Pinkerton
by Weezer

From Happy 06/11/2013 14:35 | #78603 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I think the reason why Pinkerton was panned when it was released was because the feelings it evokes are almost the exact opposite of those on the Blue Album. Even some of the darker songs from the Blue Album, like "The World Has Turned", were still fun to just sing along to, and you could play it whenever you wanted. Pinkerton, on the other hand, is supposed to be shocking; Rivers licking a fan's envelope and imagining her masturbate to him is a lot weirder than his younger self pretending to have sex with his ex in bed.

With that said, people also didn't like Rivers' reactions to the rock life style. Many people would pay for all the sex he says he's tired of. They don't see why he's trying to get in his relationships, and their opinions are made even lower by the fact that he can't keep them. Of course, their's the aforementioned fan mail licking. What probably makes people's opinions of Pinkerton so low, though, is that Rivers, or at least the narrator of each song, has no confidence. Nobody likes someone who lacks confidence, and to most people it comes to no surprise that Rivers has all these failures in relationships.

One could argue the mood of the album changes entirely once "The Good Life" starts playing. Yes, Rivers still has his girl troubles, but he approaches relationships with much more confidence than before; the pain he might get from a bad or broken relationship doesn't faze him. He then finally gets the girl in "Falling For You", but loses her just as quick as he got her in "Butterfly". All he can say is that he's sorry for being this guy who wants a girl's love but can't give it back, for being selfish. This song sums up the message of the album: If you're looking for true love, you can't just fantasize about it; you have to go out, find it, and give it to someone.

The songs reflect the character of each half of the album. The first half is noticeably more dark than the second and the tracks are harder to get into. Even long=time listeners may not be at ease when those songs are playing. Still, this half of the album is great because Rivers managed to pull off this unsettling mood perfectly. The second half takes its character from Rivers' new found confidence, and thus it makes perfect sense that all the singles are on this side. People who listen to Pinkerton for the first time will, almost certainly, connect with this half better than the first. Personally, I'd argue this stretch of songs is the best that Rivers has ever written.

I think what makes Pinkerton so amazing is that it does so many different things so well. It catches the listener off guard and talks about the keys to finding love while still having those great hooks and riffs that Weezer is known for. You can't go wrong with the pure fun of "El Scorcho", one of the best rock choruses ever in "The Good Life", the epic finale of "Falling for You", the acoustic beauty of "Butterfly", the sheer despair of "Across the Sea", the pure pop of "Why Bother?", along with whatever else these tracks have to offer.

On a final note, after listening to Pinkerton I can understand why Rivers doesn't make music as good as he used to: he doesn't want to make another album about him being unable to deal with fame. You can tell by just reading his lyrics that making this album was emotionally taxing. He just wants to make his album and tour, then go back to his family. As long as I have the Blue Album, Pinkerton, and the occasional good Weezer song like "Pork and Beans", I'm okay with that.

From HyperBully 03/31/2010 08:59 | #10162 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

If you think "The Good Life" is scandolous or filthy somehow, you've obviously never heard a rap song. Or anything released after 1967 really. And you probably don't understand anything about Rivers Cuomo's songwriting during this period either. Pinkerton was mostly written during Rivers' recovery from leg surgery, which is why most of the album is the usual sarcastic humor coupled with deeply startling personal revelations. Just listen to "Across the Sea", in which he describes in no small detail his lingering obsession with a teenage Japanese girl's fan letter, latching on to her letter with a cry for help and a desperate longing to escape his life as a rock star. The beauty of this album lies in it's pure personal and artistic value. Rivers did something rarely done before in popular music - he opened up his heart and mind to the pubescent teenager lurking inside all of us and unleashed it through song. The only problem was he did it all at once, so now he has become so embarrased by the album (and the fact that the idiot public refused to buy it until years later, when it justly became a cult hit) that he has downplayed it's existence, often refusing to play it's songs, and has sheltered his personal thoughts in every song since, so we are left with pop crap like Raditude. The great tragedy in this all is that Rivers' fascinating and stunning art and mind has now been lost to the ages, salvaged only in this one magnificent album.

From HoldenM TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/03/2013 10:21 | #66848 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

It's a shame that Rivers Cuomo refutes this album while he embraces Hurley and Rattitude. To each his own. Nevertheless, while I may prefer Blue Album, this is a huge achievement. Easily one of the best alternative rock albums around, and it still holds up after nearly twenty years.

From Mercury TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/09/2013 19:13 | #91487 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I'm obsessed. It just finally clicked with me. The tunes and melodies are so inventive and catchy, and the hooks are such perfection. The lyrics are direct and effective. And there are interesting little details and effects throughout this short-but-sweet album. The main thing is I really just relate to this album so much it is scary. There are a lot of cooler albums to identify with, but this is the one I most identify with these days. Rivers Coumo circa '96 and me right now are basically the same.

This is just such a damn great album.

"Screw this crap, I've had it! I ain't no Mr. Cool.
I'm a pig, I'm a dog, so 'scuse me if I drool.
I ain't gonna hurt nobody, ain't gonna 'cause a scene.
I just need to admit that I want sugar in my tea
Hear me? Hear me? I want sugar in my tea!"

From babyBlueSedan TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/04/2015 02:26 | #150919 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This is an absolute lyrical masterpiece; Cuomo perfectly captures the feelings of confused lust that follow many through high school, college, and beyond. I've heard this album get ridiculed for its misogyny and objectification of women, to which I say: "Isn't that the point?" Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Rivers is right in some of the things he says, but there's a certain type of realism there. Whenever I hear some of these songs I think about Louis CK's bit about the constant perverted sexual thoughts that plague him everywhere he goes. The feelings Rivers expresses on these albums are not glorifications of these feelings - he isn't bragging about the sex he's having or insisting that women sleep with him. To me at least, he's lamenting how every interaction he has with women turns into some kind of sexual thought - something as simple as getting a letter from a fan can get his mind wandering. I mean, the first track is about him wishing he could stop having meaningless sex. Honestly I feel bad for him in most of these songs; the guy sounds pretty miserable. His lyrics echo the feeling of being aimless and lost and searching for something but never really being able to find it. He just wants someone to love, and as soon as he gets to know her he starts to think he's going to marry her. That's not lust - you don't marry people you lust after. That's desperation and the feeling that if you don't find someone fast you'll be alone forever. That's him being too scared of starting a relationship because he's worried he'll ruin it like he did the last time and instead jacking off again. That's him muttering possibly sexist things "Goddamn you half-Japanese girls" as if they're normal thoughts. Again I don't know much about the dude so maybe he's actually really sexist, but to me the album gives off the vibes of a confused man who's searching for love but keeps getting foiled by himself. And if nothing else he apologizes about everything in the last track.

Musically the album leaves a little to be desired, with its dumb guitar solos and heavy handed chords, but I think it fits well with the lyrical themes.