Yesterday evening Rivers Cuomo posted a little note to his Twitter account:
“Tragic Girl” is going to be like “You Know You’re Right” for Pinkerton fans.
A translation for non-obsessives: there’s an unreleased, un-bootlegged outtake from the Pinkerton era called “Tragic Girl” that’s been rumored to be included in an upcoming Pinkerton deluxe reissue. Cuomo is comparing this song to Nirvana‘s “You Know You’re Right,” the post-In Utero song that was eventually released on a 2002 best-of compilation.
So here’s where interpretation comes into play. The anticipation for “You Know You’re Right” was enormous, but when the song was finally released, how could it possibly live up to the expectations? It’s a good song, maybe even a great one, but it wasn’t the earth-shaking game changer that everybody had hoped it would be.
Is that what Rivers is suggesting? Is he playing up the expectations game, or is he playing it down? I can’t tell. Either way, he realizes that Pinkerton fans—and there are about 852,000 of us—are going to be tossing and turning until we get a chance to hear it. Will we end up disappointed? Who knows?
This is, however, the first indication that the Pinkerton deluxe reissue might actually happen since August 21, when Billboard reported that it was “in the works” although “Cuomo hasn’t started working on it quite yet.”
“We’ll include a lot of outtakes, demos and songs from that era that people haven’t heard yet. There’s a lot of material, but I enjoy the process of going through it all and remembering what that time was like.”
Before that, in July on Weezer’s website Karl Koch had said it was “in the weezer pipeline in the coming months… (at last – if all goes as planned).”
So we’ll see. Regardless of whether “Tragic Girl” turns out to be a great lost classic or just a cool outtake, a Pinkerton deluxe edition will definitely be an essential release and a very cool document of the musical high-point—and emotional low-point—of the fascinating mind behind a band that’s still capable of cranking out great songs. Even if the songs no longer have the heft and depth (and drum tone!) that they had on Pinkerton.
I wish Rivers had finished Pinkerton and stayed locked in his apartment forever.
i’d gladly give up the idea of ever hearing a lost track from that recording session if it meant that I’d also never have to have had to listen to the last 10+ years of rapidly declining garbage from the band.
Old bands used to break up and become legands. Now, they just putter along and become frauds.
I’m just going to say it: I think I might actually like some of the new album. God help me.
There is no God and there is no help for you.