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Pinkerton (album)
Encyclopedia
Pinkerton is the second studio album by American alternative rock
band Weezer
, released on September 24, 1996. After finishing tours in promotion of their 1994 album Weezer, the band originally planned to record a space-themed rock opera entitled Songs from the Black Hole
. However, this project was eventually abandoned and the group used some of the songs from the discarded album on Pinkerton. Much of the album was written while frontman Rivers Cuomo
was studying at Harvard University
, which influenced the themes addressed on the record.
The album was seen as a departure from the band's original power pop
sound for a darker and more abrasive sound. The album was certified gold in the United States in 2001. As of August 2009, Pinkerton has amassed U.S. sales of 852,000. It also went gold in Canada, with sales of over 50,000. It was the last Weezer album to feature bassist Matt Sharp
.
traveled to his home state of Connecticut and, using an eight-track recorder, began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole
. The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece. The band began demoing and working on Cuomo's concept through intermittent recording sessions in the spring and summer of 1995. During this time, Cuomo, who was born with one leg shorter than the other, received leg surgery intended to lengthen his right leg. This would impact his songwriting for the album because he would be under the influence of painkillers. Sometime during this period Cuomo applied to study at Harvard University
with an application letter describing how disillusioned he was with the rock lifestyle.
Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped. The album would instead feature songs composed before their first album (which had briefly been incorporated into the space-opera) as well as some new ones written while Cuomo was at Harvard.
, the band gathered for two weeks of recording at Electric Lady Studios
, the same studio where they recorded their debut. Guitarist Brian Bell
commented "We're going for the deeper, darker, more experimental stuff," but assured fans, "we'll always be the Weezer you know and love." In these very early sessions, the band would attempt to record a "special coda" of several overlapping songs. It would be from these sessions that Songs from the Black Hole
would come to fruition. The songs "Why Bother?", "Getchoo", "No Other One", and "Tired of Sex
" would be tracked.
For the album, the band decided against hiring a producer
. Cuomo felt it was "the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own." The intention of the band was to make a raw record, which would better resemble the band's live sound
. The main goal was to achieve a big drum sound and abrasive guitar sounds. This was accomplished by connecting multiple distortion pedals. At just under thirty-five minutes, Pinkerton was according to Cuomo, "short by design." In recording the album over four respective sessions, the band would usually spend two days on rehearsal
s and then head into the studio to record the tracks. To give the album a live feel, members of the band would record the vocals in tandem around three microphone
s.
While Cuomo was at Harvard, his busy schedule left his fellow band members with copious amounts of free time. Cuomo himself, while at Harvard, would focus his attention on textbooks about music theory
. Various members of the band used this time to work on their respective side-projects. Matt Sharp
would work to promote his side-band The Rentals
' debut album, while Patrick Wilson
and Brian Bell worked on material for their side-bands The Special Goodness
and the Space Twins
, respectively. The band regrouped in January 1996, during Cuomo's winter break
, for a two-week recording session at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, with an intent on wrapping up the songs they had previously worked on at Electric Lady Studios from last August. As well as recording new songs, "El Scorcho
", and "Pink Triangle
", before the band went their separate ways, once again, while Cuomo returned to Harvard. The other members of the band went back to work on their various projects.
During a week-long break, in the spring of 1996, the band regrouped, once again, at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California to continue work on the album. During this break, the band recorded three new songs, "The Good Life", "Across the Sea
", and "Falling for You", before Cuomo returned to Cambridge
for the remaining weeks of his second semester at Harvard and his university finals.
The band would put the finishing touches on the album in the early summer of 1996 in Los Angeles
. During this time, Cuomo would be without a permanent L.A. residence and would stay at Le Parc Suites in West Hollywood
. At this point, he would worry about the transition from the academic lifestyle to the rock lifestyle. In the final Pinkerton session, two additional tracks, "I Swear It's True" and "Getting Up and Leaving" (originally written for the band's debut album but not recorded) were attempted and nearly finished, but were left incomplete just prior to the mixing
process.
. Cuomo strived to write from a more direct and personal standpoint. The album touched upon various life experiences of Cuomo and included subjects like groupies, dysfunctional relationships
, a fan letter
, identity and former girlfriends.
The inspiration for the lead single "El Scorcho
" came from Cuomo's shyness and inability to say "hello" to a crush of his while at Harvard. Cuomo revealed that the song "is more about me, because at that point I hadn't even talked to the girl, I didn't really know much about her." For the single, Cuomo refused to make any "Buddy Holly
"-like videos explaining "I really don't want the songs to come across untainted this time around...I really want to communicate my feelings directly and because I was so careful in writing that way. I'd hate for the video to kinda misrepresent the song, or exaggerate certain aspects." The final video featured the band playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the music.
The song "Tired of Sex
" was written on an 8-track, prior to the release of the The Blue Album. Cuomo rants about meaningless groupie sex encounters, reciting his list of conquests, and wondering why true love eludes him.
The second single from Pinkerton, "The Good Life", chronicles the rebirth of Cuomo after an identity crisis as an Ivy League loner. Cuomo, who had been isolated while at Harvard, wrote it after "becoming frustrated with that hermit's life I was leading, the ascetic life. And I think I was starting to become frustrated with my whole dream about purifying myself and trying to live like a monk or an intellectual and going to school and holding out for this perfect, ideal woman. And so I wrote the song. And I started to turn around and come back the other way."
