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In February of 1995, during Weezer's tour of Europe, bassist {{PN|Matt Sharp}} father suffered a stroke, requiring Sharp to fly back to the United States, leaving the rest of Weezer in Hamburg, Germany for a week. Cuomo used this time to rent out a studio to record new ''SFTBH'' demos. | In February of 1995, during Weezer's tour of Europe, bassist {{PN|Matt Sharp}} father suffered a stroke, requiring Sharp to fly back to the United States, leaving the rest of Weezer in Hamburg, Germany for a week. Cuomo used this time to rent out a studio to record new ''SFTBH'' demos. | ||
On [[April 14]], [[1995]], Cuomo underwent surgery to correct a congenital femoral deficiency in his right leg. Though his legs were of equal length at birth,<ref name="ilizarov">"[https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Ilizarov%20Procedure Ilizarov Procedure]" ''[[Riverpedia]]''</ref> his right femur had grown two inches shorter in length by the time he was fully grown.<ref name="ilizarov" /> The surgery involved breaking his femur and fitting it with a metal brace (called an {{Wikipedia|Ilizarov apparatus}}). Said Cuomo, "Each day I would turn some screws on the rods so that they would extend and increase the space in the break in my bone. After 6 months, the bone was supposed to be totally filled in and they would take off the metal frame. Two months in I was back out on the road with Weezer, stumbling around with a cane."<ref name="ilizarov" /> Cuomo | On [[April 14]], [[1995]], Cuomo underwent surgery to correct a congenital femoral deficiency in his right leg. Though his legs were of equal length at birth,<ref name="ilizarov">"[https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Ilizarov%20Procedure Ilizarov Procedure]" ''[[Riverpedia]]''</ref> his right femur had grown two inches shorter in length by the time he was fully grown.<ref name="ilizarov" /> The surgery involved breaking his femur and fitting it with a metal brace (called an {{Wikipedia|Ilizarov apparatus}}). Said Cuomo, "Each day I would turn some screws on the rods so that they would extend and increase the space in the break in my bone. After 6 months, the bone was supposed to be totally filled in and they would take off the metal frame. Two months in I was back out on the road with Weezer, stumbling around with a cane."<ref name="ilizarov" /> In September of 1995, Cuomo moved into a house in Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend [[Harvard|Harvard University]], still limping and requiring the use of a cane. | ||
==Recording process== | |||
{{Quote|They'd record a song nine times and it would be completely different each time. And then they'd have me edit them together...They would sit down with a list and show me all these edit points they wanted to make. And I would edit the tape together into one complete take, and then they'd decide whether they liked that or not. And if not, then they'd do nine more takes, and keep going like this until they were done.|[[Dave Fridmann]]|engineer on ''Pinkerton'', from an interview with ''The Future Heart''<ref>"Making of Pinkerton: Dave Fridmann Details Working On Weezer’s Cult Classic" ''The Future Heart''. 22 July 2011. https://thefutureheart.com/2011/07/22/pinkerton/</ref>}} | |||
In August 1995, just a few days before Cuomo was set to travel to study at Harvard University, the band gathered to record at Electric Lady Studios in New York City,<ref name="pinklinernotes">''Pinkerton'' (Deluxe Edition) liner notes</ref> the same studio where they recorded their debut. Said guitarist Brian Bell, "We're going for the deeper, darker, more experimental stuff,' but assured fans, 'but we'll always be the Weezer you know and love."<ref>Tobak, Vikki. "[[Detroit News interview with Brian Bell - August 10, 1995|Nerd-chic? Weezer trashes the labels and just plain rocks]]" ''Detroit News''. 10 August 1995</ref> The band worked on "[[Tired of Sex]]," "[[No Other One]]," "[[Getchoo]]," "[[Why Bother?]]," "[[Waiting on You]]," "[[Devotion]]," "[[You Gave Your Love to Me Softly]]," "[[Blast Off!]]," "[[You Won't Get with Me Tonight]]," and "[[Longtime Sunshine]]." Although the band was still, at this point, following the ''Songs from the Black Hole'' blueprint, none of the three latter songs—those written with ''SFTBH'' in mind—made it past this stage of recording.