Pinkerton (album)

File:Rivers Cuomo in Thailand.jpg (pictured in 1997) cited his struggles with musical success as an inspiration on the writing of Pinkerton.]]

In 1994, after the multi-platinum success of Weezer's self-titled debut album (also known as the Blue Album), Weezer took a break from touring for Christmas.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 137}} The singer and songwriter, Rivers Cuomo, felt limited by rock music. Every night, after performing with Weezer, he listened to Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly; the "depth of emotion and sadness and tragedy" inspired him to go further with his music.{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Ian |date=February 9, 2015 |title=Rivers Cuomo |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/9590-rivers-cuomo/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215115742/http://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/9590-rivers-cuomo/ |archive-date=February 15, 2015 |access-date=February 15, 2015 |website=Pitchfork}}

In his home state of Connecticut, Cuomo began preparing material for Weezer's next album using an 8-track recorder.{{cite web |url=http://www.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist7.htm |title=Weezer Record History Page 7|date=March 2006 |website=weezer.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515090914/http://www.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist7.htm|archive-date=May 15, 2007 |access-date=June 4, 2013}} His original concept was a rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole, that would express his mixed feelings about success. Weezer developed Songs from the Black Hole through intermittent recording sessions throughout 1995.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=139}}

On April 14, 1995, Cuomo, who was born with one leg shorter than the other, had extensive leg surgery to lengthen his right leg, followed by weeks of painful physical therapy. This affected his songwriting, as he would spend long periods hospitalized, unable to walk without the use of a cane, and under the influence of painkillers.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|pp=148–149}}

In the same period, Cuomo applied to study classical composition at Harvard University with a letter describing his disillusionment with the rock lifestyle: "You will meet two hundred people every night, but each conversation will generally last approximately thirty seconds ... Then you will be alone again, in your motel room. Or you will be on your bus, in your little space, trying to kill the nine hours it takes to get to the next city, whichever city it is."{{sfn|Cuomo|2011|p=41}}

By May 1996, Cuomo's songwriting had become "darker, more visceral and exposed, less playful", and the Songs from the Black Hole concept was abandoned.Pinkerton Deluxe liner notes Weezer's second album would instead feature songs written while Cuomo was at Harvard, chronicling his loneliness and frustration, or what Cuomo referred to as his "dark side".{{sfn|Cuomo|2011|p = 170}}

In 1995, shortly before Cuomo left to study at Harvard, Weezer spent two weeks at New York City's Electric Lady Studios, where they had recorded their debut, and tracked the songs "Why Bother?", "Getchoo", "No Other One" and "Tired of Sex".{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 158}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 157}} Weezer hoped to explore "deeper, darker, more experimental stuff"{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 157}} and better capture their live sound.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 191}} They decided against hiring a producer, feeling that "the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own".{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 190}} To give the album a live, "raw" feel, Cuomo, the guitarist Brian Bell and the bassist, Matt Sharp, recorded their vocals in tandem around three microphones rather than overdubbing them separately.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 192}}

While Cuomo was at Harvard, other Weezer members worked on side projects.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 159}} Sharp promoted Return of the Rentals, the debut album by his band the Rentals,{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 159}} and Bell and the drummer, Patrick Wilson, worked on material for their bands the Space Twins and the Special Goodness.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 158}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 159}} In January 1996, during Cuomo's winter break, Weezer regrouped for a two-week session at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, to complete the songs they had worked on in August.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 176}} The Weezer collaborator Karl Koch said Sound City was "a significant part of the sound".

After recording "El Scorcho" and "Pink Triangle", they separated while Cuomo returned to Harvard.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=176}} During Cuomo's 1996 spring break, Weezer regrouped at Sound City Studios and recorded "The Good Life", "Across the Sea" and "Falling for You" before Cuomo returned to Harvard for his finals.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 187}} They completed Pinkerton in mid-1996 in Los Angeles. Two additional tracks, "I Swear It's True" and "Getting Up and Leaving", were abandoned prior to mixing.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 189}}

{{Quote box

| quote = There are some lyrics on the album that you might think are mean or sexist. I will feel genuinely bad if anyone feels hurt by my lyrics but I really wanted these songs to be an exploration of my "dark side"—all the parts of myself that I was either afraid or embarrassed to think about before. So there's some pretty nasty stuff on there. You may be more willing to forgive the lyrics if you see them as passing low points in a larger story. And this album really is a story: the story of the last 2 years of my life. And as you're probably well aware, these have been two very weird years.

