No one can deny that the green lacks something. I say that it lacks a lot of things. I have listed pretty much everything I can think of here.
Can any of you truly listen to green, then pop in blue or pinkerton, and then tell me green even compares (have you ever heard ANYONE say green is their favorite album?)? Here are just a few of the many things the green album lacks.
#1. EMOTION.
No matter what BuddyHolliday tries to tell you, the green album is completely emotionless. Rivers intended it to be that way.
(*disclaimer*- don't say I'm "not deep" enough to "get" the green album. I listen to Pink Floyd, for God's sake. There is no more complex band as far as concepts go.)
Let's look at the facts: Rivers wrote over 200 songs in about a year. His lyrics suffered as a result. The lyrics are NOT complex. They are incredibly vague, emotionless, and INTENTIONALLY EVASIVE. Can you honestly tell me that "if you want it, you can have it, you just gotta learn to reach up there and grab it" means something? That seriously sounds like something a bad eighth grade band would write (and believe me I know, because I was in one of those bands).
You can spout off your tyrades about how that "totally has a deep meaning," but the fact is that it doesn't. Maybe Pinkerton WAS more specific. That was good. That's probably why so many people love it. The green album's lyrics are kind of like a daily horoscope: So vague and non-specific that it can be construed any way the reader likes.
The second thing the green album lacks:
#2: LYRICS.
(See above.) Also, notice how just about every line is interchangeable. Notice how almost every b-side has at least a few lines which are near-verbatim to some lyrics from the green album.
#3. GUITAR SOLOS.
The guitar solos on Pinkerton and blue are so intricate. Pinkerton's are almost all duets, not solos. Green's are just a bland repeat of the melody line, MAYBE with one trill thrown in. Big whoop. It's the kind of solo that bores me to fucking tears. Listen to the "solo" on Teenage Victory Song (yeah I know this wasn't actually on TGA, blah blah blah, but it still applies). The so-called solo is three notes. I laughed the first time I heard that.
Blue's solos took TIME to write. Pinkerton's solos took TIME to write.
Green's solos: what solos?
#4. FEEDBACK
Weezer were masters at using feedback. It was incredibly subtle, and most people probably didn't think about it, but now that the feedback seed has been planted in your minds, go back and listen to Blue and Pinkerton. It is absolutely marvelous. The feedback on Green is nonexistent. You probably didn't notice its absence, but now that you think about it, it makes a pretty big difference, doesn't it?
#5: DRUMS:
The drum fills on Pinkerton were amazing. Blue's drumming: not bad either! The drum buildup on Only in Dreams, then the release with Pat's running down the toms. Pat is an INCREDIBLE drummer. But since Rivers obviously wanted green to be simple, he pretty much kept Pat's creative voice in a vice grip. Even I can recreate the drumming on green with no problems.
People, go back and listen to the subtle drum fills on things like "No Other One" or "Why Bother". It makes the song. There is absolutely no difficult drumming on green. And you can see it in their live performances. Pat looks so bored, and he always seems to want to do some cool roll down the toms or something, but then Rivers gives him a glare and he sticks to the boring "boom-chick-boom-chick" rhythm. Drumming is yet another thing we take for granted when it's there, and don't really notice when it's gone, but it makes a huge difference.
#6: LENGTH:
28 minutes? I am not saying I'm going for quantity over quality (which
Rivers obviously did with his songwriting for this album). I am just saying that when I listen Green, I hear PERFECT opportunities for things like tempo changes. Key changes. REAL guitar solos. The final "Balls-to-the-wall" chorus that was the trademark of every pre-green song.
#7: VOLUME CHANGES / TEMPO CHANGES:
If you were to chart every song on green, it would be a straight (boring)line all the way across. There are no tempo changes, volume changes, anything of the sort. MAYBE with the exception of IITS, everything is set at the same volume all the way around.
Listen to Holiday. How they all drop out in the middle to almost a whisper. Then they come back in with the final rockin' chorus! More examples, Jeremy? SURE! How about Across the Sea? Good Life (with this you get the pleasure of varying volumes AND a tempo change. YAY!), Tired of Sex, and a lot of b-sides. And Only in Dreams is the greatest musical example of a crescendo known to man.
Are there any real variants in songs such as volume and/or tempo changes in any song on the green album?
I think not.
#8. COMPLEXITY.
Listen to Only in Dreams. That is complexity at its finest. Listen to the guitar duet of Pink Triangle. That is complexity. Now listen to the green album. It sounds like it was written while Rivers was waiting for his laundry to finish.
The last half of the album all sounds exactly the same. And, in case you still doubt me, here's a quote from the man himself (not word for word, but something to the effect of):
"We recorded about 19 songs for the green album, but after a while they all started to sound the same, so we had to cut it down."
Hmmm.....Can't really argue with that, can you? The green album is simple. There is no questioning that FACT.
Which brings me to the next thing the green album lacks:
#9. ARTISTIC ATTENTION
If Rivers wrote 200 songs in a few months, he obviously did not concentrate on making each song great. There is NO QUESTION that in his Green writing sessions, he was going for quantity over quality. Only in Dreams. Now THAT took time to write. The green album could seriously, without a doubt, have been written in a day. Honestly. That is three-chord rock at its finest (or worst, depending on your point of view).
It is also that reason that I DO NOT want weezer releasing a new album every year. It's because of his lack of artistic attention lately that every time Karl reports, "Rivers wrote 947 songs on his day off yesterday" I have no choice but to shake my head and wish for what could've been.
If he continues to neglect giving his new creations some actual ATTENTION, we will just end up with more boring, run-of-the-mill pop music like the green album. Not the bombastic, complex, intriguing weezer we all know (knew) and love (loved).
It seems more than apparent to me that Rivers Cuomo deliberately changed his writing style to appeal to a bigger audience. No one can deny that. (in fact, when asked why he didn't make it more "pinkerton"-ish, he said something to the effect of, "I wanted to be a rock star again.")
He made the lyrics vague so more people would "get it" (when in all actuality, there is nothing to get). He didn't make it as raw as pinkerton, so he would get some airplay. He bitches about "only" selling 500,000 copies. Man, he must be in the POOR HOUSE with that one! He changed his writing style so he could sell more records. I'm not trying to say anything, but if that's not selling out, then that's about as close as you can possibly get to it without crossing the line over to Blink-182 land (who might I add, weezer played with recently).
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So there you have one fan's explanation of why I (and so many others I've talked to) find the green album to be sub-par in regards to weezer's other work. I'm not saying it's bad. It just could've been so much more, especially with five years to write it.
Like I said, the green album is not unlistenable by any standards. It is still better than every other crap on the market today. But I invite you to listen to green, then listen to either blue or Pinkerton. Then tell me it's even in the same league as the other two. You can't.
Also, please, please, PLEASE, do not call Pinkerton "Pink". Rivers named it Pinkerton for a reason.
I'm sorry to get so verbose, but I had to get it out. Thanks for listening and respecting my opinion.
