Pitchfork Media
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Pitchfork, formerly known as Pitchfork Media, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication devoted to criticism, commentary, news, and interviews pertaining mostly to independent music. Pitchfork awards albums a score out of 10, while its track reviews give songs a score out of 5. Its editors have, over time, helped steer a critical consensus around Weezer's discography: the band's 20th century output is met with great critical acclaim, while everything released after 1996's Pinkerton has received negative to middling reviews.
Contents
Reviews
Albums
| Release | Rating | Review date | Author | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
   (7.5/10)
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September 1996 | Ryan Schreiber | "Pinkerton might actually be a bit much for fans who were wooed with the clean production and immediately accessible sound of these guys' debut, but if given a chance, it might surprise even some anti-Weezer folk." Read full review |
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(4/10)
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May 14, 2001 | Spencer Owen | "The new self-titled Weezer album, as it turns out, is average from beginning to end. There are maybe one or two decent melodies out of the ten songs here, and the only change in tone comes with "Island in the Sun," the album's only truly enjoyable song and its catchiest hook. It's the first and only moment of even moderate pleasure in the record's brief yet far too long 28-minute length." Read full review |
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(5.4/10)
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May 27, 2002 | Rob Mitchum | "Don't come looking for any of the eccentric flourishes of "Undone" or "El Scorcho," as Maladroit is predominantly a one-note, homogenous affair. Deviations from the hard-rock mean are whiffs: "Death and Destruction" slows things down for some nazel-gaving, but can't come close to the emotional weight of a "Say It Ain't So," for example." Read full review |
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(0.4/10)
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May 8, 2005 | Rob Mitchum | "Sometimes an album is just awful. Make Believe is one of those albums. Weezer have been given a lot of breaks in their second era-- both The Green Album and Maladroit were cut miles of slack despite consisting of little more than slightly above-average power-pop." Read full review |
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(4.7/10)
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June 2, 2008 | Marc Hogan | "Already a self-described "old man" on Pinkerton, Cuomo is focused these days on reliving his lost youth-- probably the same reason some of us still listen to Weezer albums." Read full review |
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(4.5/10)
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November 4, 2009 | Rob Mitchum | "The Weezer frontman seems to be stuck in an eternal puberty, forever 13... It's a characteristic that has always been at the heart of Weezer, from "In the Garage" onward. But it's never been more concentrated than on Raditude, which, from its goofy name and cover art to its Mountain Dew-jacked sound and melodramatic lyrics, is designed to hit 13-year-old boys directly on target." Read full review |
Death to False Metal (2010)  |
Pinkerton: (10/10) Death to False Metal: (3.5/10)
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November 3, 2010 | Ian Cohen | "The supposedly juvenile feelings of Pinkerton still pack visceral power years after listeners would've supposedly outgrown them. It's a record that reaches well beyond a diaristic look at Cuomo's perversions, and instead asks something more universal: Do we really grow out of our teenage feelings, or do we need something like Pinkerton to expose them as merely being repressed to the point where they mutate?" "But as a clearinghouse for an increasingly prolific band, False Metal isn't particularly generous. In fact, judging from its wacky title/cover combo, 10-song tracklist, and overall quality, it dubiously achieves Cuomo's stated goal of creating the logical follow-up to Hurley." Read full review |
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(10/10)
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February 26, 2017 | Jillian Mapes | "You couldn’t quite tell if Cuomo was mocking his song’s regressive narrators or sympathizing with them. But once you got past his defense mechanisms and sorting through the humor and cultural references, you found a portrait of a young man’s psyche, riddled with angst and insecurity. And it arrived on the wings of massive riffs and gnarled guitar solos that sounded like they were emanating from a Flying V—on every single song." Read full review |
Songs
| Release | Rating | Review date | Author | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(1995)  |
(3.0/5)
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April 22, 2004 | Christopher Weber | "A fun relic from a more innocent time, it's one that Weezer fans will definitely want to seek out while waiting for that next album." Read full review |
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(1/5)
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March 22, 2005 | Nick Sylvester | "For Chrissake, somebody give Cuomo a star so we can forget about him again. " Read full review |
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Not given | April 17, 2008 | Marc Hogan | "...unlike anything on 2005's justly panned Make Believe, I have so far managed to listen to it without drowning it out in my own drunken imprecations or getting weird looks from bartenders." Read full review |
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(3/10)
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October 30, 2009 | Scott Plagenhoef | "Problem is, the joke/comment here on "Can't Stop Partying" is one-note and, ultimately, a snooze." Read full review |
Other
- Pitchfork's staff voted "The Blue Album" as 26th and "Pinkerton" as 53rd record of the 90s in their 100 top albums list for that decade.
- "Pork and Beans" was chosen as the 3rd best video of the 2000s, and included in the list of Top 40 Music Videos of 2008.
- "We Are All On Drugs" was chosen as one of the 15 Worst Releases of 2005.
- Weezer's performance at Lollapalooza in 2005 was reviewed by the site.
- The album cover of "Maladroit" was chosen as one of the Worst Record Covers of All Time.