| source = – Rivers Cuomo's letter to the Weezer fan club, two months before the release of Pinkerton

| align = right

| width = 25%

| bgcolor = #FFFFF0

| quoted = true

| salign = left

}}

Like Weezer's debut, Pinkerton is an alternative rock album with elements of power pop and heavy metal, but with a darker, less polished sound.{{cite magazine |last=Highfill |first=Samantha |date=November 2, 2010 |title=Weezer's 'Pinkerton' reissue: Read the 2001 EW story where Rivers Cuomo called the now-classic album a 'hugely painful mistake' |url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/11/02/weezers-pinkerton-reissue-rivers-cuomo/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105204748/http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/11/02/weezers-pinkerton-reissue-rivers-cuomo/ |archive-date=November 5, 2010 |access-date=August 15, 2014 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, "The guitars rage and squeal, the beats are brutal and visceral, the vocals are mixed to the front, filled with overlapping, off-the-cuff backing vocals ... In short, it sounds like the work of a live band."{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Pinkerton – Weezer |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pinkerton-mw0000646499 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523190101/http://www.allmusic.com/album/pinkerton-mw0000646499 |archive-date=May 23, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2013 |publisher=AllMusic}}

The lyrics feature self-deprecating humor. Writing from a more direct and personal perspective,{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 202}} Cuomo wrote of his dysfunctional relationships, sexual frustration, and struggles with identity.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 192}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 193}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 194}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 195}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 196}} Pinkerton charts his "cycle between 'lame-o and partier{{' "}}.Edwars, Gavin. Rivers' Edge. Details Magazine, 1997, Volume 15, number nine. Erlewine described it as a "singer-songwriter record representing Rivers Cuomo's bid for respectability".

At just under 35 minutes, Pinkerton is, according to Cuomo, "short by design".{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 192}} The first song, "Tired of Sex", written before the release of the Blue Album,{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 105}} has Cuomo describing meaningless sex with groupies and wondering why true love eludes him.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 192}} "Across the Sea" was inspired by a letter Cuomo received from a Japanese fan: "When I got the letter, I fell in love with her ... I was very lonely at the time, but at the same time I was very depressed that I would never meet her."{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 195}}

"The Good Life" chronicles the rebirth of Cuomo after an identity crisis as an Ivy League loner. Cuomo, who felt isolated at Harvard, wrote it after "becoming frustrated with that hermit's life I was leading, the ascetic life. And I think I was starting to become frustrated with my whole dream about purifying myself and trying to live like a monk or an intellectual and going to school and holding out for this perfect, ideal woman. And so I wrote the song. And I started to turn around and come back the other way."{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 194}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 195}}

"El Scorcho" addresses Cuomo's shyness and inability to approach a woman while at Harvard; he explained that the song "is more about me, because at that point I hadn't even talked to the girl, I didn't really know much about her."{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 195}} "Pink Triangle" describes a man who falls in love, but discovers the object of his devotion is a lesbian.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 196}}

Pinkerton is named after the character BF Pinkerton from Madama Butterfly, who marries and then abandons a Japanese woman named Butterfly.{{cite web |url=http://www.inkblotmagazine.com/rev-archive/Weezer_Pinkerton.htm |title=Weezer: Pinkerton |last=Latimer |first=Lori |website=Ink Blot Magazine |access-date=June 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924035024/http://www.inkblotmagazine.com/rev-archive/Weezer_Pinkerton.htm |archive-date=September 24, 2015 }} Calling him an "asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star", Cuomo felt the character was "the perfect symbol for the part of myself that I am trying to come to terms with on this album".{{sfn|Cuomo|2011}} Other titles considered included Playboy and Diving into the Wreck (after the poem by Adrienne Rich).{{sfn|Cuomo|2011}}

Like Madama Butterfly, Pinkerton views Japanese culture from the perspective of an outsider who considers Japan fragile and sensual;{{cite web |url=http://japanreview.net/review_madame.htm |title=Reviews Madame Butterfly |website=japanreview.net |access-date=June 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030033130/http://www.japanreview.net/review_madame.htm |archive-date=October 30, 2012 }} the Japanese allusions are infused with the narrator's romantic disappointments and sexual frustration.{{cite web |title=Tiny Mix Tapes Reviews: Weezer – Pinkerton |url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Weezer,631 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018131019/http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Weezer%2C631 |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |access-date=June 4, 2013 |website=Tiny Mix Tapes}} Cuomo wrote that Pinkerton "is really the clash of East vs West. My hindu, zen, kyokushin [karate], self-denial, self-abnegation, no-emotion, cool-faced side versus my Italian-American heavy metal side."{{sfn|Cuomo|2011|p = 158}} The songs are mostly sequenced in the order in which he wrote them, and so "the album kind of tells the story of my struggle with my inner Pinkerton".{{cite web |url=http://home.pacbell.net/wepeel/weezer101/weezer1.htm |title=The =W= Story |website=home.pacbell.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022194039/http://home.pacbell.net/wepeel/weezer101/weezer1.htm |archive-date=October 22, 2007 |access-date=June 4, 2013}}

File:東海道五十三次之内 蒲原 夜の雪-Evening Snow at Kanbara, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō" MET DP109333.jpg, from which the Pinkerton cover is derived|alt= A village in a mountainous landscape. A man with a conical hat and a cane, and a saddled horse can be seen in the foreground. Japanese characters are seen in the down left and top central parts of the image.]]

