Weezer (Red Album)

After my first listen of Weezer's third self-titled album I was ready to pan it.  I was so optimistic that Weezer would rebound from Make Believe (easily their worst album).  I was especially optimistic when I discovered that the new LP would be titled "Weezer" because both of the other "Weezer" albums are so good.  At first, I found the album frustrating.  They were trying some new things that didn't work and the things on the album that sounded familiar weren't as good as the times they had been done in the past.  But after my second listen I began to notice the Weezer I have come to love set in.  I found myself singing  and humming the songs that I once loathed, but now found stuck in my head.  So I gave myself a couple weeks to let the album settle in before I made my judgement.

The opening track, "Troublemaker," sounds a great deal like Pinkerton's "The Good Life," but it lacks the signature home-run Weezer chorus.  I found this very frustrating at first and I thought the song didn't go anywhere, but after giving it some time, I found it to me catchy in it's way.  The same thing happened with "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived."  After looking past the song's multiple movements (so un-Weezer) and accepting it for what it was instead wishing it was something else, I enjoyed it.  Not as much as classic Weezer, but a little bit.

I fell in love with "Heart Songs" the first time I heard it.  This is the only song on the album that really makes me feel glad that Weezer is trying new things.  On paper, the concept of an entire song made up of shout-outs to other bands and artists seems really lame, but a level of sincerity that I haven't heard on a Weezer track since Pinkerton really makes it go.  It is a love song written to the lover that never says goodbye: music.  That theme is something that everyone can relate to, musician or not, and it really makes the song special.

"Pork and Beans" is the closest thing to classic Weezer on the album: silly lyrics with a super-big and mega-catchy chorus.  The second half of the album is pretty forgettable.  Rivers lets the other band members take a turn on the mic and with the songwriting and it doesn't really work.  Especially because Rivers steps in for Pat Wilson on the drums during those songs (I think) and Pat is a monster. 

I don't think the Red Album is nearly as good as Weezer's first four albums, but it's slightly better than Make Believe.  Though I would rather have Weezer just do the Green album again, I realize that the band has been making music for a while so they deserve to do something for themselves.  If the band wants to trade instruments and play the music that they want to play, it's completely their decision.  It's like what Rivers sings on "Troublemaker": "And when it's party time / like 1999 / I party by myself/ Because I'm such a special guy."  The Red Album works as a celebration of Weezer's success to me.  And that's okay with me.  You are special Rivers.  Party by yourself if you want.  You deserve it.

But if I may...  Rick Rubin is two for two in producing subpar Weezer albums.  Maybe they should try someone else.  Just saying.

Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz is an interesting movie experience.  I found it to be a slick and funny, but unwelcome comedic ode police action movies like Point Break and Bad Boys 2.  The film stars Simon Pegg as Nicholas Angel, a workaholic who is transfered from the London Police force to a small village in the country called Samford.  Pegg may be the best leading man in the comedic film today.  Along with being very funny, his ability to play an interesting and likable character turned the predictable plot of Run Fat Boy Run into a very enjoyable experience.

Hot Fuzz was written by Pegg and Edgar Wright (the director of the film).  Wright, Pegg, and co-star Nick Frost constitute the same winning combination that made Shaun of the Dead a success.  Their contributions to Hot Fuzz produce a similar film (no complaints) right up to the ending sequence.  At the beginning of the film I was ready to crown it as one of my favorite comedies in my Facebook status, but that was not how the movie turned out.  What started as a very well-crafted, well-paced, comedy became a collage of gruesome sequences of violence.

I mentioned that the film was very much an homage to crime-fighting action flicks so I admit that my not being a fan of action movies may be my reason for not liking it so much.  But I also feel like the idea for the ending would sound very good on paper to my quirky sense of humor.  So many of the popular action movies in theaters now promote messages of nonviolence (Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and Prince Caspain).  Hot Fuzz seemed to glorify violence and I was not expecting that.  After finishing the movie I felt a slight urge to pick up a kitchen knife sitting the the counter, just to hold it.  Though I can't recommend the message that I got out of Hot Fuzz, I will say that (if you have no aversion to violence) it is a fun ride the whole way through.

EDIT

I think I may have been a little hard on the movie.  

I now understand the violent final sequence as a parody of action movies that include scenes of excessive violence and I realize that it worked very well.  I expected something else, but got violence.  I think that was intended because in so many action movies violence is used to solve dilemmas that can easily be solved other ways.  I still don't like seeing violence in movies so I was frustrated by Hot Fuzz, but it's simply a matter of preference.  Hot Fuzz is too good for me to be so critical.