I seem to buy music in batches. I don\u2019t know how it happens but somehow it does. Despite the amazing lack of music related posts, I\u2019ve been listening to all kinds of good stuff recently. The problem is, I sit down to write about it and essentially come up with, \u201cthis album was great!\u201d Although articles are generally shorter in a blog format, a one sentence music review might be too brief to consider an actual article.<\/p>\n
In November I published a review of Passion Pit\u2019s album \u201cManners\u201d<\/a>. It was easy to single that one out of the batch because of its quirky nature. I bought \u201cManners\u201d at the same time as The Gossip\u2019s \u201cMusic for Men\u201d and Tegan and Sara\u2019s \u201cSainthood\u201d. Both of those albums were just as good as the Passion Pit album. However, when pressed to try and write about them I tended to come up with, \u201cThe lead vocalist of The Gossip, Beth Ditto, has a huge booming voice that when paired with the soul laced rock of the band creates musical magic,\u201d and \u201cTegan and Sara create intelligent rock music that makes you want to roll down the windows of your car and turn the volume up.\u201d All three albums were great, but for some reason I just couldn\u2019t make proper reviews out of two of them. Trust me; it\u2019s due to my ineptitude, not a poor quality product from The Gossip or Tegan and Sara.<\/p>\n Then, after my triumphant review of Sade\u2019s new album \u201cSoldier of Love\u201d, <\/a>which I call triumphant because it spent 3 weeks at #1 on the Billboard album charts<\/a>, I again find myself in a music review pickle.<\/p>\n My recent batch of albums are varied: Weezer\u2019s \u201cRaditude\u201d, Jay-Z\u2019s \u201cThe Blueprint 3\u201d, Johnny Cash\u2019s \u201cAmerican VI: Ain\u2019t No Grave\u201d, and Florence and the Machine\u2019s \u201cLungs\u201d. Again I don\u2019t know what to say about any one of them to make a proper music review, so I\u2019m giving you my mini-reviews, and perhaps a video or two to round it out.<\/p>\n First up is Weezer\u2019s \u201cRaditude\u201d. I love Weezer. Years ago I read an interview with the lead singer Rivers Cuomo about how he tried to create a mathematical equation for creating great pop music. All that geekiness with an electric guitar? I\u2019ve been in love ever since. That said, I didn\u2019t really care for Weezer\u2019s previous album \u201cWeezer aka The Red Album\u201d. It was more experimental, which as a band was probably a good thing since internet rumor has it that Cuomo had been a bit of a control freak in the past, but not so great for me. I\u2019m happy to say that with \u201cRaditude\u201d, I\u2019m back full on into Weezer. Although I assume Cuomo abandoned his mathematical pop music musings, Weezer still crafts the best pop rock songs around. Whether it\u2019s the anthemic \u201c(If You\u2019re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To\u201d, or the catchy ironic \u201cCan\u2019t Stop Partying\u201d featuring Lil\u2019 Wayne, you\u2019re guaranteed to sing along and tap your foot. Singing along + tapping foot=great Weezer album. Here, tap your foot and sing along!<\/p>\n