Rocktober '90s Song #12: "Tired of Sex" by Weezer (1996)

You know I couldn't do a Rocktober without a Weezer song, and while I love their self-titled debut album from 1994 (aka "The Blue Album") and think it's one of the best debut albums of the '90s, if not ever, you probably know all the songs on that one.  So, I'm going with what's probably my favorite Weezer song:  "Tired of Sex," the first song off of their 1996 album Pinkerton.

After the huge success of The Blue Album -- and songs like "Buddy Holly," "Undone (The Sweater Song)," and "Say It Ain't So" -- Weezer was primed for a successful follow-up, but what followed was a sophomore slump, at least at first.  

The band self-produced Pinkerton and tried to give it a more "raw" sound than the Blue Album.  Much of the album was written while lead singer and main songwriter Rivers Cuomo was going to Harvard after the success of the Blue Album.  The band recorded most of the album during Cuomo's breaks from college.

Pinkerton is a pile of pent-up frustration being unleashed on the world set against a catchy rock background.  The songs touch on loneliness, isolation, and the frustration and disillusionment of the rock and roll lifestyle.  There are songs about not wanting meaningless sex, the perils of relationships, not having the confidence to talk to a crush, getting dumped by a lesbian, and writing a song for a Japanese fan who sent Cuomo a letter, among others.  It's raw, it's emotional, and it's really fucking good.

For whatever reason, it was not well-received by the masses or the critics.  Released in September 1996, it peaked at #19 on the Billboard album charts in mid-October 1996 and had dropped out of the Billboard 200 by the end of January 1997, and it had dropped out of the top 200.  None of the singles charted on the Billboard Hot 100.  Rolling Stone voted it the third worst album of 1996.  The reaction to the album was so bad that the band broke up for nearly five years after the tour supporting Pinkerton, and Cuomo was embarrassed by the album for many years.

Then fans started to discover Pinkerton, and it became a cult and retroactively critical hit.  In a 2002 Rolling Stone reader poll of the 100 best albums of all-time, Pinkerton came it at #16, ahead of albums like Pet Sounds, Rubber Soul, Born to Run, and Sticky Fingers.  In 2003, Pitchfork ranked Pinkerton #53 on its best albums of the '90s list, and in 2010, Rolling Stone put it at #48 on a similar list. In 2004, Rolling Stone added the album to its "Rolling Stone Hall of Fame."

As I mentioned above, "Tired of Sex" kicks the album off, and it starts with guitar feedback, followed by some bang-bang thumps from drummer Patrick Wilson and fuzzy bass from Matt Sharp, along with some keyboards.  Then you hear Cuomo sing "I'm tired / So tired / I'm tired of having sex."  Wait, what?  That's like the least rock star thing anyone could every write, but then again, Rivers Cuomo is a beautiful enigma.  Then after ratting off all the ladies he's banging, he asks "Why can't I be making love come true?" before letting out a primal scream. Then he belts out the next verse and chorus, which is followed up by a short but sweet guitar solo.  I can honestly say that I one day hope to be in a situation where I can say that I'm tired of having sex.  Until then, I'll just blast this song whenever I hear it.