I've got a new "Ratitude!"

Salutations, my fellow humans, and welcome to another installment of things in the world that I find awesome. Music has always been an inspiring and 'driving' force in my life, and since the current trend on this blog is to cover such things there is no better time to talk about Weezer's 7th studio album, 2009's "Ratitude." My friend, um...we'll call him "Laser", came up to me one day in early November 2009 and asked me very casually if I had picked up the new Weezer album yet? I responded in a very arrogant tone that "The Red Album" wasn't new, and that he needed to get up to speed with his music. Well, my name certainly was Mudd after that one because there were singles already released for this phantom album as early as August. The only radio I listen to these days tend to be NPR, Howard, Bubba TLS, Dan Patrick and local sports. Thus, I missed a few months of the goodness that is 'Ratitude.' But once I got my hands on it I never put it down, as it is still my top music played in rotation some 5 months later. Because of the great balance in the feel of the music from the start of track 1 to the conclusion of "The Underdogs" (Deluxe edition), Weezer's 'Ratitude' may be my favorite album of the decade. It's almost hard to believe that it's been over 15 years since I heard Weezer for the first time on Y100, early in the summer of 1994. I remember going to the Circuit City in Brandon, FL with my Mom to get the self titled "Blue Album" (the same place I got STP 'Core', Alice in Chains 'Jar of Flies', Nirvana 'In Utero') and Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Ready to Die'), and as we got home I had that thing peeled open ready for action. When I went in my room and put the CD on I knew these guys were something special. Having only heard "Undone: The Sweater Song" up to this point, hearing "My name is Jonas" open up the album let me know that these guys had good, raw power cords, a unique sounding frontman, and they didn't take themselves too seriously. Ever since then I have been a big fan and have had the opportunity to see them in concert twice. I truly do look forward to getting a chance to hear these new songs live, as 'Ratitude' is truly the culmination of what is great about music to me, and an obnoxiously massive peacock feather in the cap of the band's evolution. As it goes with most of Weezer's music, their most recent album plays off of that infectious, vintage Weezer sound millions have come to embrace; raw, garage like sound with short, intense riffs with a hint of punk, to the obvious influences of The Cars, Beatles, The Kinks and 50's rock n' roll. The first single from the album, "(If you're wondering if I want you) I Want You, was released in the summer of 2009 and is your typical Weezer album intro song; steady to fast paced, catchy, and really sets the tone for an album that you don't want or need to skip songs on. The ebb and flow is similar to that of Green Day's 'Dookie', No Doubt's 'Rock Steady' and more recently Wolfmother's "Self Titled" 2005 debut album; albums you can play from beginning to end at a house party w/friends, road trips or great house cleaning music. Some of the real standouts to me are "I'm your daddy" (#2), which also features Kenny G (seriously), "Let it all hang out" (#8) and "Get me some" (#11). All three songs are very Cars-esque to me, and are the songs that are the glue for the album; less experimental and maintaining that trademark Weezer sound that makes them an unmistakeable band. "Get me some" will undoubtably be the most successful song from the masterpiece because of it's radio friendly, familiar Weezer sound (a la "Hash Pipe", "Buddy Holly", "The Good Life", "Pork n' Beans" and "Beverly Hills") that people have come to expect and can count on. Other tracks, like "Can't stop partyin" feat. L'il Wayne and co-produced by Jermaine Dupri show how they are trying to evolve their sound, and they do it masterfully! The sampling and tweaking of their trademark sound is subtle, and Weezy F. Baby's spoken work contribution was a great addition to a solid song. Not to mention, it marked the second time I understood what the hell that dude was saying (first being a suprisingly impressive appearance on ESPN's PTI), and when I heard he was releasing a rock album, I was far more open to the idea of actually listening to it. Another impressive suprise was "Love is the answer" (#7), which was originally part of Rivers' solo effort, and was recorded by Sugar Ray on their most recent travesty. Weezer reclaimed it and hit one out of the park, from the girl in the chorus to the Sitar sounds made famous by Ravi Shankar, it was very fresh sound to add to their repetoire. Just a sweet, geeky love song. And finally, while on the subject of sweet, geeky love songs, there is "I don't wanna let you go" (#8). Keeping with their often 50's bluegrass undertones, it sounds like a song that would have been a #1 hit for Richie Valens. Just overall a supherb project and kudos to all who were a part of putting it together. I'm just sayin'... So, what do you think of 'Ratitude?' How does it stack up to their other albums? How would you rate the band as far as your favorites? Let's talk about it.