What's the deal with Weezer?

yes they are the gay and always have been and always will be

The sucking started to happen when Rivers went back to harvard.

!!!!

Suck drugs.

-- Voodoo Child (voodoochild10100...), October 2nd, 2005.
good call .
kobe blows too.

I can't believe they are talented enough to lower the bar even further. Even Chris Cornell would be embarrassed. So would Brokencyde:

http://pitchfork.com/news/36921-hear-the-weezer-song-with-lil-wayne/

I quite like it.

Crap I'm marketing this shit...

yeah, they have done waaaaay worse than this.

NO WAY!

it might be some kind of apotheosis of late '00s pop music

guys he went to HARVARD

HARVARD

man the beat is boring

that is one of the worst songs i have heard in a while

not as bad as getchoo

ha! this is great. i like the simplicity of the beat

dude if you like this beat you should check out the new album by the Cheap Casio Keyboard Presets

Polow Da Don did most of the production on that Cheap Casio Keyboard Presets record too

though they could only afford to get Gudda Gudda on a guest verse ;_;

not as bad as getchoo
― Pedro Paramore (jim), Tuesday, October 27, 2009 5:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

You must be trolling.

GETCHOO AH HA

I don't know much about Weezer, but this wasn't bad, not sure how toungue-in-cheek it is though

Well, Weezer was a band that used to make music. Jonas Brothers and The Wiggles are more passionate, don't hate their fans as much as Weezer, and aren't as big of sell-outs as Weezer.

This whole thing makes me really really depressed. Weezer was probably the band that made me able to relate to people in meaningful ways in middle school and early high school (cliche blah blah blah), and all of my friends from that era and I still listen to the new Weezer albums every time they come out and prod and twist them in our minds until we can find something to enjoy about it. This is the first time that there is basically nothing in these songs that I can latch on to even the slightest bit.

holy moses Rivers is a nerd

I just listened to his interview w/ Derogatis & Kot on the sound opinions show this week

& I think I have finally figured the guy out

he isn't ironic or calculated at all, just a shy nerd who is really hurt that the indie kids don't like him anymore, or something

rivers is a troll

many rivers to cross

rivers is a troll
^^

How to Get the Indie Kids to Stop Not Liking You:

#1: Do not put the phrase "coz I'm your daddy" in any of the choruses of your songs. Esp. singles that may get radio airplay.

Cuomo was born in a Manhattan hospital to parents of Italian and German/English descent and raised on an ashram run by the late yoga master Sri Swami Satchidananda in Pomfret, Connecticut.[1] It is a myth that the name Rivers originates from his birthplace; his mother, Beverly, was inspired to name her son "Rivers" because he was born between the East and Hudson rivers in Manhattan. Her appreciation of the sound of running water further reinforced her desire for this name. His father, Frank Cuomo, was a musician who played drums on the album Odyssey of Iska by jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter.[2][3] During his early childhood Cuomo attended a private school on an ashram farm where his parents raised him and his brother Leaves.[4] Cuomo's parents moved to nearby Storrs, Connecticut when the ashram (known as Yogaville) was relocated to a plot of land along the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.[5] Cuomo attended E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut under the name Peter Kitts,[6] Santa Monica College,[7] Berklee College of Music,[8] and Harvard University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.[9] In high school, Rivers played the role of Johnny Casino in the stage production of Grease.[10][11]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_Cuomo

90's Weezer (and 90's Rentals) is still amazing... And by that, I'm not only referring to the trifecta of awesome (Blue Album/Return Of The Rentals/Pinkerton) but also most of the 40+ non-album tracks from this period that have become available through various internet sources and released on the 2 "Alone" comps.

Weezer doesn't really exist to me after 1999 as they unintentionally became a completely different band. But prior to that, they're one of my favorite bands of all time.. probably top 10 or so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y72sdtEPB8

Weezer doesn't really exist to me after 1999 as they unintentionally became a completely different band.

