Weezer is a very polarizing band. There are legions of music fans that either idolize or detest the alt rock quartet fronted by the enigmatic Rivers Cuomo. And after listening to some of the songs on the group’s seventh and latest studio album, “Raditude,” it’s safe to say Weezer isn’t doing anything to please those haters.
That’s because “Raditude” is definitely the most pop-rock oriented album in the band’s discography, especially when compared to its first two breakthrough albums, 1994’s self-titled debut (aka the Blue Album) and 1996’s “Pinkerton.” This is an album that leans more towards the pop side than the rock side.
It isn’t surprising when you consider the production background of “Raditude.” Dr. Luke and Butch Walker co-produced the album along with Cuomo, while Jermaine Dupri and members of the All-American Rejects (Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler) contributed to the songwriting process.
All of these heavyweights combine for one dream team when it comes to composing pop music. However, this album has proven it’s more of a nightmare team.
That being said, it’s not like every song on “Raditude” will have you running for the earplugs. The opening song and first single, “(If You’re Wondering if I Want You to) I Want You to,” definitely has a name quirky and random enough to be a Weezer song.
Sure, the opening two-chord acoustic guitar riff is ripped off from the Jam’s “A Town Called Malice.” But make no mistake; this song oozes hit single. The acoustic riff is very catchy and is layered perfectly with a subtle electric guitar melody.
The song’s up tempo percussion is springing with high energy, a perfect match with its pleasant theme of boy meets girl. And the corny lyrics fit Weezer to a tee, with Cuomo singing lines like “Your mom cooked meat loaf, even though I don’t eat meat/ I dug you so much, I took some for the team.”
“I’m Your Daddy,” the second single, is arguably the album’s strongest piece. It’s another simple and upbeat instrumental, with a power chord-laden melody. And a pleasing curve ball is thrown via a synthesizer riff delivered during the song’s interlude.
Once again, Cuomo keeps the lyrics witty, declaring “I would like to give a demonstration of what it is I do/ I’ll take you out to dinner at Palermo’s, we’ll split a cheese fondue.”
But for every quality pop rock “I Want You to,” and “I’m Your Daddy,” there seems to be twice as many horrid works, like the dreadful “Can’t Stop Partying.”
Penned by the R & B star Dupri, this song could’ve possibly worked had it been given a guitar-driven instrumental. Instead, it was assigned a nauseating, overdubbed, hip-hop/electronic beat.
Add lyrics bragging about a lifestyle of excess and a verse rapped by none other than the notorious Lil’ Wayne himself, and you have one song that will find even the most hardcore of Weezer fans questioning his or her loyalty.
If I wanted some bad pop music like “Can’t Stop Partying,” I could just pump some Lady Gaga on my iPod. The horror doesn’t stop there, either.
Ritter and Wheeler’s “Put Me Back Together” has musically shallow instrumentals and lyrics more suited for their band than Weezer. And the Indian-themed “Love is the Answer” is an insult to even the most tone deaf of Bollywood movie soundtracks.
An album littered with poor pop-rock songs is a far cry from the Blue/Pinkerton days, when Cuomo was spilling his insecure guts and complex guitar solos over two of the most celebrated alternative albums of the 1990s. Say it ain’t so, Rivers.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
tv review of how i met your mother
The last time Neil Patrick Harris was relevant in American pop culture, Prince was encouraging people to party like it was 1999, and Ronald Reagan was ordering Mr. Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. Now, the artist formerly known as Doogie Howser, M.D. is back on network television, starring in the new CBS sitcom, “How I Met Your Mother,” that premiered last Monday night (9 p.m.).
In the show, Patrick Harris plays Barney Stinson, a cosmopolitan version of your typical college frat boy. His two biggest pieces of advice to his presumed best friend, architect, and the show’s main character, 27-year old Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) are to always wear suits (“suits are cool”) and never fall in love and get married (comparing the two to death).
However, Ted develops a sense of urgency to settle down after hearing about the engagement of his real best friend Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Marshall’s longtime girlfriend Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan of “American Pie” fame). We then think we find out how Ted met his babies’ mama in this first episode after becoming attracted to a television reporter named Robin Scherbatsky (Jacoba Smulders).
But given a twist in the plot at the end of the pilot, we’re led to believe that the show’s creators (Craig Thomas and Carter Bays of “Oliver Beene”) don’t want to reveal “how I met your mother” anytime soon.
Given the sitcom’s hip setting (New York City) and young ensemble of actors, it’s clear that CBS is targeting an audience they don’t usually cater to until they’re AARP eligible. The elder member of the cast is legendary sitcom dad Bob Saget. Once again, he’s returned to play a father, but with a twist. That’s because Saget is also Ted Mosby, only 25 years in the future. Saget is a narrator, using flashback to tell his two children the story of how he met their mother (where, of course, the title originates).
