By now the cycle of emotions you’re about to go through should be familiar.
- “This is their best since Pinkerton/Maladroit”.
- “Some of the songs are pretty good.”
- “That one single was pretty catchy.”
- “Rivers Cuomo has been awful for years, I don’t know why I always get my hopes up.”
This cycle will last anywhere from a week to a month, depending on how old you were when you first listened to the Blue Album.
You loved Rivers Cuomo. You loved him a lot. That’s ok. I’m not here to judge. I’m here to illustrate for you, like Paul Bettany in Dogville.
When I was 16, I was obsessed with The White Stripes. Jack White was my hero and I idolized him. IDOLIZED him. I wanted to be him. I wanted to be enigmatic and haughty and look down on everything post-1970. I wanted to talk in a fake southern accent. I wanted to be a white guy playing the blues, looking down my nose at other white guys playing the blues. But there are some things you have to let go. You have to let the rock star go.
I want to make it very clear what I mean, so please watch the following video that further illustrates my point. Skip ahead to the one minute mark.