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iTunes Editors’ Notes

Whether jinxed by sophomore curse or suffering from the incessant overexposure their debut album's breakout hits "Buddy Holly" and "Undone (The Sweater Song)" spawned, Weezer's second album was a decided commercial disappointment. A more likely culprit seemed Rivers Cuomo's distaste for that hype, leading to a firmer, more provocative hand on the band's fortunes on this 1996 release. That sensibility produces an aggressive, culture-mocking left turn of a single in "El Scorcho," and a sonic approach that is often as cluttered and dark as their debut had been sunny and carefree. The album's loose concept (it was structured around Madame Butterfly) is so slack it likely escaped many listeners, even with the acoustic closer "Butterfly" dropping a final hint. Yet there are flashes of the more familiar Weezer charm in the frustrated romance of "Pink Triangle," the catchy chorus of "The Good Life," and even "Falling For You's" more muscular approach.

Customer Reviews

Pinkerton... Greatest Weezer Album Ever?

Even though, most of todays Weezer listeners love the Blue Album over all others, I beg to differ. Pinkerton is the most personal, is filled with the most heart, and has some of the best lyrics every written by Weezer. It doesnt fall into a trap of being too "Pop" like the Green Album, and isn't over-played like Make Believe. When I first started listening to Weezer, I loved the Blue Album and discounted Pinkerton, as everyone else did. But, after a while, i started really listening to it and found out that it is more than just a sophomore flop, as a lot of breakout bands have, it is truly a soulful album and is by far, the Greatest Weezer Album... Ever. So buy it now, folks, you wont regret it. P.S. go on google and search for pinkerton's symbolism to Madama Butterfly, Puccinis second orchestra, whcich was also a flop, and see some pretty awesome stuff. -peace

Weezer's best, and one of the best of the 90s.

Pinkerton is superb. No Weezer album makes better use of "the art of noise" than this one -- another Itunes reviwer has called it "sloppy-but-beautiful," which is a good way to put it. The tension in the combination of noise and sweetness is what energizes the music. The more pretty the melodies become, the more the songs are laden with noisy guitars or coarse singing, especially in "El Scorcho" or "Pink Triangle." This is what prevents the songs on the album from quickly becoming old hat, as happens, unfortunately, with many of the best songs on the Green Album. Finally, the aggressiveness of the sound and production values combined with the tuneful, singable melodies brings out the themes of love's frustration, elusiveness, and pain. The narrator spends the entire album trying to find love. He tries to replace it with sex ("Tired of Sex"), gets caught in destructive interia ("No Other One"), questions the search itself ("Why Bother?") longs for some action ("The Good Life") and seems to resign himself to the uncertainty of it all ("Falling For You"). Finally, "Butterfly" ends it all on a beautifully sad note: love is elusive as a Butterfly, and just as hard to catch. But once he catches it, it dies. Few things in life are harder than finding love and keeping it alive. Pinkerton is a brilliant album because it captures this human truth and presents it beautifully, with plenty of pain and frustration along the way.


It's funny because some of you complain and say that everyone just likes weezer now that they're cool again, and all the bull, but it is true. I however, don't listen to the radio, and don't give to $#!ts about "popular culture" heard the song El Scorcho introveniously, it being the background music to a animated short I saw, and was instantly taken aback by how incredible a song it was. I, not knowing who weezer was a the time, purchased pinkerton immediately, because of how good El Scorcho was. I didn't even know anything about them, and here are people accusing me of jumping on the band-wagon when it was months later that I even heard the song Beverly Hills, while flipping past Fuse, one afternoon. How dare you make up my own story for me. What kind of high-horse does someone like you ride to think that you're so special because you're devout? Not everyone is a clone like you seem to believe, I didn't like them until I heard a song from the Album I supposedly "hated" when it came out, sorry, I was 6. I don't think I really cared that much about music back then, I was still learning how to read well. I hate people who think they are so special and everyone else is bland and the same, not everyone is so blank, I have my own opinion, and I express it.


Formed: 1993 in Los Angeles, CA

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '90s, '00s, '10s

Full Bio