Weezer: Album by Album
Following their 1994 debut self-titled album, Weezer, the band itself has been attempting to regain that type of critical success for the last twenty-five years. Here is my interpretation and review of each album in their illustrious and often misunderstood career.
Note: to try and keep this from being a 30 minute read, I will ATTEMPT to limit myself to three songs from each album to highlight, but I can not promise to stick to this guideline I have set for myself.
1994: Weezer (The Blue Album)
Bursting onto the alternative rock scene in 1994 with their debut album, Weezer interrupted a world ruled by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Green Day. The band had a unique sound thanks to the voice of Rivers Cuomo, which set the band apart from the rest of the alternative rock world. Combine Rivers’ voice with his sentimental and self-deprecating lyrics and you have a super unique sound on an all-time great album.
But, unlike the other popular rock bands of the time, Weezer was not a group of cool badasses who did not care about what the world thought of them. Weezer was a group of uncool nerds who cared what the world thought of them.
While the album really is full of excellent songs from start to finish, a select few really stand out lyrically as well as sonically.
No One Else
The second song on the Blue Album, No One Else is the story of a jealous, misogynistic boyfriend who wishes to control his girlfriend. “I want a girl who laughs for no one else” resonates through the almost robotic sounding chorus from Cuomo. As the song continues, the lines “and if you see her / tell her it is over now” indicate to the singer declaring an end to the relationship, but also warning future lovers to watch out for his ex-girlfriend, because she likes to look at other guys while in a relationship. The lines “my girls got eyeballs / in the back of her head / she looks around and around” signal to the idea that his girlfriend was unfaithful to him.
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
The sequel song to No One Else, The World Has Turned and Left Me Here is the result of our singers abuse towards his girlfriend, as she has now left him. A song full of beautiful lyrics and hair-raising guitar riffs, it is easily one of my favorite songs on the album. “I talked for hours to your wallet photograph / and you just listened / you laughed enchanted by intellect / or maybe you didn’t” is one of the best lines on the Blue Album, followed by another line from this song; “the world has turned and left me here / just where I was before you appeared / and in your place, an empty space / has filled the void behind my face.”
Only in Dreams
Taking on the ever-popular movie/tv trope of the nerd getting the girl in the end, Weezer ends their monumental debut with Only in Dreams. Starting out with the story of our singer getting the girl, the song quickly transitions during the first chorus, headlined by the following line “reach out our hands / hold onto hers / but when we wake / it has all been erased / and so it seems / only in dreams.” Featuring one of Weezer’s best guitar riffs that mimics that of a prog-rock song, this song is the perfect close to the Blue Album.
1996: Pinkerton
A quick departure from the poppy, perfectly produced Blue Album, Pinkerton arrives with an immediate punch to the gut for listeners. The first song on the album, Tired of Sex, instantly jumps right at the listener with a blaring guitar and screaming lyrics from frontman Rivers Cuomo.
This album is not pretty. The production is rough at times, the lyrics are dark and pretty sexist, but that is the point. Cuomo wrote this album during some of the darkest moments of his life, creating a masterpiece of apathy and depression.
Pinkerton was not received well when it first was released. The album was such a stark contrast to the Blue Album that it shocked many listeners. The lyrical content also seems to have scared some listeners off too, as the album talks about such taboo issues as pornography addiction, oriental fetishization, social anxiety, and inability to make friends. As society itself has opened up more about taboo issues like these, the album has become better received and has become a cult classic among Weezer fans.
The album is named after BF Pinkerton, a character from the Japanese opera titled Madama Butterfly. Pinkerton, an American soldier, marries a young Japanese girl named Butterfly in the opera, but soon leaves and returns to America, where he stays for years while Butterfly eagerly awaits his return. Once Pinkerton returns to Japan, Butterfly has given birth to his son, but Pinkerton has married an American woman named Kate. Pinkerton realizes once he returns that he is a coward and can not face Butterfly, so he leaves once again. This results in Butterfly leaving her child and committing Japanese ritualistic suicide, or seppuku.