<ref name="pinklinernotes" /> The song "You Won't Get with Me Tonight" was famously axed after, as [[Karl Koch]] recalled in the liner notes to the 2003 ''[[Buddyhead Presents: Gimme Skelter|Gimme Skelter]]'' compilation, he explained to Cuomo that it reminded him of another song ("[[Wikipedia:I Shot the Sheriff|I Shot the Sheriff]]" by Bob Marley).<ref>[[Weezerpedia Discord Q&A with Karl Koch - April 2022]]</ref> The band also attempted to record a coda to conclude the song "Longtime Sunshine," wherein Cuomo, [[Matt Sharp]], and Bell sang a medley of "Longtime Sunshine," "Why Bother?," "[[I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams]]," "No Other One," and "Blast Off!" | |||
{{Small quote box|I don't know that we were modeling ''Pinkerton'' on anything in particular, but we really like some of the stuff Steve Albini has done, like the [[Pixies]]' ''Surfer Rosa'' or [[Nirvana]]'s ''In Utero''. We were also really into the Flaming Lips—and above all big drum sounds.|[[Rivers Cuomo]], ''Guitar World'', 1997<ref name="schoolhouserock" />}}After insisting that the band hire a producer for their first album, the band's label permitted Weezer to produce their second album themselves.<ref name="pinklinernotes" /><ref name="schoolhouserock">Beaujour, Tom. "[[Guitar World interview with Rivers Cuomo - March 1997|Schoolhouse Rock]]" ''Guitar World''. March 1997</ref> "I've never really wanted to be a producer," said Cuomo, "I just feel that the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own."<ref name="schoolhouserock" /> | |||
In January of 1996, during Cuomo's winter break, the band reconvened for two weeks at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, to continue the work begun at Electric Lady. The songs "[[Pink Triangle]]" and "[[El Scorcho]]" were also worked on for the first time. Songs conceived for the ''SFTBH'' concept, including "[[Superfriend]]," "[[She Had a Girl]]," and "[[Dude, We're Finally Landing]]" were also recorded but subsequently shelved (or in the case of "Superfriend," taped over).<ref name="pinklinernotes" /> | |||
For the album, the band decided against hiring a producer. Cuomo felt it was "the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own." The intention of the band was to make a raw record, which would better resemble the band's live sound. The main goal was to achieve a big drum sound and abrasive guitar sounds. This was accomplished by connecting multiple distortion pedals. At just under thirty-five minutes, ''Pinkerton'' was according to Cuomo, "short by design." In recording the album over four respective sessions, the band would usually spend two days on rehearsals and then head into the studio to record the tracks. To give the album a live feel, members of the band would record the vocals in tandem around three microphones. According to [[Brian Bell]], the band used so much tremolo picking during the recording process that they began to refer to it as "butterfly picking."<ref>[[:File:Brian Bell Instagram Falling for You caption - 08-25-22.png]]</ref> | For the album, the band decided against hiring a producer. Cuomo felt it was "the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own." The intention of the band was to make a raw record, which would better resemble the band's live sound. The main goal was to achieve a big drum sound and abrasive guitar sounds. This was accomplished by connecting multiple distortion pedals. At just under thirty-five minutes, ''Pinkerton'' was according to Cuomo, "short by design." In recording the album over four respective sessions, the band would usually spend two days on rehearsals and then head into the studio to record the tracks. To give the album a live feel, members of the band would record the vocals in tandem around three microphones. According to [[Brian Bell]], the band used so much tremolo picking during the recording process that they began to refer to it as "butterfly picking."<ref>[[:File:Brian Bell Instagram Falling for You caption - 08-25-22.png]]</ref> | ||