Digital Booklet - Pinkerton

8/13/2019 Digital Booklet - Pinkerton

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Pinkerton starts with Tired Of Sex and theorigins of Pinkerton start there too, it being theearliest post Blue album demo that made it toWeezers second album. The demo was madein December 1993, after the Blue Album wascompleted, but before it was even released. ByFebruary 1995, midway thru the endless BlueAlbum touring, Rivers had an idea of what thesecond album would be. He recorded a seriesof new demos at his moms house and at anunplanned extended tour stay in Hamburg,Germany, combined them with several olderdemos he had recorded up to that point, put itall into a specific order and called it Songs

From The Black Hole. This he pitched to theband for the blueprint for Weezer #2.

Black Hole was a space opera, inspiredby rock musicals of the past, especially JesusChrist Superstar. The story was a clever onethat infused Rivers own concerns about rocksuccess vs. quiet home/school life into the taleof young space recruits and their galaxy widemission, and the drama that unfolds betweenthe characters during the long months togetherin a small craft (kind of like a band in avan/bus for 15 months). It was quite bold andambitious for a new bands second album, but

Weezer had two things on their side: their suddengrowing success, and a prior pledge from theirlabel allowing them to produce their secondrecord on their own. In any event, once theconcept was laid out, more demos came, andby summers end, the band was ready to

THIS AINT NO BUTTERFLY GIRL - MAKING PINKERTON AND MORE

get off the road and make a new album. Butthis would be no ordinary recording session.

Recording started at Electric Lady Studios inAugust 95. The band worked on Tired ofSex, No Other One, Getchoo, WhyBother, Waiting On You, Devotion, YouGave Your Love To Me Softly, Blast Off!,You Wont Get With Me Tonight, andLongtime Sunshine. Its interesting that of thesongs started, none of the songs specificallywritten for The Black Hole (the last three justlisted) made it past this stage of recording.Perhaps this was an early sign that The Black

Hole wasnt destined to be. Overdubswere worked on at Fort Apache in Boston inSeptember, and then Rivers started school atHarvard interrupting the recording processuntil January 96, and (unbeknownst to all atthe time) effectively blowing The Black Holeplan to bits.

Rivers had extensive and painful surgery backin March 95 to lengthen his leg, correcting acongenital problem and allowing him to againdo many things that had become painful due t obone deterioration. However the healingprocess was much slower than anticipated,

and so he started college limping around witha cane and a painful metal contraption boltedto his leg. This condition persisted throughouthis whole 1st year at school, and this com-bined with the events of his social life (or lackthereof due to his self consciousness about his


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condition) provided a whole new tone forhis songwriting darker, more visceral and

exposed, less playful.

In January the band convened at Sound CityStudios in Van Nuys, and worked on the newsongs Pink Triangle and El Scorcho, andthey revamped most of the songs started inNew York. Tellingly, while Superfriend,Shes Had A Girl and Dude Were FinallyLanding (Black Hole songs) were attempted,these recordings were then shelved (in the caseof Superfriend, completely erased). This wasa sign perhaps that The Black Hole energywas now fading as this new kind of energywas growing. No one knew where thingswere going, but everyone loved the powerof the new songs.

More work was done at Fort Apache duringRivers spring break, and by May 96 theband was back at Sound City, this time withDave Friedmann engineering, in for JoeBarresi. By now, Rivers, leg healed, had therest of the album written and had solidified thenew concept of the album, likening his ownstruggles and adventures with leg/emotions/girls/rock stardom to the story of LieutenantPinkerton, the flawed protagonist of Puccinis1904 opera Madama Butterfly. Operaand classical music had taken center stage in

Rivers writing inspirations over the school year.That influence was serendipitously stoked upwith a February 96 fan letter from Japan thatboth inspired Across The Sea and helpedtie together the ideas that would solidify thealbum. Besides Across The Sea, the band

worked on The Good Life and Falling ForYou. The intended b-s ides Gett ing Up And

Leaving and I Swear Its True were alsoworked on, but not finished. Finally, near theend, Rivers finished writing the final songButterfly, putting it to tape at 6 A.M. the lastnight in Sound City. He did it both alone andthen once through with myself playing percus-sion. I guess I didnt mess up too badly, asthat version made the album.