The cover artwork is derived from {{transl|ja|Kambara yoru no yuki}} ("Night snow at Kambara") from the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige's 1830s series 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō.{{cite web |url=http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico519412-46347.html#record |title=Hiroshige / Evening Snow at Kambara (Kambara yoru no yuki), no. 16 from the Series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gosantsugi no uchi) / 1832 – 1833 |website=daviddrumsey.com |access-date=June 4, 2013 |archive-date=February 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207113750/http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico519412-46347.html#record |url-status=live }} Lyrics from Madama Butterfly are printed on the Pinkerton CD 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..."{{cite AV media notes |title=Pinkerton |others=Weezer |year=1996 |publisher=DGC Records}}

Behind the CD tray is a map with the title {{lang|it|Isola della farfalla e penisola di cane}} (Italian for "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog"). On the map are a ship named USS Pinkerton and "Mykel and Carli Island", alluding to Weezer's fan club founders, and the names of some of Cuomo's influences, including Howard Stern, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian Wilson, Lou Barlow, Joe Matt, Camille Paglia and Ace Frehley.{{cite web |url=http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1129521600 |title=Howard Stern.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024021313/http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1129521600 |archive-date=October 24, 2007 |access-date=June 4, 2013}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 215}}

Todd Sullivan, an A&R representative from Weezer's record label, Geffen, described Pinkerton as a "very brave record", but worried: "What sort of light does this put the band in? It could have been interpreted as them being a disposable pop band."{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 196}} Geffen was pleased with the record and felt that fans would not be disappointed.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 196}}

Weezer turned down a video treatment for the lead single, "El Scorcho", proposed by Spike Jonze, who had helped raise Weezer's status with his videos for "Undone – The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly". Cuomo said: "I really want the songs to come across untainted this time around… I really want to communicate my feelings directly and because I was so careful in writing that way. I'd hate for the video to kinda misrepresent the song, or exaggerate certain aspects."{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 202}} The "El Scorcho" video features Weezer playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures flashing in time to the music.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 195}} The director, Mark Romanek, quit after arguments with Cuomo, leaving Cuomo to edit the video himself.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 200}} The video debuted on MTV's 120 Minutes and received moderate airplay.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 202}}

Pinkerton debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 chart, its highest position. It sold 47,000 copies its first week,{{cite magazine|title=Billboard 200|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=weezer|chart=all}}|magazine=Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023222814/{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=weezer|chart=all}}|archive-date=October 23, 2007|access-date=September 19, 2007|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7517890/weezer-pinkerton-anniversary|title=Weezer's 'Pinkerton' Turns 20: Why the Landmark, Raw Album Wasn't a Big Hit for the Band|last=Partridge|first=Kenneth|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 26, 2016|archive-date=September 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926052052/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7517890/weezer-pinkerton-anniversary|url-status=live}} falling far short of the sales of Weezer's first album.{{cite web|url=http://www.gloriousnoise.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3940|title=For The Statistically Minded|website=Glorious Noise|access-date=February 6, 2007|archive-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222614/http://www.gloriousnoise.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3940|url-status=live}} "El Scorcho" reached number 19, and "The Good Life" reached number 32. As Pinkerton was not meeting sales expectations, Weezer felt pressure to make another music video more to the liking of MTV.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=221}} The video for "The Good Life", directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, stars Mary Lynn Rajskub as a pizza delivery girl, and uses simultaneous camera angles appearing on screen as a fractured full image.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=221}} Geffen rush-released the video to try to save the album, but was not successful.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=222}}

In October 1996, Weezer toured Australia, New Zealand and Japan.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=219}} Afterwards, they flew home to Los Angeles, where Wilson and Sharp made a promotional appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show Modern Rock Live.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=219}} On November 1, Weezer began a tour of North America at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=219}} On November 6, they performed an acoustic set at Shorecrest High School in Seattle due to a contest won by a student.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=222}}