Could not disagree more strongly about this. The evolution in to Weezer v2.0 was very much intentional. Now that we're six albums deep into this phase, I think that much is pretty clear. They certainly aren't a patch on the glory years, but I'm glad I can count on them to crank out 3-6 pretty solid power pop jams per album with regularity (conveniently ignoring the crap surrounding 'em).

plz tell me the 3-6 pretty solid power pop jams on the new album, raditude and the red album becuz i just don't know

don't know any of their albums but the singles off green and maladroit were total jams fuiud

I still go to bat for those albums, and I'll give Make Believe 3ish ok songs ("This Is A Pity" is some megalol glory) but with everything since the first single's OK if that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmSl6ZljvJk

Mostly for the guitar solo and YOU THINK I'M A FASCIST PIIIIIIIG

only weezer joint i've heard since then that i could even kinda f/w was "if you're wondering if i want to"

I actually really like "Pork And Beans." The chorus is such Blue Album overdrive that I can overlook the dopiness.

Okay I stretched a bit on the last album to include bonus tracks on the last album. I also think I really loved one of the bonus tracks on the red disc too, but I'm blanking on which one. Haven't heard the new one yet, beyond the single.

Red Album: (okay, yeah, really only 3 on this one)
"Pork and Beans"
"Hearts Songs" (fuiud, I love cheesy as fuck Rivers)
"The Greatest Man..."

Raditude
"I Want You To"
"I'm Your Daddy"
"Let It All Hang Out"
"Trippin' Down the Freeway"
"Run Over By A Truck"
"The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World"

That second "last album" in the first sentence should read "deluxe version".

"I Want You To"

i def fuck with this

"Hearts Songs" (fuiud, I love cheesy as fuck Rivers)

f me then, that song is craaaaaaaaaaap

Love "Hash Pipe," always will.

The Dr. Luke in "I'm Your Daddy" is money well spent, but I'm guessing the decision to sing "this is improbable" AFTER "this is impossible" was all Rivers.

Haha, I can 100% understand the hate for "Heart Songs", but there's something perversely sweet about it.

I think you have to at least give them credit for picking awesome lead singles.

haha - xpost

i refuse to listen to rivers cuomo singing a song called "i'm your daddy" -- absolutely just not happening

Back in 1991, I wasn't havin any fun
Til My roommate said "come on and put a brand new record on"
Had a baby on it, he was naked on it
Then I heard the chords that broke the chains I had upon me

haaaaaah xp

Fair play da croupier, but if we are really going to start nitpick Rivers' shit lyrics we'll eliminate 80% of the songs people love.

i dunno, I feel like Pinkerton's more TMI embarrassing than duh-duh embarrassing

there's "i got peter criss, I got kitty pryde" and then there's "back when audioslave was still ra-ye-aaaage"

I wasn't thinking Pinkerton really, I was focusing on this era's Weezer. "Hash Pipe", "Memories", "We Are All On Drugs", "Beverly Hills", "Island in the Sun"... they all have horrible lyrics that can be pulled out. Lyrics aren't why I listen to Weezer v2.0. Thats what the first two albums are for.

1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"
1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"
1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"
1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"
1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"
1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"
1. "I'm Your Daddy (Featuring Kenny G)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KucV8renOfI

2 Girls, 1 Rivers is supposed to drop next week

bada-ching!

I mean Weezer's entire career is just one big 4chan meme now, so, why not?

As far as I'm concerned, the last Weezer album ever will be this deluxe Pinkerton thing they're releasing in a month or 2.. I'm very excited to see the tracklisting.

What's up with planning a "Bluealbum/Pinkerton" tour without Matt Sharp?

dunno if this has been mentioned yet, but has anyone else noticed that "we are all on drugs" is basically the diarrhea song that people sang in elementary school? i hope someone knows what i'm talking about so i don't sound like a total dolt...

I have patiently listened to every weezer album at least once, including raditude, hoping for some faint glimmer of what weezer once was, but honestly i don't think there has even been a faint reminder of the the talent that once was since maladroit, which was actually a pretty great album.

Diarrhea - cha cha cha?

Oh wait, you mean "when you're sliding into first..." Yeah, I can hear that.

They make a good appearance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcC-yJKxuuY

i was gonna lay out my theory about Weezer2k here but then i realized i pretty much explained it in my rock singles list recently so i'm just gonna c&p that if it's not too gauche:

11. Weezer - "Perfect Situation" (2005)
#51 Hot 100, #1 Modern Rock
As I noted in the previous entry for “Troublemaker,” Weezer’s ‘00s singles output is way better than most give them credit for, but I think that’s partly their own fault. They have a tendency to drop big, stupid attention-grabbing lead singles (like “Hash Pipe,” “Dope Nose,” “Beverly Hills” and “Pork & Beans”) and then save their best and hookiest songs for the second or third single (“Island In The Sun,” “Keep Fishin’,” this and “Troublemaker”). That cycle finally started to break down last year with the great “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” preceded the awful “I’m Your Daddy,” but it’s too soon to tell what I think of the new one’s lead single, “Memories.” This was actually the 3rd single off Make Believe, on released after the truly horrible “We Are All On Drugs” when it became a fan favorite. Rivers Cuomo has always been a solid tunesmith who gets in his own way with idiotic lyrics, and here he lets a huge wordless chorus do all the talking, even if the verses are still full of hero/zero couplets and other drudgery.

