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Paul Sprangers of Free Energy

1. Which song from Pinkerton is your favorite?
I used to listen to "Butterfly" over and over. And over. When he sings "I'm sorry," I could hear his heart, and that is so rare — especially from one of the coolest bands ever, you know? To hear and feel that vulnerability is completely striking.

2. Do you have a specific memory tied to listening to the album?
Well, for The Blue Album, I remember driving back to my high school parking lot from cross country practice. "The Sweater Song" was playing on the radio, and it blew my mind. My friend Carl told me they were called Weezer. It changed my life. I had never heard anything so melodic and heavy, but so loose and so smart. I remember buying Pinkerton as soon as it came out, taking it home and listening to it over and over again. I was confused by the tougher production at first, but quickly got into the melodies and big choruses. I understood they were pushing to try new things. I certainly didn't understand a lot of the lyrical content until I was older — being a nomad, tired of sex, etc.

3. Has Pinkerton, or Weezer in general, influenced your band at all?
Yeah, Pinkerton showed that Weezer was a real band attempting to grow and change. It was a more damaged record but just as special, ultimately. The fact that Weezer would take real creative risks after such success with The Blue Album was really very inspiring to my young self. [They were] just so obviously brilliant to me and my friends because they were unafraid to be funny. Like the Beastie Boys or Pavement, they weren't consumed with being taken seriously.

4. What are your thoughts on Weezer, circa 2010?
Just heard a big anthem off Hurley and thought it was awesome. I'm a bit out of the loop as far as new music, but I saw Weezer at the Reading Festival in the UK when we played there and thought they were awesome!

Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb the Music Industry!

1. Which song from Pinkerton is your favorite?
My favorite song is "Falling for You," and that's probably the one we played the worst when we covered it [at Silent Barn last month]. The chord structure is so interesting and unique. That's one of my favorite songs of all-time. I guess I'm in a very specific subset of people who can identify with feeling bad about being in love while feeling bad about being a shitty musician.

2. Do you have a specific memory tied to listening to the album?
I remember thinking Weezer were totally "played out" and "poseurs" â�‚��œcause the cool punks in my junior high school said so and made fun of me for liking them. Then I heard "El Scorcho" on the radio, and when it went into the punk beat I was like, "Oh, fuck these kids, I'm getting this record." Then like every 13-year-old, I was confused. It sounded disgusting. It had the effect on me In Utero was supposed to have. I put it away but for some reason kept coming back to it. The more rejection and heartbreak I went through the more I started realizing that sometimes music isn't just hooks, and aggression can happen at any speed. Itâ�‚��„�s the first of my "favorite all-time records."

3. Has Pinkerton, or Weezer in general, influenced your band at all?
The sound of Pinkerton is a really big influence on what we do. There are a million melodies happening at once, and it's so big, chaotic and gnarly. The loud parts are so loud, the quiet parts are so quiet. It has an amazing constant intensity while remaining dynamic. I wish I could someday pull that off.

4. What are your thoughts on Weezer, circa 2010?
It's really not my thing, but I was one of those millions of people frothing at the mouth and pleading on message boards for more Weezer after Pinkerton so I really can't complain about their return. Besides, everything those dudes did before The Green Album was perfect and still enjoyable on a regular basis. Most bands never get that.