Weezer continued to tour until mid-1997.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=223}} The tour was postponed when the sisters Mykel, Carli and Trysta Allan died in a car accident while driving home from a Weezer show in Denver, Colorado.{{Cite magazine|last=Runtagh|first=Jordan|date=May 10, 2019|title=Weezer's Blue Album: 10 Things You Didn't Know|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/weezer-blue-album-rivers-cuomo-things-you-didnt-know-822881/|access-date=March 21, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=February 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225165144/https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/weezer-blue-album-rivers-cuomo-things-you-didnt-know-822881/|url-status=live}} Mykel and Carli ran Weezer's fan club and helped manage publicity for several other Los Angeles bands, and had inspired the Weezer song "Mykel and Carli". Weezer canceled a show to attend their funeral.{{Cite web|first1=Clare|last1=Kleinedler|title=Weezer Mourns Tragic Deaths Of Fan Club Leaders|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/677/weezer-mourns-tragic-deaths-of-fan-club-leaders/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328004516/http://www.mtv.com/news/677/weezer-mourns-tragic-deaths-of-fan-club-leaders/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 28, 2015|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=MTV News|language=en}} In August, Weezer and other bands held a benefit concert for their family in Los Angeles.{{Cite web|last=Archive-Clare-Kleinedler|title=Hundreds Join Weezer In Tribute To Fanclub Leaders|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/958/hundreds-join-weezer-in-tribute-to-fanclub-leaders/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420094651/https://www.mtv.com/news/958/hundreds-join-weezer-in-tribute-to-fanclub-leaders/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 20, 2021|access-date=March 21, 2021|website=MTV News|language=en}}

A day before Pinkerton was to be released on September 24, 1996, a restraining order was obtained by Californian security firm Pinkerton's Inc. Pinkerton sued Weezer and Geffen for federal trademark infringement, claiming they were trying to capitalize on their reputation.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 203}} Under the terms of the restraining order, which had Pinkerton's Inc seeking two million dollars in damages, Weezer would be kept from "selling, distributing, or advertising" an album under the name Pinkerton.{{cite web|last=Andrade|first=Dereck|date=September 24, 1996|title=Pinkerton obtains temporary restraining order against major U.S. record company; suit alleges trademark infringement by Los Angeles-based Geffen Records|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Pinkerton+obtains+temporary+restraining+order+against+major+U.S....-a018707555|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520120205/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Pinkerton+obtains+temporary+restraining+order+against+major+U.S....-a018707555|archive-date=May 20, 2011|access-date=September 24, 2007|publisher=Business Wire}} The Geffen spokesman Dennis Dennehy defended the title, arguing that it was a reference to Madama Butterfly and not aimed at "any sort of corporate entity".{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 204}} Cuomo wrote a six-page paper explaining why he chose the title and why he felt it was essential.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 205}} The case was thrown out of court after the judge determined that "the hardship of not issuing the Pinkerton disc would be greater for Geffen than any hardship Pinkerton's Inc or its shareholders might incur from consumers who mistakenly presume the company has anything to do with the album".{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 205}}

{{Music ratings

| subtitle = Initial reviews

| rev1 = Chicago Tribune

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/10/25/weezerpinkerton-dgc-star-star-stara-bunch-of/|title=Weezer: Pinkerton (DGC)|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|at=sec. 7, p. 22|date=October 25, 1996|access-date=June 17, 2024|last=Knopper|first=Steve|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617063317/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/10/25/weezerpinkerton-dgc-star-star-stara-bunch-of/|archive-date=June 17, 2024|url-status=live}}

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = B{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1996/09/27/pinkerton/|title=Sugar Bare: Weezer's 'Pinkerton' Could Use The Sweet Relief of Their Debut|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|issue=346|page=78|date=September 27, 1996|access-date=September 26, 2007|last=Gordinier|first=Jeff|author-link=Jeff Gordinier|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017054918/http://www.ew.com/article/1996/09/27/pinkerton|archive-date=October 17, 2015|url-status=live}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news|title=Weezer: Pinkerton (Geffen)|newspaper=The Guardian|at="Friday Review" section, p. 19|date=October 4, 1996|last=Sweeney|first=Kathy}}

| rev4 = Los Angeles Times

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-06-ca-61631-story.html|title=Weezer, 'Pinkerton,' DGC|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|at="Calendar" section, p. F4|date=November 6, 1996|access-date=August 18, 2016|last=Appleford|first=Steve|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828153156/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-11-06/entertainment/ca-61631_1_weezer-stars-cuomo|archive-date=August 28, 2016|url-status=live}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 7/10{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101001163reviews.html|title=Weezer – Pinkerton|magazine=NME|page=57|date=September 28, 1996|access-date=August 18, 2016|last=Beaumont|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Beaumont (journalist)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817105959/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101001163reviews.html|archive-date=August 17, 2000|url-status=dead}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 7.5/10{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/weezer/pinkerton.shtml|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|website=Pitchfork|date=September 1996|access-date=October 9, 2009|last=Schreiber|first=Ryan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508130831/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/w/weezer/pinkerton.shtml|archive-date=May 8, 2006|url-status=dead}}

| rev7 = Q

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Q|issue=122|page=138|date=November 1996|last=Henderson|first=Dave}}

