Weezer, Rammstein strike music gold
by Michael Kraft, reporter

    When Weezer’s self-titled CD hit shelves in 1994, it was an instant smash. Every song was excellent. Radio gave Buddy Holly and The Sweater Song incredible airplay, and people loved the music.

    Weezer was under incredible pressure to put out a second album that could rival the first, but Pinkerton, released in 1997, tanked. Fans and potential fans stayed away.

    However, the group’s new self-titled album has the potential to be as successful as its first one.

    Guitarist and lead singer Rivers Cuomo attributes the failure of Pinkerton to changing a good thing.

    “The Blue Album was more light and easy to connect to. On Pinkerton I wanted to get more serious, expose more emotion and depth. It didn’t work,” he said.

    Cuomo, Brian Bell, Patrick Wilson and Mikey Welsh returned to the winning formula with the new (Green) album. This album is quick, punchy and easy to listen to.

    The songs are rather short; the 10-song album clocks in under 30 minutes. But they come at a machine-gun pace and don’t let up.

    Weezer is trying to shake the “Geek Rock” label it has been saddled with since the first album, and these songs prove that.

    Don’t Let Go, a solid song about not wanting a girl to leave, sounds like the Weezer of old.

    The second track, Photograph, has a huge Cars’ influence, except the chorus sounds more Weezer.

    Knock-Down Drag-Out, a hook laden song pleasing to the ear, deals with a couple who always fight.

    This album is very good, almost as much as the Blue Album, but the songs are short, and the leadoff single, Hash Pipe, is the weakest song on the record.

    Overall, the fast-paced album is good, but the song content isn’t as striking as the first two. One could say that this machine-gun is loaded with rubber bullets.

    Rammstein: Mutter
    German rockers Rammstein have released their third album, Mutter (Mother), and it is good.

    Their first album, Herzeleid (Heartache), was well received in Germany, but they did not have a big U.S. hit until the second album Sehnsucht (Yearning) and the single Du Hast (You Have).

    Its live show, including huge pyro-technics, props, interesting light and, occasionally, a fake deviant sexual act, has always been Rammstein’s strength.

    Mutter is a powerhouse of music and lyrics that could teach American rockers a thing or two.

    Each song was mixed well. The drums pound in perfect 4/4 time with unrelenting power. The guitars throw a wall of sound that is melodic, catchy and strong.

    The songs are excellent, and while there is not an immediate single such as Du Hast, Links 2 3 4 (Left 2 3 4) with its militaryesque beat and theme is a good candidate.

    Ich Will (I Want) is another song that should catch the ears of fans with its great chorus.

    Mutter, a slow ballad with touching lyrics, shows the lighter side of Till Lindemann’s voice.

    Zwitter (Hermaphrodite) is a catchy song about the frustrations of being a hermaphrodite. Till is not a hermaphrodite, by the way.

    The album ends with a slow, haunting song, Nebel (Fog). The keyboards and guitars combine to create a very sorrowful song.

    This album is in the Teutonic fashion: uncompromising, unrelenting and unable to be understood by most people. They sing only in German, so almost everything on the new album is not as accessible.

    Americans who won’t listen to anything but English lose.