Another song, "Across the Sea
" whose inspiration came from a letter he received from a Japanese fan during a lonely winter at Harvard university. Cuomo remarked: "When I got the letter, I fell in love with her. It was such a great letter. I was very lonely at the time, but at the same time I was very depressed that I would never meet her. Even if I did see her, she was probably some fourteen-year-old girl, who didn't speak English."
The final single, "Pink Triangle
", was released to radio on May 20, 1997. The song describes a man who falls in love and wants to get married, but soon discovers the object of his devotion is a lesbian
.
's opera Madama Butterfly
. Like the Puccini opera, the album includes other references to Japan, Japanese people, and Japanese culture from the perspective of an outsider who considers Japan fragile and sensual. The album's lyrical themes infuse the Japanese allusions with its first-person narrator's romantic disappointments and sexual frustration, the latter at times visceral and graphic. Due to the cohesion of the narrative themes, the album plays as a concept album about sexual longing and lost love, and because of its first-person voice, many consider Cuomo's songs autobiographical. Cuomo has stated that "the 10 songs are sequenced in the order in which I wrote them (with two minor exceptions). So as a whole, the album kind of tells the story of my struggle with my inner Pinkerton."
The artwork on the album's cover is Kambara Yoru no Yuki ("Night Snow at Kambara"), print number 16 in Japanese ukiyo-e
artist Hiroshige
's popular 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō series.
There are other references to Japanese culture and Puccini as well: In some pressings, when viewed at an angle, the back of the album's jewel case has a vague image of a woman, perhaps a geisha
. A more direct reference to Puccini may be found around the edge of the CD. This is the written lyrics from Puccini's opera in their original Italian: "Everywhere in the world, the roving Yankee takes his pleasure and his profit, indifferent to all risks. He drops anchor at random..."
Behind the album's CD tray is a map with the title "Isola della farfalla e penisola di cane." which is Italian for "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog." Also on the map are a ship named U.S.S. Pinkerton and "Mykel and Carli
Island", an allusion to Weezer's fan club founders, as well as more references to Madame Butterfly (Sharpless, Cio Cio San Island). In a 2005 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Rivers Cuomo said that the names listed on the map are those who influenced him during the writing and recording of the album, with Howard Stern
being one of those influences. Other names include Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian Wilson
, Lou Barlow
, Joe Matt
, Camille Paglia
and Ace Frehley
.
A&R rep Todd Sullivan described Pinkerton as a "very brave record,' but worried "what sort of light does this put the band in? I could have been interpreted as them being a disposable pop band.'" The label overall was pleased with the record and felt "no one's going to be disappointed" with the album.
The first music video was shot for "El Scorcho
". The band would pass on a video treatment proposed by Spike Jonze
, who had previously helped raise the band's status to platinum sales with the help of his "Buddy Holly" video. Cuomo wanted to take a straight approach to video making because he was against doing any big-budget videos since he felt the videos would "taint" his songs. Mark Romanek
, the director of the video would eventually quit the video after numerous verbal arguments with Cuomo, leaving Cuomo to edit the video himself. The final video featured the band playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the music. It debuted on MTV
's program 120 Minutes
and only received moderate airplay on the channel.
Just as "El Scorcho" was gaining momentum on the radio, on MTV, and a day before the album was to be released for public sale on September 24, 1996, a restraining order
was obtained against the band and Geffen by Encino, California-based security firm, Pinkerton's Inc.
The company sued the band and Geffen for alleged federal trademark infringement
, claiming that Weezer was trying to capitalize on the company's reputation. Under the terms of the restraining order, which had Pinkerton's Inc seeking two million dollars in damages, Weezer would be kept from "selling, distributing, or advertising an album with the name Pinkerton." Geffen spokesman Dennis Dennehy, defended the title stating "to Weezer, Pinkerton is a character in Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly... It was not meant to be aimed at any sort of corporate entity." Cuomo wrote a six-page paper defending his choice of the title. He described what the papers entailed, it "explain[ed] why [he] chose it, and how it works for the album, and how it's essential." Although a federal court hearing had been initially set for October 3, the seriousness of the legal and financial ramifications surrounding the album forced the case to be expedited to September 26. Due to the cover art which was akin to the Puccini's opera, the case was thrown out-of-court, after the judge dissolved the previous court order to have the CDs pulled after determining "that the hardship of not issuing the Pinkerton disc would be greater for Geffen than any hardship Pinkerton's Inc or its shareholders might incur from consumers who mistakenly presume the company has anything to do with the album."
Noticing the commercial failure of the album, the band had to compromise to make the video more to the liking of MTV
. The music video for "The Good Life", was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
, features a pizza delivery girl (played by Mary Lynn Rajskub
) on her route, highlighting the monotony of her job. The music video is noted for its use of simultaneous camera angles appearing on screen as a fractured full image. The video was rush-released by the record company to try to save the commercially-failing album, but was not successful.
