Ack! How can you write about Pinkerton without writing about Pinkerton?! Let's start by saying that I love Weezer. There's something raw, and real, and pure about their music that makes my soul happy. But let me say that -- apart from this bias -- Pinkerton is one of the greatest (and underappreciated) rock albums of the last 20 years.

It's not pop. There's no "Buddy Holly" or "Say It Ain't So." Teenyboppers are terrified by the rough, raw sounds and loud drumming. Its textures are simple -- it's straight ahead rock and roll, after all -- but not so simple as to be boring. It's nerd rock, pure and simple.

And the production! Listen to those drums. Put on a decent set of headphones (even consumer-grade will do) and crank it up. Hear the way the drums seem to take up all the sonic space? Hear the way they went just a little too hot onto the tape? Hear that room tone? That's rock music. Listen to the guitars. Dirty. Nasty. Lead parts are distorted beyond recognition. Nifty little fills are hidden in a sea of growling distortion. In an age where tight, clean, records make hits, Pinkerton was a bold move (which, of course, failed).

The lyrics are typical Rivers fare, maybe a little more complex and interesting than the Blue Album, and leaps and bounds beyond the stripped-down pop of Green. They're simple, and just clumsy enough to be endearing. But all of Weezer's music is that way.

Pink isn't as much fun to listen to as Blue, and certainly not as marketable as either Blue or Green, but it's deeper than that. This doesn't sound like typical a studio album. It doesn't sound like the usual record industry crap. It's not slick, it's not marketable. It's raw. It's real.

Alas, Rivers lamented the failure of Pinkerton, and the Green Album, already a certifiable success, is a 28-minute chunk of strangely-produced (listen to the backup vocals in "Hash Pipe!"), but very slick, pop rock. We can only hope that the next =w= album can combine the raw emotion of Pinkerton with the catchy tunes of Blue and Green.

For now, though, go buy a copy of Pinkerton. Seriously. It will speak to you. Not literally, of course. If you buy the album, and it literally speaks to you, you should see a mental health professional.