10 Rock Albums That Almost Killed Careers
2. Raditude - Weezer
The core of Weezer's sound has always been about the nerdier side of rock and roll. Compared to the other alternative acts that were springing up at the time, the songs that Rivers Cuomo was writing at the group's inception made the argument that being a misfit could actually be kind of cool. It's a shame though that Raditude killed any dreams we had of that nerd rock earnestness returning.
Right off the bat, this album is much more concerned with being a pop crossover than actually being a Weezer album. From one track to the next, each melody was made with the help of outside songwriters, making for tracks that sound artificial coming out of the mouth of rock's nerdiest dude. While some songs like If You're Wondering serve as decent low-tier Weezer tracks, the thought of them working with Lil Wayne on Can't Stop Partying is enough to make any rock fans' blood boil.
Even though Weezer could have easily proceeded to go further and further down the sellout rabbit hole, things turned a corner with Everything Will Be Alright in the End, which showed them ditching their pop habits for something much more true to them. Weezer is still a far ways away from their classic material these days, but Raditude is where all of the pop alarm bells started to reach their apex.