In October 1996, the band toured the Far East
with concert appearances in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. After wrapping up the tour of the Pacific Rim, the band flew home to Los Angeles
. Patrick Wilson and Matt Sharp did a promotional appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show "Modern Rock Live", in an attempt to improve the album's standing on the U.S. album charts. A few days later, on November 1, Weezer launched its tour of North America at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California
. On November 6, Weezer performed an acoustic set at Shorecrest High School
in Seattle
due to a contest won by a student. A few of the songs performed at the acoustic set would later appear on the The Good Life EP. The band would continue to tour up until just before Christmas
. They wrapped up the tour with a performance at "The Palace" in Los Angeles. Overall, the Pinkerton tour was largely successful, bringing the band to mid-size venues around the globe.
In July 2009, Karl Koch, the webmaster for Weezer's website, revealed the band was preparing a deluxe edition of Pinkerton. In January 2010, Koch stated the deluxe version would be released "before or by spring". In April 2010, Brian Bell stated that the re-release will include: "more photographs, a really nice booklet, and, I believe, some unreleased tracks that were recorded during that time. [...] I hope to gain some new fans. That album has definitely taken on a life of its own and became more successful and more accepted. At the time, it wasn’t especially critically acclaimed. In fact, I think it was one of the worst records of the year by Rolling Stone
that year, and then later it was hailed. That just goes to show the fickleness of the music business and industry. As an artist, you just have to do what you believe in at the time, whether it’s accepted or not. You just have to keep going with it." The album was originally scheduled to be re-released on October 5, 2010, but the date was bumped to November 2.
On November 20, 2010, the reissue of Pinkerton debuted at number six on the Billboard Catalog Albums
chart and re-entered the Billboard 200
at number 73.
criticized the band for bypassing Blue Album producer Ric Ocasek
to handle the production duties alone and dismissed the album saying, "[Pinkerton] sounds like a collection of get-down party anthems for agoraphobics
". The album received heavy criticism – most notably by Rob O'Connor's review for Rolling Stone
, who called the songwriting "juvenile" and described the song "Tired of Sex
" as "aimless". In addition to the negative review, the readers of the magazine named the album the second worst of 1996. The reviewer from Melody Maker
praised the music but advised the listener "to ignore the lyrics entirely." However, it received praise from Pitchfork who proclaimed "Pinkerton takes a few listens to get into. Which is not to say that it won't rock your world. In fact, by listen number three, you're on the ground with pop spasms." NME
also praised the album saying, "by the time the affecting acoustic lament `Butterfly' wafts in like Big Star at a wildlife protection meeting, Pinkerton starts feeling like a truly moving album."
In 2001, Cuomo told Entertainment Weekly:
Recently, however, Cuomo has started to warm up to the record. In early 2008 Cuomo stated "Pinkerton' s great. It's super-deep, brave, and authentic. Listening to it, I can tell that I was really going for it when I wrote and recorded a lot of those songs."
. In 2002, Rolling Stone readers voted it as the 16th greatest album of all-time. It has received perfect scores from both Allmusic and Tiny Mix Tapes
with the latter calling it, "one of the best albums of the 20th Century." In 2005, Spin Magazine
named it number 61 in its list of the 100 best albums from 1985 to 2005. In 2003, Pitchfork ranked the album number 53 for their list, "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s." In 2004, Rolling Stone gave the album a new review, giving it five stars out of five and adding it to the Rolling Stone Hall of Fame. Drowned in Sound
has also highly praised the album and said of the album that, "this is the ultimate break-up album, the best unrequited love album and the greatest collection of confused emotions captured in the universe...EVER!" It was ranked #76 on Guitar World
's Top 100 Guitar Albums of All-Time.
Non-U.S. publications have acclaimed the album as well: New Zealand's The Movement placed it at number 12 on a list of "The 101 Best Albums of the 90s," and Pure Pop of Mexico
ranked it number 21 on a list of "The 50 Best Albums of the 90s." As of August 2009, Pinkerton has sold 852,000 copies, and it is certified gold.
over the Internet. Eventually, the album would be considered among the band's best work, by both fans and critics alike. In addition, Pinkerton has been influential on alternative rock
.
Several bands which later became popular, including Yellowcard
, Saves the Day
, Taking Back Sunday
, The Ataris
, Thursday
, the Used
, The Brobecks
and Dashboard Confessional
, consider the album to be an influence on them. As well as mainstream bands, several underground bands also consider the album to be an influence as well, including The Promise Ring
, The Long Goodbye
, and David Leto of the indie rock band Rye Coalition
, who called the album the "rocker's album of choice."
Weezer
Production
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, released on September 24, 1996. After finishing tours in promotion of their 1994 album Weezer, the band originally planned to record a space-themed rock opera entitled Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole is an unreleased, unfinished Weezer album. A space themed rock opera/musical, it was originally envisioned as the follow-up album to The Blue Album, but over the course of recording, the album's concept was discarded and the album was transformed into Pinkerton...
. However, this project was eventually abandoned and the group used some of the songs from the discarded album on Pinkerton. Much of the album was written while frontman Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
was studying at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, which influenced the themes addressed on the record.
The album was seen as a departure from the band's original power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
sound for a darker and more abrasive sound. The album was certified gold in the United States in 2001. As of August 2009, Pinkerton has amassed U.S. sales of 852,000. It also went gold in Canada, with sales of over 50,000. It was the last Weezer album to feature bassist Matt Sharp
Matt Sharp
Matthew Kelly Sharp is a founding member and former bassist for the band Weezer. In 1994, he started a band called The Rentals and released their debut album shortly after Weezer's first release, their second album in 1999, and an EP in 2007...
