Canalien
04-04-2006, 12:26 PM
Weezer's 1994 self titled debut album, known to fans as The Blue Album was huge. Really huge. Released in the wake of Nirvana's break up, Weezer managed to fill some sort of power-pop-punk void left by the boys from Seattle, despite being musically and socially miles apart. Nirvana were misfits; the kind of long haired kids in high school who did their own tattoos with a razor and ball point ink and got kicked out of school for being drunk. Weezer were outcasts too, but they were from the opposite end of class. They were geeks. Frontman Rivers Cuomo's trademark horn rimmed glasses, bowl cut, diminutive stature and lyrical references to Dungeons and Dragons and X-Men comics amongst other things aren't the usual characteristics of a rock star. It shouldn't have been unexpected then, that following the massive success of the band's debut, Cuomo got a little freaked out about becoming so big so fast.
A second Weezer album had already been planned and mostly written; a high-concept "space rock opera" titled Tales from the Black Hole. In August of '94 the band got into the studio once again and began to record their second album. Plans changed for good in the spring of '95. Less than a year after the release of The Blue Album, with a second album on the way, Cuomo became disillusioned with the life of a rock star and seemingly disappeared. He put the band on hold, grew a beard to hide his identity, and enrolled at Harvard, giving him an opportunity to recover from corrective surgery he'd had on a birth defect (he was born with one leg a couple inches short than the other).
By the time the band got back into the studio in 1996 to continue recording their second album, everything had changed. Cuomo had written new material at Harvard, reflective of his distaste at being a rock star, and the space rock opera was put on hold, though some of the songs would be used on the new album. To this day, Tales from the Black Hole remains a mythical, unreleased concept album that has risen to legendary status amongst fans, on par with the Beach Boys' Smile.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/7/6/riverslive.jpgWhat emerged was Pinkerton, a disturbingly dark and confessional album that was a stark contrast to the band's upbeat debut. Upon it's release, the album was a commercial and critical failure. The band was sued by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and was restricted from advertising the album until the claims were thrown out of court. Cuomo also refused to shoot videos for multiple singles, worried that the success of The Blue Album was based solely on the ground breaking Spike Jonze directed video for 'Buddy Holly'. The video which was hugely popular on television and spread even further when it was included on the disc for Microsoft's new operating system Windows 95.
An unheard of album does not a bad album make. The critical drubbing of Pinkerton came thanks to it's uncharacteristically dark and aggressive sound. The humour and novelty of the band's earlier work were almost completely absent, replaced with confessional songs with references to fame, sexual frustration and drugs.
The opening track 'Tired of Sex' plays out like a quick, dirty act of intercourse itself, Beginning with feedback, thumping drums and monotonous guitars, Cuomo, sounding tired and depressed, agonizes over lists of women he's slept with, before blazing into the huge guitar riffs and desperate, primal screams and monotonous backing vocals characteristic of the album. The song climaxes in a wild and frantic guitar solo while the drums get even louder and finally fades out, only to start up again and finish itself off in one final instrumental burst.
'Across the Sea', contains possibly the album's most startling and awkward moment, in which Cuomo muses about masturbating over a letter from a young female Japanese fan. The abrasive nature of such a song is made all the more unsettling by the fact that the album does not hide such things behind coarse language or phony machismo. Pinkerton, contains zero swearing - a quick "God damn you" on 'El Scorcho' and "Screw this crap" & "excuse the bitching" on 'The Good Life' is as closes it gets. What makes it awkward is hearing such a friendly sounding voice casually, openly and honestly referring to these subjects without trying to dance around them.
All the humour was not gone though, and you can't help but smile at the tragedy of 'Pink Triangle', Cuomo's lament over finding his dream girl, only to discover that she is gay.
"Everyone's a little queer, why can't she be a little straight? I'm dumb, she's a lesbian. I thought I had found the one. We were good as married in my mind, but married in my mind's no good."
The exception to the musical and lyrical style of the album is the final track 'Butterfly', a sad acoustic apology told through a childhood memory. The song's title also alludes to Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly', Cuomo's favourite opera, which tells the story of a Japanese geisha and a U.S. Navy Lieutenant named BF Pinkerton. Other Japanese references are scattered throughout the album on 'Across the Sea' and 'El Scorcho', the latter partly addressing Cuomo's self confessed affinity for asian women. The most obvious reference is the album cover, a reproduction of 'Kambara yoru no yuki' by ukiyo-e legend Hiroshige.
Rivers Cuomo later regretted the honesty and direction of Pinkerton. In a Rolling Stone article he said "The most painful thing in my life these days is the cult around Pinkerton, it's just a sick album, sick in a diseased sort of way. It's such a source of anxiety because all the fans we have right now have stuck around because of that album. But, honestly, I never want to play those songs again; I never want to hear them again." He also compared it to "getting really drunk at a party and spilling your guts in front of everyone and feeling incredibly great and cathartic about it, and then waking up the next morning and realizing what a complete fool you made of yourself."