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/pinkerton-120673/|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Rolling Stone|issue=746|page=66|date=October 31, 1996|access-date=June 30, 2005|last=O'Connor|first=Rob|editor-last=Fricke|editor-first=David|editor-link=David Fricke|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106061850/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/weezer/albums/album/301487/review/5945269/pinkerton|archive-date=January 6, 2007|url-status=live}}

| rev9 = Select

| rev9score = 3/5{{cite magazine|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Select|issue=77|page=111|date=November 1996|last=Morris|first=Gina}}

| rev10 = Spin

| rev10score = 7/10{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgSxMMIfuU8C&pg=PA120|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Spin|volume=12|issue=8|pages=120–121|date=November 1996|access-date=November 21, 2009|last=Berrett|first=Jesse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012730/https://books.google.com/books?id=dgSxMMIfuU8C&pg=PA120|archive-date=February 4, 2021|url-status=live}}

}}

Initial reviews of Pinkerton were mixed.{{cite web|url=http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=105768883|title=Pinkerton|access-date=September 25, 2007|publisher=Tower Records|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024033118/http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=105768883|archive-date=October 24, 2007}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 206}} Jeff Gordinier of Entertainment Weekly deemed it "a collection of get-down party anthems for agoraphobics" and criticized Weezer's choice to self-produce, which he felt resulted in a "sloppy and raw" aesthetic inferior to the pop sound of their debut. In Rolling Stone, Rob O'Connor called Cuomo's songwriting "juvenile", and singled out "Tired of Sex" as "aimless". However, he praised "Butterfly" as "a real treat, a gentle acoustic number that recalls the vintage, heartbreaking beauty of Big Star … suggesting that underneath the geeky teenager pose is an artist well on his way to maturity". Rolling Stone readers voted the album the third-worst of 1996.{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p = 228}} Some listeners were perturbed by the sexual nature of the lyrics;{{Cite magazine |last=Braun |first=Laura Marie |date=September 23, 2016 |title=How Weezer's Pinkerton went from embarrassing to essential |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-weezers-pinkerton-went-from-embarrassing-to-essential-w441144 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230000711/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-weezers-pinkerton-went-from-embarrassing-to-essential-w441144 |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |access-date=December 29, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone |publisher=Wenner Media LLC |location=New York City}} Melody Maker{{'}}s Jennifer Nine praised the music, but advised listeners "to ignore the lyrics entirely".{{cite magazine|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Melody Maker|page=52|date=October 5, 1996|last=Nine|first=Jennifer}}

Steve Appleford of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the songs were "are sloppy and awkward, but express a seemingly genuine, desperate search for sex and love". Mark Beaumont of NME praised Pinkerton, writing that "by the time the affecting acoustic lament 'Butterfly' wafts in ... Pinkerton starts feeling like a truly moving album". Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork wrote that "Pinkerton might actually be a bit much for fans who were wooed with the clean production and immediately accessible sound of these guys' debut, but if given a chance, it might surprise even some anti-Weezer folk". The Guardian critic Kathy Sweeney found Pinkerton "noisier and messier than their last album, and all the better for it". In another positive review, Dave Henderson of Q said that "on every tale of romance, delivered in perfect verse/chorus formula, you can see Jennifer Aniston giving it some attitude in the kitchen".

{{Music ratings

| MC = 100/100
(deluxe edition){{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/pinkerton-deluxe-edition/weezer |title=Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition) by Weezer Reviews and Tracks |website=Metacritic |access-date=April 19, 2021 |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408200625/https://www.metacritic.com/music/pinkerton-deluxe-edition/weezer |url-status=live }}

| subtitle = Retrospective reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}

| rev2 = American Songwriter

| rev2score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://americansongwriter.com/weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition/|title=Weezer: Pinkerton [Deluxe Edition]|magazine=American Songwriter|date=December 15, 2010|access-date=December 15, 2010|last=Gold|first=Adam|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012724/https://americansongwriter.com/weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition/|url-status=live}}

| rev3 = Consequence of Sound

| rev3score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2010/11/album-review-weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition/|title=Album Review: Weezer – Pinkerton [Deluxe Edition]|website=Consequence of Sound|date=November 2, 2010|access-date=April 23, 2020|last=Gerber|first=Justin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115194848/https://consequence.net/2010/11/02/album-review-weezer-%E2%80%93-pinkerton-deluxe-edition/|archive-date=November 15, 2010|url-status=dead}}

| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev4score = A{{cite magazine |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |date=November 3, 2010 |title=Pinkerton: Deluxe Edition Review |url=https://ew.com/article/2010/11/03/pinkerton-deluxe-edition/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620020150/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20437325,00.html |archive-date=June 20, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2013 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}

| rev5 = Kerrang!