Lol, whoa, finally heard the Coldplay cover. I think this is why Rivers doesn't try "earnest" anymore.

Rivers Cuomo has always been a solid tunesmith who gets in his own way with idiotic lyrics

I could see how a lot of people would agree with you, but 90's Weezer still sounds like so much more than solid tunes.. A certain energy was lost, not unlike what happened to Green Day.. Their run of singles in the 00's, while far from being the worst songs on the radio, were still a consistently frustrating letdown after such a solid run. Up until 2005, the "fun" songs sounded kinda forced, while the "weird" or "quirky" songs sounded too calculated.

The release of The Red Album signified their current "you ain't seen nothing yet" era in terms of how batshit crazy they really could get, as I recall "The Greatest Man" and "Dreamin'" sounding particularly awkward, as if their segments were pieced together with only minimal attempts at cohesion.. And one song which outright plagiarized "My Michelle" by Guns N' Roses. The pop culture references and bizarre jokes made so much sense on the 90's material, while now it just sounds like cutaway scenes on an episode of Family Guy.

as I recall "The Greatest Man" and "Dreamin'" sounding particularly awkward, as if their segments were pieced together with only minimal attempts at cohesion.

In Weezer's defense, that "pieced together" thing was pretty much the entire point of "The Greatest Man".

The pop culture references and bizarre jokes made so much sense on the 90's material, while now it just sounds like cutaway scenes on an episode of Family Guy.

I can see where you're are coming from, but I really don't see how different the two are. I mean, the Jorge Garcia and internet meme references aren't all that far off from him talking about Kitty Pryde and (relatively, at the time) obscure ECW wrestlers. I think you're letting your nostalgia for those early albums color your feelings about the pop culture references (i.e. "the references I 'GOT' we're cooler man"). I say this because, before I finally learned to embrace modern day Weezer, I felt pretty much that way - like Weezer had somehow like betrayed my rabid fandom of 1995-1998. Now I realize that was a pretty damn silly way to feel.

If I thought it were purely nostalgia, I wouldn't be so adamant about it.. But I just heard "Lullaby For Wayne" for the first time only 3 years ago, and it kinda blew my mind how good it was compared to anything they've released in the 00's. And I feel the same way about most of the songs on the 1st "Alone" compilation.

"Lullabye For Wayne" is sadly nowhere to be found on youtube or else I'd post it here..

Well, see, I was strictly talking about the pop culture references in his lyrics, not the quality of the music. Thats a whole different story. But I look at the two different decades of their existence as pretty much two completely different bands.

Weezer 1.0: a fantastic band that released two front-to-back classic albums and a slew of wonderful B-sides
Weezer 2.0: a spotty at best band that cranks out tons of material, but manages a couple great pop tunes each time around

Do I think any of the songs from the 2000s would fit anywhere on the first two albums? Of course not.

It's silly to feel "betrayed," but that's no reason to pretend Rivers hasn't gotten lazier. You didn't have to know about ECW (I sure didn't) or Kitty Pryde to be touched by "El Scorcho" or "In The Garage." They brought generational specifics to Beach Boys rewrites, but they weren't the selling points of them.

Using "In The Garage" as an example, I think the "Kitty Pride" and Kiss references were helpful in painting a lyrical picture, as opposed to the lyrics of that godawful song where he sings about Kurt Cobain and whatever other musicians were mentioned...

Similarly, and maybe this IS nostalgia, but mentioning Green Day in "El Scorcho" I think also makes sense in the same way as "In The Garage," since it helps to get his point across.. Whereas the more recent references sound like they're just trying to get people's attention, like "one big 4chan meme."

I think you're picking the wrong example there by calling up "Heart Songs" though, since the entire point of that song is to call up nostalgia.

"Calling up" nostalgia and vomiting on it are two very different things..

