Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (12/21/2009 @ 4:42 pm)
After injuring himself in a bus accident, doctors advised Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo to stay home and take it easy. Thus, Weezer had to cancel their winter touring schedule. Prior to the incident, Cuomo had completed the music to a new song, “Shusui.” In his limited capacity, he’s now reaching out to fans to record a better demo. Once Cuomo selects the winner (the fan will receive $208), he can write the lyrics.
The recording session can be heard on Indaba Music, where fans can post their own takes and additional instruments on the skeleton song Cuomo posted. Although right now it’s all wah-wah peddle and wordless harmonies, the “Shusui” demo sounds like a potential Weezer ballad similar to “Burnt Jamb” or Raditude’s “Put Me Back Together.”
Cuomo has been all about offbeat collaborations lately, teaming with the All-American Rejects and Lil Wayne on Raditude, Sara Bareilles and Chamillionaire during recent live performances, Taylor Swift and Pete Wentz in commercial shoots and writing songs for Adam Lambert (For Your Entertainment’s “Pick U Up”) and reportedly Katy Perry. And now, potentially, you, if your demo inspires Cuomo to finally pick up the pen and write some lyrics for “Shusui.”
I think $208 is a bit light. Well, if you’re a struggling songwriter who happens to be reading this, give it a shot.
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (11/03/2009 @ 5:21 pm)
Weezer’s new album, Raditude, hits the streets on November 7th. However, why would just want the album? If you go to Weezer’s website, you can purchase Raditude plus their version of the Snuggie for $30. The “Wuggie” comes in multiple colors.
Check out the informercial parody below.
In other Weezer news, the pop-rock juggernaut recently participated in their own AOL Sessions and was joined by Chamillionaire, Sara Bareilles, and Kenny G. Yep, that Kenny G. You can watch all the videos here, which include a performance of Green Day’s “Brain Stew.”
Who cares, right? I know you just want some Kenny G.
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (10/22/2009 @ 2:34 pm)
Weezer looked far and wide during the recording process of their new album, Raditude, which comes out November 3. Aside from collaborations with Jermaine Dupri and members of the All-American Rejects, Weezer also teamed with the phenomenon known as Lil Wayne. Unfortunately, the rapper just pled guilty to gun charges and faces up to a year in prison.
As for the video, it’s as silly as can be, and I wouldn’t expect anything less. The attractive woman walking through the town is Odette Yustman, known for her roles in “Cloverfield” and “The Unborn.”
Someone in a popular men’s print magazine recently said something horrible about the latest Weezer album, something to the effect of, “If Rivers Cuomo burned down a hospital, it wouldn’t be the worst thing he did in 2008.” As harsh as that may sound, that critic probably hadn’t heard Cuomo’s latest batch of home recordings, sharply titled Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. Cuomo is one of those songwriters that you might call prolific, and he’s been known to literally use computer formulas to create those songs. The problem is that whatever formulas he’s using are not very good, and if his “best” stuff is being released on the Weezer albums, why would anyone want to hear this schlock? Okay, it’s not all schlock – tracks like “I Was Scared” and “My Brain Is Working Overtime” sound like classic Weezer. But that’s two tracks out of 19. Everything else ranges from bad to downright painful, especially “Please Remember” and “Can’t Stop Partying,” on which Cuomo’s raw, pitchy vocals effectively marry nails and chalkboard. And he sounds like a whiny emo kid from 1999 on “My Day is Coming.” So before we all start hating Weezer, whether we were fans of the band before, let’s hope Mr. Cuomo goes on a long vacation, or does something else newsworthy so we can forget about these awful home recordings. He doesn’t have to burn down a hospital, but robbing a hot dog cart wouldn’t be a bad idea. (DGC Records/Interscope)
How deep can Weezer get? Well, according to some, this is where the whole “emo” thing began, dear listeners – but I enjoy Weezer, so I’m not in that camp. The nice thing about the band is that they have plenty of tracks that weren’t hits or singles that still sound just as good, if not better. And though they sort of petered out by the time Make Believe rolled around (at least to my ears), the run up to that point was a pretty fruitful one. So here’s a batch of Weezer tracks that aren’t “Buddy Holly,” “Hash Pipe” or “Beverly Hills.” Can you dig it? I knew you could.
