Raditude!

I was out of town all last week for work so didn't get to pick up Weezer's latest, "Raditude," until Saturday. Good thing that, because when I pulled up to the Best Buy, there was a group of kids queued up to meet the band. The band had been doing in-store appearances at Best Buys in the area to promote the new album and I thought I'd missed my chance, but on Saturday I bought my CD, got my wristband, joined the line and got to meet the band. I got a water bottle signed by Brian, Pat, Rivers and Scott that is now being auctioned to benefit the African Well Fund.

On the fandom scale, my feelings for Weezer find me somewhere between radio fan and diehard. I do own all the band's albums but not the rarities; I've seen the band live three times but only as an opener, never the headliner. I'm not in the fan club but news of new Weezer music always makes me happy because I think the band makes really great pop music.

Weezer is once again delivering delicious, addictive pop music with "Raditude." I've been listening to the two-disc deluxe edition on constant repeat all week because the songs are so sunny and rocking and energetic and wonderful. They've got me speeding up and pounding on the steering wheel and generally enjoying the hours I have to spend in the car each day.

The album is really tight and consistent, even with the four additional tracks on the bonus CD there isn't a single song I feel like skipping. Of course, a few songs are sticking out to me more than others. Lead single "(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To" is so yummy and satisfying, a fun anthem for the romantically challenged. The song's clapping and skiffle-style guitar work hit me just right. "I Don't Want to Let You Go" features these beautifully thick, chiming guitar notes that remind me of old surf guitar ballads. "Love Is the Answer" meshes blissful sitar music with lush beats and sweetly optimistic lyrics to create a song that gives me no other choice than to swing my hips and sway my arms.

All the songs on "Raditude" feature the rapid-fire sing-along lyrics, shredding guitar and bouncy rhythms I've turned to Weezer to provide me with for 15 years. This is a band that's kept me dancing, kept me singing, kept me smiling through a lot, and still is. God bless Weezer and God bless pop music.

And I've been meaning to talk up this TV show since I first saw it earlier this year and now have the perfect opportunity since SoapNet (a total guilty pleasure destination with its reruns of "The OC," the original "90210" and "One Tree Hill") is currently rerunning its first season. The show is "Being Erica" and is about a 32-year-old English major whose work life and personal life just didn't turn out the way she thought they would when she was a promising, ambitious teenager. She gets help dealing with all of life's disappointments from a therapist who not only gives her the chance the learn from the past, but to change it as well.

There aren't a lot of shows about someone my age, someone going through exactly what I'm going through, so I give it points for that straight away, but the show is also honest and awkward and silly and sweet and just great fun. Season two starts in January so SOAPnet is rerunning the entire first season Saturdays and Sundays to get everyone caught up (FIOS offers it On Demand, too).