How Pinkerton Defined Weezer 

"And people hated it." *7.5/10*

My condolences to all who have felt the same way Rivers felt in Pinkerton. That’s why Pinkerton became one of my all time favorites. Although it comes off as weird, it’s something so real and so relatable to a certain group of people. And those people are the ones who have grown so passionate about Pinkerton and Weezer. Mainstream media favors music without meaning, but Pinkerton was much more than that. I think it’s better to have an album that resonates deeply with a small group of people than have one that resonates with most people at at a shallow level.

When “Pinkerton” came out, a bunch of the kids at my children’s hospital were pretty excited to see the albums box art because we all had worn the brace Rivers wore. It’s called an Ilizarov External Fixator. I had to wear one on each leg for a year (my right leg for a year, then my left leg), they are pretty gnarly devices. They typically have four stainless steel rings that have two bicycle spoke sized pins that criss cross each other, going all the way through the bone and out the other side. The top and bottom rings typically have pencil sized mounting screws that go halfway through the bone. The stretching as it was referred to in this video is done by turning four “clickers” (called that because of the sound they make) that are attached to the two middle rings every six hours. The lightening is achieved by breaking the bone and pulling the healing bone apart a few millimeters every six hours. The bone heals, the clickers pull it apart, bone heals, the clickers pull it apart and prevent it from fully healing and “tricking” the healing process into growing new bone as oppose to just healing the fracture. It’s really to watch the changes happen over time. At first the two center rings will be an inch apart and after a year and change, the center rings will have pulled apart and end up an inch away from the top and bottom rings. The skin can grow up the pins and screws, so my Doctor made me and all their kids who have them do “Pin Care” twice a day. Pin Care involved ruling off all the bandages and scabs before cleaning the pin sites (wounds) with saline solution and a Q-Tip. They would make us stick the Q-Tips down in the wound and clean each and every pin. After the pins and screws were clean, it was time to bandage up. The pins were easy because you’d put a PAC-MAN shaped sponge over the wound at the base of the pin and sliding a piece of plastic down the pin and onto the sponge. The screws were cover with two criss crossing 2/2’s with a slit halfway through the middle. It took me two hours a day to do pin care and no more than three months after my second devise was taken off, my hospital changed how the handled pin care. They changed by not doing it at all. Ugh. Anyway… The Ilizarov design has been dramatically improved and now is called a Taylor Frame. It not only can lengthen limbs, it’s can now straighten bent and crooked bones.

Pinkerton was about 10 years ahead of its time. It helped me through some tough times as I felt a lot like Cuomo at the time, I had torn ligaments in my knee, broken both ankles and my love life was in shambles, making scenarios in my head, so when I heard Pinkerton, I related a lot. It is still my favorite Weezer album and would be an album I would have on a deserted island...

I'll take any weezer video I can get

Every November, Pinkerton is played on repeat. With the B-sides.

Shows what Rolling Stone readers know... Pinkerton should be #1 all time!!

Man what can I say that this video didn’t say. Rivers put himself out there in Pinkerton and the mainstream followers killed it. Now we get kinda washed and filtered Weezer but I still love them

This is one of my favorite records of all time. I saw them play these songs acoustic when the album came out. They were amazing. The critics killed Weezer with their ridiculous reviews. Awesome video!

Pinkerton is in my top five albums ever, thanks for the video

The most underrated Weezer album. It's so sad and lame that the reaction of the medium forced them on the characterless pop path and they never really recovered.

I am a musician and rivers cuomo is my favorite lyricist by far. The honesty and raw passion in every pinkteron song is what reminds me why I fell in love with music in the first place.

Pinkerton is one of three album that I turned to constantly through high school. When I needed to self-doubt, angst, lament, woe or wonder Pinkerton was there. I really enjoyed this video about it and still play the whole album through every time it comes up in my music rotation. It's a must that the album be listened to from start to finish for me. Many of the emotions it once tapped into have changed, but the power and influence it has on me when I'm listening to it hasn't diminished.

Start to Finish Pinkerton is Pure Genius. Thanks for shining some light on this almost forgotten gem

6 days earlier and you could have made the anniversary, fantastic video anyway. Pinkerton is such an important album to me and a lot of other people too

Pinkerton will always be my favourite. I wrote the quote for my yearbook "words and dreams and a million screams". it summed up all of my high school experiences and how I feel about them

Pinkerton is my favorite album of all time

This was an album that defined my teenage years. I bought it in grade 8 and it was more emotionally raw than anything I had listened to before. Rock was getting pretty weird in 1996. R.E.M. also made an album that was also a bit leftfield. Smashing pumpkins were going electronica. Even Sheryl Crow was going emo with her second album. Rock was crumbling before my eyes and I didn't mind one bit because new exciting directions were the order of the day. Rock wouldn't be revived until 2001's the Strokes and the indie rock boom that followed.

this first album Brian Bell played on... only Rivers played on the Blue album. After Matt Sharp left Weezer lost a lot of their power (those octave falsettos)

The good life and el scorcho are the songs that got me into the band

Blue and Pinkerton... still 2 of my favorite albums ever! Thanks Rivers!

