This week Dustin Stashko is going into the music vault to review a ‘90s classic Pinkerton by Weezer
I have this certain affinity to Weezer. When I was a teenager, singer Rivers Cuomo was my idol. He was a nerd, singing about nerdy things, like Dungeons and Dragons and X-Men characters and (oddly) being single. This was something I related to. After all, I thought I was going to be perpetually alone because of my brace face and terrible haircuts I received from my dad. Somehow Cuomo managed to be a rock star of a different breed, a rock star with a conscience.
Fresh off their seminal “blue album,” Cuomo couldn’t really handle being propelled into rockstar status. He was only 26 years old, started taking classes in Harvard, and realized with all his stardom, he was still alone. What a harsh realization.
You could call Pinkerton emo, but then I’d pinch you in the back of the arms in hate. This is a man putting his heart into an album, and unabashedly writing about his life at the time.
It starts off with Tired Of Sex, which is probably one of the greatest song titles ever made. Abrasive sounding, and about random sex encounters that mean nothing
Why Bother is a fun song with simple lyrics that ring true to anyone who has had their heart broken. There’s also a line about wackin’ that I’m sure you can draw your own conclusions about.
The Good Life was a single, and one of the best ones on here. About getting older and realizing, that sometimes you shouldn’t take yourself so seriously with age. You should “shake booty and make sweet love.”
El Scorcho — bold statement: Best Weezer song ever. Listen to it. Love it.
Pink Triangle has a chorus that will make you grin. “I’m dumb, she’s a lesbian, I thought I had found the one,” which is always a buzz kill... I’d be lying if I said this didn’t happen to me at one point.
Pinkerton was pretty much universally panned by critics in 1996. It didn’t sound anything like the blue album. Years later, critics would look back on this album and call it Weezer’s best work. Stupid music reviewers, so smug. They should probably get off their tower.
This is an album you have to have in your collection. Guys: girls will think you’re hot if you have it. Girls: guys will MARRY you if you have it. That my friends, is a fact. Probably.