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Paperface
| "Paperface" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Album track by Weezer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albums | The Kitchen Tape (1992) The Blue Album (Deluxe Edition) (2004) Alone II (2008) |
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| Released | March 23, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | August 1/August 2, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:21 (Alone II) 3:01 (The Kitchen Tape) |
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| Label | Geffen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RC# | 124 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| COR# | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Weezer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Officially released | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Live debut | June 11, 1992 in West Hollywood, CA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last played | April 24, 2023 in Pomona, CA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rivers Cuomo song chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alone II cover | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This song is part of the "No One Else" lineage of songs.
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"Paperface" (sometimes rendered as two words, "Paper Face") is an early song by Weezer. The band's original 1992 demo was released in 2004 as the tenth track on the Deluxe release of The Blue Album. Rivers Cuomo's original home demo was released in 2008 as the fourteenth track on Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.
Contents
Appearances
- The Kitchen Tape (1992)
- Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets (2004)
- Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (Demo, 2008)
- Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints (DVD, 2009)
Overview
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 Photo of Amy Moore from the liner notes for Alone II When I first read Brian Wilson's autobiography, Wouldn't It Be Nice, in 1993, I strongly identified with the author's sense of self-doubt, creative struggles and passion for music. I particularly identified with his words, "My whole life, since I discovered music, has been about only one thing: about experiencing the sheer, pure, unencumbered, liberating happiness of the creative moment" (390). His words seemed to describe my life perfectly at the time. But now, fifteen years later, I see that my life has been about something else in addition to experiencing "the happiness of the creative moment." It's also been about learning how to achieve those creative moments. It's been about learning what to do... and what not to do. A year before I read Wilson's book, I had already postulated a few essential ingredients to a great song for me. A great song should have the aggressive performance style I had heard recently from the Pixies, Nirvana, and Sonic Youth. It should employ the soft-verse/loud-chorus song structure used in songs like "Gigantic" or "Teen Spirit." And it must have been a captivating lyrical subject. My best friend Justin told me a juicy new rumor about Amy Moore, a classmate of ours from high school. Apparently, Amy had stolen a car, sped off to New Orleans and gotten herself arrested. I couldn't believe it: Amy was one of the sweetest–not to mention prettiest–girls in our class. The story sounded like it was straight off a Sonic Youth album cover. Whether any part of it was true or not1, it stirred up some conflicting feelings in me. On the one hand, I wanted to live as Amy apparently had, following my impulses and blasting away at the feeling of in-authenticity in my life. On the other hand I wanted to live conservatively, to have a stable family and to keep my life structured so that I could get the most out of it. The conflict between my desires seemed to be the compelling subject I had needed, so I put it together along with the details of Amy's story in a song called "Paperface" (Track 14).
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"Paperface" was first recorded by Rivers Cuomo as a solo demo in May of 1992. This demo would later see release on the compilation album Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo in 2008. The song begins with Rivers singing, "Scratch track, momma, scratch track momma," possibly implying Cuomo meant to redo the vocal.
Later in 1992,[1] Weezer recorded the song for their second attempt at a demo (later dubbed The Kitchen Tape). The Kitchen Tape version was included on the Deluxe Edition of The Blue Album in 2004. The bridge featured in this version was later repurposed as the intro to the Weezer song "No One Else."[2] In 2009, Rivers Cuomo recorded an acoustic rendition of the song, with musician Joe LoPiccolo on guitar, for Sirius Satellite Radio. This version later appeared as a bonus track on the DVD release of Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints.
"Paperface" is known to have been performed live only a handful of times throughout 1992 before being retired. In 2023, Weezer played a concert at the Glass House in Pomona, California to try out potential songs for the band's then-forthcoming Indie Rock Road Trip tour. At this show, "Paperface" was performed live for the first time in more than thirty years (although it would not be played on the subsequent tour).
Known recordings
| Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
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| Rivers Cuomo | Paper Face | May 1992[1] | 3:21 | Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo | |||
| Weezer | Paperface | June 1992[1] | 2226 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA | Recorded practice | |||
| Weezer | Paperface | June 11, 1992[1] | 8121 Club, Los Angeles, CA | Live debut, acoustic performance, bootlegged by Karl Koch | |||
| Weezer | Paperface | July 18, 1992[1] | 8121 Club, Los Angeles, CA | Acoustic performance, bootlegged by Karl Koch | |||
| Weezer | Paperface | August 1992[1] | 2226 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA | 3:01 | |||
| Weezer | Paperface | August 12, 1992[1] | Coconut Teaszer, Los Angeles, CA | Live, bootlegged by Karl Koch | |||
| Weezer | Paperface | October 21, 1992(?)[1] | English Acid(?), Los Angeles, CA | Live, bootlegged by Karl Koch | |||
| Rivers Cuomo, Joe LoPiccolo | Paperface | 2009 | 3:15 | Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints (DVD) |
Live performances
- Weezer concert: 06/11/1992
- Weezer concert: 07/18/1992
- Weezer concert: 08/12/1992
- Weezer concert: 10/21/1992
- Weezer concert: 04/24/2023
Personnel
- Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
- Jason Cropper – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Matt Sharp – bass guitar
- Patrick Wilson – percussion
Audio
Lyrics
Rivers Cuomo demoAmy Moore blew her top |
Weezer demoAmy Moore blew her top |