I remember finding the Green Day ref forced back when "Scorcho" came out, but there were a kajillion other lines and hooks in that song to love that it didn't wreck it or anything.

The point of "In The Garage" is to call up nostalgia too, as are a lot of songs on the Blue Album. He just did it a hell of a lot more artfully than "there was a baby on it, it was naked on it and it broke my chains" or whatever

da croupier OTM, I was just trying to make the point that his references aren't really different now, he just uses them WAY less effectively.

yeah old weezer fans tend swing so hard at nu-rivers they crack at qualities he's always had, but they're doing it because the new shit sucks egregiously and the old stuff was really great.

Dude wants to raise $10 million to get Weezer to break up:

http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-news/artists/2010/10/06/punter-wants-to-pay-weezer-10-million-to-break-up/

Don't get this, considering he was never a fan in the first place. Hurley is a pretty decent return to form as well....by which I mean, it's no worse than Maladroit.

I get it. You don't have to be a fan to be a well-meaning observer. Everything he points out is true. The first two albums (which were Matt Sharp-inclusive) were landmarks, and everything they've released in the era since then has all the sincerity of a whoopie cushion. Wise people quit hoping for a return to form four albums ago, but there are still some people who get their hopes up only to have them dashed every single time.

Rivers Cuomo actually seems like a vindictive son of a bitch at this point. But he's also a fame whore, and if he thinks he can keep his name out there by agreeing to break up Weezer for good for a large sum of money, he'll do it. Interested to see this play out.

first two albums (which were Matt Sharp-inclusive) were landmarks, and everything they've released in the era since then has all the sincerity of a whoopie cushion.

Bullshit. The Green Album is the pinnacle of their artistic achievement. Blue is mostly a novelty record and the entirety of Pinkerton sounds like a B-side.

I love it when people get all riled up about Weezer not being "sincere" anymore. I love Pinkerton too, but c'mon.

Weezer sucks. Those first two records were insufferable and you all know it.

Weezer should just be assassinated without hesitation.

Weezer sucks. Those first two records were insufferable and you all know it.

^^^this

Matt Sharp wrote about as much music for Weezer as my gran

And for that he deserves credit.

Weezer sucks. Those first two records were insufferable and you all know it.

A compelling argument. When i travel back in time to my 16-year-old self playing air guitar to "Say It Ain't So" while making Doom II levels, this will definitely win me over to your position.

Wow...the cover for their upcoming rarities comp is even more absurd than Hurley. Don't think they'll ever top this one:

http://pitchfork.com/news/40359-weezer-ready-rarities-comp-ideath-to-false-metali/

Whoops, here it is:

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/zz334/tim_othy1/falsemetal.jpg

is that Ginuwine?

Scarily and certainly yes, it is : http://www.amazon.com/Death-False-Metal-Weezer/dp/B0042YY3WG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286835729&sr=1-1

No it's Weezer, silly.

Does anyone love anyone as much as I love you? 1:32 PM Oct 5th via web Retweeted by 100+ people

RiversCuomo
Rivers Cuomo

hahahahahahahahaha
http://www.theweezercruise.com/

^^^^^ one of my best friends and his wife are on the Weezer Cruise

amazing

Raditude is actually a better record than both Make Believe and 50% of the red LP.

Even though it has about four good songs on it, there's something about The Red album which is just so urgggggh for me. If Rivers' idea of 'experimentation' is to sound like New Kids On The Block (Heart Songs), RHCP (Everybody Get Dangerous), Crazytown (Cold Dark World), then I'd prefer he just sticks to the formula. Make Believe is deeply flawed - some horrible lyrics, sterile production - but I'd argue that melodically, it can be very strong at times (The Other Way, The Damage In Your Heart, Haunt You Every Day).

I wish I could say that Raditude was kinda cool in a misguided way, but it really doesn't quite work. Kudos to Rivers for flying completely in the face of what his hardcore fans wanted at the time, though.

Weezer (Blue) = Pinkerton >>> Maladroit > Weezer (Green) > Everything Will Be Alright In The End = Weezer (White) > Hurley > Raditude > Weezer (Red) > Make Believe

My god, do I blow hot and cold with this band, though. Some days their best stuff really hits the spot, other days I can't think of a more irritating band. I certainly can't think of a band with a more annoying fanbase.

