We all have a first band. The one that got us in to music, triggering a lifetime obsession with sound. They might make a bad record or two, but we can forgive them because of the sonic obsession they unleashed. For me, that band is Weezer. When I was fifteen someone left a copy of ‘The Blue Album’ at my house. After the first listen I played it again and again...and again. Hundreds and hundreds of records later, I still go back to it. It still makes me happy.
However, that happiness is tinged with sadness, for the band Weezer might have been and for the records they might have made. After ‘The Blue Album’ they released ‘Pinkerton’. Vulnerable, poetic and mightily uncool, it is one of my favourites to this day. After ‘Pinkerton’ came ‘The Green Album’, inferior in every way to its predecessors. It lacked the charm of their debut and the guts of their second. I am going to tell you why this happened.
'The Blue Album' remains Weezer’s biggest selling record. It had a famous producer (Ric Ocasek of ‘The Cars’), and some sublime songs. But it was Spike Jonze’s gimmicky music videos that kick-started sales. Buddy Holly, the second single taken from the album, became a hit after Jonze spliced the band into the set of 'Happy Days'. The song had geeky lyrics and direct hooks. Stuff like “Oh no, what’ll I do, don’t look now but I lost my shoe,” might not be inspired, but it’s fun, and the underlying theme of losers-against-the-world carries some weight.
The next single was Say it Ain’t So, an impassioned document of front-man Rivers Cuomo’s turbulent past. “Like father, step father, the son is drowning in the flood,” cries Cuomo, before tearing out a solo that says just as much as the words. It did not have a gimmicky video, or funny lyrics, and sold poorly.
‘The Blue Album’ is a mixture of these two types of song – the facile and the fiery. It has some great hooks and some intelligent arrangements like the breakdowns on Surf Wax USA and Only in Dreams. It is both sides of the band and a great record.
Cuomo, buoyed by what he saw as artistic success, decided to expose it all and show his inner self by recording a whole album of Say it Ain’t So-style songs. The band would produce the record themselves. It was called ‘Pinkerton’, after the famous private detective agency - only Cuomo was investigating himself, trying to find answers. The result is honest, intriguing and brilliant.
From the first line of the first track it is clear that Weezer have evolved. “I’m tired, so tired, I’m tired of having sex... I’m spread, so thin, I don’t know who I am,” sings Cuomo, his voice reflecting the weariness of the words. As self-exposure goes, it is impressive. The album is often cited as a forerunner of Emo. But what Emo band would be willing to say something so odd, so poignant, and so...well, uncool? None, as far as I am aware.
The revelations keep coming: “I shaved my head and try to be a monk, I thought the older women would like me if I did... you see mum, I’m a good little boy,” sings Cuomo on Across the Sea, before continuing, “I wonder what clothes you wear to school, I wonder how you decorate your room... I wonder how you touch yourself, and curse myself for being across the sea”. It is all part of a short musical breakdown that passes unnoticed on your first listen, but can move you close to tears when you sit and reflect on what Cuomo is saying.
Across the Sea encapsulates everything good about ‘Pinkerton’. The chorus is catchy, but not inane. The words are an intelligent depiction of who Cuomo is. The musical expression is astounding – reminiscent of a Brian Wilson ‘pocket symphony’, with so much detail packed so perfectly into three minutes. Cuomo has taken his musical talents as a guitar player and arranger to a height barely hinted at on ‘The Blue Album’.
Predictably, the album sales were poor. No famous producer, no zany videos from the set of 'Happy Days'. There was little for the music critic to write about... or rather, there was little that was easy to write about. So, taking the lazy route, critics cut it apart. ‘Pinkerton’ received the ignominy of being named Rolling Stones worst album of the year. The first single El Scorch' flopped and Cuomo went in to a self-imposed musical exile.
I don’t wish to dwell on the legend that has grown up around Cuomo’s lifestyle following the failure of ‘Pinkerton’. You can read about all the things he may or may not have done (like painting the walls of his room black) online. The important thing is this: when he made his next Weezer record, he had learnt his lesson.
Five years after ‘Pinkerton’, ‘The Green Album’ was released. It featured the same style of artwork as ‘The Blue Album’, the same famous producer (Ocasek) and the same wacky videos. However, the album was inferior in every way. The silly moments, like 'Hash Pipe', had none of the charm of similar songs on ‘The Blue Album’; they were just irritating. Cuomo realised that the biggest selling songs were the dumb ones, and by writing more of these his band would be accepted. “You’ve got your big cheese, I’ve got my hash pipe,” is typical lyrical content. There is no self-confession in any of the songs. You learn nothing new by listening to this album.
Musically, the album is flat. The sound is heavily compressed, with no highs or lows. The satisfying breakdown passages that made ‘Pinkerton’ so beautiful are absent. Every single guitar solo follows the melody, removing all emotion from the playing. It is as though Cuomo had decided that he would show nothing, absolutely nothing, about himself on ‘The Green Album’. For all these defects it is still a decent record, and if I had never heard the first two Weezer albums I would probably like it a lot more.
When I play ‘The Blue Album’, I feel happy. It is the kind of record that you sing along to on a long drive. When I play ‘Pinkerton’ it makes me want to write or to play the guitar – to do something creative. It is the sort of album you might play to a new girlfriend or boyfriend and get nervous, because you know if they don’t like it then you will like them a little bit less.
Some records are bad, and deserve to get bad reviews. But when someone has produced a record that has tried to be honest, open and interesting it is not fair to lambast it. It should be respected, even if it is a bad album. At least they tried, they took a risk. To rate ‘Pinkerton’ as the worst album of the year is a stupid act. Incidentally, Rolling Stone would cite it as the 16th greatest album of all time only eight years later.
The sad thing is that, because of the negative response to ‘Pinkerton’, Weezer never made any more records like it. They are now famous for making cliché-filled songs and irritating music videos. They have become a horrible caricature of the fun parts of ‘The Blue Album’.
The lesson Cuomo learnt is that you need a famous producer, a famous label, meaningless lyrics and idiotic videos in order to succeed. You can’t explore new territory, either emotionally or musically, and you can’t do something unexpected. You might not like Weezer, but I am sure you have a band you like that this has happened to. I am not saying we can’t be critical of records. I am saying that when we are, we must take care. Specific styles of journalism and specific publications can end up killing anything half decent. It has no self-examination, no conception of irony. It really pisses me off. It should piss you off too.