Weezer - Pinkerton

Release Date: September 24th, 1996

yo, what the heck, this is really good.

Review: Unlike their debut, i never hear any of the singles from this album get played on the radio. I'm sure I gave this album a listen a while back, but i'm caught off guard how connected i feel it. "Why Bother?" is so catchy, and its such an easy relatable line for anyone that is cynical. I like the longing on "across the sea." "El Scorcho" is a single,  and i dont know how well received it was, but it stands out. I like the melody of "Pink Triangle" but I'm not sure how warm the lyrics would be in today's landscape.

Summary: a bit shorter than the debut, but it helps that none of these songs are overplayed on the radio. Still, weezer sounds like weezer, but i really like the softer songs on here because in my head, i think of them for being a humorous band.

Favorite Songs: Why Bother?, Across the Sea, Pink Triangle
Rating: 9/10

Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)

Release Date: May 10th, 1994

i wasn't around in 1994, but time does weird things when it comes to the perception of music.

Review: obviously the 3 singles, "undone," "buddy holly," and "say it ain't so" are classics. the other seven tracks sound a bit basic. usually in a decade, you can lump bands that are different shades of each other, but River Cuomo doesn't sound like other alt-rock bands of the late 90s. maybe ben fold fives, but still, weezer sounds like weezer. and so, i think the whole album is fine, but since i'm not in 1994, i don't know how fresh this would sound because I'm so familiar of what weezer is suppose to sound like.

Summary: sounds like Weezer's debut

Favorite Songs: No One Else, Undone, Say It Ain't So
Rating: 7/10

Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Release Date:  November 18th, 2022

in 2019, i was busy backtracking for my decade list to keep up with '19 releases, but i remembered liking her song, "everyday" off of that year's album.

Review:  but i'm not gonna lie, i couldn't wait for this album to be over. I thought it was so boring. I sort of liked the 2nd song, "Children of the Empire" and "Hearts Aglow" sounded pleasing. I can definitely hear the Joni Mitchell comparisons and a lot of the sounds have that 70s vinyl muffed air quality. But I'm not a joni mitchelle fan so perhaps, that's why I'm not into weyes blood.

Summary:  I know not every artist has to have pop sensibilities, but this album felt sluggish and i was so bored.

Favorite Song: Children of the Empire
Rating: 4/10

Woo!ah! - JOY

Release Date: June 9th, 2022

When these girls go sugary pop, I feel like they have potential to be up there with the other 4th gen kpop groups. They can sound so sweet.

Review: But when they try to have an edge like on title track "Danger," I'm kind of iffy. It's not bad, i can see red velvet doing something similar, but i feel like its a saturated song in the world of kpop.  "Joyride" is more to my liking, "Go Away" has some attitude, but not I found it fun. "Switch Up" has a mix of both, sounds a bit typical. "Straight up" is pretty. And last, the best song they ever done, Catch The Stars. Man, I wish this song was a bigger hit, its so catchy and upbeat and a banger.

Summary: When they sound sweet, they sound good.

Favorite Songs: Joyride, Catch the Stars
Rating: 7/10

Wet Leg - Wet Leg

Release Date: April 8th, 2022

this album has a 87 on metacritic, but it's not what I'm looking for.

Review: so i don't recall ever hearing "Chaise Longue" before, but it stood out to me instantly and that deadpan line of "i got the big D" sounded so hipster. Unfortunately, maybe I need the album to grow on me, but this isn't as 90s as I wanted nor is it catchy like the recent wave of indie pop bands with female vocalist. It's weird, like they sound "bad" on purpose. I suppose the lyrics are suppose to be unique, but after a few laughs, I'm left a bit indifferent.

Summary: Not as catchy as I expected.

Favorite Song: Chaise Longue
Rating: 6/10

The Weeknd - Dawn FM

Release Date: January 7th, 2022

crazy that this was released during the first week of the year and i'm listening to it for the first time today, in July. I'm not a fan of the weeknd, i put him in the same category as Drake in the sense that I respect his output and the people who are fans of him, they love him, but there's just too much samey energy from him that when I see comments that boost his discography as top tier, I'm kind of like, "okay..."

