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Weezer: Beverly Hills
by Nick Cowen
Like the hangover throb that won't go away no matter how many painkillers you toss back, 'Beverly Hills' pretty much cements itself into your cerebellum after a couple of spins. This would be a good thing if the lead-off single to Weezer's new album was the brilliant return to form all the press releases say it is. But it's not.
'Beverly Hills' is 'Buddy Holly' at about half of the pace, and after a full-frontal lobotomy. Over a 'We Will Rock You' thump-thump-clap, the band burrow into your cranium by repeating the same wretched chord progression all the way through the song. Rivers Cuomo mumbles over the verses vaguely about aspiring to a higher tax bracket and then joins the barroom singalong chorus. Cue vocorder solo.
The overall result sounds like it was created in a lab by evil scientists with the express purpose in mind for it to soundtrack keg parties on College campuses, or to be blasted from lowriders filled with the local mullet population. So it fits that the video was shot at the Playboy mansion and the song itself sounds better the drunker you are. Sure, it's catchy, but then so was 'I Love Rock 'N Roll' by Joan Jett, which is a song it closely resembles, minus any imagination at all and Jett in biker leathers circa 1981.
'Beverly Hills' is a bland, one-dimensional radio biscuit, and it may mark Weezer's completion in their cross-over from geek-rock to frat-rock.
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Weezer - Beverly Hills
I actually thought this was the follow-up to 'California' by Phantom Planet until I saw Mr Cuomo's face in the video.
By far the worst thing this lot have done. Ever.-
Weezer - Beverly Hills
It's asif they have become a parody of themselves.
Fortunly, this is track 1 on Make Believe and can easily be skipped and/or deleted from playlists.
Seriously, who starts off an album with a crappy fake drumroll?-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
didn't the pumpkins start Siamese Dream in a strangely similar way?-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
I wouldn't know, but BH's opening sucks.-
Weezer - Beverly Hills
Yeah, except the drum rolls at the start of 'Cherub Rock' were good and served a meaning in the intro of the song.
'Make Believe' is a good album, but this is just bollocks. -
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
They've used that drumroll before too. December on the last album starts in damn near exactly the same way.
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Weezer - Beverly Hills
I get the feeling it was tacked on as the "hit single" because as said all over here it is frat rock and will play well on US college radio. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
I don't think the song is supposed to be taken at face value!-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
It's funny, cos I know lots of intelligent people hail Weezer as the most important power pop band and all, but I've never really liked 'em, despite loving that genre. They've always had more in common with their approach to crap frat rock bands (Cuomo hangs out with Fred Durst) even if their actual songs are something else... How could a real geek be more into bands like Limp Bizkit than, I dunno, even stupid stuff like Cheap Trick and The Knack. As Everett True once said, it's not about the music, it's about the intent and the feeling behind it and that's never grabbed me.
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Weezer - Beverly Hills
This song is rubbish.. it hurts me, weezer were so good once. The whole album sounds like its been forced out, makes me wanna boke. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
I love this song. I love the album.
I know this isn't a weighty counter-argument, but I had to get something in after reading all this negativity. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
I think this song is rubbish. But I heard the album on MySpace and thought it was excellent. So it balances out. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
this wasn't too bad when i heard it once. Now i think it's absolutely unlistenable. I'm sure the album is great though.-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
i've just ordered it from play.com, so it better be.-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
Power-pop head that you are, you'll love it. Trust me.-
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Yeah, the album's good, just don't forget to play from track2.
(Oh, and skip all the bonus tracks too- they'll make you want to cry. Seriously.)-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
Its not their best song but its the best single theyve done since the comeback, atleast they've got their quirk back. And the album is good, although not as good as I first thought. It does sounds like the green album but with vocals as if rivers actually cared this time. But the bonus track live version of butterfly is unforgivable it sounds bouncy and jolly like its a song about catching butterflies rather than about completely giving up. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
The new album is seriosuly not very good. Really boring, unimaginative and derivative. It makes me sad how they can make something quite so awful.
I'm probably going to sell it on ebay, I doubt I'll ever listen to it again.-
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Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
:( -
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
I dont understand why people dont like this album, I know they will never be as good as they were but that is nothing new. If you managed to get through the last two albums to the point of giving this one a shot and deciding to buy it I cant see how you'd be anything but pleasantly surprised, its not like its the follow up to pinkerton it's the follow up to two truely awful albums and it's a vast improvement, theres a quality back in rivers voice thats been missing for a long time and the lyrics arent meaningless fragments anymore and the guitars dont just plod and follow the vocals the whole album sounds bright. Hold me is as good as anything on blue. =w= =w= =w=
Im just a no class beat down fool -
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
I dont understand why people dont like this album, I know they will never be as good as they were but that is nothing new. If you managed to get through the last two albums to the point of giving this one a shot and deciding to buy it I cant see how you'd be anything but pleasantly surprised, its not like its the follow up to pinkerton it's the follow up to two truely awful albums and it's a vast improvement, theres a quality back in rivers voice thats been missing for a long time and the lyrics arent meaningless fragments anymore and the guitars dont just plod and follow the vocals the whole album sounds bright. Hold me is as good as anything on blue. =w= =w= =w=
Im just a no class beat down fool-
Weezer - Beverly Hills
Buddy Holly at half the pace? Eh?
It's the exact same riff as the Sweater Song. -
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
I think the guitars plod quite a lot. The songs are really unimaginative and totally not catchy. I think they must have tried to go "back to basics" or something, or tried to make it sound a bit like blue.
Seriously, if some other band had made this album everyone would have no hesitation in hating it. =w= indeed, the only people I've heard who say they like this have been massive obsessive weezer fans, who are probably in denial.
I'm sorry I just don't like it at all. I can't even listen to it all the way through. I think pitchfork were maybe just a little bit harsh in their review though!
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Weezer - Beverly Hills
First heard this in some club, banging out loud and all that. Sounded good. If you take it at face value and don't look deeper, it'll make you feel good.
Is that good or bad? I don't really care. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
ugh. its as if they actually intended it to be as bland as possible. they cant have made the album in a serious, artistic mindset. The Universal Theorem of Radio Play must have been involved somewhere along the line.
maybe its just me, or maybe it really is that bad. maybe i just need to look at them as a completely different band to the Weezer who made the Blue Album. -
Weezer - Beverly Hills
i love joan jett.-
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Me too.
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Weezer - Beverly Hills
You guys are idiots. Weezer rock! The exact same riff as The Sweater Song?!!? I'm guessing you're not a guitar player. This Is Such A Pity and Haunt You Every Day are as good as anything Weezer have ever recorded. If you hate it then fair enough, it's not for you. Don't write it off as bullshit though and start infecting the world with your negativity. Go and listen to some of your beloved radiohead and give us all a break.-
Re: Weezer - Beverly Hills
Right, get your head out of your arse and read that again. Many of the DiS wrtiers on this site were bought up on and adore Weezer (Pinkerton is quite easily one of my favourite albums of all time) but the new material is weak in comparison to The Blue Album, Green Album and Pinkerton. You can live in denial all you like but the demons that Rivers was exorcising have now gone and he and the band are in a comfortable position and you will NEVER see a song like 'Across The Sea' or 'Only In Dreams' ever again.
The reason this review was not so glowing was because this IS Weezer and we remember how life affirming they could be and this album was a let down by their own high standards.
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