Album Vs Album: Pinkerton vs Futures

Being an album that defines a generation is a burden, as well as a gift. While it ensures the album will live on in the public consciousness as time goes on, it slows or outright stops the process of re-contextualizing the album for the next group of fans to explore the music. What spoke to one generation is not guaranteed to have the same effect on the next, but sitting atop a golden pedestal puts those records out of reach, beyond the scope of criticism. While a negative attitude toward an album is nearly always viewed as being needlessly contrarian, taking that negative turn against an album of such importance can almost feel like heresy.

For people coming of age in the mid to late 90s, especially those who were outsiders or otherwise 'weird', Weezer was a revelation. Their emergence on the scene was the beginning of 'nerd culture' becoming a part of the mainstream, with "Buddy Holly" capturing the awkwardness of being unpopular, uncool, and unable to use modern slang in a way that didn't elicit laughter. Hearing Weezer was a signal to those people they weren't alone, they weren't as weird as they thought themselves to be, and they didn't have to hide who they were.

But we aren't here to talk about Weezer's "Blue Album". That record was the first statement, but Weezer's true importance to that generation came with their next record, which for many people opened the door to the music we now call 'emo'. It was the first time many heard such detailed expressions of pain and frustration, the first time many heard themselves reflected in the music they were listening to.

"Pinkerton": As far back as I can remember, this album has been the cherished north star of nerd culture. Both a commercial and critical failure, "Pinkerton" nevertheless hit people in their souls, speaking to them in a way no hit record ever could. Rivers Cuomo was in crisis as he wrote the songs that would make up the album. He was suddenly famous, his plan for a sci-fi concept album was not coming together, and he had enrolled in Harvard while going through painful physical rehabilitation. It was a recipe for bitter and angry music, as his existential crises stripped away whatever filter had (or should have) been put between his mind and his pen.

What so many love about "Pinkerton" is how it sounds like Rivers' journal being put to music. The lyrics tell of the frustrations of being rejected, dotted with detailed observations of his life as he went through out-of-body experiences. The stream-of-consciousness lyrics of "El Scorcho", where Rivers describes watching underground wrestling on television, are treated as a fit of artistic genius. They are not, but the level of detail isn't the real issue at hand.

Rivers Cuomo has always been a master at one thing; writing hooky songs that figure out the earworm formula. "Pinkerton" is no different than his "Blue Album" in that regard. The sound may be dirty and dingy, but the melodies on "Across The Sea", "Pink Triangle", and "Falling For You" are classics for a reason. Rivers the musician was in full flight during this period, not yet jaded enough by success to have given up trying. There's an obvious reason why "Pinkerton" spoke to so many people.

Unfortunately, how it spoke is the problem. Rivers the musician was on top of his game, but Rivers the lyricist was not. Beyond his chronicling of the mundane, "Pinkerton" is a catalog of toxic attitudes, all directed at the women in (and not in) his life. Rivers reduces women to a list of sexual conquests, uses domestic violence as a metaphor, lusts over a barely legal girl, blames his mother, pleads for a lesbian to sleep with him anyway, and conjures a rape fantasy. I have explored all of this in more depth here, but the legacy of "Pinkerton" is not complete without understanding how so many people who would now be labeled as 'incels' have grown up listening to Rivers casually and thoughtlessly tossing out so much misogyny.

"Futures": Coming out nearly a decade later, when Weezer's influence in promoting emo culture had already come and gone, Jimmy Eat World was speaking to a new generation of outcasts. "Bleed American" was a "Blue Album" for that next group of fans, crossing over to the mainstream to introduce emo to people who were going to need it. That record would become entwined with 9/11 as the title was stripped away in the wake of that day, and while the parallels are far from exact, the band's newfound stature, combined with the trauma of that event, were not altogether foreign from the mindset that gave rise to "Pinkerton".

Both albums deal with youth, and the confusion between love and lust when the concepts haven't solidified to a point we can understand. The difference is in attitude. Rivers felt sorry for himself on "Pinkerton", blaming everyone other than himself for his predicament. "Futures", on the other hand, has no blame to be cast. Jim Adkins realizes in his lyrics that bad situations sometimes happen no matter what we intend, and holding on to whatever good we can find in the moment is sometimes the best we can do.

The songs on "Futures" are heavier than anything on "Pinkerton", both emotionally and sonically. The production of the record is immaculate, the guitars thundering, and Adkins' voice soaring with the clarity to reveal every ounce of pain he's putting into the performance. The heavy songs are powerful, bristling with angsty energy and propulsive hooks, while the softer songs swell with emotion, feeling as soft as the velvet lining for our emotional caskets. Adkins songs admit the drugs and women involved aren't the long-term answer to happiness, but they get him through this day to the next, so they are as important as the love he hopes to find one day.

When he implores at the end of the record, "don't take away the ending, the one thing that stays mine", it is both the optimistic turn telling us we can still control our story, and ultimately the most depressing thought we can have. The only thing we control is tomorrow, because we can never escape the past.

Reaching a verdict here is easy. "Pinkerton" was a vitally important record to me, as it was for so many others, but the years have not been kind to it. It's difficult to look back with any degree of fondness on a record that introduced so many toxic thoughts to impressionable listeners who weren't ready or able to wall themselves off from the messages. "Pinkerton" should be disqualified on that basis alone, but I don't need to do that. "Futures" is a record that grows deeper and more nuanced the more it's listened to. It's a healthier way of processing the issues involved in coming of age, without the biter aftertaste that doesn't let us forget what progress has been made. But this isn't just about lyrics. "Futures" is more compelling as a musical experience. It has more power, more shade and color, and just as much that will etch itself into your memory. Jimmy Eat World essentially took a flawed album, and made a better version of it in every way. Like "Pinkerton", "Futures" is often underrated and underappreciated, but the true fans know what a monumental record it is.

The Winner: "Futures", in each and every way.