Pinkerton

I listened to 'Pinkerton' as a first look into this band, and I picked this particular album simply because it had the prettiest cover out of the whole, though then I made some research to look if it was really worth a listen. To my surprise, it seemed to be the band's most critically aclaimed album, so, woo.Oh boy, did I hate it. I let the songs play in order, listened to it whole, and the only redeeming thing about were both the opening and closing tunes. I won't bother going on about what clicked about 'Tired of Sex' and 'Butterfly'; the point is that 80% of the album felt monotonous, aimless and downright horrendous. Whether it was its lyrical immaturity, its amateurish composition or something else, I couldn't tell what I hated more about it. I simply couldn't believe people listened to this unironically. It was so bad, I was deeply annoyed, as there was some expectation in me after all.In fact, I was so annoyed, I listened to the whole album more than once just for the sake of complaining. You know how you sometimes disapprove of things you haven't really tried so far? Well, I know I do, but since I disliked 'Pinkerton' so damn much, I decided to be a fair person, and got around getting a whole bad review ready for it in case it was brought up in some situation.So I'm listening once again, and I'm noticing some things. For instance, I noticed I like 'No other one' a little bit. I also notice 'El Scorcho' has a quirky little tone that I seem to dig. Okay. I listen again and again. I'm noticing 'Getcho' has a really cool chorus. I notice 'Why bother?'s last chorus has a really neat vocal play in it. I then notice I am getting used to the songs. I begin to remember their names, their structure, their order, even. I grow very familiar with the album.I then notice I am helplessly in love with it.'Pinkerton' is so criminally easy to hate that there is little reason to give it more than one first listen. Proof of this is its history if criticism; not just here and there, EVERYONE hated it when it first came out, and years had to pass before the same poeople suddenly fell for it. But since then, there are people out there to tell you to, for the love of Christ, give it a second (and maybe a third) chance, because you owe it to yourself; 'Pinkerton' is one of the masterpieces the gloomy 90's spawned, and their sweetest, crunchiest, loveliest, punkiest and rawest rock album since 'Nevermind'. Every song in it is as important and irreplaceable as the last one, and with time, you will sing to each and every one of them with all the joy of your heart.

Came well packaged and made a great gift for my grand daughter.

Pinkerton brims with catchy pop hooks and melodies, yet manages to go beneath the surface of the band's power pop façade and expose all the feelings and desires of a self-isolated nerd/rockstar.The album was originally panned by critics upon its release in 1996, but has now gone on to develop a cult following and has also gained the respect of critics and fans alike in retrospect.A good portion of the album was written while Cuomo was attending Harvard, while dually recovering from leg surgery, and in the process, he became a self-isolated hermit. (This is most evident on the track, "The Good Life", where Rivers sings "Can't even get around/without an old-man cane" and "Shivering in the cold/Bitter and alone") Other concerns Cuomo voices concern relationships of all kinds, from falling in love with a lesbian ("Pink Triangle"), receiving letters from a woman living in Japan whom he becomes infatuated with ("Across the Sea") and even a tune about a drug-addled liar of a girlfriend.Cuomo knows he's a geeky guy, and his lyrics are quirky and self-depreciating instead of pompous and arrogant. Throughout the course of Pinkerton, there are many examples of his writing style, and if I had to choose two songs from here to illustrate them, I'd choose the aforementioned "The Good Life" along with "Pink Triangle". The result is a plethora of fun songs, no matter how depressed or angsty Cuomo gets.Personally, I love this album. Even though it is still pretty radio friendly and poppy, it somehow manages to be brutally honest and hard to forget. It does require more than one listen to fully appreciate, and if you're new to Weezer and expecting another Blue album from this, you'll be disappointed. Underneath it all is a great album waiting to be discovered.

Make me feel like I'm a kid again. Good sound on this record.

weezer is fire, and Pinkerton is one of the best albums ever created. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise

This album is a little odd for me. Although now I realize that this album and the Blum album are pretty similar structure wise, I had to let Pinkerton sort of grow on me. Of course, it was odd that this album and the blue album were so different in the sort of lyrics that were being presented. Similar to how Pinkerton initially was met with people bashing the album for being such a change in pace for weezer, I didn't know how I felt about it until I listened to it a few times. However, this album was worth it and now I find it even better than the blue album. The instrumentation on this album is raw and hard hitting and the lyrics of Rivers Cuomo add a level of emotional rawness that helps connect this album and the listener in ways that aren't common with the flash and substance of the music scene now a days. In many ways, Weezer gives fans what they want and even more with this album. Even if you may not like it at first, look at this album closely and any fan of the band or rock music in general will realize what a fantastic album this is. Thank you WEEZER!