Blue
White (can't believe this was as enjoyable as it was)
Pinkerton (the lyrics are mostly unbearable or this would be higher)
Green
Everything Will Be Alright In The End
Red
Maladroit
Raditude
Make Believe
Hurley
Death to False Metal

but i feel silly for even having thought about this for a few minutes

Alone III: The Pinkerton Years is the best Weezer related thing

Not very encouraged by the direction the new album appears to be heading. It's like Rivers now feels he's earned enough goodwill from the last two albums to resume his quest to be the powerpop Maroon 5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBqFoyXXs3E

i love & like a handful of millennial Weezer songs, but my man lost it after he started writing with spreadsheets. intellectual exercises and calculation only get you so far. my favorite of the post-Pinkerton records is definitely The Red Album, for whatever reason I like the silly songs the most ("Heartsongs" rules), the Quaker song, even the fan service-y lead single "Pork & Beans." The White Album was cool but too little too late imo, but maybe I'm just not in the mood for another new Weezer album. good guitar tones & a handful of sick songs ("LA Girlz" is really the one) doesn't cut it. i'd rather listen to the Alone series.

The back half of the red LP sucks.

What I think happened was a massive crisis of confidence in his ability to deliver the goods, hence the spreadsheet, the "pop music analysis" phase, asking his own fans for advice (which is always the most stupid idea in the world, particularly if your fanbase is notably one of the most irritating and obnoxious in the world) and working with endless co-writers...

yeah. Pinkerton & the reaction to it poisoned him. obviously was incredibly traumatic, so much so that he retired the band for 3-4 years.

because the guy can still write good music - but he rarely sounds like he gives a shit, or that he's going out on a limb & taking risks

Thing is, he (and Weezer) have taken quite a great deal of "risks" over the last 17 years, they just haven't been the kind of "risks" their fans have embraced because most of 'em are either stuck in the '90s or want Weezer to be a perfectly preserved version of their '90s selves. Sure, it hasn't helped matters that Cuomo has written some incredibly shitty songs in the last 17 years, but there's some good stuff in there too, and not all of it is "typical" Weezer.

yeah i agree, "Heartsongs" fits that mold for sure. but each album is weighed down by contrivances & an emotional distance & too many intellectual songwriting exercises. i'm not stuck in the 90s, the first Weezer song I ever heard was "Hash Pipe." The White Album sorta reminded me of SP's Oceania in a way - both were very fan service-y in their revisiting of specific guitar tones & straight down the middle songs & structures. there's good stuff in there, but ultimately it's too plastic to really sink into.

Honestly, the last couple of albums didn't really remind me of their '90s stuff any more than parts of, say, Hurley did.

The "emotional distance" thing always crops up but there's plenty of songs that Weezer have put out over the last 17 years that have been quite personal, just not personal in the way Weezer fans want them to be personal. They want the lyrics to be on-the-nose and the production to be raw, like Pinkerton because in their minds this is more "real" than lyrics that are less obviously personal and a studio sheen.

Also, this band have always been, for want of a better word, stupid. 'My Name Is Jonas' and 'Surf Wax America' are as silly as anything Weezer put out after 2000.

lol true. i think more than anything, going away for 5 years after Pinkerton was the worst thing for the band & their future & legacy. they've always been kind of chained to those first two records.

It seems that a lot of the sound of The White Album was down to producer / old-skool fan Jake Sinclair working hard to bring back certain elements to their sound which have been believed to be lost in more recent times, something which in interviews Rivers appeared to entertain more than embrace. There was some quote where he said something like "I let Jake win on The White Album, but I'm going to win more on the new one". It seems Butch Walker has been brought back for the first time since Raditude.

I often wonder just how much Matt Sharp leaving affected the band musically.

I've always been against the idea that it was Matt's departure which signalled some kind of shift. Always seemed like an easy strategy - Matt's there? Classic Weezer! No Matt? People not so pleased. Amplified by the fact he made a semi-popular album during his time with the band. If anything, In terms of lineup changes having an impact, I would say it was more likely to be significant when Mikey Welsh - Rivers' close pal from Boston and fan of The Replacements et al - was replaced by session musician Scott Shriner. I've heard people figure that Matt could have been a musical sounding board who kept Rivers in check, though as far as I know Matt and Pat weren't even that enthusiastic about the direction they took with Pinkerton.

nu-Weezer is such a fucking embarrassment even hearing one of their news songs once on the radio makes my skin crawl

x-post:

I've always been against the idea up to a point - it's not like Sharp was ever a songwriting presence in Weezer - but I still wonder if it would have ever made a difference to, say, the green LP if he hadn't left. Surely it would have done in some small way. I agree that it's all too easy to go "Matt's on it? Classic Weezer!" etc.

