Will Weezer's New Song Save the Self-Damning Band?

There once was a time, many long years ago, when the mention of Weezer would cause young, pop-hungry girls to wrinkle their noses in distaste and oft-bespectacled fans would grin wide and rejoice.

That time was around, say, 1996. A lot has changed since.

Much the opposite reaction is true nowadays. Weezer has become a teen-friendly pop-radio favorite and a relative kryptonite for those count Pinkerton as a favorite album. In other words, Mr. Cuomo was singing about lesbians and cross-Pacific heartbreak in 1996 and about, um, pork and beans, a dozen years later.

So it’s with a reserved excitement and a generally optimistic sentiment that we welcome Weezer’s new track, the first official hint of what’s to come on the band’s new, seventh disc, called, ahem, Raditude. According to Cuomo’s Twitter account, the album title was created by none other than The Office’s Rainn Wilson. The tune is called “(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.”

Cuomo has always loved irony, but the question must be asked: Is Weezer still trying to be ironically uncool, or are they just simply no good now? The new single gives us reason to hope for the former, while cautiously fearing the latter. After all, the band’s critical descent hit its nadir with last year’s Red Album; things have to turn around.

“(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” is certainly no “Sweater Song” or, hell, even “Hash Pipe,” but it is a decent, bouncy blast of crunchy guitars and pogo percussion. Still, with lyrics like “We watched Titanic and it didn’t make us sad / I took you to Best Buy, you took me home to meet your mom and dad / Your mom cooked meat loaf even though I don’t eat meat / I dug you so much I took some for the team,” it’s near-impossible to believe Cuomo will ever start taking rock ’n’ roll thing seriously again. But maybe that was never the point to begin with.

Raditude will be released on on Oct. 27.

Listen to Weezer's "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To":

Related links:
News: Rivers Cuomo Begins Work on Memoir
News: Weezer Headline Virgin Mobile FreeFest
Weezer.com

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