Review: I did listen to After Hours and i don't remember much about it. But I want to say Dawn FM is a better listen as a whole compared to that. I've only been expose to the hits, "take my breath" and "sacrifice" and those are pretty good, but it's the same energy as "blinding lights." Perfectly fine when you're with people, but i was worried there would be a few dud tracks that were meant for the actual radio, stuff that had an unnecessary rapper like a Jack Harlow level or doja cat. Thankfully there isn't much features here. I know i used the term samey as a negative, but because there's this overall FM radio vibe, complete with radio bumpers between songs, there's this mind trick that each song is potential radio friendly.

anyways, i just finished watching Stranger Things and I can really see his songs fitting well within that 80s world. I also hear a lot of Michael Jackson beats.  For me, there arent many low lows, but I only god excited a few times, such as hearing "out of time" and "less than zero."

Summary: Ladies and gentleman, the weekend.

Favorite Songs: Take My Breath, Out of Time, Less Than Zero
Rating: 8/10

The Weather Station - Ignorance

Release Date: February 5th, 2021
Genre: Folk, indie rock

Review: n/a

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Robber 8/10
2. Atlantic 7/10
3. Tried to Tell You 9/10
4. Parking Lot 9/10
5. Loss 8/10
6. Separated 7/10
7. Wear 7/10
8. Trust 6/10
9. Heart 7/10
10. Subdivisions 8/10

Summary: Apparently this album is about climate change, but that's not important. I gave this a listen back in February and I know it had great reviews, but I still think it's boring. I imagine it's what my friends feel when I try to introduce them to The National. "Ignorance" has a nice smokey, marshmallowy, outdoorsey feel to it, and I do like the textures of the instruments. I would probably be hyped if Netflix uses one of their songs as a exit montage. But for personal listening, I mostly like the middle sections of the album, and the rest just feels textbook father john misty music.

Key Tracks: Tried to Tell You, Parking Lot, Subdivisions
Rating: 7/10

Weeekly - Play Game: Holiday

Release Date: August 4th, 2021
Genre: kpop

Review: n/a

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Weekend 8/10
2. Check It Out 10/10
3. Holiday Party 7/10
4. La Luna 8/10
5. Memories of Summer Rain 9/10

Summary: Weeekly was that rookie group that made me excited to be their fan (daileee) from their debut, and I liked their 2nd ep, and sorta liked their 3rd ep, and with this ep, it's the same type of bouncy pop songs. I think all of the songs are good, but the title track, it kind of feels hallow, like they are using the same songs, but without the heart. "Check it Out" makes me feel good, and the last two songs evoke some type of emotion, but I want them to go full "hello" again.

Key Tracks: Check it Out
Rating: 8/10

Weezer - OK Human

Release Date: January 29th, 2021
Genre: Orchestral pop

I gave this a listen back in January because not a lot was going on at the moment. Weezer is an interesting band because the consensus seems to be that their first 2 albums are classics, but the rest don't exist. Even when I was into alternative rock, I never was on a Weezer kick. Sure, I can respect "say it aint so," but for the most part, when I think of Weezer, I think of goofy, nerdy boys that sing about pork and beans.

Review: So I can't reference their last 10 albums so I'm not sure what the Weezer formula is, but opening with "All My Favorite Songs," I thought it sounded like a Weezer song with subpar melodies and words that rhymes found in any middle schooler's first poetry class. Like I get it, people like things that are bad for them, but I just found the song to sound like shit, yet I can still tolerate it, so I don't know what to rate it. To my surprise, I really like the way "Aloo Gobi"starts with some cellos, lyrics are whatever, but this was when I started to understand that this entire album is going to have an orchestra.

"Grapes of Wrath" sounds like shit too, but the gibberish is kind of endearing. I think "Numbers" and "Playing My Piano" are suppose to be a deep song, but I found them to be a bit corny. Somehow, the album took a turn for me where I stopped listening to each song as individuals, but viewed as part of an album.  "Mirror Image" and "Screens" are short filler songs, then "Bird with a Broken Wing" sounds like it could stand by itself. It's on the ballad side of things, but I like it a lot more than "Numbers" or "Playing my Piano." "Dead Roses" is alright, then finally to my favorite track, "Here Comes the Rain." I like the piano in it and the chorus feels very bright.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. All My Favorite Songs 3/10
2. Aloo Gobi 7/10
3. Grapes of Wrath 5/10
4. Numbers 5/10
5. Playing My Piano 4/10
6. Mirror Image 7/10
7. Screens 7/10
8. Bird with a Broken Wing 8/10
9. Dead Roses 7/10
10. Everything Happens For a Reason n/a
11. Here Comes the Rain 9/10
12. La Brea Tar Pits 8/10

Summary: Weezer has so many albums, it's almost a meme how none of them matter except for their first two. Some of these songs really suck because I found the lyrics to be simple, but when I pretended that I was listening to a Beach Boys album, I found the 2nd half to be a smoother ride. The string arrangements does give the album a different flavor than just your typical pop rock album.

