Weezer: Red Album Preview

Right, so as everyone knows, the first 8 tracks have now leaked from Weezer's latest release, the Red Album. Ever since Make Believe, my faith in Weezer has been waining. Seriously, "We Are All On Drugs" is not a intelligent social commentary, it sucks. So, when I heard of the leak, I was worried. What if it sucks, could this mean the utter destruction of a great rock band? Bands have come back from slumps. I mean, Weezer has been saying how excited they are about it, but bands always say that.
So, I get myself a torrent and take a listen. Okay, first off, no, it's not Blue Album or Pinkerton, but can we expect a band to try to constantly replicate what they did back in the 90's? Well, I like to.
Only half of the songs actually caught my interest. The leading single "Pork And Beans" is okay I guess, but it just seems shallow. It is just Rivers saying how different he is and how no one can tell him what to do...as he makes his record label tonnes of cash. "Troublemaker" has a nice bounciness to it that is reminiscent of their older material, but something seemed wrong, I'll touch on it in a bit.
The two most interesting tracks were "Dreamin'" and "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived". "Dreamin'" had some interesting changes and bits in the music. It had a nice rock and roll feel to it. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is strange to say the least. It seems to be a rock epic about how great Rivers is, maybe not, but he pretty much sang about how awesome he is. Jerkiness aside, it is one of the most interesting songs that Weezer has done in years. The beginning is the quiet piano riff, followed by Rivers rapping. It was kind of disconcerting, but at least it sounded gritty. Then it took off. It was epic with deep heavy guitars and some overdubbed choruses.
As I stated previously, something seemed wrong with the songs. Looking at their older material we hear feedback and the sound of fingers moving on strings. The first track on Pinkerton starts off with feedback! Nowadays, Weezer is perfectly produced with no feedback and no finger noises, no sing of a fucking human. What proof is there that the studio just made the songs in Fruity Loops and then had them sing over top? I miss the days when Weezer sounded real. The reason why I started listening to Weezer was the sheer noise of their songs, not the sleek production values. So at least what I've heard isn't absolutely atrocious, it certainly does not recall the days when our speakers wailed with feedback and Rivers' voice actually sounded full of emotion instead of lame attempts at social commentary.
-Lucas Thurston