.
Background
After the multi-platinum success of their debut album Weezer, the band took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays in late December 1994. Rivers CuomoRivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
traveled to his home state of Connecticut and, using an eight-track recorder, began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole is an unreleased, unfinished Weezer album. A space themed rock opera/musical, it was originally envisioned as the follow-up album to The Blue Album, but over the course of recording, the album's concept was discarded and the album was transformed into Pinkerton...
. The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece. The band began demoing and working on Cuomo's concept through intermittent recording sessions in the spring and summer of 1995. During this time, Cuomo, who was born with one leg shorter than the other, received leg surgery intended to lengthen his right leg. This would impact his songwriting for the album because he would be under the influence of painkillers. Sometime during this period Cuomo applied to study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with an application letter describing how disillusioned he was with the rock lifestyle.
Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped. The album would instead feature songs composed before their first album (which had briefly been incorporated into the space-opera) as well as some new ones written while Cuomo was at Harvard.
Recording process
After touring for their debut album wrapped up in August 1995, the band took a seven-day break. Just a few days before Cuomo was set to travel to study at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the band gathered for two weeks of recording at Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
, the same studio where they recorded their debut. Guitarist Brian Bell
Brian Bell (musician)
Brian Bell is an American guitarist and songwriter. Active since 1989, he is best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the American alternative rock band Weezer. Bell joined Weezer in 1993 following the departure of founding member Jason Cropper...
commented "We're going for the deeper, darker, more experimental stuff," but assured fans, "we'll always be the Weezer you know and love." In these very early sessions, the band would attempt to record a "special coda" of several overlapping songs. It would be from these sessions that Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole is an unreleased, unfinished Weezer album. A space themed rock opera/musical, it was originally envisioned as the follow-up album to The Blue Album, but over the course of recording, the album's concept was discarded and the album was transformed into Pinkerton...
would come to fruition. The songs "Why Bother?", "Getchoo", "No Other One", and "Tired of Sex
Tired of Sex
"Tired of Sex" is a song by the American rock band Weezer; it is the opening track of their second album, Pinkerton. It is one of the most abrasive songs in Weezer's catalog. The song is known for its distorted guitars and being one of the few songs in which frontman Rivers Cuomo uses screamed vocals...
" would be tracked.
For the album, the band decided against hiring a producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. Cuomo felt it was "the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own." The intention of the band was to make a raw record, which would better resemble the band's live sound
Live sound mixing
Live sound mixing is the art of combining and processing a number of audio signals together to create a "mix" that the audience or performers at a live show hear. There can be a variety of different mixes required, depending on the performance requirements...
. The main goal was to achieve a big drum sound and abrasive guitar sounds. This was accomplished by connecting multiple distortion pedals. At just under thirty-five minutes, Pinkerton was according to Cuomo, "short by design." In recording the album over four respective sessions, the band would usually spend two days on rehearsal
Rehearsal
For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...
s and then head into the studio to record the tracks. To give the album a live feel, members of the band would record the vocals in tandem around three microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
s.
While Cuomo was at Harvard, his busy schedule left his fellow band members with copious amounts of free time. Cuomo himself, while at Harvard, would focus his attention on textbooks about music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
. Various members of the band used this time to work on their respective side-projects. Matt Sharp
Matt Sharp
Matthew Kelly Sharp is a founding member and former bassist for the band Weezer. In 1994, he started a band called The Rentals and released their debut album shortly after Weezer's first release, their second album in 1999, and an EP in 2007...
would work to promote his side-band The Rentals
The Rentals
The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...
' debut album, while Patrick Wilson
Patrick Wilson (musician)
Patrick "Pat" George Wilson is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band Weezer. He joined the band in 1992. In addition to his work in Weezer, he also fronts his own band, The Special Goodness....
and Brian Bell worked on material for their side-bands The Special Goodness
The Special Goodness
The Special Goodness is the side project of Weezer’s drummer Patrick Wilson. It currently features Wilson on guitar and vocals, and Atom Willard on drums...
and the Space Twins
Space Twins
Space Twins was an American rock band fronted by Weezer guitarist Brian Bell.-Early years:Space Twins was founded in 1993 by Weezer guitarist Brian Bell and, his then girlfriend, Susan Fox. Initially, the band was a small project in which the two would dress up in Star Trek style outfits with...
, respectively. The band regrouped in January 1996, during Cuomo's winter break
School holiday
School holidays are the periods during which schools are closed for study. The dates and periods of school holidays vary considerably throughout the world, and there is usually some variation even within the same jurisdiction.- Christmas holiday :In countries with a predominantly Judeo-Christian...
, for a two-week recording session at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, with an intent on wrapping up the songs they had previously worked on at Electric Lady Studios from last August. As well as recording new songs, "El Scorcho
El Scorcho
"El Scorcho" is a song by the American alternative rock band Weezer. It is the first single from the band's second album Pinkerton, released in 1996. The music video features the band playing in an old ballroom in Los Angeles , surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the...
