Ongoing History Daily: Weezer’s Pinkerton lawsuit

Weezer’s second album is called Pinkerton and was released on September 24, 1996. However, the album ran into trouble almost immediately.

First of all, fans who were expecting more music in the style of the “Blue” album were disappointed.  Pinkerton was darker and rougher, probably because Rivers Cuomo wrote the material when he was undergoing his painful leg-lengthening treatment. It was originally a commercial disappointment.

Second, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was annoyed.  Even though Rivers named the record after a character in the Puccini opera, Mme Butterfuly, the Pinkerton people thought this was a trademark infringement and an attempt to capitalize on their worldwide reputation. They slapped Weezer with a court order, suspending sales of the album. Weezer’s label went to a higher court and had that order overturned, convincing a judge that the inspiration was the opera, not the detective agency.

One other thing: the album has since been re-evaluated.  Hardcore Weezer fans now say it’s among the band’s best records.