andPOP » Weezer

Lil Wayne’s Rebirth To Be Released December 15

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:27:12 +0000

Universal has announced that Lil Wayne’s long overdue rock album, Rebirth, will be released on December 15th.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after the release of his new mixtape, No Ceilings, and a week after the release of Weezer’s Raditude album, on which he makes an appearance on the song Can’t Stop Partying. He told Billboard.com that he plans to maintain the consistent rock vibe that he intended.

“I play guitar on 80 percent of the songs, and there’s a lot of rock influences and rock beats. I also have Travis Barker on the album.”

While working with two rock giants like Travis Barker and Rivers Cuomo should give Wayne the right idea, there is still no certainty about the outcome of this album. Based on the mild response generated by Prom Queen and Can’t Stop Partying, the anticipation will be filled with more curiousity than excitement.

But you can be certain that Weezy will stay true to his free-for-all roots. “I say what I want, how I want. That’s what this album is: a freedom album.”

The album reportedly includes appearances by Drake, members of Fallout boy and Lenny Kravitz, and may be released alongside the Young Money album, We Are Young Money.

Weezer’s Snuggie

Stephen Baldwin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:43:53 +0000

Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo and bassist Scott Shriner are promoting a warm surprise available for purchase with a copy of their new album.

Fans can own a customized “Weezer Snuggie” with their new Raditude album, available in stores today.

The group has even made a hilarious infomercial that includes footage from the original Snuggie infomercial.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the Snuggie is a warm, robe-like blanket that is reminiscent of some sort of cult uniform.

Raditude is Weezer’s seventh studio album, and includes the hit single “I Want You To.”

Weezer Announces Tour Dates

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:19:23 +0000

Weezer have announced their first few dates in support of their upcoming seventh studio album, Raditude.

According to chartattack.com, the dates will see the band playing smaller venues in the United States and include a stop in Toronto for the Edge’s Jingle Bell Rock at the Air Canada Centre on Dec. 5. That show will feature IllScarlett and other performers.

Tickets go on sale Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. through Ticketmaster, but members of the Edge’s Inside Edge can get tickets in a presale which is on now. Tickets run $19.50, $39.50 and $59.50.

Weezer just released the video for “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To,” Raditude’s first single.
Raditude is out Nov. 3.

Here are Weezer’s upcoming dates:

Oct. 24 Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium w/ Wax
Oct. 31 New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Dec. 1 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
Dec. 3 Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
Dec. 5 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre (Edge Jingle Bell Rock)
Dec. 7 Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
Dec. 9 Baltimore, MD @ UMBC Fieldhouse
Dec. 10 Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehanna Bank Center

Weezer-Weezy Collaboration

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:19:22 +0000

Weezer will include a track featuring hip-hop star Lil Wayne on their new album, MTV News reports.

Raditude, scheduled to debut on November 3rd, is the seventh studio album by the rock group, and front man Rivers Cuomo said it was a chance, “to do something totally different.”

If you’re familiar with Weezer’s edgy, upbeat rock sound, urban music is far from characteristic of their style. Cuomo told MTV News that he wrote the song, titled “Can’t Stop Partying,” with music industry dynamo Jermaine Dupri. “It was a real challenge for me, taking his ideas, which are very slick, R&B party [ideas], and giving it some kind of edge, some darkness, making it work with rock, making it work with Weezer,” said Cuomo.

But Lil Wayne is no stranger to Rock. He appeared on Fallout Boy’s last album, and is continuing to pursue his own solo rock-inspired project named Rebirth. Experience, though, doesn’t necessarily imply success. His rock endeavours have been praised for their daring ingenuity, but not necessarily their sound. Ingenuity is one thing that the music pair share though, so it will be interesting to hear the final product of their collaboration.