", and "Pink Triangle
Pink Triangle (song)
"Pink Triangle" is a song by American rock band Weezer. Released as the third single from their second album Pinkerton, it was released to radio on May 20, 1997 in a last ditch effort to boost sales for the album...
", before the band went their separate ways, once again, while Cuomo returned to Harvard. The other members of the band went back to work on their various projects.
During a week-long break, in the spring of 1996, the band regrouped, once again, at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California to continue work on the album. During this break, the band recorded three new songs, "The Good Life", "Across the Sea
Across the Sea
"Across the Sea" is the fifth song from Weezer's second album, Pinkerton. Singer/songwriter Rivers Cuomo wrote "Across the Sea" after receiving a letter from a Japanese girl during a depressing winter at Harvard University. Cuomo remarked, "When I got the letter, I fell in love with her. It was...
", and "Falling for You", before Cuomo returned to Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
for the remaining weeks of his second semester at Harvard and his university finals.
The band would put the finishing touches on the album in the early summer of 1996 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. During this time, Cuomo would be without a permanent L.A. residence and would stay at Le Parc Suites in West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
. At this point, he would worry about the transition from the academic lifestyle to the rock lifestyle. In the final Pinkerton session, two additional tracks, "I Swear It's True" and "Getting Up and Leaving" (originally written for the band's debut album but not recorded) were attempted and nearly finished, but were left incomplete just prior to the mixing
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
process.
Writing and composition
Much of the album's content was written by Rivers Cuomo while studying at HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Cuomo strived to write from a more direct and personal standpoint. The album touched upon various life experiences of Cuomo and included subjects like groupies, dysfunctional relationships
Relational aggression
Relational aggression, also known as covert aggression or covert bullying, is a type of aggression in which harm is caused through damage to relationships or social status within a group rather than by means of actual or threatened physical violence...
, a fan letter
Fan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans".In return celebrities may send a poster or picture and usually a return letter.-Overview:...
, identity and former girlfriends.
The inspiration for the lead single "El Scorcho
El Scorcho
"El Scorcho" is a song by the American alternative rock band Weezer. It is the first single from the band's second album Pinkerton, released in 1996. The music video features the band playing in an old ballroom in Los Angeles , surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the...
" came from Cuomo's shyness and inability to say "hello" to a crush of his while at Harvard. Cuomo revealed that the song "is more about me, because at that point I hadn't even talked to the girl, I didn't really know much about her." For the single, Cuomo refused to make any "Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly (song)
"Buddy Holly" is a song by the rock group Weezer, written by Rivers Cuomo. It was released as the second single from the band's debut album Weezer in 1994. The single was released on what would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday. The lyrics reference the song's 1950s namesake and actress Mary...
"-like videos explaining "I really don't want the songs to come across untainted this time around...I really want to communicate my feelings directly and because I was so careful in writing that way. I'd hate for the video to kinda misrepresent the song, or exaggerate certain aspects." The final video featured the band playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the music.
The song "Tired of Sex
Tired of Sex
"Tired of Sex" is a song by the American rock band Weezer; it is the opening track of their second album, Pinkerton. It is one of the most abrasive songs in Weezer's catalog. The song is known for its distorted guitars and being one of the few songs in which frontman Rivers Cuomo uses screamed vocals...
" was written on an 8-track, prior to the release of the The Blue Album. Cuomo rants about meaningless groupie sex encounters, reciting his list of conquests, and wondering why true love eludes him.
Another song, "Across the Sea
Across the Sea
"Across the Sea" is the fifth song from Weezer's second album, Pinkerton. Singer/songwriter Rivers Cuomo wrote "Across the Sea" after receiving a letter from a Japanese girl during a depressing winter at Harvard University. Cuomo remarked, "When I got the letter, I fell in love with her. It was...
" whose inspiration came from a letter he received from a Japanese fan during a lonely winter at Harvard university. Cuomo remarked: "When I got the letter, I fell in love with her. It was such a great letter. I was very lonely at the time, but at the same time I was very depressed that I would never meet her. Even if I did see her, she was probably some fourteen-year-old girl, who didn't speak English."
The final single, "Pink Triangle
Pink Triangle (song)
"Pink Triangle" is a song by American rock band Weezer. Released as the third single from their second album Pinkerton, it was released to radio on May 20, 1997 in a last ditch effort to boost sales for the album...
", was released to radio on May 20, 1997. The song describes a man who falls in love and wants to get married, but soon discovers the object of his devotion is a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
.
Themes
Pinkerton has been assumed to be named after the character B.F. Pinkerton from PucciniGiacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's opera Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
. Like the Puccini opera, the album includes other references to Japan, Japanese people, and Japanese culture from the perspective of an outsider who considers Japan fragile and sensual. The album's lyrical themes infuse the Japanese allusions with its first-person narrator's romantic disappointments and sexual frustration, the latter at times visceral and graphic. Due to the cohesion of the narrative themes, the album plays as a concept album about sexual longing and lost love, and because of its first-person voice, many consider Cuomo's songs autobiographical. Cuomo has stated that "the 10 songs are sequenced in the order in which I wrote them (with two minor exceptions). So as a whole, the album kind of tells the story of my struggle with my inner Pinkerton."
Artwork
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
artist Hiroshige
Hiroshige
was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige ....
's popular 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō series.