| rev5score = 5/5{{cite magazine|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Kerrang!|page=51|date=November 6, 2010}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 10/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14817-weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition-death-to-false-metal/|title=Weezer: Pinkerton [Deluxe Edition] / Death to False Metal|website=Pitchfork|date=November 3, 2010|access-date=February 5, 2018|last=Cohen|first=Ian|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203235744/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14817-weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition-death-to-false-metal/|url-status=live}}

| rev7 = PopMatters

| rev7score = 10/10{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/133445-weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition-2496111906.html|title=Weezer: Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition)|website=PopMatters|date=November 11, 2010|access-date=April 23, 2020|last=Sawdey|first=Evan|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012729/https://www.popmatters.com/133445-weezer-pinkerton-deluxe-edition-2496111906.html|url-status=live}}

| rev8 = Record Collector

| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/pinkerton-deluxe-edition|title=Weezer – Pinkerton: Deluxe Edition|magazine=Record Collector|issue=384|date=January 2011|access-date=April 23, 2020|last=Pearlman|first=Mischa|archive-date=December 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206100514/http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/pinkerton-deluxe-edition|url-status=live}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/weezer/albums/album/301487/review/6635729/pinkerton|title=The Rolling Stone Hall of Fame — Weezer: Pinkerton|magazine=Rolling Stone|issue=963|page=185|date=December 9, 2004|access-date=May 15, 2006|last=Edwards|first=Gavin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005045759/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/weezer/albums/album/301487/review/6635729/pinkerton|archive-date=October 5, 2006|url-status=dead}}

| rev10 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|chapter=Weezer|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|editor-last=Brackett|editor-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/865 865–66]}}

}}

Cuomo was embarrassed by Pinkerton{{'s}} reception and the personal nature of its songs. According to the Guardian, "For a long time, Cuomo talked about Pinkerton like it was his high school diary, a humiliating reminder of a time when he was unapologetically emotional and corny."{{Cite news |last=Levinson |first=Alana |date=2016-09-24 |title=Weezer's Pinkerton and the invention of the manic pixie dream boys |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/24/weezer-pinkerton-anniversary-rock-rivers-cuomo-emo |access-date=2024-07-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In August 1997, Cuomo wrote in his diaries: "This has been a tough year. It's not just that the world has said Pinkerton isn't worth a shit, but that the Blue album wasn't either. It was a fluke ... I'm a shitty songwriter."{{sfn|Cuomo|2011|p=232}}

After the Pinkerton tour, Sharp left the band and Weezer went on a hiatus. In the following years, Pinkerton amassed a cult following through internet word of mouth.{{cite web|last=Ramirez|first=Ramon|title=5 more college rock albums for your inner indie snob|url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/06/14/LifeArts/5.More.College.Rock.Albums.For.Your.Inner.Indie.Snob-2915124.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023222341/http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/06/14/LifeArts/5.More.College.Rock.Albums.For.Your.Inner.Indie.Snob-2915124.shtml|archive-date=October 23, 2007|access-date=October 1, 2007|website=The Daily Texan}}{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=307}} A wave of mainstream emo bands including Jimmy Eat World, Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional and Motion City Soundtrack began citing it as an influence. Cuomo was initially uncomfortable with the development, and told Rolling Stone in 2001: "The most painful thing in my life these days is the cult around Pinkerton. It's just a sick album, sick in a diseased sort of way." He told Entertainment Weekly:{{Blockquote|text=It's a hideous record{{nbsp}}... It was such a hugely painful mistake that happened in front of hundreds of thousands of people and continues to happen on a grander and grander scale and just won't go away. It's like getting really drunk at a party and spilling your guts in front of everyone and feeling incredibly great and cathartic about it, and then waking up the next morning and realizing what a complete fool you made of yourself.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2001/05/25/rivers-cuomo-talks-weezer-green-album-renews-their-fanbase/|title=Older & Weezer|last=Brunner|first=Rob|date=May 25, 2001|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|issue=597|pages=40–43|access-date=November 16, 2011|archive-date=January 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113124824/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,256491,00.html|url-status=live}}}}

Also in 2001, Cuomo mentioned to David Geffen, the head of Geffen Records, that Pinkerton had "turned into a real phenomenon". Geffen responded that "cult phenomenon" was euphemism for failure.{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Mikael |date=2024-03-25 |title=Weezer's Blue Album at 30: The inside story of the debut that launched L.A.'s nerdiest band |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-03-25/weezer-blue-album-oral-history-30th-anniversary-rivers-cuomo |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} For Weezer's subsequent albums, Cuomo moved to simpler songwriting with less personal lyrics.{{Cite news|first=Abe J.|last=Reisman|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/4/26/rivers-end-the-directors-cut-the/|title=Rivers' End: The Director's Cut|newspaper=The Harvard Crimson|date=April 26, 2006|access-date=July 20, 2015|archive-date=July 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721231712/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/4/26/rivers-end-the-directors-cut-the/|url-status=live}} Rolling Stone described Weezer's followup, the Green Album (2001), as the "anti-Pinkerton", with "squeaky-clean" production and album art that recalled Weezer's debut. Sharp sued Weezer in 2001 for songwriting royalties including songs from Pinkerton.