It wasn’t stated whether Weezer got the idea from the A Millie-Say it Ain’t So mash-up put together by American sampling and mash-up artist Girl Talk. The mix of arguably the two most popular songs by both artists is actually a pretty good blend, but it wasn’t necessarily received as well by fans of either camp as it was by Girl Talk fans.
The same can be said of Mash-up artist Mole Star with their 10-song Weezer/Weezy album he cleverly named Weezyer. The horrible blend of the two names is comparable to the album itself; it just doesn’t sound right. While he does make a strong attempt at blending oil and water, the mix lacks the natural flow that a rock/hip-hop mash-up requires (See a few tracks from Jaydiohead, a Radiohead/Jay-Z mash-up album by Minty Fresh productions, or Jay-zeezer, or even emineezer – ok, I made that last one up)

What’s worse about the Weezyer album is that Weezer fans who visit the official Weezer website absolutely hated the mash-up. Among the comments are a “Fu** that sh**,” followed later by a, “Why bother?” But it’s too early to get cynical, especially in this musical age of samples, mixes and mash-ups – you can never predict which sounds will work together.

Thinking about a room full of Weezer fans joined by a group of Lil Wayne fans is almost cataclysmic: the two groups are bound to fundamentally different music and lifestyle philosophies. But in this era of musical innovation, this combination shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Hardcore fans in each group will need to bite their lips and adapt to a changing music schema. If the song is a complete failure though, they’ll have plenty to bitch about for the next little while.

Under The Rock: What Do You Get When You Cross – Bob Dylan, Nike, Weezer

Emma Renda — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:53:19 +0000

There’s little in the music world that excites me more than a good collaboration. Be the unlikely pairing of Eminem and Elton John, or inevitable power tracks from Jay-Z, Kanye and Rihanna (check out “Run This Town” if you haven’t already heard it.)

Recently, though, more than just musical minds have been getting together. So here’s the news.

It seems early to be looking forward to the holidays, but this year I actually have a reason to get excited. Bob Dylan is releasing a Christmas album, according to Pitchfork. No longer will I have to sit through the intolerable holiday stylings of Michael Buble, Destiny’s Child, or Jessica Simpson. At first I was hesitant, imagining his raspy, sarcastic attempts at “Santa Baby” or “Deck the Halls.”

But Dylan’s official website confirmed a more appropriate set list, including “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Winter Wonderland”, “Little Drummer Boy”, and “Must Be Santa.” The album artwork for Christmas in the Heart is also pure class, and will surely stand out amongst the glittery fare normally on the shelves around the holiday time. The album is set for release on Oct. 13 – a little on the early side but knowing Dylan, it will be worth much more than just holiday cheer.

The next commercial collabo is even more unsuspecting than Bob Dylan and Santa Claus – Nike and Sub Pop Records. Nike is releasing a shoe designed for the Quickstrike SB Blazer Elite series, whatever that is, and has pasted the black-and-white SubPop label discretely on the tongue. Sub Pop, the record label home to everyone from Fleet Foxes and Wolf Parade to Nirvana and Sunny Day Real Estate, have not posted any information on their website about the shoe. But I’m sure some diehard will be willing to shell out $150 for the black-and-yellow sneaker this fall.

Pending the release of their latest album, Weezer was caught in the crossfire of some harsh words about their choice of title. Raditude made it on Spin’s “20 Worst Album Titles of 2009″ before it was even released, and topped Rolling Stone’s list of “Dictionary-Defying Album Titles” (a very fun list, for those with time to spare or a computer at work).

Anyway, back to the point. Weezer dodged the bullet by informing the furrowed brow of the public that Rainn Wilson (The Office’s Dwight and a recent comic darling) was responsible for the title.

“[Wilson] has a super-rock persona,” Rivers said, according to Pitchfork. “When it came time to find a title for the Weezer album, I asked him what he thought the ultimate album title would be, and he said ‘Raditude.’”

Naturally. The rest of the titles aren’t any more innovative – including singles “The Girl Got Hot” and “I’m Your Daddy.”

Weezer has never been one for album titles (see The Blue, Green and Red albums) or breaking boundaries, for that matter, considering they specialize in three-chord pop-punk about falling in love with Japanese teenagers. But for the group responsible for “My Name Is Jonas”, a cult-favourite and soundtrack to my youth, I hoped for something more. I won’t be able to weigh in until Raditude hits shelves Oct. 27, but expect disenchantment and some good puns. So far, all I have is “Baditude”.

Weezer To Offer Personalized Snuggies

Eva Lam — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:04:10 +0000

Weezer are releasing their own version of the popular blanket-that-you-can-wear known as a Snuggie.