The first time I heard Pinkerton when it came out in 96' made me choke up. I found it absolutely brilliant. Funny, I just played it a few weeks ago at age 41 and I can't get through karaoke car singing Across the Sea without that same inner tearful burning. Pinkerton has always been their best album, its the public has no idea what's good.

Good stuff, I'd love to see more music analysis like this!

Thanks for making a video in my favourite albums dude, this is so well made.

Man you really hit the nail on the head. Weezer is my favorite band so it's really cool to see someone acknowledge this amazing album the same way I do. This was a really good video and I hope your channel gets some traction because you deserve it.

Fantastic video. Great research, great scripting, great editing. I love the band and the album, and the production value of your content does it justice. 👍🤘

a 7 or 7.5 out of 10 doesn't seem like hate to me lol

Enjoying this channel immensely, keep up the good work.

This is such a wonderful video. Not only explained well in a factual sense, but it was actually a really beautiful tribute to this album! Keep up the amazing work

Super cool video!! This is my fav record of all time and this was a really great essay on it!! definitely subscribing!

I had a weird first listen to this album. I heard it second hand. I had art class with Dave from the Chicago punk band the Arrivals. One day after class he was telling me about the new Weezer album and played a bunch of short covers of Pink triangle, good life, and across the sea. I bought Pinkerton a few months later and it has remained one of my favorite albums.

My first weezer song was the good life and it is now my favorite song of all time

Hey dude, i just wanted to say i love your videos! Please keep them coming!

Just found your channel, love what I've seen so far, great work!!

Great video. I waited so long for Pinkerton’s release and I was not let down at all. It only made me love Weezer more.

Awesome Video! always been my favorite Weezer album since I was 12. Never understood a lot of the meanings but always felt relate-able to an awkward kid.

such an influential album, everytime i hear falling for you it just hits me where ever it hurts

Dope video. Pinkerton is an album that means a lot to me, and having discussions about it never fails to make my day. Much love, and I hope to see more videos on the way! sincerely, a new subscriber to your channel.

Bro your channel is dope, glad I'm getting in on the ground floor before it blows up lol

This is probably the best video you've done yet. Well done :)

After the first album, this was a massive curveball that took everyone by surprise. I've always had immense respect for any band or artist that can do that and stick by it.

i love this video, especially the editing! :D

My favourite Weezer album. Took many plays to realise that, but all my favourite albums took work to love.

Great video, I learned a little more about this album that I love so much.

That intro made me subscribe. Great work!

These videos rock.you really add some heart to it.it shows.what up with not much/new content?

u make great points of why Pinkerton is a great album, this vid is awesome information for ppl who didnt know all this

Great video, well done. I wish people got it when it came out, I've always felt like the harsh criticism it got derailed them forever and robbed us of a couple more great albums. Even tho I do think there's at least a few, if not more, great songs on every album after.

This was beautiful and absolutely spot on. Thank you.

This is my new favourite RU-vid channel

Amazing video, keep up the good work

This is epic.....great job, great editing.

Holy shit, this was well done. Great video dude!

Great video, huh? Makes me realize why I fell in love with it in the first place. I hadn’t listened to it in a while. Great stories and raw emotion.

Great video. Pinkerton is my favorite Weezer album, hands down. It's one of the most honest records I've ever heard.

This is rather nice, kudos for this, you have a new subscriber :)

Thank You for this! It's Proper Brilliant!

I love this album so much, brings me back in time and helped me get over lots of feelings I was having at the time.

i seriously didn't want this video to end. When I listen to Pinkerton I feel as if I'm being spoken to by rivers himself as he tells me his sorrows and and fears.

great essay!!! both Pinkerton and the blue album are phenomenal, I could never choose one as my favorite. Although, pink triangle was the song that made me fall in love with Weezer

great video editing bro!

this is the best video ive ever seen on weezer. kudos, brother!

Excellent analysis of an amazing album, thank you

Pinkerton is to In Utero as the blue album is to Nevermind. (Pinkerton is the only album by Weezer that I like.)

Pinkerton also has amazing artwork

I remember running away from my life and joining the Navy in the early 2000's. I ended up in a small town in Florida, coming from Philadelphia, leaving behind the love of my life, and embarking into the unknown. I felt utterly alone, and the soundtrack to my frustration and hopelessness was Pinkerton. It spoke to my soul, as I could feel the pain that went into making the album. I first heard the album in the second part of the 90s, when I was beginning puberty, and it spoke to me then too.

