California Kids Teenage Victory Songs track review: Difference between revisions

| Type    = Review

| Critic  = [[Teenage Victory Songs]]

| Album      = Weezer (The White Album)

| Published = [[May 14]], [[2016]]

| Review link = [http://tvs.soymilkrevolution.com/?p=1144 Link]

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On paper, “California Kids” holds one of the stranger positions in [[Weezer’s]] discography. It’s both the opener and weakest song of [[2016|2016’s]] remarkable return to form, ''[[The White Album]]''. It’s the one song I’d maybe want to replace, and yet it’s the lynchpin of the album’s central conceit – a beach-combing, day-and-night exploration of present day Los Angeles. In fact, demoing “California Kids” at producer [[Jake Sinclair|Jake Sinclair’s]] home studio is how he and [[Rivers Cuomo]] warmed to the idea of making an album-length update of the young [[Brian Wilson|Brian Wilson’s]] iconic West Coast sound (apparently new management [[Crush Music]]’s suggestion)… but it was originally released as a single by the Japanese-language side project [[Scott & Rivers]] in [[2014]]. Weezer’s eventual ''White Album'' arrangement would redact most of the Japanese take’s harmonies (sung by the song’s co-writer, [[Semisonic]] frontman [[Dan Wilson]]), which, if retained, would have been made for the most [[Beach Boys]]-esque moment on Weezer’s most consciously Beach Boys-inspired album.

In another sense, “California Kids” is most comparable to ''[[The Green Album|The Green Album‘s]]'' “[[Don't Let Go]],” as a statement of purpose that both introduces and undersells a great record. And like “Don’t Let Go,” I never want to hear “California Kids,” but in the context of its album I’m always a little surprised by how decent it actually is. That doesn’t quite excuse “Kids” from being the only ''White'' song that’s a bit undercooked, and it’s not hard to imagine it how much it could have improved with a little extra time and a lucky idea or two.

==See also==