Weezer

Pinkerton (1996)

lola

I was a huge Weezer fan when I was a freshman in high school when the almighty "blue album" was released circa 1994. I bought a t-shirt, went to see them, talked about them a lot, etc…
but then they disappeared, or so I thought. I knew they released a sophomore album sometime later, but, by then I didn't care anymore. It wasn't until I was in college that I rediscovered the wonderful music that is Weezer, and realized that this highly underrated second album, Pinkerton, was actually the best album in their whole discography.

Pinkerton was recieved with lukewarm reviews from Weezer fans, because it was a bit of a departure from their first, much-praised debut. However, this departure adds to the appeal of Pinkerton. It's more rock-oriented, which I think is fun, and contains more lyrics about girls, but I can deal with that. It takes a few listens to see that this album is superbly done, since it is much different than the first, but it's easy to see that this contains some of the best Weezer songs ever created.

The album starts off with "Tired of Sex", which has rockin' guitar riffs, and starts the album off on a high note. It slows down around song #3 ("No Other One"), and brings us back to the debut Weezer album for just a second, before breaking into the fast-paced (for Weezer) "Why Bother?". The best part of the album comes in a couple songs later with the triple threat of three of my all-time favorite Weezer songs: "The Good Life" (great fun to dance to), "El Scorcho" (fun sing-along), and "Pink Triangle" (how can a song be bad if it talks about being in love with a lesbian?). The album closes with the acoustic song "Butterfly", which has actually brought a tear to my eye in the past.

Although Pinkerton was brushed-off by fans upon it's release, it has become an underground favorite of late. It shows the band's ability to switch styles and still sound good, and showcases more of Rivers' great lyrics. I highly recommend this album to anyone who is even remotely interested in Weezer, because I think it's the best album they ever made.