Recording was supposed to be wrapping upby late June, but there was more work to do soseveral more studios were employed to continuethe overdubs and final parts, as well as the b-sides. Rachel Haden came in one night atSunset Sound Recorders and nailed I JustThrew Out The Love Of My Dreams on herfirst take. (She did an extra few, perfectly, justin case). Meanwhile, the album artwork wasfuriously worked on in every waking hour notspent at the studio.

Then in the 11th hour, while I was back Eastfor some reason, everything moved to RumboRecorders in Canoga Park CA for a mysteriouslast minute session. By this time, Matt had goneoverseas to work on his own album, under theimpression that Pinkerton was in the can. ButRivers had written another song and needed totry it to see if it belonged on the record. Adam

Orth was called in for the session, and TragicGirl was worked on. And then it was promptlypacked up, unlabeled and undocumented. Noteven a rough mix was made that day, so noone could listen back or in many cases evenremember they had worked on it. While it was

a bit rough around the edges it was still 6stunning minutes of Weezer glory, inexplicably

unheard (by anyone) till now. I returned to LosAngeles shortly thereafter, totally unaware therehad even been another session.

While mixing began with Jack Joseph Puig atOcean Way, Rivers grabbed studio time in bitsand pieces all over Hollywood, frantically addingfinishing touches right up to the last second. Inthe end, Rivers and I barely made our flight toEurope on August 13th having been in thestudio wrapping up the Across the Sea introthat morning!

Once the album was released, there wereseveral more sessions still to come. NeitherGetting Up And Leaving nor I Swear Its Truehad been completed for b-side use, and so whenit came time for a 3rd single in spring 97 (Pink

Triangle), a session was scheduled at FortApache (during Rivers Spring break). In fact,

the label was not confident in Pink Trianglefor radio release as it stood, so that was givena tune-up as well. The bass was one of several as-pects that needed changes for radio, but Mattwas unavailable to come back from his ownsessions in the UK on such short notice. So ScottRiebling (ex-Letters To Cleo) was brought in, andPink Triangle was tightened up. With that in aFedEx pouch en route to mixer Tom Lord-Alge, theguys still had a few more days scheduled in thestudio before Rivers had to go back to Harvard(he had deferred his Fall 96 semester to tour,but not the Spring 97 one). So the b-sides wereworked on, but never quite finished. As it turnedout, no commercial release for Pink Triangle wasever released, and so there was no need for theb-sides. They have remained unissued till now.

- Karl Jan/2010


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DISC ONE

Original Album:1. Tired Of Sex2. Getchoo3. No Other One4. Why Bother?5. Across The Sea6. The Good Life7. El Scorcho8. Pink Triangle9. Falling For You

10. Butterfly

B-Sides and More:

11. You Gave Your Love To Me Softly. Originally released

as UK & Australia B-side to El Scorcho12. Devotion. Originally released as UK B-side to

El Scorcho13. The Good Life (Radio Remix). Originally released as

Radio Only Promo Single14. Waiting On You. Originally released as UK, Europe &

Japan B-side to The Good Life & on Australian OZ EP15. I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams. Lead vocals

by Rachel Haden. Originally released as UK, Europe &Japan B-side to The Good Life & on Australian OZ EP

16. The Good Life (Live and Acoustic). Engineer: Paul Nieto.Recorded November 6, 1996 at Shorecrest HighSchool. Originally released on Australian OZ EP

17. Pink Triangle (Radio Remix). Bass by Scott Riebling.

Originally released as Radio Only Promo Single18. I Swear Its True. Bass by Scott Riebling. Previously

unreleased, rough mix, intended for Pink Triangle retail single19. Pink Triangle (Live and Acoustic). Engineer: Paul Nieto.

