that there was not enough commercial material on the album. This session was produced by Jacknife Lee and completed in March 2008.[18] In the first podcast released on www.riverspodcast.com, Rivers mentioned playing drums on two songs on the album. In a recent interview with Pitchfork Media, Cuomo stated the album will contain "longer songs, non-traditional song forms, different people writing and singing, instrument switching, TR-808s, synths, Southern rap, and baroque counterpoint."[19]

Writing and composition

  • "Pork and Beans" is the first single to be released from the album. "Troublemaker" was originally considered to be the album's first single but later was switched with "Pork and Beans." It was written by Cuomo as a reaction to a meeting with Geffen where the band was told it needed to record more-commercial material.[20] Jacknife Lee produced the track with the band in early 2008 during the third and final session for the record.
  • "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)" is a track that includes piano, police sirens, and Cuomo singing in falsetto.[21] "Miss Sweeney"' was named by Cuomo, along with "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," as a track which features rapped vocals. Bass player Scott Shriner was particularly proud of the song saying, "The song 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' is a masterpiece that includes ten different styles of music based around a common theme. It's awesome. That word gets abused a lot, like 'Wow, these pancakes are awesome,' but 'Greatest Man' is . . . awesome!"[22]
  • "Everybody Get Dangerous" is featured briefly in the film 21.[24] The song was not included on the official soundtrack release.
  • "Dreamin'" was formerly known as "Daydreamer" and was described in the liner notes to Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo as an "epic, 6-minute, symphonic type of art song."[25] "This is the Way" was written as a more straightforward counterpart, and was originally selected by the band to be recorded for the Weezer album, but Cuomo persuaded the others to go with "Dreamin'" instead.[25]
  • "Thought I Knew" was also the name of a song by Brian Bell's band The Relationship, and is a reworking and re-recording of the track with Weezer sung as a lead vocal by Brian.
  • "Cold Dark World" is a song that was written by Rivers Cuomo and Scott Shriner and features Scott on lead vocals.
  • "Automatic" was remixed by LA Riots for the upcoming video game Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.[24] This track features Pat Wilson on lead vocals, as heard in this YouTube video.
  • "The Angel and the One" is the album closer. Some members of the band have claimed that this is their favorite track, including Pat Wilson.
  • "Pig" leaked as a demo in early 2007, this song details the life of a pig including playing in the mud as a piglet, falling in love, getting married, raising children and eventually being slaughtered.[26] It appears on the deluxe edition of the Weezer album.
  • "King" is the last song on the deluxe edition of the Weezer album and is sung by Scott Shriner.

Artwork

The album's cover debuted on Spinner.com on April 21, 2008.[27] It features the band members Brian Bell, Patrick Wilson, Rivers Cuomo and Scott Shriner in various outfits standing left to right in front of a red backdrop, and is in a manner similar to their debut and 2001 album. The cover was photographed by Sean Murphy.[28] Pitchfork Media writer Amy Phillips compared the cover to the Village People saying, "Meet the new Village People: The Bartender, the Professor, the Cowboy, and the Biker."[29] The cover received mixed reactions from fans wondering if the cover was a hoax.[30][31][28] The cover was reconfirmed by the band's publicist Jim Merlis, "Yes, that's absolutely the cover. It's what they chose. They looked at a bunch of mockups, and that's the one they decided to go with. It's not a joke."[30]

From a Buzznet.com interview with Scott Shriner:

"The cover for The Red Album was kind of ... a happy accident," Shriner said. "We had a whole 'nother set of photographs that we wanted to be [on] the cover and nothing that we were looking at ever matched up to what we felt that album sounded like and represents for us. Our art director got that photo [the official album cover], which originally was a fun photo. 'OK, everybody, go as your alter ego, and we'll take a kooky picture,' [he said.] He [the art director] put the red background behind that, and that's what felt like the strongest image that matched how we feel the album sounds." Like the album cover, the album itself was very much a group effort. While many tend to assume that most Weezer material was scribed by Cuomo, Shriner insists that, "We all wrote music on the record. [Drummer] Pat [Wilson] and [guitarist] Brian [Bell] wrote songs, and we all sing lead vocals on songs and sing leads on different verses and choruses."

Release and reviews

On April 1, 2008, Rolling Stone reported that the album would once again be self-titled and become known as "The Red Album", with the first single being titled "Pork and Beans".[32] Weezer later announced that the release date had been moved up to June 3, 2008, from June 24, 2008. On May 7, 2008, the first 8 tracks from the album were leaked to the internet, leading to mixed responses from Weezer message boards and fan blogs. On May 26, 2008, the final two tracks from the album were leaked along with bonus cover "The Weight" . On May 31, 2008, the 4 bonus tracks from the US Deluxe Edition were leaked.

The album received mixed reviews, with a Metacritic score of 60. The Onion AV Club wrote that the "blame for Weezer can't all be laid on Cuomo — his bandmates' songwriting contributions (particularly Brian Bell's Uncle Kracker stab 'Thought I Knew') are just as unforgivably soulless."[33] Tiny Mix Tapes gave the album only one star of a possible five, saying, "The only difference between the Weezer who shat out Make Believe and the Weezer of today is that the band isn’t so obviously gunning for the Warped Tour crowd anymore, but instead attempting to lure back the attentions of an older crowd, maybe those who vaguely remember hearing 'Buddy Holly' on the radio or aging rockers who also shun Rogaine... Despite what they’d like us to think, The Red Album sounds like every one of Weezer’s misfires since The Green Album.[34] The LA Times was more positive, saying that the album "is a rush, starting with a sustained, four-song soliloquy on pop music's allure."[35]

Track listing

All songs were written by Rivers Cuomo, except where noted.