Key Tracks: Aloo Gobi, Bird with a Broken Wing, Here Comes the Rain
Rating: 6/10

Weeekly - We Play

Release Date: March 17, 2021
Genre: kpop

I was a big fan of their first two EP, it had no skips, but with their 3rd mini album, my expectations are set a bit high.

Review: Because the title track is the one with a video and I've seen them perform with rolling chairs, it just hits differently, but not as hard as tag me. I think it's an enjoyable tune, although the "yo yo yo tag me" part made me cringe. Maybe it will be cool if they did a callback for their 5th year.

I really liked "Yummy" at first, it's not deep, just a easy digestible hook. Then "Lucky" is the song that slow burned on me. It feels soft and crunchy, if that make sense.

I'm sure "Uni" sounds fine, but I found it too loud and obnoxious. And I had to look up the lyrics because what is a dump-truck? (they are saying "like a jump like a jump like a dontcha") as for the last song, it's fine.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Yummy! 8/10
2. Lucky 9/10
3. After School 8/10
4. Uni 6/10
5. Butterfly 7/10

Summary: After two incredible ep, I felt this mini album falls a bit short, but it could be me who expected more songs like "hello" or "top secret."

Key Tracks: Lucky
Rating: 7/10

Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

Release Date: 06/17/08
Genre:Indie Rock

Opps, I thought I reviewed this already, but that was Islands.

Review: So I was really surprise to see this album get as much credit as it did because IMO, it didn't match their debut album nor did it match to Sunset Rubdown. The first song, "Soldier's Grin" is excellent and exactly the type of song I wanted. Nice bouncy words and good instrumental parts when there are no vocals to draw the listener. It's nice and long so it feels like a complete dream.

I didn't mind the second song, or third. When "California Dreamer" came, It was cool. But I wasn't stunt like the first album. When the album finished with "Kissing The Beehive," I got lost. Are there bad songs? Not quite, but it was almost like this album made no mark on me. The stuff in the middle sounded too similar and there was a lot of missing pieces that I needed to grab hold of. Not asking for much, just something to taste.

Summary: A little dry.

Key Tracks: Soldier's Grin, California Dreamer
Rating: 5/10

Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing

Release Date: 05/30/08
Genre: Conscious Rap/Hip-Hop

Who the heck is this dude? I know-I know, but it was recommended to me so I downloaded it and all I have to say is "finally!" Finally! Atmosphere's album earlier this year really helped ease my ears into listening to hip-hop, but this album really knocked that door down.

Review: So i didn't see the album cover when I first listen to it, so hearing elements of Seinfeld was interesting. Basically, my problems with other hiphop albums are the beats losing my interest. Thankfully Wale sounds intelligent. He can be goofy too so during the songs with the old school-like beats, his clear flow and delivery grab my attention. He doesn't need to relay on catchy hooks or producing club songs. I don't have a favorite song, but for 72 minutes, it's completely solid. Great lyrics. Great flow. Great mixing.

Summary: Excellent hip-hop.

Key Tracks: The Freestyle, The Kramer, The Vacation From Ourselves
Rating: 8/10

White Hinterland - Phylactery Factory

Release Date: 03/04/08
Genre: Chamber Pop

Casey Dienel's voice is so warm. Perfect for the fireplace.

Review: Sometimes I can hear a bit of Regina Spektor, sometimes I hear a bit of Joanna Newsom, but she still has a distinct sound. A lot of reviews I've seen of her describe it as jazzy folk and it's true. I love the bouncy flow of the music and it doesn't feel like it ever becomes repetitive. Her lyrics are more interesting to listen to, although I don't really connect to them, it's nice to hear different useage of words. So even in her later songs where the songs don't feel to be moving, I still enjoy them because of her storytelling.

Summary: I like it. Good balance between pop songs and folksy songs. Good instruments.

Key Tracks: The Destruction Of The Art Deco House, Dreaming Of Plum Trees, Hometown Hooray
Rating: 7/10

Weezer - Weezer (The Red Album)

Release Date: 06/03/08
Genre: Alternative Rock

I actually liked Make Believe.