For a pilot episode, the acting in “Mother” is surprisingly polished. That may be more of a testament to Patrick Harris and Hannigan, the two actors in the show with preexisting exposure. Saget doesn’t count here because, again, he’s the unseen narrator.
Quite frankly, it’s a pleasure seeing Patrick Harris back in the saddle. He pulls of his new role of Stinson so effortlessly that it makes being a womanizer seem hilarious. And Segel’s role is adorable, Doogie Howser style; he’s as petrified of proposing to Hannigan as he is to pop the champagne bottle for their celebration after she says yes.
The plot is developed well, also. At the least, the budding relationship between Ted and Robin is intriguing enough to compel the viewer to watch the second episode. Another surprising element is the fact that “Mother” cracked the CBS primetime lineup.
Given the dry, sexually explicit humor that’s smattered in the teleplay (like Barney’s numerous confessions of his attraction to Lebanese girls), this type of program on CBS is a far cry from the dinosaur ages of “Matlock,” “the Price is Right,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Dallas” that had audiences consisting of viewers used to capping off their nights with a glass of warm milk.
With new, fresh shows like “CSI” and “Two and a Half Men” in its repertoire, it’s clear that the network has launched a campaign to target an audience that’s closer to grad school than old school, and a quality show like “How I Met Your Mother” will help make CBS appealing to even more gen Yers.
In the show, Patrick Harris plays Barney Stinson, a cosmopolitan version of your typical college frat boy. His two biggest pieces of advice to his presumed best friend, architect, and the show’s main character, 27-year old Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) are to always wear suits (“suits are cool”) and never fall in love and get married (comparing the two to death).
However, Ted develops a sense of urgency to settle down after hearing about the engagement of his real best friend Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Marshall’s longtime girlfriend Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan of “American Pie” fame). We then think we find out how Ted met his babies’ mama in this first episode after becoming attracted to a television reporter named Robin Scherbatsky (Jacoba Smulders).
But given a twist in the plot at the end of the pilot, we’re led to believe that the show’s creators (Craig Thomas and Carter Bays of “Oliver Beene”) don’t want to reveal “how I met your mother” anytime soon.
Given the sitcom’s hip setting (New York City) and young ensemble of actors, it’s clear that CBS is targeting an audience they don’t usually cater to until they’re AARP eligible. The elder member of the cast is legendary sitcom dad Bob Saget. Once again, he’s returned to play a father, but with a twist. That’s because Saget is also Ted Mosby, only 25 years in the future. Saget is a narrator, using flashback to tell his two children the story of how he met their mother (where, of course, the title originates).
For a pilot episode, the acting in “Mother” is surprisingly polished. That may be more of a testament to Patrick Harris and Hannigan, the two actors in the show with preexisting exposure. Saget doesn’t count here because, again, he’s the unseen narrator.
Quite frankly, it’s a pleasure seeing Patrick Harris back in the saddle. He pulls of his new role of Stinson so effortlessly that it makes being a womanizer seem hilarious. And Segel’s role is adorable, Doogie Howser style; he’s as petrified of proposing to Hannigan as he is to pop the champagne bottle for their celebration after she says yes.
The plot is developed well, also. At the least, the budding relationship between Ted and Robin is intriguing enough to compel the viewer to watch the second episode. Another surprising element is the fact that “Mother” cracked the CBS primetime lineup.
Given the dry, sexually explicit humor that’s smattered in the teleplay (like Barney’s numerous confessions of his attraction to Lebanese girls), this type of program on CBS is a far cry from the dinosaur ages of “Matlock,” “the Price is Right,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Dallas” that had audiences consisting of viewers used to capping off their nights with a glass of warm milk.
With new, fresh shows like “CSI” and “Two and a Half Men” in its repertoire, it’s clear that the network has launched a campaign to target an audience that’s closer to grad school than old school, and a quality show like “How I Met Your Mother” will help make CBS appealing to even more gen Yers.
Monday, February 22, 2010
movie review of from paris with love
Yes, “From Paris with Love,” the newest movie starring John Travolta is lacking when it comes to certain cinematic elements, but that argument could be made for almost every action-adventure film. Very few ever make an impact at the Academy Awards. The larger question is whether or not the movie has enough action, explosions, and adrenaline to keep fans of the genre satisfied, and “From Paris with Love” doesn’t fall short in these categories.
Travolta plays Charlie Wax, an unorthodox secret agent sporting a hideous Q-Tip haircut and enough testosterone to make a locker room full of football players green with envy. He’s flown into the French capital to team with James Reece (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a twenty-something US Ambassador aid just breaking into the business of American espionage.
The unlikely duo are paired with the intentions of breaking up a Chinese cocaine ring, only to have them stumble upon a Pakistani terrorist sect’s plans to wreak havoc on a G8 government summit. The acting leaves a lot to be desired for the most part.
