On a podcast earlier this year RD and I talked about what we were looking forward to in 2021 as far as pop culture and sports. One area that I had a bit of a harder time finding stuff was music. There just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of new stuff that I listen to that is coming out this year. Or, if some bands or musicians I like have decided to make some music for 2021, they haven't announced it yet. It will be a nice surprise.

One band I do like, I have liked them since I was in middle school, and I mentioned on that very podcast was Weezer, and they had announced a new record for this year. I think I got my signals crossed because, for some reason, I thought they were doing a Van Halen covers album. They had such success with the "Teal" album, which was all covers, so this seemed cool, even though I am not a Van Halen fan. It also seemed timely since, unfortunately, Eddie Van Halen passed pretty recently.

Well, Weezer did put out a new record, and it was not a Van Halen covers album. About a week or so ago, Weezer put out the record "Ok Human". I did not know anything about the album and I did not recognize any of the songs. But when I turned on Spotify on my way to take my kids to school, they sent me a notification that Weezer had a new album. So I listened right away with my kids in the car. And, like they always seem to do, Weezer made a really solid, very decent album. The record is short and sweet, clocking in at just over thirty minutes with twelve brand new songs. I like every song on the album. There have been some records of theirs recently where I feel it is fine to skip a track here and there. With the covers record, I only listen to the songs I liked. On some of the albums prior to that, I would only listen to the "hit" songs. Weezer, for me, really peaked with "The Blue Album", and got some underground notoriety with "Pinkerton". I still listen to those albums endlessly. I love them. I saw them tour with "The Green Album", but even that did not hit like "Pinkerton" or "The Blue Album". But "Ok Human" has something special that keeps me coming back for more.

The album flows very nicely. They have very short songs, almost like segues into the next three minute song, that blend perfectly. They slow some songs down, and others sound like they were recorded during the band's heyday. The opener, "All My Favorite Songs" reminds me of a grown up "My Name is Jonas" or "Surf Wax America", two of my personal favorites. "Bird with a Broken Wing" sounds like it could easily have been lifted from "Pinkerton". And I think that is why I keep coming back to this album. It is nostalgia food for me. The band still sounds great, like they did when I first heard them in seventh grade. But, just like myself, they have grown up. They are all adults now who have lived life. This record feels like they are having a good time making pop rock music, and I am totally here for that. With a band like Weezer, I do not listen to them to have my mind blown, and that is not a critique. I listen to Weezer because they are fun, my kids can listen with me, we can dance together, it is one of the very few bands my wife and I both like. They are just a fun band that makes fun music, and that is what "Ok Human" is all about. I

really dig this record the more I hear it too. I was listening to it earlier this morning and I said out loud to no one, "man, Weezer is a really great band". So while it wasn't what I expected when they announced a new record, I love it all the same. I recommend this album, obviously. It is another in a long line of very good Weezer records.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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