There are other references to Japanese culture and Puccini as well: In some pressings, when viewed at an angle, the back of the album's jewel case has a vague image of a woman, perhaps a geisha
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
. A more direct reference to Puccini may be found around the edge of the CD. This is the written lyrics from Puccini's opera in their original Italian: "Everywhere in the world, the roving Yankee takes his pleasure and his profit, indifferent to all risks. He drops anchor at random..."
Behind the album's CD tray is a map with the title "Isola della farfalla e penisola di cane." which is Italian for "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog." Also on the map are a ship named U.S.S. Pinkerton and "Mykel and Carli
Hear You Me! A Tribute To Mykel And Carli
Hear You Me! A Tribute To Mykel And Carli is a compilation album released in 1998 on Vast Records.When Mykel and Carli Allan died, a tribute and benefit concert was organized to help the Allan family with the funeral costs. The show featured friends of the Allan sisters that dog., Black Market...
Island", an allusion to Weezer's fan club founders, as well as more references to Madame Butterfly (Sharpless, Cio Cio San Island). In a 2005 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Rivers Cuomo said that the names listed on the map are those who influenced him during the writing and recording of the album, with Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
being one of those influences. Other names include Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, Joe Matt
Joe Matt
Joe Matt is an American cartoonist. He started drawing comics in 1987 and is best known for his autobiographical work, Peepshow. In addition to his cartooning career, he is known for his large collection of vintage Gasoline Alley comic strips. Matt lived in Canada from 1988 to 2002...
, Camille Paglia
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia , is an American author, teacher, and social critic. Paglia, a self-described dissident feminist, has been a Professor at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 1984...
and Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
.
Release
GeffenGeffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
A&R rep Todd Sullivan described Pinkerton as a "very brave record,' but worried "what sort of light does this put the band in? I could have been interpreted as them being a disposable pop band.'" The label overall was pleased with the record and felt "no one's going to be disappointed" with the album.
The first music video was shot for "El Scorcho
El Scorcho
"El Scorcho" is a song by the American alternative rock band Weezer. It is the first single from the band's second album Pinkerton, released in 1996. The music video features the band playing in an old ballroom in Los Angeles , surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the...
". The band would pass on a video treatment proposed by Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
, who had previously helped raise the band's status to platinum sales with the help of his "Buddy Holly" video. Cuomo wanted to take a straight approach to video making because he was against doing any big-budget videos since he felt the videos would "taint" his songs. Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...
, the director of the video would eventually quit the video after numerous verbal arguments with Cuomo, leaving Cuomo to edit the video himself. The final video featured the band playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the music. It debuted on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's program 120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
and only received moderate airplay on the channel.
Just as "El Scorcho" was gaining momentum on the radio, on MTV, and a day before the album was to be released for public sale on September 24, 1996, a restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
was obtained against the band and Geffen by Encino, California-based security firm, Pinkerton's Inc.
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
The company sued the band and Geffen for alleged federal trademark infringement
Trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees...
, claiming that Weezer was trying to capitalize on the company's reputation. Under the terms of the restraining order, which had Pinkerton's Inc seeking two million dollars in damages, Weezer would be kept from "selling, distributing, or advertising an album with the name Pinkerton." Geffen spokesman Dennis Dennehy, defended the title stating "to Weezer, Pinkerton is a character in Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly... It was not meant to be aimed at any sort of corporate entity." Cuomo wrote a six-page paper defending his choice of the title. He described what the papers entailed, it "explain[ed] why [he] chose it, and how it works for the album, and how it's essential." Although a federal court hearing had been initially set for October 3, the seriousness of the legal and financial ramifications surrounding the album forced the case to be expedited to September 26. Due to the cover art which was akin to the Puccini's opera, the case was thrown out-of-court, after the judge dissolved the previous court order to have the CDs pulled after determining "that the hardship of not issuing the Pinkerton disc would be greater for Geffen than any hardship Pinkerton's Inc or its shareholders might incur from consumers who mistakenly presume the company has anything to do with the album."
Noticing the commercial failure of the album, the band had to compromise to make the video more to the liking of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The music video for "The Good Life", was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a team of American music video directors, also husband and wife, that received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine....
, features a pizza delivery girl (played by Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
) on her route, highlighting the monotony of her job. The music video is noted for its use of simultaneous camera angles appearing on screen as a fractured full image. The video was rush-released by the record company to try to save the commercially-failing album, but was not successful.
In October 1996, the band toured the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
with concert appearances in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. After wrapping up the tour of the Pacific Rim, the band flew home to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Patrick Wilson and Matt Sharp did a promotional appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show "Modern Rock Live", in an attempt to improve the album's standing on the U.S. album charts. A few days later, on November 1, Weezer launched its tour of North America at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California
Ventura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
. On November 6, Weezer performed an acoustic set at Shorecrest High School
Shorecrest High School
Shorecrest High School is a public high school in Shoreline, Washington, one of two high schools in the Shoreline School District. Shorecrest was founded in 1961. Its mascot is Otis the Fighting Scot and students refer to themselves as "Scots," or the "Highlanders," a reference to the Clan Gordon...
in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
due to a contest won by a student. A few of the songs performed at the acoustic set would later appear on the The Good Life EP. The band would continue to tour up until just before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. They wrapped up the tour with a performance at "The Palace" in Los Angeles. Overall, the Pinkerton tour was largely successful, bringing the band to mid-size venues around the globe.
