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Maladroit: Difference between revisions
Added mention of Alone VIII, added blurb from Stereogum article
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:::—''[[Kerrang! article - April 27, 2002]]'' | :::—''[[Kerrang! article - April 27, 2002]]'' | ||
Immediately following the release of ''The Green Album'', Weezer fired their management, Atlas/Third Rail Management, and longtime manager [[Pat Magnarella]], leading to a protracted legal battle.<ref>Pollack, Marc, and Simutis, David. "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: You Need A Scorecard To Keep Track, So We've Provided One" ''Hits Daily Double''. 3 July 2001. https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=274861&title=UNDER-NEW-MANAGEMENT</ref><ref>RIVERS CUOMO, an individual; PAT WILSON, an individual; BRIAN BELL, an individual; and MIKEY WELSH, an individual; collectively and professionally known as “WEEZER” vs. ATLAS/THIRD RAIL MANAGEMENT, INC., a California corporation; and PAT MAGNARELLA, an individual, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/TAC/2001-21%20Rivers%20Cuomo%20et%20al%20v%20Atlas%20Third%20Rail%20mgmt%20inc.pdf</ref> According to [[Karl Koch]], the firing was a "statement of intent" and [[Rivers Cuomo]] felt that the band didn't need management, and could simply fund their next album with their own money and pay themselves back when the album sold.<ref name="vaultdive1">Weezer Fan Club Vault Dive #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtDgekROuac</ref> Within mere weeks of the release of ''Green'', the band began recording wholly new songs, booking recording sessions at [[DC Demos|Monster Island Studios in Washington, D.C.]] with the intention of finding potential producers for the band's next album. When performing for the BBC Radio 1 program ''[[BBC Sessions|The Evening Session]]'' on [[June 13]], [[2001]], rather than performing songs to promote ''Green'', the band instead opted to perform exclusively new songs. | Immediately following the release of ''The Green Album'', Weezer fired their management, Atlas/Third Rail Management, and longtime manager [[Pat Magnarella]], leading to a protracted legal battle.<ref>Pollack, Marc, and Simutis, David. "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: You Need A Scorecard To Keep Track, So We've Provided One" ''Hits Daily Double''. 3 July 2001. https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=274861&title=UNDER-NEW-MANAGEMENT</ref><ref>RIVERS CUOMO, an individual; PAT WILSON, an individual; BRIAN BELL, an individual; and MIKEY WELSH, an individual; collectively and professionally known as “WEEZER” vs. ATLAS/THIRD RAIL MANAGEMENT, INC., a California corporation; and PAT MAGNARELLA, an individual, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/TAC/2001-21%20Rivers%20Cuomo%20et%20al%20v%20Atlas%20Third%20Rail%20mgmt%20inc.pdf</ref> According to [[Karl Koch]], the firing was a "statement of intent" and [[Rivers Cuomo]] felt that the band didn't need management, and could simply fund their next album with their own money and pay themselves back when the album sold.<ref name="vaultdive1">Weezer Fan Club Vault Dive #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtDgekROuac</ref> Within mere weeks of the release of ''Green'', the band began recording wholly new songs, booking recording sessions at [[DC Demos|Monster Island Studios in Washington, D.C.]] with the intention of finding potential producers for the band's next album. When performing for the BBC Radio 1 program ''[[BBC Sessions|The Evening Session]]'' on [[June 13]], [[2001]], rather than performing songs to promote ''Green'', the band instead opted to perform exclusively new songs. | ||
Cuomo began recording low-fidelity demos onto an Olympus handheld digital recorder<ref>''[[Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'', [[Alone II liner notes|liner notes]]</ref><ref name="maladroitpreview" /> around July of [[2001]].<ref>Cuomo, Rivers. "The Catalog O' Riffs" 2002. Archived by ''Weezerpedia'': http://weezerpedia.com/catalogofriffs.html</ref> Said Cuomo in [[2021]], "...this was my nadir, if not as a songwriter/artist/human being, at least in terms of recording quality."<ref name="maladroitpreview">"Maladroit Preview 2021-12-27 14.38.mp3" ''[[Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years]]''</ref> | |||
Meanwhile, bassist [[Mikey Welsh]]'s mental health began to deteriorate as a result of undiagnosed bi-polar disorder, drug abuse, and the duress of constant touring, leading him to attempt suicide via overdose in early August of [[2001]]. The rest of the band, unable to determine Welsh's whereabouts for several days, quickly scheduled try-outs to find a replacement bassist in order to continue touring, eventually selecting [[Scott Shriner]], who has remained the band's bassist ever since. Weezer began recording its first studio demos with Shriner at [[SnS Demos|Sage & Sound Recording Studios]] in Hollywood from [[August 29]] through [[September 8]], right before embarking on the band's [[Midget Tour]] beginning on the [[September 12|12th]]. | Meanwhile, bassist [[Mikey Welsh]]'s mental health began to deteriorate as a result of undiagnosed bi-polar disorder, drug abuse, and the duress of constant touring, leading him to attempt suicide via overdose in early August of [[2001]]. The rest of the band, unable to determine Welsh's whereabouts for several days, quickly scheduled try-outs to find a replacement bassist in order to continue touring, eventually selecting [[Scott Shriner]], who has remained the band's bassist ever since. Weezer began recording its first studio demos with Shriner at [[SnS Demos|Sage & Sound Recording Studios]] in Hollywood from [[August 29]] through [[September 8]], right before embarking on the band's [[Midget Tour]] beginning on the [[September 12|12th]]. | ||
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===Critics=== | ===Critics=== | ||
{{Template:Maladroit reviews}} | {{Template:Maladroit reviews}} | ||
''Maladroit'' received strong reviews at the time of release, but remains one of the band's lowest selling albums. | ''Maladroit'' received strong reviews at the time of release, but remains one of the band's lowest-selling albums. The album's only singles, "[[Dope Nose]]" and "[[Keep Fishin']]" received respectable radio play and MTV circulation, propelled by popular music videos, but failed to really get the album off the ground. The album tends to be divisive among fans. | ||
In a 2022 retrospective on the occasion of ''Maladroit's'' 20th anniversary, Stereogum writer Rachel Brodsky said of the record, "In terms of actual album content, ''Maladroit'' is so much better than most remember. It’s a peculiar kind of aging, and what you think of the album may have everything to do with how old you are. For those ’90s die-hards who won’t accept anything after Pinkerton, Maladroit represents a broken, unacceptable band on a perma-decline. For the younger sect — say, anyone born in or after the ’90s — Maladroit is early enough in Weezer’s overall catalog that it represents an acceptable entry point before things got really bad."<ref>Brodsky, Rachel. "''Maladroit'' Turns 20" ''Stereogum''. 13 May 2022. https://www.stereogum.com/2186430/maladroit-turns-20/reviews/the-anniversary/</ref> | |||
====Individual songs==== | ====Individual songs==== | ||
{{Maladroit song reviews}} | {{Maladroit song reviews}} | ||
==''The Maladroit Years''== | |||
{{Main|Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years}} | |||
Cuomo released a digital compilation of demos from the ''Maladroit''-era for sale on [[riverscuomo.com|his website]] in November of [[2020]], comprised mostly of demos recorded to a handheld digital recorder. | |||
==Track listing== | ==Track listing== | ||
{{Track listing | {{Track listing | ||