In 1996, when Pinkerton came out, I was only 15 years old, and about two and a half years from my first real heartbreak, but this amazing album had resonance with me nonetheless, and it's only gained more meaning since then. I remember "borrowing" this album from a friend of mine for a couple of months until I got it for my birthday, because I couldn't bear to be away from it. I listened to it every night before I went to bed, and it never got old. One of the first songs I learned to play on my new guitar was Butterfly, and I would sit in the cafeteria full of teen angst and sing, waiting for the crowds of girls to gather. In short, Pinkerton not only is a great album, but it would almost merit its own chapter in the story of my life.
The album opens with Tired of Sex, which is a desperate plea for something more substantial than a physical relationship.
Tonight I'm down on my knees,
Tonight I'm beggin' you please.
Tonight, tonight please,
Oh why can't I be making love come true?
It's the cry of a man who, by conventional social standards, should be happy with all of the physical pleasures he's getting, but who realizes how empty it all is. The music is harsher than anything on The Blue Album, and it fits.
Getchoo is a song about a man realizing, too late, that something that he's doing, whether it's not committing, an attitude, fooling around with other people; something he's doing is making his relationship fall apart, and he's singing to his girl to make her understand that he wants her. The guitar riffs are intense, and the chorus is driving and desperate.
You know this is breakin' me up
You think that I'm some kind of freak
But if you'd come back to me
Then you would surely see
That I'm just foolin' around
to get you, uh-huh
No Other One is one of the most passively heartbreaking songs I've ever heard. Here's a sample of the lyrics:
My girl's a liar
But I'll stand beside her
She's all I've got
And I don't wanna be alone
My girl don't see me
when she's with my friends
She's all I've got
And I don't want to be alone
It's not overtly sad, because the singer's got someone to be with, but he's so pathetic that he's only staying with her because he's afraid that he can't get anyone better. The music and singing is full of emotion, just like every other song on here, and Rivers seems almost desperate as he gets the lyrics out.
Why Bother? is a song with which any young male can identify, pretty much. It's upbeat musically, and that makes sense, because it's about a guy espousing a new philosophy that won't let him get hurt anymore.
Why bother?
it's gonna hurt me
It's gonna kill when you desert me
This happened to me twice before
It won't happen to me anymore
But really, what seems to be implicit is that life can't be anything but empty and flat if you're not willing to put yourself out there and risk being hurt.
Across the Sea is a sad little tune of a rock star's obsession, wrong though he feels it to be, with a young Japanese fan. He desperately wonders why she has to be so far away, and his loneliness comes through in full force. The song's really a power ballad type of song, starting out softly with a small piano part and never quite picking up full speed. It's a beautiful little piece.
The Good Life is one of the more upbeat and catchy songs on the album, with a fun guitar riff and the kind of chorus that's all too fun to belt out with your friends. It's about a guy realizing that he's been beating himself up too long, and that he's got to get back to "the good life." It's actually a little bit uplifting, which is a welcome break considering all of the depression and heartbreak surrounding it.
El Scorcho was one of the singles from Pinkerton, and though it was fairly well-known and popular, it's also pretty enigmatic when it comes to people knowing what it's about. The music is quirky and catchy, the vocals a little off-kilter. But when we get right down to it, it's about being too scared to say to the girl you like that you actually like her.
but that's just a stupid dream that I won't realize
'cuz I can't even look in your eyes without shakin', and I ain't fakin'
I'll bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon.
It's a little bit sad and a little bit poignant, but it's also funny at the same time, and we can tell that Weezer's having a lot of fun with this one.
Pink Triangle, as you might have guessed, is about a guy and a girl in some way. This song musically sounds a lot more like what we might have heard on The Blue Album, and it's got one of the most innovative lyrics I've heard in some time. Essentially, it's one of the most humiliating tales told in song that I know, as it's about a guy realizing that the girl he's fallen in love with is actually a lesbian. What comes across very well is the futility that the singer feels, since he thought he had "found the one."
Falling for You is my favorite tune on the album. It's a lot harder than anything on The Blue Album, again, and it's catchy, though not radio-catchy. The lyrics are quite beautiful, and though self-deprecating, in the end they're quite happy and life-affirming.
I can't believe how bad I suck, it's true
What could you possibly see in little ol' 3-chord me?
But it's true - you like me, I like you too
I'm ready, let's do it baby
I love this song because it combines the happiness with the self-consciousness of the rest of the album so well.
Butterfly is a beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking tune that wraps up the album better than anything else could have. It's just Rivers and an acoustic guitar, slow and soft. It's an apology for indiscretions that hurt someone very close to the singer, and it's very effective.
I'm sorry for what I did,
I did what my body told me to,
I didn't mean to do you harm.
Every time I pin down what I think I want it slips away
The part that sticks out to me, there, is "what I think I want." He's kicking himself for messing up with things that he didn't even know if he wanted or not. It's all very true to life, in my opinion.
This is a phenomenal album, and I'm desperately sorry that it didn't do better when it came out. As someone else mentioned, it's all proof that Rolling Stone doesn't know what they're talking about (they named Pinkerton the worst album of 1996). In any event, do yourself a favor and get this touching, wonderful album.
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