Up to this point, what Weezer had done was definitely disappointing, but even with Beverly Hills, nothing had been downright embarassing … yet. But things were amiss with Rivers Cuomo. Maybe he was burned out. Maybe it was writer’s block, but he was having trouble coming up with enough songs. Up to this point, he had pretty much written all of Weezer’s songs by himself, but now he needed some help. So he turned to the most obvious people to help him finish the next Weezer record: the rest of the band.

And so the red Weezer album ended up containing several songs written and/or sung by the other guys, most of whom all but the most devoted fans couldn’t name. Most of these songs aren’t great, but I included King on the playlist to give you a taste (and because it isn’t bad).

The album itself was only received lukewarmly. It was not savaged as badly by critics as Pinkerton, but it was not the success that the green Weezer album or Make Believe were. There were some more fun videos, with Pork And Beans employing every viral YouTube star they could muster in the year 2008. The album was started with Rick Rubin, but half of it got produced by Jackknife Lee. There was a suite of motiffs and themes masquerading as a pop song called The Greatest Man That Ever Lived which I suppose was going to be their Bohemian Rhapsody. The braggadocios was never quite over-the-top enough to seem like it was supposed to be funny, and there was some worrying that Rivers actually believed all this.While Pat, Scott, and Brian were probably flattered that they were asking to become actual contributing members of the band, Rivers was still having a hard time coming up with material on his own. So for the next record, the gimmick was going to be hiring professional songwriters to collaborate with Cuomo on a new batch of songs.

It would’ve been an interesting idea for a one-off album, but it ended up being a crutch that Rivers would rely on for at least 50% of the material on every Weezer record from here on out. Rivers ended up co-writing with everybody, from the Ryan Adams to the Dr. Luke. And even some non-problematic choices such as Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler (of the All American Rejects), Dan Wilson (of Semisonic), Justin Hawkins (of The Darkness), and Laura Jane Grace (of Against Me!). But most of his collaborators were slick behind-the-scenes hitmakers. Some were intriguing like Linda Perry (of 4 Non Blondes) or Mac Davis (who wrote In The Ghetto), but most were like Jermaine Dupri, or Desmond Child, or Greg Wells, or Joshua Berman Alexander, or Tobias Gad, or Ammar Malik. Go google any of these names – they are all over the pop charts, but they are not what you want from your Weezer.

And there was a reason Rivers was suddenly hobnobbing with such a mercenary bunch. For some reason Rivers Cuomo had really gotten into current pop music. At first it seemed like something of a scientific inquiry, as if he could he figure out the formula for what was hot in the charts. But the more it went on, the worse it got. At best it felt crass and commercial; at worst there was something almost creepy about a middle-age man analyzing the vagaries of modern teenage music. Weezer wasn’t sounding like Weezer anymore – it sounded like whatever trend was big. Or was trying to, and failing spectacularly.

The first of these co-written records does hold a special place on Weezer fans’ hearts… as one of the worst albums they ever made. Starting with the tile (suggested by actor Rainn Wilson) Raditiude, everything about this album was designed to drive fans insane. There was a rap song with a verse by Li’l Wayne (who probably was hired because his nickname, Weezy, sounds like Weezer and not because he was a particularly good fit). Pat had pretty much given up drums, and was now a third guitarist in the band while the actual drumming was done by competent but anonymous studio ace Josh Freese. This album wasn’t trying to appease fans who were waiting for the next Pinkerton. It was aimed squarely at youth culture. Songs like I’m Your Daddy, The Girl Got Hot, and In The Mall were particularly cringe-worthy coming from middle-aged men.

The next record, Hurley, was marginally better received — or at least was less of a shock. There were no hip hop moments on the record, but Rivers was still insisting on writing about girls instead of women, although someone did persuade him to change the song Hot Girls to Smart Girls although almost no other lyrics were altered making the title a little out of place. We also have the cast of Jackass 3D singing background on the lead single, Memories and Michael Cera playing mandolin on Hang On. While overall the album has more of a band with instruments vibe than its predecessor, Raditude and Hurley often get lumped together in the complete nadir of Weezer’s career. And the almost aggressively uninspired title and artwork for this album didn’t do it any favors.

Before finishing their contract with Geffen/Epitaph, Weezer was committed to one last record, which came out very shortly after Hurley. The best thing about Death To False Metal is its title. Though at the time, Weezer insisted it was a full and complete album on its own, it is entirely made up of old, half-finished songs that they quickly polished up for this release. The most interesting thing about the record is the first track, Turning Up The Radio in which River’s quest for a co-writer took on gargantuan heights. It is the final result of the “Let’s Write A Sawng” contest in which Rivers collaborated with like sixteen random people on the internet in something between a musical game of “telephone” and one of those novels like Naked Came The Manatee where several authors get one chapter apiece and no one know what the other is writing. It’s far more interesting as a concept than in its actual execution.

The other notable song on Death To False Metal is a straightforward, unironic cover of Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart. Little did we know that this would be a harbinger of things to come…