10 Perfect Rock Concept Albums

Coming off of Weezer's debut, it seemed like Rivers Cuomo wanted to solve all his problems once the money started rolling in. Fame doesn't always work out like that though, and the accompanying tour for the Blue Album turned into a bit of a hellish experience for the band, from the presidents of their fan club dying in a car accident to Rivers learning that his dreams were unattainable. That would do a number on anybody, and Pinkerton is practically the diary of a man who learned that all of his dreams are broken.

While there's no linear story on here by any stretch, a good portion of this album deals with Rivers getting more desensitized to the rock star lifestyle, from getting weary of the road warrior mentality on The Good Life to trying to find some sort of romantic connection on songs like No Other One and El Scorcho. Although there is a confessional nature to these songs, they aren't for everybody, originally reviewing very poorly because of just how gross some of the subject matter came across on songs like Across the Sea.

When you strip away the 'too much information' style of lyrics though, this is probably the most accurate self portrait that Rivers could have made, talking about how much more upset he is now that he learned what the rock star lifestyle really comes with. Pinkerton might have been the sound of Rivers' dreams coming true, but he probably didn't expect to be crushed underneath those dreams in the process.