In an interview published by Guitar World on June 29, Rivers Cuomo discussed several topics, including the commercial success of the “Blue Album” and “Pinkerton’s” lack thereof. He explained that he and the rest of Weezer “didn’t intend” for “Pinkerton” to be a commercial flop, adding that they went for a heavier, grungier approach because they “were a little uncomfortable with the sound of our first record.”

Expounding on his earlier point, Cuomo said that the songs on the “Blue Album” weren’t representative of how they sounded back when they were trying to break out in the Los Angeles club scene. “We were much rougher and more aggressive — we weren’t meant to be this polished, major label alt-rock band,” he related. “So we kind of swung back the other way and produced the next record ourselves, and that was a lot more true to what we thought Weezer was supposed to be.”

In addition, Cuomo revealed that the “Blue Album” was largely informed by the stylistic change many L.A. bands underwent in the early ’90s. Once a metal musician like many of his contemporaries, Cuomo and his bandmates “all went from being metalheads to alternative guys” as they cut their hair, traded heavy riffing for lighter, catchier melodies, and headed to the studio to record their debut album. And what a debut it turned out to be, despite those initial misgivings about a cleaner, shinier sound.