Dubbed a “Wuggie,” the item is the result of a collaboration between the band and the official makers of the sleeved blanket.

“A Wuggie is basically exactly like a Snuggie, except it says Weezer on it,” front man Rivers Cuomo told Rolling Stone. “The people at Snuggie are doing it with us and promoting it with us. It’s a totally legit Snuggie.”

Wuggies aside, the band has been working on their seventh album and follow-up to last year’s self-titled effort known as the “Red Album.” According to the band’s official blog, no release date has been set for the as-yet-untitled album, but the first single will likely be released in the summer.

As previously reported, Weezer fans can also catch the band as one of the opening acts for Blink-182’s reunion tour this summer.

Rivers Cuomo Releases Home Recordings

andPOP Staff — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:01:51 +0000

Weezer fans are getting the ultimate Christmas present this year: a collection of home recordings by Rivers Cuomo.

The record, entitled “Alone – The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo,” should not be seen as a solo album, but rather a kind of musical scrapbook. According to Cuomo, who posted on his Myspace page, “This is a CD of my favorite home demos from ‘92 to ‘07 featuring a lot of never heard before songs, a few covers, a few songs from my unfinished rock musical ‘Songs From The Black Hole’ and my original demo for ‘Buddy Holly.’”

Geffen records will release the album on December 11. Cuomo said he may put out more demo collections in the future.

To hear a sample of the song “Blast Off,” the Windows Media file is here, and the Real Player file is here.

Weezer Isn’t Breaking Up (So They Say)

andPOP Staff — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:27:18 +0000

Last month, Weezer front-man Rivers Cuomo all but nailed the coffin shut on his beloved band.

“Really, for the moment, we are done,” he told MTV.com in an interview. “And I’m not certain we’ll ever make a record again, unless it becomes really obvious to me that we need to do one.”

Apparently, that time has come quicker than most would have thought.

This past weekend, a new statement appeared on the band’s website, http://www.weezer.com/, quite to the contrary of the earlier Cuomo quote.

“Now please, take those ‘weezer split?’ headlines and place them firmly into the ‘Don’t believe the hype’ bin,” reads the posting. “And have yourself a fine afternoon now.”

The statement is accompanied by a photo of Cuomo along with Weezer bassist Scott Shriner and guitarist Brian Bell, dressed all fancy-like in suits and gathered around some tasty snacks. Seems like a happy family for now.

The End of Weezer?

andPOP Staff — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 03:00:46 +0000

Rivers Cuomo strongly suggested in a recent interview that his band Weezer may be a thing of the past.

According to the Harvard-educated singer, there hasn’t been much communication between him and the other band members recently, though there’s no bad blood.

“[T]he band is all back in Los Angeles, and I sometimes speak with Patrick, and I occasionally email with Brian and Scott, but we’ve never mentioned getting together,” the recently-married Cuomo told MTV News from his in-laws’ house in Japan. “And I’m not certain we’ll ever make a record again, unless it becomes really obvious to me that we need to do one.”

However, that doesn’t mean that Cuomo has given up on songwriter — apparently he’s been busily massing material without any particular release in mind.

“All this year I’ve been feeling pretty creative and excited, so I’ve been writing a lot,” Cuomo said. “I certainly don’t see them becoming Weezer songs, and I don’t really see the point of a solo career. So we’ll just have to see.”

Rivers Cuomo Marries

andPOP Staff — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 10:40:58 +0000

Apologies to all you geek-loving girls, but Weezer front-man Rivers Cuomo is now a happily married man.

According to the band’s website, the 36-year-old singer wed his long-time girlfriend Kyoto Ito at a private ceremony in Malibu, CA on Sunday.

About 100 friends and family came out for the event, including Rick Rubin, which featured a string quartet and vegan fare.

As well, six of the seven all-time Weezer members came out for the wedding, including Brian Bell, Pat Wilson, Scott Shriner, Matt Sharp, Jason Cropper, and of course, Cuomo. Ex-bassist Mikey Welsh, who departed on less-than-good terms, was not in attendance.

It’s been a good month for Cuomo. In addition to the marriage, he graduated from Harvard last week, 11 years after he first enrolled. He also celebrated his birthday on June 13.