First, if you don't think Weezer is being tongue-in-cheek in naming an album "Raditude," you'll probably be in for a disappointment, as anyone who approaches this album with a straight face, so to speak, won't "get it" at all. Anybody who didn't get that the "boo-yah" in the song Everybody Get Dangerous (off the Red Album) was SUPPOSED to sound really feeble and cheesy because the characters in the song were just that (feeble and cheesy), won't get the songs on Raditude. Hey, song titles like "I'm Your Daddy" and "Girl Got Hot" are exactly what they suggest. Cheesy. Did I mention they're also extremely catchy?
Raditude sounds like an album based around Weezer's earlier hit song Beverly Hills, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because A) that song is really catchy, and B) we finally get album continuity. That song had no business being on Make Believe, and, though full of good songs, The Red Album doesn't really feel like an ALBUM. Raditude feels like a complete album though--almost a modern update of the Green Album. Just like the Green Album, Raditude starts off with the best song on the album, 'I Want You To.' I can already tell this song will be in my rotation for a long time. The whole first half of the album is some of the most listen-able, catchiest music Weezer has ever written.
Unfortunately, the album stumbles a bit in the latter half. "Love Is The Answer" doesn't really do it for me, and, even though it's not a serious song, I really don't care for "In the Mall" either. Small stumbles aside, Raditude is an album worthy of being added to your Weezer collection. Die hard fans who think that pre-Green Album Weezer is the only true Weezer and everything else is trash will NOT like this album. It's very possible to like both though. Hey, Pinkterton is still my favorite Weezer album, and one of my favorites of all time. It's a masterpiece. But to expect Rivers Cuomo to duplicate an album as personal and raw as that one isn't just completely ludicrous, it's selfish as well. The guy is approaching middle age now, do you expect him to still write the same songs he did 13 years ago? The Pinkerton Era of songs is gone and won't ever come back, and the sooner that Weezer fans accept that the better off we'll be.
Plus, it's not like Raditude is devoid of any heart. Just look at the standout opener. The song starts off optimistic enough, with the prospect of a budding relationship, but then toward the end we get the lines "So much pain may come our way / There may come a day when we have nothing left to say / When the conversation stops and we're facing our defeat / I'll be next to you and you'll be right there next to me." And a song like "Tripping Down The Freeway" may look like more juvenile pop at first glance, but it's yet another song about growing up with someone else as you're in a relationship. Raditude is an album written by a middle-aged man, but with the attitude of someone much younger who's just growing into adulthood. The result is a very pleasing record full of catchy, yet still heartfelt songs. It's a fun record. It was written that way. So leave any hang-ups you have at the door. Pop Raditude into your CD player, and just enjoy yourself.