Weezer

It’s been 14 years since Weezer dropped Pinkerton, so bemoaning the fact that the band’s subsequent output hasn’t lived up to that monumental, messy testament to heartbreak, alienation, and inappropriate crushes is moot. These days, frontman Rivers Cuomo seems like he couldn’t be less interested in human folly or emotion—the band’s latest string of albums has been super-slick (thanks to hit-making producers like Butch Walker and Polow Da Don) and geared toward maximum accessibility. As they grow older, Cuomo and his bandmates will never make a record that supplants their fans’ fond Pinkerton-related memories—their latest, Hurley, comes the closest. 2010's Death to False Metal had the group refashioning some unreleased tracks into what they deemed "not a traditional collection of studio leftovers," but a whole new release.

Updated 05/05/2011