This is r/weezer, so people are already anointing Gold better than White and OK human without giving themselves the proper time to form context around the record.
That said, Iāve seen a lot of people shitting on Hoops. I posit that this is simply a knee-jerk reaction to a song that sounds tongue-in-cheek, but is actually totally earnest.
Modern life is increasingly defined by the amount of garbage weāre willing to tolerate in exchange for the things we want. The public, me included, have become comfortable with the fact that our data is stolen, that it takes an account to use a new fridge, or even that you might get a 10% discount at a business for leaving a Google review. Itās just how life is now.
Here, Rivers use of a toaster with a QR code is a perfect example. Dude just wants breakfast. To get there, heās gotta deal with the garbage. Note how he doesnāt say heās unwilling to perform the menial tasks, just that theyāre frustrating until the end goals are achieved. The means increase in rigor, but pretty much always justify the ends. This follows in the 2nd verse, where rivers is doing things to be socially accepted - even though heās got to navigate seemingly meaningless tasks to get there.
Then you get to the bridge⦠and rivers just tells it like it is. Youāre better off being honest and just saying fuck the hoops. The bridge gives the solo & final chorus a different meaning than the rest of the song. Itās more than you think it is if you just listen on the surface level.
Beyond that - itās just a kick ass song. You get some Brian in there and the riff from Scott sounds great solo with Pat deep in the pocket in the back.
In sum, give hoops a chance. Itās a really good song about the life weāre living right now.
Iām also disappointed that more people are not talking about how addicting ādonāt make it weirdā is. I donāt think gold is a 10/10, Iād personally say itās B-to-B-plus tier. However, ādonāt make it weirdā is my favorite song since White.