Recorded November 6, 1996 at Shorecrest HighSchool. Originally released on Australian OZ EP

DISC TWO

1. You Wont Get With Me Tonight.Recorded February 1995 by Rivers Cuomoin Hamburg, Germany. Previouslyunreleased studio outtake

2. The Good Life (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)3. El Scorcho (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)4. Pink Triangle (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)

Tracks 2-4 recorded June 20, 1997 atSonic Studios, Philadelphia, PA for

Y100/WDRE. Courtesy of YRockOnXPN.org5. Why Bother? (Live at Reading Festival 1996)6. El Scorcho (Live at Reading Festival 1996)7. Pink Triangle (Live at Reading Festival 1996)

Tracks 5-7 recorded August 23, 1996 at

the Reading Festival, Reading, UK.Courtesy of BBC Worldwide Ltd.8. The Good Life (Live at X96). Recorded

June 5, 1997 live on X96, Salt LakeCity, UT. Originally released on X96 MoreCheap Live. Courtesy of X96

9. El Scorcho (Live and Acoustic). Engineer:Paul Nieto. Recorded November 6, 1996at Shorecrest High School. Previouslyunreleased

10. Across The Sea Piano Noodles11. Butterfly (Alternate Take)12. Long Time Sunshine13. Getting Up And Leaving. Bass by

Scott Riebling14. Tired Of Sex (Tracking Rough)15. Getchoo (Tracking Rough)16. Tragic Girl. Bass by Adam Orth

Tracks 10-16 previously unreleased studioouttakes


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Deluxe Edition Credits:

Produced by WeezerAll songs written by Rivers Cuomo, publishedby E.O. Music (BMI). Disc 2, Tracks 12,13 &16 Additional Recording and Mixing byShawn Everett at Zeitgeist Studio, Los Angeles,CA. Disc 2, Track 10 Additional Mixing byTodd Parker at Interscope Studios, Los AngelesMastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound,NYC

Archival Audio & Visual Research: Karl KochA&R: Evan Peters and Jeff FuraManagement: Daniel Field at Boom

Art Direction and Design: Kevin ReaganPhotography: Spike Jonze, Karl Koch,Mykel and Carli Allen, Kara BushProduction Manager: Monique McGuffinProduct Manager: Rob JacobsLicensing: Andrew LabarrereLegal: Joy Teitel

Thanks: Matt Sharp, Spike Jonze, Elena Jensen,Michelle Gonzales, Xepa Digital

Interview 107.7 The End Blue vs. Pinkerton.Recorded May 21, 1997 live on 107.7 TheEnd, Seattle, WA. Courtesy of 107.7 The EndSeattle

In Loving Memory of Mykel and Carli

2010 Geffen Records. B0012913-02

Original Album Credits:


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2010 G effen Rec ords, a Div ision of UMG Recordings, Inc., 2220 Colorado Avenue,Santa Monica, CA 90404 USA. Dist ributed by Universal Music Distribution. All rights reserved.

DISC ONE

Original Album: 1. Tired Of Sex 2. Getchoo 3. No Other One

4. Why Bother? 5. Across The Sea 6. The Good Life

7. El Scorcho 8. Pink Triangle 9. Falling For You 10. Butterfly

B - Sides and More: 11. You Gave Your Love To Me Softly

12. Devotion 13. The Good Life (Radio Remix) 14. Waiting On You

15. I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams

16. The Good Life (Live and Acoustic) 17. Pink Triangle (Radio Remix)

18. I Swear Its True* 19. Pink Triangle (Live and Acoustic)

DISC TWO

1. You Wont Get With Me Tonight*

2. The Good Life (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*

3. El Scorcho (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*

4. Pink Triangle (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*

5. Why Bother? (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*

6. El Scorcho (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*

7. Pink Triangle (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*

8. The Good Life (Live at X96) 9. El Scorcho (Live and Acoustic)*

10. Across The Sea Piano Noodles* 11. Butterfly (Alternate Take)*

12. Long Time Sunshine* 13. Getting Up And Leaving*

14. Tired Of Sex (Tracking Rough)* 15. Getchoo (Tracking Rough)*

16. Tragic Girl*

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*Previously Unreleased

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