Pinkerton

Tea pairing: Junpier berry tea with honey

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There are few modern rock bands around today that have dipped their toes into as many genres as Weezer and for the most part, it has kept much beloved geek rockers relevant and popular. From crunchy rock to straight up pop, synth-rock and even a little metal, Weezer has graced our ears with their nerdy sounds for almost three decades.

Weezer’s far reaching stylings have even incorporated elements of emo, namely on their debut record, Blue Album, and it’s follow up Pinkerton. Yes, there was a time where Weezer was put out pretty solid, albeit way poppier, emo songs, and yes they are good.

Pinkerton is definitely the black sheep of Weezer’s catalog as it is entirely shunned by Rivers Cuomo, and upon its original release in 1996 it was slammed by reviewers and created a clear split in the Weezer-verse.

It took me many years to get around to listening to it, and on my first listen I was not a fan. It seemed almost too dark and too funny at the same time, and it really didn’t sound like Weezer to me. Now, I say that because the Weezer I knew at the time had just put out Pacific Daydream, a rather big departure from their mainly guitar filled albums of years past.

Pinkerton is the follow up to Weezer’s 1994 smash hit Blue Album and stylistically it isn’t too different as the band carries on with their poppy, punky, geeky, and slightly emo sound they started with on the Blue Album, but lyrically it is an entire world of difference.

This time around, Cuomo takes a very personal tone as he tackles the struggles of fame, meaningless sexual encounters, and identity. Weezer, and especially Cuomo, were blindsided by their newfound fame after the Blue Album and felt severely out of place sharing the spotlight with Nirvana, Green Day, and other alternative bands of the time.

Much of their charm stemmed from their geekiness and relative obscurity to the masses, so for the famously bespeckled frontman this “rockstar” moniker just felt wrong. Even listening to the album you can hear how Cuomo feels insecure with his performance, and that sentiment lends a great deal to the emotionally aware nature of emo.

Pinkerton deals a heavy dose of emo flair with tracks like “Tired of Sex”, “The Good Life”, and “Pink Triangle” where the aforementioned themes take center stage and are filled with lovingly kitschy stylings of a nerdy garage band. Early last year I got around to listening to the album in full once again and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I took a great deal of pleasure hearing a guitar driven Weezer once more.

I often forget how important the Blue Album and Pinkerton are to emo, and I think it boils down to Weezer themselves. In essence, Weezer is not an emo band. No one will argue that they are, but what they did do was usher in that geek-emo vibe that can still be heard in many other bands that have come after them.

They have lent a lot to rock and pop in their nearly 30 year career, but I can say that they lent the most to emo by far. A bunch of nerds created a safe space within mainstream rock for other nerds. And it is because of that we have countless emo bands today who are making sure other acts are safe.

Rivers Cuomo and his giant binder of pop influences may dislike Pinkerton and laugh at its immense sense of vulnerability, but without it there wouldn’t be as many geeks and nerds making super relatable emo jams today. Besides, Pinkerton beats the hell out of the electro-pop Weezer of late. Their latest release, Van Weezer, is a much needed return of guitars and faux-metal. #Make Weezer Rock Again.