Hash Pipe: Difference between revisions

Cuomo told ''Entertainment Weekly'' in 2001 that the song was a "totally insane song about a homosexual transvestite prostitute,"<ref>Brunner, Rob. "Older & Weezer" ''Entertainment Weekly'' (issue #597). 25 May 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20140225152833/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,256491_4,00.html [[Entertainment Weekly interview with Rivers Cuomo - May 25, 2001|Weezerpedia mirror]]</ref> adding that the label was very reluctant to release a song like "Hash Pipe" as the album's lead single. "They wanted something more straight-up," said Cuomo, "Man, it was a huge fight. I got up in a meeting with all the executives and I was screaming." The label wanted to release "[[Don't Let Go]]" instead, but Cuomo was adamant that "Hash Pipe" be the single. Cuomo would, ultimately, be vindicated when the song became one of the band's biggest hits. "Hash Pipe" peaked at #2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, #24 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #16 on Billboard's Canadian Singles Chart. The video for the song was nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, and was nominated for High Times magazine's "Pot Song of the Year" in 2001.

The guitar riff was at least partially inspired by [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oysMt8iL9UE the theme song] from the [[Wikipedia:Peter_Gunn|television series ''Peter Gunn'']], composed by [[Wikipedia:Henry_Mancini|Henry Mancini]].  The theme has proven to be much more enduring than the show, and has appeared in many TV shows and films, both in its original recording as well as cover versions. Cuomo has stated in several interviews, at the time of the single's release, that he stole the riff from ''Spy Hunter'',{{citation needed}} a popular arcade video game from the 80s which featured a digitized version of the ''Peter Gunn'' theme. Some fans have speculated that the riff was influenced by the song "He Shot Himself Up" by The Shods, as Cuomo is a friend of Shods frontman [[Kevin Stevenson]], who had previously accompanied Cuomo during [[Homie]] shows in [[1997]], more than two years before "Hash Pipe" was written.

Cuomo stated in a [[2021]] interview that he submitted "Hash Pipe" as a potential song for musician [[Ozzy Osbourne]], but that the song was not used. Said Cuomo, "I think it was in 2000, he asked if I had any songs for him, and I just happened to have written ‘Hash Pipe,' [...] I sent it to him, but he didn’t end up using it. In another reality, it might have been interesting to hear him singing that song."<ref>''Guitar World''. July 2021.</ref><ref>Wardlaw, Matt. "Ozzy Osbourne Had First Dibs on Weezer’s ‘Hash Pipe,’ but Passed" ''Ultimate Classic Rock & Culture''. 13 May 2021. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-weezer-hash-pipe/</ref>

There is some dispute among fans over the song's correct lyrics and, as no official lyric sheet has been released, they remain up for debate. Examples of disputed lyrics are "eyes wide"/"ass wide"/"eye swipe"/"ass wipe" and "big cheese"/"big G's."

There are several incarnations of the song.

===Live ([[SS2K]])===

The original live version from 2000 featured slightly different drums, lacked backing vocals, "uhs", and instead of "kick me","kiss me" was sung during second line of the chorus.  Also, since late 2001, Cuomo has often played the song live with a reworked guitar solo that doesn't follow the verse melody.

The original, full-length ''Green Album'' studio version is no longer in print, and was subsequently replaced by a shorter edit. This edit cuts the first chorus in half (ending after "eyes wide"), and both ascending bridge sections were removed from the end of the second and third choruses.  This edit summarily replaced the original studio versions on repressings of the album, and is heard on the edited "Hash Pipe" video on the DVD ''[[Video Capture Device]]''.

Another edit of the song, which changes the lyrics to "Half Pipe", was released to radio stations that objected to the drug reference in the song's title.

Three official remixes of the song were released in 2001.  Chris Vrenna's "Kick Me" and "Under Glass" remixes were released on the "Hash Pipe" 12" remix single (Weezer's first 12" single).  The record also featured [[Jimmy Pop]]'s remix of the song, a version that was also released on multiple international releases singles, as well as a one-track CD-R promo in the UK.  The two Vrenna mixes were released on the official site in 2001 as 128K-quality mp3s with no record noise.  It has been speculated that either webmaster [[Karl Koch]] removed the record noise himself or, more likely, ripped the tracks from a test-pressing CD of some sort.

"Hash Pipe" was banned from UK airplay due to bigwigs at Radio One taking a stance against the drug reference in the title (hashish). The title is sometimes displayed as "H*** Pipe" on some television channels, notably MTV; however, there has been inconsistency of the censored song title.  [[Geffen Records]] anticipated these censors, and originally didn't want "Hash Pipe" to be a single, citing the song's title and lurid content as inappropriate.  And the aforementioned "Half Pipe" version was occasional broadcast by radio stations that felt more comfortable with a skateboarding reference as opposed to drugs.

 

Drummer [[Patrick Wilson]] is featured on the cover holding a pack of Natural American Spirit cigarettes.  The retail and promo version of this cover has the brand's logo blurred out due to copyright issues. On the European retail single CD the blurred out logo was replaced with the song title and the Weezer logo. An alternate cover of the retail single shows then-bassist [[Mikey Welsh]] pushing a skateboard, on which a life-size carboard cutout likeness of Rivers is standing.  This photo was taken on the floor of a venue during the Yahoo Outloud tour.

The song has been covered by [[Phantom Planet]] in concert and by Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine at one of their live shows. Following Weezer's cover of "[[Africa]]" by Toto in [[2018]], Toto responded by releasing their own cover of "Hash Pipe". [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOoC-Gflass]

''<blockquote>Impressed by how the bands looked in his other videos, [[Marcos Siega|Siega]] was sought out and asked to avoid referring to the lyrics in his treatment. Sumos were brought up, and immediately approved. Rock!</blockquote>''

:-[[Karl Koch]] on the "Hash Pipe" music video, from the liner notes for ''[[Video Capture Device]]''

The video for the song was directed by [[Marcos Siega]], the first of several Weezer videos that he would direct. The premise of the video shows Weezer playing while a group of sumo wrestlers engage in activity.  At one point in the video, the wrestlers appear as stand-ins for the band, complete with instruments, miming to the song.  In the video, guitarist [[Brian Bell]] employs a maneuver in which he bends backwards, taking the guitar with him, then thrusts his legs in the direction he's bending. This is affectionately known among Weezer fans as "[[The Impossible Bend]]". According to the mini book that accompanies ''[[Video Capture Device]]'', Siega was specifically asked to avoid referring to the lyrics of the song in the video.

You got your big G's