Rolling Stone: Difference between revisions
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'''''Rolling Stone''''' is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. | '''''Rolling Stone''''' is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. The publication was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner (who is still editor and publisher) and music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It quickly rose to prominence to become considered ''the'' critical journal for modern pop music and what would come to be known as pop culture. Its popularity and relevance has ebbed and flowed over the decades, but ''Rolling Stone'' is still a giant in the periodical industry. | ||
== | ==Rolling Stone and Weezer== | ||
The album | The publication is particularly infamous within the [[Weezer]] fan community for its negative 1996 review of the Weezer album ''[[Pinkerton]]'' written by Rob O'Connor. | ||
The review is as follows: | ===Pinkerton review=== | ||
The album review by O'Connor notable when discussing the critical reception that ''Pinkerton'' endured at the time. The review is as follows: | |||
"Although no one in the band originally hails from Southern California, Weezer have got the sound and attitude of early-'60s Los Angeles down. Melodies bounce with vigor; in the lyrics, help is just a sunshiny day away. There is still plenty of Weezer's signature dorkiness on Pinkerton, the follow-up to their successful 1994 debut, Weezer. Guitars veer off key; tempos speed up for no apparent reason. But what you get is true to the sun-'n'-fun aesthetic of great jangly pop. | "Although no one in the band originally hails from Southern California, Weezer have got the sound and attitude of early-'60s Los Angeles down. Melodies bounce with vigor; in the lyrics, help is just a sunshiny day away. There is still plenty of Weezer's signature dorkiness on ''Pinkerton'', the follow-up to their successful 1994 debut, Weezer. Guitars veer off key; tempos speed up for no apparent reason. But what you get is true to the sun-'n'-fun aesthetic of great jangly pop. | ||
As a songwriter, the band's singer and guitarist, Rivers Cuomo, takes a juvenile tack on personal relationships. Throughout Pinkerton, he pines for all the girls he can't have, the girls he can have but shouldn't, the girls who are no good for him and the girls about whom he just isn't sure. "Across the Sea," which begins with a deliberately corny piano intro, is the tale of an 18-year-old girl from Japan who has captured Cuomo's heart by letter. "They don't make stationery like this where I'm from," sings Cuomo wistfully. In "Pink Triangle," Cuomo humorously describes desperately trying to wed a young woman who is a lesbian: "If everyone's a little queer/Why can't she be a little straight?" | As a songwriter, the band's singer and guitarist, [[Rivers Cuomo]], takes a juvenile tack on personal relationships. Throughout ''Pinkerton'', he pines for all the girls he can't have, the girls he can have but shouldn't, the girls who are no good for him and the girls about whom he just isn't sure. "[[Across the Sea]]," which begins with a deliberately corny piano intro, is the tale of an 18-year-old girl from Japan who has captured Cuomo's heart by letter. "They don't make stationery like this where I'm from," sings Cuomo wistfully. In "[[Pink Triangle]]," Cuomo humorously describes desperately trying to wed a young woman who is a lesbian: "If everyone's a little queer/Why can't she be a little straight?" | ||
Weezer over-rely on catchy tunes to heal all of Cuomo's wounds. In "El Scorcho," the song's infectious chorus proves to be slim reward. "Tired of Sex," a look at a brooding stud's empty sex life, is as aimless as the subject's nightly routine. But "Butterfly" is a real treat, a gentle acoustic number that recalls the vintage, heartbreaking beauty of Big Star. Cuomo's voice cracks as he unintentionally bludgeons the fragile creature in the lyric, suggesting that underneath the | Weezer over-rely on catchy tunes to heal all of Cuomo's wounds. In "[[El Scorcho]]," the song's infectious chorus proves to be slim reward. "[[Tired of Sex]]," a look at a brooding stud's empty sex life, is as aimless as the subject's nightly routine. But "[[Butterfly]]" is a real treat, a gentle acoustic number that recalls the vintage, heartbreaking beauty of Big Star. Cuomo's voice cracks as he unintentionally bludgeons the fragile creature in the lyric, suggesting that underneath the geeky teenager pose is an artist well on his way to maturity." | ||
===Aftermath=== | ===Aftermath=== | ||
Pinkerton went on to be named the | ''Pinkerton'' went on to be named the second worst album of 1996 by readers of the magazine. The review in hindsight has been seen as the definitive review of the album during its release. It shows the overall dismissive reception the album endured, and is cited frequently in discussions that criticize ''Rolling Stone''. Eventually, the magazine would see the error of its ways and revise its take on the album and give it five stars instead of the original three and place it in their hall of fame. | ||
== | ==Ratings of Weezer albums== | ||
*''[[The Blue Album]]'': 4 stars | *''[[The Blue Album]]'': 4 stars | ||
*''[[Pinkerton]]'': 3 stars (in 1996) and 5 stars (in 2004) | *''[[Pinkerton]]'': 3 stars (in 1996) and 5 stars (in 2004) | ||
*''[[The Green Album]]'': 4 stars | *''[[The Green Album]]'': 4 stars | ||
*''[[Maladroit]]'': 4 stars | *''[[Maladroit]]'': 4 stars | ||
*''Deluxe Blue'': 4 stars | |||
*''[[Make Believe]]'': 4 stars | *''[[Make Believe]]'': 4 stars | ||
*''[[The Red Album]]'': 3 stars | *''[[The Red Album]]'': 3 stars | ||
*''[[Raditude]]'': 3&1/2 stars | |||