I listened to the leak. It's definitely better than Raditude, and has some good songs on it. But yea, a pretty mediocre record. I really like Brave New World. That chorus and bridge is absolutely amazing. Ruling Me and Unspoken are some good tunes too. So I guess as of now I'd rank the albums as:

1. Blue
2. Pinkerton
3. Red
4. Maladroit
5. Make Believe
6. Hurley
7. Raditude
8. Green

Holy shit, in what fucking universe are you going to put both Make Believe and Raditude above Green? That is atrocious. Make Believe was absolutely boring and Green does indeed have a lot of faults, but Raditude was like a slow kick in the balls.

Green is probably one of the most boring albums I've heard in my life. The first half is all right, but the second half (and really the album as a whole) sounds almost exactly the friggin same. The "guitar solos" are just the main melody line replayed again, and the production is God-awful. Rivers tried making the perfect pop songs after the commercial failure of Pinkrton, but played it TOO safe. He sounds like a robot, practically no emotion in his voice, save O Girlfriend.

Trust me the line between Raditude and Green is very thin, but when deciding if I'd rather listen to an album that sounds boring and too samey with nothing really standing out, or listening to an album that has lots of glaring holes, but a couple of really amazing tracks (i.e. Trippin Down the Freeway, Run Over By a Truck, and The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World), I'll take the latter. And I don't see Make Believe being boring at all. It's far, far away from being a masterpiece, but at least it's not soulless. Perfect Situation still sounds amazing, This is Such a Pity is badass, and then you can't forget The Other Way and Haunt You Everyday either. It's better than Green in every way. Now, if the entirety of Green had been recorded like this, things might be different:

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJg-Sgzv5oc]Don't Let Go- 2005 AOL Sessions[/url]

[quote]"Do you think it’s possible that the songs on Green are actually
really good and that we just choked in the studio? I mean, not just me,
but all four of us in Weezer. I feel like if we had managed to attack
the songs with more conviction, people wouldn’t have noticed the things
like impersonal lyrics or repetitive song structures as much."[/quote]

Rivers Cuomo in a 2002 e-mail to a fan.

Well, white album is very awesome.

Some okay tunes on white album, but what gives me pause is how old the band is getting and how their lyrical/thematic maturity hasn't really progressed in the last two decades. Sure, everybody loooves Blue and Pinkerton, but does it even make sense to demand more of the exact same? Rivers Cuomo is 45 and married.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu put it best when he said 'Weezer is the creepy old dude at the Weezer show'. [url]https://youtu.be/5W64pLR3WjM[/url]

The only song on the album that could clearly be interpreted as sketchy due to his age is MAYBE Thank God for Girls. So he's not a lyrical genius and he reflects on the themes of being young and in love in some songs? Not really a big deal, imo.

The dude is content to try over and over at refining his expression within a general area of sound and themes that really resonate with him, I don't see how it's somehow evidence of him being a creeper.

Lyrical growth would be nice, but not everybody can be Walt Whitman wailing on the hitfiddle, namsayn?

Edit: just in case, cause I know I can write with pretty aggressive tone without realizing, friendly post. More of a "yeah, lyrical growth would be nice but" than anything.

I've always been a passive Weezer fan, love the hits, but haven't delved into an album since the Red album (like most of the older albums). So I got the last 2 on Spotify and listened to most of the White Album today. Some good, some bad. Some really cringey lyrics...but that's nothing new. I agree with GR though, some lyrical maturity would be appreciated. I'm all for catchy hooks, but when the lyrics make me cringe, I can't really get behind belting them out like I would the classics.

California Kids was very solid, probably my favorite as of now.

Thank God For Girls was very unsolid...gaseous? Definitely my least favorite as of now.

Yeah I was lukewarm on Thank God for Girls, but really enjoyed Jacked Up and Endless Bummer.

Weezer is not my lyrics-depth-time band - I go to them for upbeat rocking and ripping good guitar hooks. That said, if they did happen to have awe-inspiring lyrics, I would love them way more than I do. Ah well lol.

Endless Bummer was also solid! Overall I like it a lot more than past releases (Raditude, Hurley)

The musical consistency was really solid, honestly. I don't think I would expect a better album from Weezer right now, went in unsure of what it would be and was very pleased.

Either I'm being overly agreeable this year (not a chance in hell), or this year is being very agreeable to me as the musics go. Good times.

After another listen through, I'd have to say I'm not so much a big fan of this album. I found myself growing board after a few songs, they kind of just ran together. Still think California Kids is the gem on the album. I like the vibe of Jacked Up, but the chorus kind of kills it for me. I like the melody, more or less, but the super high pitched/out-of-range notes throw me off.

A couple alright songs, but mostly forgettable for me personally.

Yeah, I'll probably leave this on the roadside for a long time and just occasionally revisit, like with the red album (and kind of Weezer in general for me, these days - got into them late so they don't have that nostalgic shine to me).

Yeah I gave it couple of listens but I really wasn't too impressed by it. I only liked a few songs the rest just seem forgettable. They were going for a pop rock style with alternative rock undertones and I supposed that's cool. However, I felt they could have spent more time in the songwriting department. A few songs would easily blend with that muzak stuff you hear in grocery stores. The lyrics however were pretty impressive compared to what they usually sing about and that's a good thing.

So the highlights for this album were
California Kids
Thank God for Girls
L.A. Girlz