Pinkerton{{'}}s critical standing continued to rise,{{sfn|Luerssen|2004|p=307}} and it came to be considered among Weezer's best work by fans and critics.{{cite magazine|last=Donohue|first=Mark|title=Weezer: Pinkerton|url=http://www.nudeasthenews.com/reviews/1220|url-status=dead|magazine=Nude as the News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221161309/http://www.nudeasthenews.com/reviews/1220|archive-date=February 21, 2006|access-date=October 1, 2007}} In 2002, Rolling Stone readers voted it the 16th-greatest album of all time.{{cite magazine |date= |title=2002 Rolling Stone Readers' 100 |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html#Readers%20100 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718180414/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html#Readers%20100 |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |access-date=March 8, 2007 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} In 2003, Pitchfork gave Pinkerton a perfect score and named it the 53rd-greatest album of the 1990s. In 2004, Rolling Stone gave it a new review, awarding it five out of five and adding it to the Rolling Stone Hall of Fame. Over the following years, it appeared in best-of lists by publications including Spin{{Cite journal |journal=Spin |volume=21 |issue=7 |date=July 2005 |page=87 |title=100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6-UYTO7l1MC&pg=PA87 |access-date=February 6, 2007 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012710/https://books.google.com/books?id=p6-UYTO7l1MC&pg=PA87 |url-status=live }} and Drowned in Sound.{{cite magazine | last =Adams | first =Sean | url = http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/4819 | title = Drowned in Sound — Reviews — Weezer — Pinkerton| magazine = Drowned in Sound | access-date = September 25, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070908050025/http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/4819 | archive-date = September 8, 2007}} By August 2009, Pinkerton had sold 852,000 copies in the US{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/267638/weezer-filled-with-raditude-this-fall|title=Weezer Filled With 'Raditude' This Fall|last=Ayers|first=Michael D.|date=August 21, 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 27, 2010|archive-date=September 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920173340/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/267638/weezer-filled-with-raditude-this-fall|url-status=live}} and was certified gold.{{cite web|url=http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Weezer&perPage=50|title=Gold & Platinum|publisher=RIAA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017054917/http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Weezer&perPage=50|archive-date=October 17, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=March 8, 2007}} In 2016, almost 20 years after its release, Pinkerton was certified platinum for sales of over one million copies in the US.{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=WEEZER&ti=PINKERTON|title=Gold & Platinum|publisher=RIAA|access-date=September 19, 2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923221018/http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=WEEZER&ti=PINKERTON|url-status=live}} That year, Alana Levinson of the Guardian wrote that Pinkerton{{'s}} "conversational, confessional" lyrics were appropriate in the age of social media.

By 2008, Cuomo had reconsidered the album, saying: "Pinkerton{{'}}s great. It's super-deep, brave, and authentic. Listening to it, I can tell that I was really going for it when I wrote and recorded a lot of those songs."{{cite web |last=Crock |first=Jason |date=January 28, 2008 |title=Interview: Rivers Cuomo |url=https://www.pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6773-rivers-cuomo/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318080607/http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6773-rivers-cuomo/ |archive-date=March 18, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2008 |website=Pitchfork}} In 2010, Bell told The Aquarian Weekly: "Pinkerton has definitely taken on a life of its own and became more successful and more accepted … As an artist, you just have to do what you believe in at the time, whether it's accepted or not. You just have to keep going with it."{{cite web |url=http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/04/29/interview-weezer-they-want-you-to/ |title=Interview with Weezer: They Want You To | The Aquarian Weekly |publisher=Theaquarian.com |date=April 29, 2010 |access-date=August 16, 2011 |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002161103/http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/04/29/interview-weezer-they-want-you-to/ |url-status=live }} That year, Weezer embarked on the Memories Tour, playing Blue and Pinkerton in their entirety.{{Cite web |last=Elias |first=Matt |date=13 December 2010 |title=Weezer's Rivers Cuomo reflects on Memories Tour, plans more shows in 2011 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1654191/weezers-rivers-cuomo-reflects-on-memories-tour-plans-more-shows-in-2011/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731140849/http://www.mtv.com/news/1654191/weezers-rivers-cuomo-reflects-on-memories-tour-plans-more-shows-in-2011/ |archive-date=July 31, 2019 |access-date=July 31, 2019 |website=MTV News |language=en}} Cuomo said of the tour: "The last time we played all of those [Pinkerton] songs, they went over like a lead balloon. And I just remember that feeling of just total rejection. And then to see 5,500 people singing along to every last word through every song on the album, even the really difficult ones, was incredibly validating for me."