In July 2009, Karl Koch, the webmaster for Weezer's website, revealed the band was preparing a deluxe edition of Pinkerton. In January 2010, Koch stated the deluxe version would be released "before or by spring". In April 2010, Brian Bell stated that the re-release will include: "more photographs, a really nice booklet, and, I believe, some unreleased tracks that were recorded during that time. [...] I hope to gain some new fans. That album has definitely taken on a life of its own and became more successful and more accepted. At the time, it wasn’t especially critically acclaimed. In fact, I think it was one of the worst records of the year by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
that year, and then later it was hailed. That just goes to show the fickleness of the music business and industry. As an artist, you just have to do what you believe in at the time, whether it’s accepted or not. You just have to keep going with it." The album was originally scheduled to be re-released on October 5, 2010, but the date was bumped to November 2.
On November 20, 2010, the reissue of Pinkerton debuted at number six on the Billboard Catalog Albums
Top Pop Catalog Albums
Top Pop Catalog Albums is a fifty-position weekly albums chart produced by Billboard magazine which ranks the best selling catalog titles, regardless of genre. Billboard defines a catalog title as one that is more than eighteen months old and that has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200...
chart and re-entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at number 73.
Reception
Initial
"Pinkerton" – which peaked at number 19 in the U.S. upon its release – was unable to sell nearly as many copies as its multi-platinum predecessor, The Blue Album. The album also received mixed reaction by critics on its release. Jeff Gordinier of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
criticized the band for bypassing Blue Album producer Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
to handle the production duties alone and dismissed the album saying, "[Pinkerton] sounds like a collection of get-down party anthems for agoraphobics
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
". The album received heavy criticism – most notably by Rob O'Connor's review for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, who called the songwriting "juvenile" and described the song "Tired of Sex
Tired of Sex
"Tired of Sex" is a song by the American rock band Weezer; it is the opening track of their second album, Pinkerton. It is one of the most abrasive songs in Weezer's catalog. The song is known for its distorted guitars and being one of the few songs in which frontman Rivers Cuomo uses screamed vocals...
" as "aimless". In addition to the negative review, the readers of the magazine named the album the second worst of 1996. The reviewer from Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
praised the music but advised the listener "to ignore the lyrics entirely." However, it received praise from Pitchfork who proclaimed "Pinkerton takes a few listens to get into. Which is not to say that it won't rock your world. In fact, by listen number three, you're on the ground with pop spasms." NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
also praised the album saying, "by the time the affecting acoustic lament `Butterfly' wafts in like Big Star at a wildlife protection meeting, Pinkerton starts feeling like a truly moving album."
In 2001, Cuomo told Entertainment Weekly:
It's a hideous record... It was such a hugely painful mistake that happened in front of hundreds of thousands of people and continues to happen on a grander and grander scale and just won't go away. It's like 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.The band also shied away from performing any songs from the album while on tour supporting Pinkerton's follow up the Green Album, "Tired of Sex" being the only song to make an appearance during the proper tour. Cuomo would also occasionally introduce a newer song as "El Scorcho" just to mock the crowd hoping to hear the tune.
Recently, however, Cuomo has started to warm up to the record. In early 2008 Cuomo stated "Pinkerton
Retrospect
Despite its initial reception, Pinkerton has had enduring sales, and in later years, garnered much critical acclaim. Pinkerton has appeared on many "Best-of" lists and the re-release is one of few releases to achieve a perfect score on aggregate review website MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. In 2002, Rolling Stone readers voted it as the 16th greatest album of all-time. It has received perfect scores from both Allmusic and Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...
with the latter calling it, "one of the best albums of the 20th Century." In 2005, Spin Magazine
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
named it number 61 in its list of the 100 best albums from 1985 to 2005. In 2003, Pitchfork ranked the album number 53 for their list, "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s." In 2004, Rolling Stone gave the album a new review, giving it five stars out of five and adding it to the Rolling Stone Hall of Fame. Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
has also highly praised the album and said of the album that, "this is the ultimate break-up album, the best unrequited love album and the greatest collection of confused emotions captured in the universe...EVER!" It was ranked #76 on Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
's Top 100 Guitar Albums of All-Time.
Non-U.S. publications have acclaimed the album as well: New Zealand's The Movement placed it at number 12 on a list of "The 101 Best Albums of the 90s," and Pure Pop of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
ranked it number 21 on a list of "The 50 Best Albums of the 90s." As of August 2009, Pinkerton has sold 852,000 copies, and it is certified gold.
Accolades
Since its release, Pinkerton has been featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Pinkerton are shown below; this information is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnet Magnet (magazine) Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,... |
United States | Top 60 Albums 1993–2003 | 2003 | #17 |
| Spin Spin (magazine) Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard... |
100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005 | 2005 | #61 | |
| The Movement | New Zealand | The 101 Best Albums of the 90s | 2004 | #12 |
| Pitchfork | United States | Top 100 Albums of the 1990s | 2003 | #53 |
| Guitar World Guitar World Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year... |
Top 100 Guitar Albums of All-Time | 2005 | #76 | |
| Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... |
100 Greatest Albums of the '90s | 2010 | #48 | |
| Alternative Press | One of the 10 Essential Albums of 1996 ("Class Reunion of '96" issue) | 2006 |
Legacy
Pinkerton was initially considered a critical and commercial failure; however, in the years following it would gain a much more positive reputation due to word-of-mouthWord of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
over the Internet. Eventually, the album would be considered among the band's best work, by both fans and critics alike. In addition, Pinkerton has been influential on alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
.