Rivers appears to feel a connection with Pinkerton, as is evident in multiple songs on Pinkerton; none more so than the song titled Butterfly, a song that can be listened to from the perspective of BF Pinkerton.
Across the Sea
Perhaps one of the most divisive songs in Weezer’s discography, Across the Sea is a song Rivers wrote about a young Japanese fan who wrote him a fan letter while he was living at Harvard University and attending school there. Rivers has said that he instantly fell in love with the girl following the reception of the letter, despite never meeting the girl or really knowing much about her.
The letter itself asked Rivers a few questions about his everyday life, and the questions even make an appearance in the beginning of the song.
This song is one of the many on the album that appear to be related the Madama Butterfly opera, as this song highlights Rivers fascination with oriental women. This song is usually the one that most critics point to when discussing the problematic lyrics and themes, as Rivers has this idea that a young Japanese teenage girl should be his comforting savior, if only he was closer to her.
This song though, is a wonderful look into the loneliness that Rivers was feeling at the time. A simple letter from a fan has created an idea of love and wonderment for Rivers, despite the fact that he has never even met this girl.
This song is put together wonderfully, with an excellent storytelling style, but my lord Rivers this is a creepy song. It is easy to see why many Weezer fans see it as a masterpiece, as that was the point after all, to create a feeling of relation between the band and their nerdy fans.
El Scorcho
The lead single off of Pinkerton, El Scorcho was the one radio hit off of the album. It is easy to see why, with the traditionally witty lyrics and grudge guitar riffs from Cuomo. The song starts off with, you guessed it, more discussion on oriental women. “Goddamn you half Japanese girls / do it to me every time” enters the listeners ear following a short intro full of Spanish phrases and drum beats.
The line according to Rivers was about his trouble with half-Japanese women, as they all seemed to leave him.
This song also seems to call back on the opening track of the album, Tired of Sex, with the line “I asked you to go to the Green Day concert / you said you never heard of them / how cool is that?” Cuomo is tired of groupies falling over themselves to reach him, but would rather make love to someone who honestly does not know about his popularity.
Again, this song is anything but pretty, as Rivers sings about his infatuation with oriental women, which continues to be a main team with this album.
Butterfly
The final song on the album it is also the only song on the album that is exclusively acoustic. Accompanied by percussionist Karl Koch, Rivers sings a very open and cathartic song. While this song was the perfect opportunity for Rivers to conclude the album with a ballad, like B-Side hit Longtime Sunshine, but instead he drops an incredible acoustic song full of rapey lyrics.
But, if one changes the context of the song, it completely changes the song in my opinion. View the song as BF Pinkerton singing to Butterfly after he returns to Japan.
The song is full of regret for the pain that he caused the woman that he loved. “I’m sorry for what I did / I did what my body told me to / I didn’t mean to do you harm.” This line comes after Pinkerton realizes that Butterfly has committed suicide.
While this song sounds good, the lyrical content is, well, odd. Rivers continues his sexist attitude as the album concludes, marring an otherwise beautiful album.
2001: Weezer (The Green Album)
Following a five year hiatus after the release and subsequent hatred of Pinkerton, Weezer returned with the Green Album. While Pinkerton was the grungy and edgy side of Weezer, The Green Album was an attempt to return to the Blue Album’s style of music while still retaining a sliver of the Pinkerton sound.
The album is largely forgotten by most fans outside of the radio hit Island in the Sun. While this song is obviously a good track with a poppy feel to it, there are some under appreciated gems hiding on the album as well.
Critics loved The Green Album, as it is what they wanted instead of Pinkerton in 1996, but fans were left wanting more.
Knockdown Dragout
This song is thought to have been inspired by Green Day after Rivers spent some significant time with Billie Joe Armstrong’s band. The influence can instantly be heard, as the guitar melody and lyrics could be confused by some as a B-Side song from Dookie.