Great video. Easily my favourite weezer album. One of my top 5 ever albums

Wow!! This was an amazing video!! I remember when I got Pinkerton, I was around 14 years old, and the first few days of listening to it, I just couldn't get into it. So I put it down and weeks later my friend Kate and I started listening to it again, and man it caught on like wildfire. What an amazing album! I think the reason it took so long to feel right was because it was different, and wasn't what we were expecting. The samething happened when "Face to Face" put out Ignorance is Bliss. It was hard to get into, but then you see the brilliance and hate yourself for not liking. I don't give a fuck what anybody says, Pinkerton is one of the best albums of all time. One of my personal favorites!!! Great fucking video man!

Beautiful work! Thanks

This might be the best channel ever made!

if you listen to pinkerton from beginning to end it seems to be about relationships in general. the rock star is having lots of sex, then he's chasing a girl, then there's no other girl, then it's over again and he's like why bother, then he has a fantasy about a girl who seems like the one except she's too young and too far away, then he's feeling old and uncool, meets a half Japanese girl who turns out to be a lesbian but he hooks up with her anyway only to have that fail too then he's back to square 1. I have listened to this album from beginning to end a million times. I do remember not liking el scorch when it came out but somehow I ended up with the cd and it's my favorite weezer album now even though el scorch is my least favorite song on it.

That was just straight up interesting. Thanks.

Awesome Retrospective!

Perfect. Every time I come back to Pinkerton I have to listen to the whole album and just feel every second of it.

awesome video!

I was obsessed with Pinkerton when I heard it, in that way that only an angsty 13 year old girl can be. It was the first time I heard music that spoke to me in a lyrical way and that did so much for me since I had trouble putting things into words. Even though Weezer has gone back to that poppy sound (that I still love), it’s always “Pinkerton” that comes to mind when I think of the band. Loved seeing this video and now it’s time to binge the album!

This is it chief

Pinkerton and the blue album were the albums that got me out of edm and into rock and pinkerton has remained my favorite album since then.

Thank you for making this video. I’ve always thought Pinkerton was their best album.

Wow this was great. Funny enough for the longest time i thought Pinkerton was the first album.

Great piece, thanks.

Probably my favourite music video essay of all time.

Man, this video introduced me to Pinkerton back in Jan/Feb 2021 and I know people say this all the time and it may come across as disingenuous, but this album along with the Strokes helped me a lot when I was going through my first serious break up this year. Even though songs like Across the Sea focus on the longing for a girl he can’t have, the literal distance Cuomo’s lyrics illustrated between him and this girl was something I could really connect to. I suppose hearing music that matches how you feel can go a long way in helping you deal with stuff, rather than trying to trick to yourself into being happy with songs by The Beatles, as it helps you to just ‘let it out.’ Anyways, no one asked but to summarise, thank you for introducing me to Pinkerton

As much as I love certain individual songs on BLUE, I think that PINKERTON is a better album. It also was hugely influential for me as a teenager, and it has continued to become more relevant as I get closer to my 30s. The honesty and themes of alienation and failed relationships, nihilism and apathy, and the ending of sadness of "Butterfly" serve as the perfect soundtrack to a life scattered with the emotional turbulence and confusion of growing up and finding your own place in this world.

Love this channel - best "subscribe" in ages..

I guess I'm one of the few who loved this album from the moment they put it on - my friends and I used to sing Pink Triangle in the chorus room after class...

Great video

Pinkerton was garbage. The blue album will always be their best. Pinkerton was to whinny. I hate the Troupe of oh I'm a rockstar and i hate it. That's pretty much all pinkerton was.

my favorite weezer album, may 2022 and still listening to it

It seems everyone needs some time to absorb the music. It took me almost a year to realize how genius this album is. Pinkerton is my 1997 best album even though it was released in 1996.

Bloody excellent video

This is one of the first times I've watched a video and agreed with every single point.

Pinkerton was the first Weezer album I heard. El scorcho was the first song I heard I’m glad.

Well-edited stuff.

Every time I see Matt's OR200 head, I get a little envious. The old Orange Matamps are uncommon enough, but the bass heads seem almost mythically rare. It's kind of amusing how left field amps were so much more affordable in the pre-internet era.

Pinkerton is my favorite Weezer Album. Me and my friends are obsessed by it. We often called our local rock radio to request Pink Triangle to be played on request weekends.

Oh man my fave weeded album by far Helped me threw my twenties big time

Oh, everyone needs to see Rivers’ instagram, he literally just posts weezer memes and it’s wonderful.

I went out and bought Pinkerton the day it was released, and was initially let down. But I kept playing it in my truck on my daily work commute, and it didn't take long for it to get into my bloodstream and alter my DNA. While all the negative press and bad reviews swayed most Blue Album fans away from even giving Pinkerton a chance, I was falling in love with it more and more with each listen. I started to think either I must have odd musical taste OR everyone else was too stupid to be able appreciate its greatnees as I did. Then years later I start seeing articles in different music mags that were celebrating its greatness as if they knew it all along. That really irked me, because those same mags were the ones doing all the smack talk back when it was first released.