So you wanna know about Weezer? These guys started out in ’92 in LA as Rivers Cuomo’s way of getting away from metal and into something more… accessible. After their blue album basically made them the kings of nerdy rock, they decided to get all weird and personal with Pinkerton in ’96. And man, did that backfire initially, Rolling Stone readers literally voted it the third worst album of ’96. Rivers was so bummed he basically went back to making safe pop rock for years.
But here’s the thing about Pinkerton, it’s the album where Rivers basically laid all his emotional baggage out for everyone to see. The dude was lonely, horny, depressed, and studying at Harvard when he wrote most of this stuff. The title comes from this opera character who’s basically an asshole American sailor, which Rivers thought was like a touring rock star. Real subtle there, Rivers. The whole thing sounds rawer and messier than the Blue Album because they self-produced it to capture their live sound.
“El Scorcho” is probably the most famous track, it’s got that classic Weezer hook but with way more neurotic energy. Rivers is basically singing about being obsessed with some girl who doesn’t give a damn, which is peak ’90s emo before emo was even a thing. Then there’s “Pink Triangle,” where he falls for a lesbian, which is both awkward and oddly touching at the same time. These tracks show why the album became such a cult classic, it’s uncomfortable as hell but completely honest about being a mess of a human being.
Look, Pinkerton is essential because it basically invented modern emo and influenced every whiny band that came after. It went from being critically panned to being called one of the best albums of the ’90s. If you like your rock music with a side of emotional car crash and some of the catchiest hooks ever written, this is your jam. It’s 34 minutes of pure neurotic genius that proved being vulnerable could be more powerful than being cool.