the greatest man that ever lived (variations on a shaker hymn)
seven leaked tracks makes for a pretty good sampling of the upcoming weezer album, which following a theme, is eponymous and in reddish hues. the shiny button of those tracks is "the greatest man that ever lived (variations on a shaker hymn)." grammatical error aside, it's a track that can't quite make up its mind over weather it wants to be an epic piece of rock history or a novel bit of pastiche. in a little more than 6 minutes, the song runs a gauntlet of styles from hip-hop to choral to hair metal, with others dotting the audioscape. lyrically it appears some parts are tongue-in-cheek hyperbole, while others are honest expressions. sometimes its hard to tell the difference.
it seems rivers cuomo is suffering from michael jackson syndrome and makes a point of appearing put upon and responding to fans and critics by making outlandish statements (a la mj's scream and unbreakable) about his sonic prowess. if he'd just written a good pop song and left his personal beef with his fans and critics out of it, we could all just get on enjoying this musical patchwork blanket. instead i'm left wondering whether rivers is really "tearing up the place" or we actually "love" what he's doing, because while certainly the song is ambitious, catchy, and displays a knack for pop music writing, it isn't innovative—there are no knew sounds here—and lacks the empathy that weezer's best stuff evokes in the listener. so the song ends up a false proclamation.
6 out of 9
2 comments:
i've decided that i like it. it shows brilliance, and he's whiny but fiesty. and he's distanced enough from me that it doesn't effect me whatsoever. like if he said that to me, right in my face, i might take two steps back or punch him in the face, but he's a musician and i am only in the audience... i could deal with this. like think about it, if you're a high school kid, wouldn't you love this song? wouldn't you love saying, if you don't like it, shuv it? i am the greatest man that ever lived?
as for the music, if you didn't understand a single word of it? it's pure fun.
that and its nice hearing his voice again. the fact that he feels this way, is sad really.. he should be getting cool with himself whatever his surroundings at his age maybe? don't you think? but he does have a killer voice, that resonates with "listen to me" and sometimes "i'm the biggest tradegy, pity me, love me" feel. however, it doesn't push buttons like songs from pinkerton. but thats ok. i say 8 out of 9.
well yes, perhaps his lyrics could have more depth. but that could be said about his last album as well. we're all on drugs? compared to that, this is a step up, i would have to say.
i think his dissastifaction is more of a statement about him than his fans. no matter where he is on the popular scale, he will never fit. either he's not loved enough, or he'll feel that his fans are shit, and shallow. or something. i think fame is a difficult thing to deal with. even on a totally balanced human being, even more difficult on an emotianal genius who demands love! love! and he gives back love in bunches, at least to his fans in japan, and thus you should totally see him here!!!(have i said this enough? am i annoying? do you not like me anymore?)
with that in mind, i think you should listen to "popular" from wicked the musical. if i were a considerate friend, i'd paste link here, but i'm handicapped. search engine handicapped. so i'll leave it up to you.
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