On November 2, 2010, DGC reissued Pinkerton with live performances, B-sides, and previously unreleased songs.{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2010 |title=Weezer Reveal Pinkerton Reissue Details {{!}} Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/40201-weezer-reveal-pinkerton-reissue-details/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914111348/http://pitchfork.com/news/40201-weezer-reveal-pinkerton-reissue-details/ |archive-date=September 14, 2016 |access-date=August 18, 2016 |website=pitchfork.com}} The reissue debuted at number six on the Billboard Catalog Albums chart{{cite magazine |title=Pinkerton – Weezer |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=weezer|chart=all}} |access-date=January 10, 2011 |magazine=Billboard}} and achieved a perfect score on the aggregate review website Metacritic.{{cite web |title=Reviews for Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition) by Weezer |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/pinkerton-deluxe-edition |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030121249/http://www.metacritic.com/music/pinkerton-deluxe-edition |archive-date=October 30, 2011 |access-date=November 11, 2011 |website=Metacritic}}

In 2011, Cuomo published a book, The Pinkerton Diaries, which collects his writings from the era, including lyrics, studio notes, journals, emails, letters, and essays.{{Cite web |last=Pelly |first=Jenn |date=November 11, 2011 |title=Rivers Cuomo releasing Pinkerton Diaries book and demos comp Alone III |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/44605-rivers-cuomo-releasing-pinkerton-diaries-book-and-demos-comp-alone-iii/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705000637/http://pitchfork.com/news/44605-rivers-cuomo-releasing-pinkerton-diaries-book-and-demos-comp-alone-iii/ |archive-date=July 5, 2014 |access-date=July 13, 2014 |website=Pitchfork |publisher=}} It was sold with the compilation album Alone III: The Pinkerton Years, compiling demos recorded between 1993 and 1996, when Cuomo was writing material for Pinkerton and Songs from the Black Hole.

In May 2016, Pinkerton was reissued on vinyl by the record subscription service Vinyl Me, Please. The album was pressed on "dark blue translucent vinyl with black marbling" and was packaged in a custom sleeve with pop-out art, a custom lyric sheet, artwork by the Japanese painter Fuco Ueda, and a sake cocktail recipe.{{cite web |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Weezer's new Pinkerton reissue comes with a sake cocktail recipe |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/65107-weezers-new-pinkerton-reissue-comes-with-a-sake-cocktail-recipe/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806150323/http://pitchfork.com/news/65107-weezers-new-pinkerton-reissue-comes-with-a-sake-cocktail-recipe/ |archive-date=August 6, 2016 |access-date=August 18, 2016 |website=Pitchfork}}

{{track listing

| headline =

| total_length = 34:36

| all_writing = Rivers Cuomo

| title1 = Tired of Sex

| length1 = 3:01

| title2 = Getchoo

| length2 = 2:52

| title3 = No Other One

| length3 = 3:01

| title4 = Why Bother?

| length4 = 2:08

| title5 = Across the Sea

| length5 = 4:32

| title6 = The Good Life

| length6 = 4:17

| title7 = El Scorcho

| length7 = 4:03

| title8 = Pink Triangle

| length8 = 3:58

| title9 = Falling for You

| length9 = 3:47

| title10 = Butterfly

| length10 = 2:53

}}

Adapted from the liner notes.{{cite AV media notes |title=Pinkerton |others=Weezer |publisher=Geffen Records|year=2016 |type=liner notes |id=B0025153-01}}

Weezer

• Rivers Cuomo – vocals, guitar, keyboards, glockenspiel, clarinet, production
• Patrick Wilson – drums, production
• Brian Bell – guitar, vocals, production
• Matt Sharp – bass, vocals, production

Additional musicians

• Karl Koch – percussion on "Butterfly"

Technical personnel

{{div col|colwidth=35em}}

• Joe Barresi – engineer
• Billy Bowers – engineer
• Jim Champagne – engineer
• David Dominguez – engineer
• Greg Fidelman – engineer
• Dave Fridmann – engineer
• Hiroshige – cover art
• Rob Jacobs – engineer
• Spike Jonze – photography
• Adam Kasper – engineer
• Karl Koch – webmaster
• George Marino – mastering
• Dan McLaughlin – engineer
• Shawn Everett – engineer, mixer
• Clif Norrell – engineer
• Jack Joseph Puig – engineer, mixing
• Jim Rondinelli – engineer
• Janet Wolsborn – art assistant
• Tod Sullivan – A&R

{{div col end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for Pinkerton}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=Weezer|title=Pinkerton|award=Gold|relyear=1996|certyear=1996|access-date=November 14, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|artist=Weezer|title=Pinkerton|award=Silver|relyear=1996|certyear=2013|id=9483-2735-2|access-date=November 14, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|artist=Weezer|title=Pinkerton|award=Platinum|relyear=1996|certyear=2016|access-date=November 14, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Luerssen |first=John D. |year=2004 |title=Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=1-55022-619-3 }}
• {{cite book |last=Cuomo |first=Rivers |author-link=Rivers Cuomo |year=2011 |title=The Pinkerton Diaries }}

• [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mEo-LLncm4GSVaKFiTq5JP8wA7vMucyNw Pinkerton] at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
• {{Discogs master|35071}}

{{Weezer}}

{{Madama Butterfly}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1996 albums

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