Brad Stengel

Words cannot describe how much I used to hate Weezer. I liked "Hash Pipe" in 7th grade, but quickly realized how boring and yet, outstandingly grating it was. I had basically only heard from the Green Album onward, and thus despised them. Then something happened. "Buddy Holly" came on the radio, and though I had heard it before, it never clicked that it was Weezer. I also enjoyed it much more than I had when I was a kid. I decided that it was the catchiest song ever written, and before you knew it, I realized "The Sweater Song" and "Say It Ain't So" were more examples of great Weezer songs.

My interest sparked, I borrowed a copy of the Blue Album from a friend in the beginning of 2006 (might I add, I still have it...sucker...). From the moment when the wall of guitars kicks in on "My Name is Jonas", I was sold.

I can't empasize enough how melodically perfect this record is. It's tough to make a rock/pop album so melodically satisfying without having it all sound the same. I mean, Weezer isn't experimental-and I'm sure to someone completely unfamiliar with them, the entirety of the blue album sounds the same. For me at least, and any other fans, each song, although similar in some regards, has its own personality. You have the faux-reggae of "Say It Ain't So", the Brian Wilsonesque "Buddy Holly", the epic closing track, the shameless pop-punk of "No One Else", all performed in a way that is undeniably Weezer. Although this sound does in fact carry through their later albums, none would ever be as catchy yet relistenable as 'The Blue Album'. I mean, hell, I actually liked 'Pork and Beans' when it came out-it's classic catchy Weezer. But I tired of it very quickly, and now lump it into "Crappy Weezer". Theres a certain charm of this album that makes it one of the few pop albums that I can put on today, and have it sound just as pleasing as when I first got into it. And that is why Rivers Cuomo sucks now, and why no other Weezer album comes close to this for me.
90/100

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Bulldog

Sums up what I think of this album perfectly. Haven't listened to it for years though - I'll give it a spin a bit later. Smart reviews all-round man, looking forward to some more

Zombeels

Pinkerton is just as good...maybe even better.

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What It Is

Son of JayJamJah

What a fantastic example of people making the album they were meant to make.

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Me, Myself and I United as One

If you're posting in the music forums make sure to be thoughtful and expressive, if you're posting in the lounge ask yourself "is this something that adds to the conversation?" It's important to remember that a lot of people use each thread. You're probably not as funny or clever as you think, I know I'm not.

My Van Morrison Discography Thread

Brad Stengel

In retrospect, I can't think of any album that would have brought me out of the depths of classic rock worship into the bright light of 80's alternative rock faster than The Replacements' 'Let It Be' could have. This album is the perfect bridge between the 70's and 80's, and the first album I always bring up (of course, to blank confused faces) when people trapped in 1973 say the 80's had nothing to offer.

"Let It Be" is for the most part split three ways between loud, fast punk songs, fun catchy pop-rock songs, and tender ballads. This is a very eclectic album, so of course it's high up on my list. The album opener, "I Will Dare" has a fantastic chorus, and even a mandolin part that makes putting on this album that's essentially by a punk band an easy listen. "Let It Be" can fool you, at times, into thinking that you're listening to a different band entirely-that's a strong point of an album, while in the hands of a lesser band, could easily be a weak one.

This is sloppy rock n' roll/power pop, or as The Replacements referred to themselves, 'Trash Rock'. If you enjoy tight sounding generic music performed by perfectionist robots, this is not your album. If you appreciate passion more than technical ability, if you appreciate genre crossing more than avant garde experimentation, if you always thought pop was done better by the bands that weren't popular, than "Let It Be" is for you.
95/100


1 I Will Dare (3:18)
2 Favorite Thing (2:19)
3 We're Comin' Out (2:21)
4 Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (1:53)
5 Androgynous (3:11)
6 Black Diamond (2:40)
7 Unsatisfied (4:01)
8 Seen Your Video (3:08)
9 Gary's Got a Boner (2:28)
10 Sixteen Blue (4:24)
11 Answering Machine 3:40

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These is the musics I own:
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