| Pinkerton (album) |
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''Pinkerton'' is the second album by the American rock band Weezer , released September 24 , 1996 . Rivers Cuomo , the band's lead Singer and Guitarist , wrote all of its songs, most of them after a painful leg surgery; as a result, they were written in first-position on his guitar's fretboard so that he would not have to move too much to play them.1 ''Pinkerton'' is named after the character B.F. Pinkerton from Puccini 's opera '' Madame Butterfly '', and the album plays as a concept album based loosely around the opera. It was originally planned as '' Songs From The Black Hole '', which Cuomo deemed a " Space Opera ." The initial concept was scrapped, but the band incorporated several of the songs into ''Pinkerton''. The artwork on the album's cover is ''Kambara yoru no yuki'' ("Night Snow at Kambara"), a print by Japan ese Ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige . Like the Puccini opera, the album includes other references to Japan , Japanese people, and Japanese culture from the perspective of an outsider who considers Japan fragile and sensual. It was the last Weezer album to feature bassist Matt Sharp , seen by some as an important contributor to the band's early sound.2 CONTENT Lyrical themes The album's lyrical themes infuse the Japanese allusions with its first-person narrator's romantic disappointments and sexual frustration, the latter at times visceral and graphic. Due to the cohesion of the narrative themes, the album plays as a concept album about sexual longing and lost love, and because of its first-person voice, many consider Cuomo's songs autobiographical. Cuomo has stated that "the 10 songs are sequenced in the order in which I wrote them (with two minor exceptions). So as a whole, the album kind of tells the story of my struggle with my inner Pinkerton."3 Some elements of the album were directly inspired by Cuomo's experiences while at Harvard University in 1995. " Across The Sea ," for instance, was inspired by a letter he received from a Japanese girl during a depressing winter. Other references in the album There are other references to Japanese culture and Puccini as well: In some pressings, when viewed at an angle, the back of the album's jewel case has a vague image of a Woman , perhaps a Geisha . Behind the album's CD tray is a map with the title "Isol Della Farfalla e Penisola Di Cane." which is Italian for "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog." Also on the map are a ship named "U.S.S Pinkerton" and " Mykel And Carli Island," an allusion to Weezer's fan club founders, as well as more references to Madame Butterfly (Don Giovanni, Sharpless, Cio Cio San Island). In a 2005 appearance on The Howard Stern Show , Rivers said that the names listed on the map are those who influenced him during the writing and recording of the album, with Howard Stern being one of those influences4. Other names include Yngwie (guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen ), Barlow (singer/songwriter Lou Barlow ), J. Matt (comic artist Joe Matt ), Paglia (author Camille Paglia ) and Ace ( Ace Frehley ). When "Pink Triangle" transitions into "Falling For You" a woman speaking in Korean says, "Which company makes this product?" One amplifier picked this up as radio interference while recording. Though it did not truly fit the Japanese themes of the album, it was left on. Written around the edge of the CD are these lyrics from Puccini's opera in their original Italian: "Everywhere in the world, the roving Yankee takes his pleasure and his profit, indifferent to all risks. He drops anchor at random…" RECEPTION Initial ''Pinkerton'', which peaked at #19 in the U.S. upon its release, didn't sell nearly as many copies as its multi-platinum predecessor, '' for its singles. Perhaps ashamed of its failure – or maybe just reflecting the angst that had kept him from rallying behind the album in the first place – in 2001, Cuomo would frequently make claims to how much he hated ''Pinkerton''. He told Entertainment Weekly Retrospectively Despite the rough start, ''Pinkerton'' has had enduring sales, and has seen recent critical championing. In 2005, '' Spin Magazine '' named it number 61 it its list of the 100 best albums from 1985 to 2005. '' Pitchfork Media 's'' "Top Albums of the 1990s (Redux)" ranks it number 53 for the decade.5 In 2004, Rolling Stone gave the album a new review, giving it five stars out of five and adding it to the Rolling Stone Hall of Fame. It was ranked #76 on Guitar World 's Top 100 Guitar Albums of All-Time.6 Although a critical failure upon its initial release ( Rolling Stone readers named the album the second worst of 1996), in 2002 Rolling Stone readers voted it as the 16th greatest album of all-time.7 By the close of the century, word-of-mouth had considerably rehabilitated ''Pinkerton'''s standing and many Weezer fans consider it the band's best work; some consider the band's more recent albums a conscious retreat from the sound and style of ''Pinkerton''. For some time after regrouping, the band would play very few ''Pinkerton'' songs on tour. However, by late 2001, some of the songs were revived and many of ''Pinkerton's'' songs are now commonly heard at Weezer concerts. As of October 2005, ''Pinkerton'' had sold 784,655 copies,8 and it is Certified Gold .9 TRACK LISTING All songs were written by Rivers Cuomo . # " Tired Of Sex " – 3:01 # " Getchoo " – 2:52 # " No Other One " – 3:01 # " Why Bother? " – 2:08 # " Across The Sea " – 4:32 # " The Good Life " – 4:17 # " El Scorcho " – 4:03 # " Pink Triangle " – 3:58 # " Falling For You " – 3:47 # " Butterfly " – 2:53 B-SIDES
ALBUM SINGLES
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