Several bands which later became popular, including Yellowcard
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...
, Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....
, Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
, The Ataris
The Ataris
The Ataris are a rock band from Anderson, Indiana. They have released five studio albums, and their most recent E.P. was released on November 25, 2010 on the Gainesville, Florida based label, Paper + Plastick. It contained the brand new tracks "All Souls' Day" and "The Graveyard of The Atlantic"...
, Thursday
Thursday (band)
Thursday were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, the group has released six full-length albums, their most recent being No Devolución, which was released in April 2011 on Epitaph Records...
, the Used
The Used
The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah. The band was founded in 2001 and signed to Reprise Records the same year. They rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their self-titled debut album. They followed up with their second album, In Love and Death, in September 2004 and their third...
, The Brobecks
The Brobecks
The Brobecks is an American indie rock band, and a project of singer/songwriter Dallon Weekes. The band is unsigned and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California. The band's sound uses a wide variety of instrumentation and attributes its influences to artists such as George...
and Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance....
, consider the album to be an influence on them. As well as mainstream bands, several underground bands also consider the album to be an influence as well, including The Promise Ring
The Promise Ring
The Promise Ring is an American emo band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In their early years, their music was usually classified as emo, but their later albums could be described more accurately as indie pop. They split up in 2002 and temporarily reunited in 2005...
, The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye (band)
The Long Goodbye is a Los Angeles-based indie band whose members include actors Michael Cera , his Clark and Michael co-star Clark Duke, and drummer Christian Buenaventura...
, and David Leto of the indie rock band Rye Coalition
Rye Coalition
Rye Coalition is a hard rock band based in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. The band has released four full length albums, three EPs, a split 12" with Karp, and several 7" records....
, who called the album the "rocker's album of choice."
Track listing
Deluxe Edition
Album
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
19 |
| Austria | 41 |
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
15 |
| New Zealand | 11 |
| Norway | 18 |
| Finland | 35 |
| Sweden | 4 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
Sweden |
Finland |
|||||||
| 1996 | "El Scorcho El Scorcho "El Scorcho" is a song by the American alternative rock band Weezer. It is the first single from the band's second album Pinkerton, released in 1996. The music video features the band playing in an old ballroom in Los Angeles , surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the... " |
19 | 10 | 18 | |||||
| 1996 | "The Good Life" | 32 | – | – | |||||
| 1997 | "Pink Triangle Pink Triangle (song) "Pink Triangle" is a song by American rock band Weezer. Released as the third single from their second album Pinkerton, it was released to radio on May 20, 1997 in a last ditch effort to boost sales for the album... " |
– | – | – | |||||
Personnel
- All information is derived from the booklet enclosed with the album.
Weezer
- Rivers CuomoRivers CuomoRivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
– guitar, vocals, piano, xylophone - Patrick WilsonPatrick Wilson (musician)Patrick "Pat" George Wilson is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band Weezer. He joined the band in 1992. In addition to his work in Weezer, he also fronts his own band, The Special Goodness....
– drums, percussion - Brian BellBrian Bell (musician)Brian Bell is an American guitarist and songwriter. Active since 1989, he is best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the American alternative rock band Weezer. Bell joined Weezer in 1993 following the departure of founding member Jason Cropper...
– guitar, backing vocals, synthesizer - Matt SharpMatt SharpMatthew Kelly Sharp is a founding member and former bassist for the band Weezer. In 1994, he started a band called The Rentals and released their debut album shortly after Weezer's first release, their second album in 1999, and an EP in 2007...
– bass, backing vocals
Production
- Joe BarresiJoe BarresiJoe Barresi is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with bands such as Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive and Bad Religion.-Biography:...
– engineer - Billy Bowers– engineer
- Jim Champagne – engineer
- David Dominguez – engineer
- Greg Fidelman – engineer
- Dave FridmannDave FridmannDave Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. From 1990 onwards he co-produced all releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips...
– engineer - HiroshigeHiroshigewas a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige ....
– cover art - Rob Jacobs – engineer
- Spike JonzeSpike JonzeSpike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
– photography - Adam KasperAdam KasperAdam Kasper is a Seattle area record producer and engineer, working with such bands as Cat Power, Pond, Seaweed, The Tragically Hip, Truly, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, R.E.M., Soundgarden and Pearl Jam...
– engineer - George Marino – mastering
- Dan McLaughlin – engineer
- Clif Norrell – engineer
- Jack Joseph PuigJack Joseph PuigJack Joseph Puig is a Grammy Award-winning music engineer and producer with a long track record of successful productions, including the mid-1990s production of Tonic. Puig also worked with Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Green Day, The Counting Crows, No Doubt,...
– engineer, mixing - Jim Rondinelli – engineer
- Janet Wolsborn – art assistant
- Karl Koch - webmaster
External links
- Pinkerton Weezerpedia entry