I think it was always going to be the anti-Pinkerton. It's not impossible to say if that wouldn't necessarily be those precise 10 songs had another body been in the bass role, but I think Matt had long since fulfilled his role. A big part of his departure appears to be over the very issue of loyalty/commitment at the end of the Pinkerton era, like him not being around to play on 'Tragic Girl'.

The performance of Buddy Holly at this show (the benefit concert to their deceased fan club presidents). What in the name of fuck is Matt Sharp doing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDuJozrnyrY&t=1971s

ain't liking that link. 32m ins 52 secs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDuJozrnyrY

oh wow, I didn't know a tape of the full show existed. I've only ever seen Rivers' solo performance of "Mykel and Carli," which is just devastating - this is a different angle than the video I saw, but there's one out there from the stage that pans to Mykel and Carli's parents crying watching Rivers play. also FYI this was Matt Sharp's last show with the band.

Matt Sharp embracing his inner frustrated frontman there.

it's not like Sharp was ever a songwriting presence in Weezer

really? i always figured he was contributing things to the arrangements and whatnot on the first two albums if not exactly writing entire songs. when you hear the first Rentals album it's pretty close to the Weezer sound. seems like he would have contributed a lot of high harmonies and stuff.

im still of the opinion Matt Sharp was the ultimately deciding factor but if you honestly think the green album is on the level of the first two albums (which is fucking insane) you won't be convinced otherwise.

I have no doubt that he chipped in with some ideas/his opinion regarding arrangements, but that's not writing the song.

Also, this band have always been, for want of a better word, stupid. 'My Name Is Jonas' and 'Surf Wax America' are as silly as anything Weezer put out after 2000.

― more Allegro-like (Turrican), Tuesday, September 5, 2017 2:31 PM (four days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

to your point i agree 100% songwriting-wise, "Buddy Holly" and "Beverly Hills" are both silly dumb songs as written material. but the biggest change was musically, performance-wise, sound-wise, production-wise. from a dynamic and pan-emotional garage band to a heavily compressed radio act without the interesting arrangements. the first two albums had these soaring solos and instrumental sections where the band would break down and build up. not as easy to do with a new bass player when you are making your comeback and trying to learn all the old material for your tours.

imo this was Matt Sharp's main contribution, and it crept into other things, the videos ("Good Life"/"El Scorcho" being points of contention between him and Rivers, goofy vs. serious), the band image. the new bass player was a random LA musician where Matt Sharp was full of ideas. even if he didn't write songs he probably would have tried to veto the worst ideas or maybe come up w a bass line working w the drummer (who also went from crazily loose and inventive ("Tired of Sex") to very simple patterns) to perhaps give a song like "Hash Pipe" a new hook or something. most post-Pinkerton songs are pretty one note, only a hook or two, verse/chorus/verse, the unique intros/outros, the high harmonies, a lot of stuff is missing.

Rivers wrote the bass line for "Tired of Sex" and many, many other Weezer songs. Rivers wrote the songs and many of the parts. It was his idea to do barbershop-style harmonies and made the band take vocal lessons. I agree that Sharp's most significant contribution was as a filter w/r/t ideas & arrangements. That's not to say he was insignificant - he obviously had an impact - but the shellacking that Rivers and the band got for Pinkerton and its lyrics is the reason they shifted to a radio-friendly sound. Maybe that's why Sharp jumped ship. Rivers made a conscious attempt to avoid the humiliation of Pinkerton and write songs with extreme limitations and conceits. As evidenced by some of the later albums, it's not like they forgot how to shred, or write instrumental breaks. That shift was going to happen whether Sharp left or not.

Mikey was the best bassist anyway.

So much seems to be made of what Rivers took from Matt, but less so about how much it worked the other way round. I'm pretty sure Rivers was of the opinion that Matt rode his back to launch the Rentals. Rivers demos a analogue synth-driven concept album about space travel. Matt then records and releases Return Of The Rentals. Rivers scraps his project.

I'm quite certain the common notion that Matt was some kind of magical talisman of good taste in Weezer appeals massively to his not-inconsiderably-sized ego