The Pinkerton Diaries

by Rivers Cuomo

Rivers describes The Pinkerton Diaries as “a collection of my journals, emails, letters, photos, and school papers — so you get an inside look as to exactly what I was thinking [when I wrote Pinkerton]”. This thoughtfully assembled book covers the years 1994 to 1997, beginning on May 10th, 1994, the day the Blue Album was released.

The Pinkerton Diaries is an intimate ride along on the journey as Rivers goes from playing an empty club with Weezer to selling millions of records and touring all over the world - then willingly trades the life of a rock star for the life of a Harvard undergrad. Rivers’ personal journals included in this book detail everything from the confusion and excitement of trying to figure out girls, to the physically and emotionally harrowing medical struggles he underwent for over a year to correct a congenital leg length discrepancy. Also included are Rivers’ lyric notebooks, music compositions, and studio notes from the Pinkerton sessions, giving the reader unprecedented insight into these beloved songs.

Genres: Music

235 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2011

Reviews

[Goosey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I'm a little scared to read this.

Pre-Read Review: It's time for me to read this. I'm ready now.

Post-Read Review: This is painfully relatable at times and completely foreign at others. How amazing to get a chance to peek inside of Rivers' mind.

[Joel Drzycimski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best way to read this is to skip the Harvard essays. The rest of the book is a really fascinating insight into Rivers's brain through the Blue and Pinkerton album cycles. His hospital and recovery stories genuinely broke my heart. Worth a read if you can find a copy!

[Allegra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not ashamed to admit that I started tearing up several times while reading through this. At this point in my life, this book is probably the most important thing I've ever read, for intense, dramatic personal reasons. Rivers Cuomo really is brilliant, and getting a look into his life during his most creative period was absolutely fascinating.

[Morgan Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Weezer's 'Pinkerton' album and this was a pretty insightful glimpse into how the record came together. It also contains a wealth of information about Rivers' earlier plan for a space opera called 'Songs from the Black Hole.' I have been semi-obsessed with this concept since I heard the song 'Blast Off!' ten years ago. On the not-as-engaging side (for me anyway), there were a lot of Rivers' papers/essays from his time at Harvard which were a little dull to read. All in all, this book was fascinating and well worth a read. It also comes with the third volume of his 'Alone' collections with some excellent music on it.

[Javiera González · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's incredible, I think the letters, interviews, song drafts and the diary itself is incredible to get to know Rivers' problems and thoughts in depth between 1994 and 1997, tour experiences, recording, video clips, and what lies behind "Pinkerton" and their lyrics. In many parts felt like my heart was broken. An incredible book to learn a little more about what happened between the release of the Blue Album and Pinkerton

[Caleb Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read overall. A lot of Rivers' college essays about books I haven't read didn't do a great job of keeping my attention, but the diaries and letters themselves as well as the articles he had written for various magazines were fascinating to read.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this, I feel like I really got to know him and his music, it's a must-read for sure. What a masterpiece.

[Natalie Avrit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pinkerton Diaries paint a picture of a man who's aware of his worst vices - self-pity, lust, loneliness - and is searching for enlightenment while fighting these tendencies. I don't relate to Rivers' playboy struggles, but I just resonate with his whole way of thinking; His love of learning, his obsessiveness, and his social awkwardness.
Rivers hints at several conflicts that affect him throughout the Pinkerton era: Stable, humble relationships vs. immediate sexual gratification, honest expression vs. effective and marketable artistic communication, and self-pity and despair vs. resilience.
These issues are heightened by the constant misinterpretation of Rivers by the media. This guy was kicking and shouting for people to stop calling him a nerd, to take him seriously for once, but to this day, Weezer is seen as the silly geek band. It's really a trip to read The Pinkerton Diaries because here Rivers is, explaining the angst and apprehension he's experiencing while being interviewed, and then you watch the interview for yourself, and he's just sitting there, looking all bashful.
Rivers is, by definition, a nerd, but he's also so much more than that.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting but definitely not worth $75 (dw I didn't pay that much for it I found it online hmu if u want the link)

[Hugh Jass · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will actually sell my soul to rivers so he re-releases the Pinkerton diaries🤑🤑🤑/srs

[Jeff Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book, can't find it anywhere

[Sannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-read for any hardcore Weezer fan as it gives insight into Rivers Cuomo's life after releasing the Blue Album in 1994 until just after Pinkerton was released in 1996. It gives readers an idea of what he went through, from being a mainstream label rock star to feeling lonely as an older student at Harvard, as well as the struggles he experienced with his leg extension surgery. Everything ties together in the creative process that became the well-loved (though at the time poorly received) sophomore album. Although this covers a small period of Weezer's now 20+ years as a band, it really explains the band's development quite a bit and why for quite a long time afterward, they never played any songs from this album and why Rivers didn't acknowledge it. Its commercial failure at the time was devastating due to its confessional and personal nature. Moreover, this also makes it clearer why the Green Album was fairly commercial and mainstream with a lot less substance than its predecessor, and why the relationship between Weezer and their fans has been (and probably will always be) complicated.

One thing to note about The Pinkerton Diaries is that you can definitely take more away from it if you're familiar with some of the topics covered. For example, there's a lot of sheet music that is more interesting if you can actually read it. Additionally, there are a few papers from Rivers' time at Harvard that cover music theory, operas, and literature. If you're unfamiliar with the works covered, they come off as dry academic papers, but on the other hand, it might also spur fans to seek out these works and broaden their horizons. And that actually ends up enriching the experience and understanding of Pinkerton.

I couldn't help myself but compare this to The John Lennon Letters which I had read a few years ago due to the personal nature and content of the two. However, The Pinkerton Diaries takes advantage of the format more and is thus more insightful because it focuses on a specific creative period in Rivers Cuomo's life and puts the album into context. It's not just compiling personal correspondence and diary entries to let you figure it out on your own, but it feels like you are actually being guided through the creative process.

[Joe Matson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuomo gives his audience exactly what they (we) have been asking for since 1996: more of Pinkerton's backstory. Diary entries, letters, emails, and, best of all, sketches of his (music) compositional process. There are a handful of longer-form writings (essays on Monteverdi, Wagner, Shakespeare, Heart of Darkness, etc.); some of these reveal Cuomo's thinking on topics such as musical progress, while a few seem to merely fulfill the requirements of one of his college courses. Music assignments are included as well, complete with corrections from instructors. Practically all of the material is unique. (Where could one read Cuomo's diary, except from Cuomo?) Some of it is intensely personal: we read him struggling with a difficult medical condition; we see the collapse of a handful of his relationships; we see him abandon his most ambitious musical project. The general reader might be bored by college essays, or see the diary entries as self indulgent. The hardcore Pinkerton fan will be deeply moved.

[Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst the essays are generally a bore to read, everything else is quite the opposite - interesting, touching and, most of all, insightful. A necessity for any big Weezer fan.

The CD that comes with it include demo songs from the same era, and it's a fantastic listen, but no information is provided about most of the songs anywhere within the book.