  1. "Troublemaker" - 2:44
  2. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)"- 5:52
  3. "Pork and Beans" - 3:09
  4. "Heart Songs" - 4:06
  5. "Everybody Get Dangerous" - 4:03
  6. "Dreamin'" - 5:12
  7. "Thought I Knew" (Bell) - 3:01
  8. "Cold Dark World" (Cuomo, Shriner) - 3:51
  9. "Automatic" (Wilson) - 3:07
  10. "The Angel and the One" - 6:46

Bonus Tracks

US Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

  • "Miss Sweeney" (Cuomo, Sarah C. Kim) - 4:02
  • "Pig" - 4:02
  • "The Spider" - 4:43
  • "King" - 5:11[36]

iTunes Bonus Tracks

  • "It's Easy" (Bell) - 3:10
  • "I Can Love" - 3:49

UK Bonus Tracks

A third unconfirmed track is also set to be released on the UK version of the album.

Japan Bonus Tracks

  • "The Weight" (The Band Cover)
  • "Life's What You Make It" (Talk Talk Cover)
  • "Meri Kuri" (BoA Cover)

Australia Bonus Tracks

  • "The Weight" (The Band Cover)

Personnel

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Koch, Karl (2008-05-12). "05/12/08 the immensity of the pork and the bean". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  2. ^ Thompson, Paul (2007-10-18). "Rivers Cuomo Dishes on New Weezer LP, Alone Demos". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  3. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (2007-05-15). "Weezer: Album Six In The Works?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  4. ^ "Rivers Cuomo's Harvard Graduation". Spin. 2006-06-09. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  5. ^ Chen, Lena (2006-02-15). "Hey, Rivers Cuomo! What did you do for Valentine's Day?". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  6. ^ Koch, Karl (2006-06-18). "06/18/06 kongurachure-shonzu". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  7. ^ "Weezer Members Land Roles as Velvets". Aversion.com. 2006-01-26. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  8. ^ "Weezer 'Become The Velvet Underground'". NME. 2006-01-25. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "The Relationship". Myspace. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  10. ^ Wilson, Patrick (2006-08-13). "Hiatus". The Special Goodness.com. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  11. ^ Koch, Karl (2008-01-31). "01/31/08 See That Baby? He's Flyin' Across That Sky..." Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  12. ^ Koch, Karl (2007-06-25). "06/25/07 Message From Rivers". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  13. ^ Zeiss, John (2007-10-15). "Rivers Cuomo To Release Demo Collection". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  14. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2007-11-21). "Weezer Rallies The 'Ensemble'". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  15. ^ Kreps, Daniel (2007-11-09). "Albumsix.com Is Real, Announces Weezer's Sixth Album Release Date". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  16. ^ Solarski, Matthew (2007-11-27). "Weezer LP6 Site Declared Hoax, Alone Pushed Back". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  17. ^ Koch, Karl (2007-11-13). "11/13/07 Alone: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  18. ^ Koch, Karl (2007-10-16). "10/16/07 A Message From Weezer". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  19. ^ Crock, Jason (2008-01-28). "Interview: Rivers Cuomo". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  20. ^ "Spring Album Preview". Issue #1050. Rolling Stone. p. 32. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "Spring Album Preview 2008". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  22. ^ Titus, Dale. "Warwick's Bass Survival 101 Feature Artist - Scott Shriner". Warwick. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  23. ^ Montgomery, James (2006-07-12). "Rivers Cuomo Says Weezer Are 'Done' For Now — Again". MTV News. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  24. ^ a b Maher, Dave (2008-04-01). "Weezer Reveal New Album Title? Or April Fool's Joke?". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  25. ^ a b Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo booklet and liner notes
  26. ^ "New Weezer Demo - Rivers Cuomo Pigs Out!". Twelve Major Chords. 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  27. ^ Spinella, Mike (2008-04-21). "Weezer Unveil the 'Red Album' Cover". Spinner.com. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  28. ^ a b Montgomery, James (2008-04-23). "Weezer's Awkward Red Album Cover Is The Real Deal, 'Not A Joke' Publicist Confirms". MTV. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  29. ^ Phillips, Amy (2008-04-21). "Is This Really the New Weezer Album Cover?". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  30. ^ a b "Weezer cover is "Not a Joke"". Punknews.org. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  31. ^ "Weezer Is Now Just Messing With Everyone". Idolator.com. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  32. ^ "Spring Music Preview: Weezer Unveil Familiar Title for New Album". Rolling Stone. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  33. ^ http://www.avclub.com/content/music/weezer
  34. ^ http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Weezer,6341
  35. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/music/la-et-recordrack3-2008jun03,0,2423.story
  36. ^ Amazon.com: Weezer: MP3 Downloads: Weezer
  37. ^ "Keys for the Weez". Korg. 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2007-11-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Cuomo Keen On Archival Releases, New Weezer CD". Billboard. 2007-12-26. Retrieved 2007-12-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Weezer_(Red_Album)&oldid=217734978"