Issue #65: Weezer – Pinkerton

Released:  September 24th, 1996

Recorded:  September 1995, January – June 1996

Genre:  Alternative

Record Label:  DGC

Duration:  34:36

Producer:  Weezer

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Pinkerton is One of My Favorites

As I revisit Weezer to touch on their “other album” from the 1990’s, I’m reminded of how difficult it was for me to describe what made their debut so great.  After all, there are only but so many times that I can say “it’s catchy.”  But really, that’s what Weezer/The Blue Album is: a catchy, honest album, with standout melodies that are simple enough to anticipate but not so simple that they wear thin after only a few listens.  Blue Album is exceptionally straightforward and it becomes rather moot to say things like “this album sounds good because the guitars are playing pleasant sequences of notes and chords.”

Pinkerton wasn’t exactly “The Blue Album Pt. II” and was the subject of scathing reviews upon its release.  It actually goes to show how fickle public opinion is, or as I’d prefer to call it, how much bullshit is present in the professional music journalism circuit.  Back in 1996, Rolling Stone readers named it the third worst album of the year, yet in 2002 Rolling Stone listed the very same album as the 16th greatest of all time.  A lot of great art is misunderstood, but surely humanity hadn’t undergone such profound enlightenment in those 6 years.

Personally, I was left unmarked by this event because it wasn’t an album that was on my radar back at that time, and it wasn’t until about 6 or 8 years ago where I really started exploring Weezer’s catalog.  The Blue Album is certainly the Weezer album that everyone should hear, but Pinkerton is really the one that everyone should listen to.

To an extent, Pinkerton retains the straightforward song structures and catchy tunes of its predecessors, but the music is haunted by something else, a little bit of pain, a little bit of anger, and a lot of confusion.  Most of it is almost as easy to listen to as Blue, it’s just less upbeat and more subdued.  Pinkerton has often been cited as a reflection of Cuomo’s discomfort with success.  The sort of numbness that accompanies fame is what really pulls through more than anything.  There’s a certain degree of apathy (“Why Bother?”, “No Other One”) and ennui (“Tired of Sex” that Pinkerton exudes, which in a way is easier to relate to than the clever musings of relationships gone wrong on Blue.  Pinkerton may not be the band’s most musically mature piece of work, but it just might be their best when it comes to almost everything else.

“Tired of Sex” is an honest piece about a problem that most of us wish we had – too much meaningless sex.  Being a rock star is tough shit, eh?  But in all serious I can understand the dilemma; Cuomo even admits “I don’t know who I am … but I can’t say no.”  Musically it’s not all that dissimilar from anything on The Blue Album, it just has a more languid quality to it, reflective of Cuomo’s exasperation.

“Getchoo” moves the album into slightly darker, or at least more painful territory, indicative of the downbeat music.  Here the singer is experiencing the pain of a break-up, in contrast to “No One Other.” A loud, noisy piece masquerading as a “normal” song, Cuomo now chooses to stay in a bad, even destructive relationship in order to stave off loneliness.  The weird portions of music speak perfectly to the illusion that “things are ok” when they aren’t.  Next we have a song that serves to circumvent all of the hardships associated with relationships.  “Why Bother?” is aggressive in its self-defeating attitude, touching on underlying trust issues that many can relate to.  After suffering the pain of a broken heart in the past (apparently twice), Cuomo bluntly declares “why bother?” with going through it again?

“Across the Sea’s” lyrics tell another sad story that anyone who’s been alone too long can relate to.  The story goes that Cuomo received a letter from a little girl in Japan wanting to know about what his life was like on a daily basis.  The resulting song is about how he sort of fell in love with the girl because of his loneliness at the time, while also realizing that she “was probably some 14 year old girl who didn’t speak English,” which in turn depressed him further.  It’s an interesting (and clever) way to touch on that feeling of being so lonely that we latch on virtually any and everything around us, no matter how unrealistic.

“The Good Life” sums up Pinkerton’s “inspiration” pretty well.  It’s about getting back to a simpler life, before his stardom and the changes that came with it.  It’s more upbeat than a lot of songs on the album and closer to the songs on Blue, though it’s worth noting that it’s louder and noisier.  Guitars wail and screen, cymbals crash, and Cuomo goes a little wild as well.  “El Scorcho,” probably my favorite track, evinces some optimism, tinged with a pinch of self-deprecation.  It’s at least a slightly more hopeful take on finding someone special; a simple of gesture of saying, “hey, we have stuff in common, let’s get to know each other.”  The music is noticeably heavier than most of their material and the lead guitar is irresistible.  “Pink Triangle” returns to the dismal and slightly cynical take on finding “the one.”  Like “No Other One,” “Pink Triangle” speaks to the issue of forcing oneself to look the opposite way in a relationship and believe in something contrary to actual events.  In this case, the girl is a lesbian, though the singer is already at a point where “we were good as married in my mind.”  The line at the end is a humorous take on the situation, especially looking back to gay rights issues in the 90s: “if everyone’s a little queer, can’t she be a little straight?”

“Falling for You” is the culmination of Pinkerton’s reluctance to get involved in relationships, trust issues, and fears of getting hurt.  Despite it all, the singer falls for someone and now has no idea what to do.  At its core it’s hopeful, but there’s still some doubt – does he really want to “turn in my rock star card” even with his qualms about the lifestyle?  Lyrically, “Falling for You” perfectly captures the dualism of becoming enthralled with someone yet also the trepidation due to past baggage and personal demons.  It really helps bring all the relationship woes of the album together as well, almost like a story.

But if “Falling for You” is the “almost happy ending,” “Butterfly” is the weird sad epilogue set a few years in the future, or in this case, I hope it’s just an alternate, unused track.  Apparently the song draws its story from the opera “Madame Butterfly.”  At any rate it’s extremely dismal, essentially detailing the tale of a guy settling down with a woman, promising some degree of commitment, and then subsequently disappearing, all the while promising to come back with no intention of every doing so.  I like the slowed down and somber acoustic song as a closure to the album, though I’m confused as to what purpose it serves in Pinkerton’s bigger pictures.

Weezer was a band that earned their coolness for being deliberately uncool.  In more than one way, they helped (unintentionally) lay the foundation for “emo” and all that sprung forth from it.  They did such a great job at making uncool cool that eventually uncool became the new cool, and sadly, has now evolved into this hypersensitive, ultra-politically correct, crybaby culture that today’s youth blissfully pout and “intellectualize” through.  But back then it was fresh, and this idea of being normal, maybe just a little quirky, was an appealing, down-to-earth side of popular music that we didn’t much get to see.  I can see how that nowadays the seemingly mundane but infinitely resonant lyrics of Pinkerton might not sound that unique, but I can certainly picture the musical climate of 1996 well enough to see how easily they may have been dismissed.  Now it’s completely uncool to not like Pinkerton, and not in the cool uncool way, it’s just flat out unquestionably irrevocably uncool.

But hey, push through the hype and decide for yourself.  I’m actually glad I wasn’t aware of all of this when I first approached Pinkerton.  To me, it was the followup to an album that I really liked, and I just wanted to see what else these guys were capable of.  Thoughtful melodies drive the album musically and the lyrics keep it engaging and interesting from listen to listen.  And ultimately it’s this combination of catchiness and meaning that land Pinkerton a spot as one of my favorites.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Weezer in this series:

• 1994 – Weezer (The Blue Album) – Issue #15

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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