I wasn’t going to write on this. Or at least I didn’t think I was, but Tyson’s comment on my post on the Band (way to stay on topic, Tyson!) made me kind sit up and think ‘Hey, if this stupid band was so supposedly important to me, why wouldn’t I write something?’
So yes, the new Weezer album is out on Tuesday. It’s self-titled and will henceforth be referred to as, sigh, The Red Album. I’ve heard the whole thing and it’s…it’s…well, let’s talk about that.
There’s a reason why I keep writing about the Band. Once discovering them, once delving, say, three songs deep into their catalogue, The Band simply stays with you. Their body of work is stunning and far out-reaches the confines of a Greatest Hits album (although newbies should, by all means, pick up a Greatest Hits as a primer). What’s especially impressive is that as vast as their music seems to be, the Band was only good for five proper albums of new material (I exclude their 1977 odds and sods label requirement, Islands, and subsequent reunion albums, although they are worthy of pursuing). From their breakthrough, 1968’s Music From Big Pink, to 1971’s oft-maligned, but deserving of no less praise, Cahoots, the Band released four unique and excellent albums.