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/7/6/weezerhoriz1.jpg
Despite Cuomo's regrets and the album being voted Rolling Stone's "second worst album of '96", Pinkerton has stood the test of time. Rolling Stone later rescinded their claim and re-rated the album 5 Stars. Cuomo also later got over his trepidation about the album and the band now frequently plays the songs live. Throughout it's rocky history however, Pinkerton has always been a fan favourite. Some even regard as the band's best. Personally, I reserve that accolade for The Blue Album, but it's kind of like comparing oranges and apples. Make no mistake, Pinkerton is a very, very good album. It stands as testament to the fact that no matter how ugly a work of art can be, when it is honest, risky and heartfelt, it is usually a work of absolute genius.
A second Weezer album had already been planned and mostly written; a high-concept "space rock opera" titled Tales from the Black Hole. In August of '94 the band got into the studio once again and began to record their second album. Plans changed for good in the spring of '95. Less than a year after the release of The Blue Album, with a second album on the way, Cuomo became disillusioned with the life of a rock star and seemingly disappeared. He put the band on hold, grew a beard to hide his identity, and enrolled at Harvard, giving him an opportunity to recover from corrective surgery he'd had on a birth defect (he was born with one leg a couple inches short than the other).
By the time the band got back into the studio in 1996 to continue recording their second album, everything had changed. Cuomo had written new material at Harvard, reflective of his distaste at being a rock star, and the space rock opera was put on hold, though some of the songs would be used on the new album. To this day, Tales from the Black Hole remains a mythical, unreleased concept album that has risen to legendary status amongst fans, on par with the Beach Boys' Smile.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/7/6/riverslive.jpgWhat emerged was Pinkerton, a disturbingly dark and confessional album that was a stark contrast to the band's upbeat debut. Upon it's release, the album was a commercial and critical failure. The band was sued by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and was restricted from advertising the album until the claims were thrown out of court. Cuomo also refused to shoot videos for multiple singles, worried that the success of The Blue Album was based solely on the ground breaking Spike Jonze directed video for 'Buddy Holly'. The video which was hugely popular on television and spread even further when it was included on the disc for Microsoft's new operating system Windows 95.
An unheard of album does not a bad album make. The critical drubbing of Pinkerton came thanks to it's uncharacteristically dark and aggressive sound. The humour and novelty of the band's earlier work were almost completely absent, replaced with confessional songs with references to fame, sexual frustration and drugs.
The opening track 'Tired of Sex' plays out like a quick, dirty act of intercourse itself, Beginning with feedback, thumping drums and monotonous guitars, Cuomo, sounding tired and depressed, agonizes over lists of women he's slept with, before blazing into the huge guitar riffs and desperate, primal screams and monotonous backing vocals characteristic of the album. The song climaxes in a wild and frantic guitar solo while the drums get even louder and finally fades out, only to start up again and finish itself off in one final instrumental burst.
'Across the Sea', contains possibly the album's most startling and awkward moment, in which Cuomo muses about masturbating over a letter from a young female Japanese fan. The abrasive nature of such a song is made all the more unsettling by the fact that the album does not hide such things behind coarse language or phony machismo. Pinkerton, contains zero swearing - a quick "God damn you" on 'El Scorcho' and "Screw this crap" & "excuse the bitching" on 'The Good Life' is as closes it gets. What makes it awkward is hearing such a friendly sounding voice casually, openly and honestly referring to these subjects without trying to dance around them.
All the humour was not gone though, and you can't help but smile at the tragedy of 'Pink Triangle', Cuomo's lament over finding his dream girl, only to discover that she is gay.
"Everyone's a little queer, why can't she be a little straight? I'm dumb, she's a lesbian. I thought I had found the one. We were good as married in my mind, but married in my mind's no good."
The exception to the musical and lyrical style of the album is the final track 'Butterfly', a sad acoustic apology told through a childhood memory. The song's title also alludes to Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly', Cuomo's favourite opera, which tells the story of a Japanese geisha and a U.S. Navy Lieutenant named BF Pinkerton. Other Japanese references are scattered throughout the album on 'Across the Sea' and 'El Scorcho', the latter partly addressing Cuomo's self confessed affinity for asian women. The most obvious reference is the album cover, a reproduction of 'Kambara yoru no yuki' by ukiyo-e legend Hiroshige.
Rivers Cuomo later regretted the honesty and direction of Pinkerton. In a Rolling Stone article he said "The most painful thing in my life these days is the cult around Pinkerton, it's just a sick album, sick in a diseased sort of way. It's such a source of anxiety because all the fans we have right now have stuck around because of that album. But, honestly, I never want to play those songs again; I never want to hear them again." He also compared it to "getting really drunk at a party and spilling your guts in front of everyone and feeling incredibly great and cathartic about it, and then waking up the next morning and realizing what a complete fool you made of yourself."
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/7/6/weezerhoriz1.jpg
Despite Cuomo's regrets and the album being voted Rolling Stone's "second worst album of '96", Pinkerton has stood the test of time. Rolling Stone later rescinded their claim and re-rated the album 5 Stars. Cuomo also later got over his trepidation about the album and the band now frequently plays the songs live. Throughout it's rocky history however, Pinkerton has always been a fan favourite. Some even regard as the band's best. Personally, I reserve that accolade for The Blue Album, but it's kind of like comparing oranges and apples. Make no mistake, Pinkerton is a very, very good album. It stands as testament to the fact that no matter how ugly a work of art can be, when it is honest, risky and heartfelt, it is usually a work of absolute genius.