Reece’s fiancée Caroline (played by Kasia Smutniak) may play a major role in the film, but she’s really nothing more than the token eye candy that’s expected in this type of movie. The strongest acting is that of the duo of Travolta and Rhys Meyers. The two characters are worlds apart, making for an action-adventure odd couple. They balance each other out quite well, with Reece’s sophisticated version of Felix Unger providing a much-needed contradiction to Wax’s Oscar Madison.
Saying Wax is an obscene character would be a brazen understatement. In between saving Paris from terrorists, he makes Reece walk around carrying a vase full of crack, hooks up with prostitutes, and throws an obscenity-laced tirade upon his arrival at a French airport over an energy drink. But it’s Travolta who has a surprisingly strong performance as the ever-brazen Wax. He certainly isn’t the first name that comes to mind when thinking about action stars, but Travolta’s performance made me believe he’s been in this line of work for many years.
The screenplay (Adi Hasak) and plot (Luc Besson) aren’t anything memorable. The movie’s filled with cheesy one-liners, and how we get a Pakistani terrorist sect out of a Chinese cocaine ring is beyond me. Luckily, we’re somewhat saved by the film’s director, Pierre Morel.
A rising star in the field, Morel also directed “Taken,” last year’s action flick starring Liam Neeson. The two films are very similar in the senses they both star a veteran actor who makes a seamless transition into the action hero role, and paint a picture that Paris is a very undesirable city once you wander five miles away from the Eifel Tower in any direction.
Morel’s work comes out strong in the action scenes that bombard the last two-thirds of the movie. One scene has Rhys-Meyers on his toes, avoiding raining bad guys, falling down a spiral staircase after being killed by Travolta. Another involving a car chase with Travolta and a terrorist on a busy Paris freeway ignites more thrills than any chase scene in “The Fast and the Furious” ever could. And the movie has plenty of explosions, enough to make even the pyromaniac film enthusiast satisfied.
One gripe with Morel is his obsession with slow-motion. It’s comes across superbly in an action movie if it’s used sparingly, but he uses it ad nauseum, to the point where I thought I was watching another “Matrix” sequel.
But the action scenes shine in “From Paris with Love,” and that alone will give moviegoers interested in this type of film the justification they need.
Travolta plays Charlie Wax, an unorthodox secret agent sporting a hideous Q-Tip haircut and enough testosterone to make a locker room full of football players green with envy. He’s flown into the French capital to team with James Reece (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a twenty-something US Ambassador aid just breaking into the business of American espionage.
The unlikely duo are paired with the intentions of breaking up a Chinese cocaine ring, only to have them stumble upon a Pakistani terrorist sect’s plans to wreak havoc on a G8 government summit. The acting leaves a lot to be desired for the most part.
Reece’s fiancée Caroline (played by Kasia Smutniak) may play a major role in the film, but she’s really nothing more than the token eye candy that’s expected in this type of movie. The strongest acting is that of the duo of Travolta and Rhys Meyers. The two characters are worlds apart, making for an action-adventure odd couple. They balance each other out quite well, with Reece’s sophisticated version of Felix Unger providing a much-needed contradiction to Wax’s Oscar Madison.
Saying Wax is an obscene character would be a brazen understatement. In between saving Paris from terrorists, he makes Reece walk around carrying a vase full of crack, hooks up with prostitutes, and throws an obscenity-laced tirade upon his arrival at a French airport over an energy drink. But it’s Travolta who has a surprisingly strong performance as the ever-brazen Wax. He certainly isn’t the first name that comes to mind when thinking about action stars, but Travolta’s performance made me believe he’s been in this line of work for many years.
The screenplay (Adi Hasak) and plot (Luc Besson) aren’t anything memorable. The movie’s filled with cheesy one-liners, and how we get a Pakistani terrorist sect out of a Chinese cocaine ring is beyond me. Luckily, we’re somewhat saved by the film’s director, Pierre Morel.
A rising star in the field, Morel also directed “Taken,” last year’s action flick starring Liam Neeson. The two films are very similar in the senses they both star a veteran actor who makes a seamless transition into the action hero role, and paint a picture that Paris is a very undesirable city once you wander five miles away from the Eifel Tower in any direction.
Morel’s work comes out strong in the action scenes that bombard the last two-thirds of the movie. One scene has Rhys-Meyers on his toes, avoiding raining bad guys, falling down a spiral staircase after being killed by Travolta. Another involving a car chase with Travolta and a terrorist on a busy Paris freeway ignites more thrills than any chase scene in “The Fast and the Furious” ever could. And the movie has plenty of explosions, enough to make even the pyromaniac film enthusiast satisfied.
One gripe with Morel is his obsession with slow-motion. It’s comes across superbly in an action movie if it’s used sparingly, but he uses it ad nauseum, to the point where I thought I was watching another “Matrix” sequel.
But the action scenes shine in “From Paris with Love,” and that alone will give moviegoers interested in this type of film the justification they need.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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