Review: "Troublemaker" is alright, but lyrics are silly. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" starts out with terrible singing and the addition of the choir-chants felt bland and i think there's some good ideas, but the song came out messy. "Pork & Beans" is good.

"Heart Songs" is a slower stripped down jam. He namedrops a bunch of old songs. "Everybody get Dangerous" is stupid. "Dreamin'" has a pleasant sound, but again, something is interfering it to make it less than good.

Okay, the second half is terrible. I'm speechless.

Summary: Second half is bad

Key Tracks: Troublemaker, Pork and Beans
Rating: 3/10

The Weepies - Hideaway

Release Date: 04/22/08
Genre: lo-fi indie pop

The picture on their wikipedia is cute.

Review: I don't know where they recorded the album, but throughout, it just feels like something two close friends did in their spare time. It has a sincere bedroom session vive to it. Deb's is not always perfect, but the honestly in her voice is love. Steve's vocals are kinda...off, but it balances out the Deb's vocals because the album is 45 minutes, so i appreciate the female vocals when they return later in the album.

Even though the formula is simple, the chemistry is what makes the album work. The melodies also work well. But in the end, I don't think it's an album that is really strong enough to make an impact. A lot of the songs will make you feel like it's the beginning of your new love relationship. It's soft and easy. But there's too much of it. After 30 minutes, I think i got it and it was time for a change.

Summary: Easy love. Runs too long.

Key Tracks: Orbiting, How You Survived The War, Old Coyote
Rating: 7/10

What Made Milwaukee Famous - What Doesn't Kill Us

Release Date: 03/04/08
Genre: Indie Rock

Honestly, I only gave them a listen because their wikipedia page said they are one of the only unsigned bands to have played on Austin City Limits.

Review: Surprise. The first song gave me the impression that this was one of those generic bands that play the same chords the whole song. but then the singer switched it up in mid song and i was like "what?"

"Sultan" is catchy rock radio.
"Cheap Wine" is sappy rock radio.
"The Right Place" sound like one of those bands with the prefix 'the' in their names.

"For The Birds" is my favorite because of how pleasing it sounds, but the ending where the singer just explodes is an awesome feeling to witness. I always felt most bands are missing that part, but i love how he just lets it out.

"Self Destruct" sounds like Weezer.
"Resistance St." could be mistaken for england.
"Middle Of The Night" sounds like a generation's anthem.

20 years from now, if this album was labeled as a greatest hits, i think someone would believe it. All of the songs feel satisfying individually and having them on one album is more impressive. Although it might not be providing anything new, it's a real nice collection of songs.

Summary: Well crafted melodies, a great hidden gem of the year.

Key Tracks: For The Birds, And The Grief Goes On..., Middle of the Night
Rating: 7/10

Why? - Alopecia

Release Date: 03/11/08
Genre: Abstract hip hop

Review: So I was kinda mad when i first listen to the album because I was expecting good music, but instead, I hear a guy trying to rap/spoken word his way on top of indie music, but once I accepted that, I was surprised as to how much i enjoyed the diverse flow of the album.

Summary: Great diverse album.

Key Tracks: These Few Presidents, The Hollows, Fatalist Palmistry
Rating: 7/10

The Wreckers - Way Back Home: Live From New York City

Release Date: 12/04/07
Genre: Country

From Michelle's standpoint, she got to make and play music with her best friend. Lucky her. But it's time for the two girls to go their separate ways, so this album is a good marker to remember The Wreckers goodbye.

Review: But without being bias, I'm not digging this live album. Country music feels phony. I was already familiar with Michelle Branch's voices, so it was odd hearing her add a 'twang' to her vocals. Jessica's voices fits it better. The crowd itself didn't help either, but maybe that's normal for a country audience.

There are two new songs on the album, and they are super country. I hate them. Nearly every track is identical with the album, which isn't to say it's a bad thing, but it makes having a live album seem like a bad purchase.

If there's one song to listen to, it's "Tennessee." The highlight of the album comes from the end where the band just mellows out for a bit.

Summary: Boring. I suppose it's a good timepiece of what The Wreckers were like on tour, before they decided to return solo, but I just don't enjoy it. I don't think I'll find myself listening to this album much either.

Key Track: Tennessee
Rating: 3/10