I can hear my friends from high school now: Blah, blah, blah, “90s Weezer is still the jam”… something, something “seminal first two albums”… blah, blah, “made me want to embrace being a band-geek”… something, something, “Pinkerton changed my life”…
Phooey, I say! I still chuckle at my “If it’s too loud, turn it down” t-shirt as much as the next 90s Weezer fan, but those first two records are retroactively ruined, and you know it. “Impossible!” you say? Bosh, I say! Totally possible. I can’t listen to “Tired of Sex” without thinking that I’d been had all those years ago by some kind of hyper-self-aware, “all art is shit,” pop-as-irony, hip-to-be-square hit machine named Rivers Cuomo. And I’m betting I’m not the only one.
But I’m also betting that many of you are still on the fence. So, here comes your chance to get pushed off that fence one way or the other for good, as Weezer prepare to roll out the two-disc (4LP) Pinkerton - Deluxe Edition reissue on November 2, via DGC (or “Interscope,” in the parlance of our times). The reissue includes, natch, a remaster of the original Weezer-produced album and a whopping 25 Pinkerton-era bonus tracks, including all of the official B-sides (Angus fans, rejoice!) and 16 previously unreleased recordings. And what do you know? A few of those previously unreleased records are actually unreleased songs (e.g. “Tragic Girl” and “I Swear It’s True”) and not just unreleased live recordings of songs I already have a 14-year history with. Okay, that’s mildly interesting… but still.
And speaking of live tracks, the live tracks I was speaking of when I last spoke of live tracks were taken from their 1996 Reading Festival slot, radio sessions in Philadelphia and Salt Lake City, and a lunchtime performance won by a Seattle high school (a chilling omen of the shillery to come). Oh, and there’s also a booklet with photos and the obligatory Karl Koch essay, and blah-blah-blah-bling-blah. Look, just buy it already. I’m over it. I’m too into Deerhunter to even care. This news story is over.
Disc 1:
01. Tired Of Sex
02. Getchoo
03. No Other One
04. Why Bother?
05. Across The Sea
06. The Good Life
07. El Scorcho
08. Pink Triangle
09. Falling For You
10. Butterfly
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 It’s True*
19. Pink Triangle (Live and Acoustic)
Disc 2:
01. You Won’t Get With Me Tonight*
02. The Good Life (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*
03. El Scorcho (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*
04. Pink Triangle (Live at Y100 Sonic Session)*
05. Why Bother? (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*
06. El Scorcho (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*
07. Pink Triangle (Live at Reading Festival 1996)*
08. The Good Life (Live at X96)
09. 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*
*Previously unreleased
• Weezer: http://www.weezer.com
• Interscope: http://www.interscope.com
