Music I Am Fond Of

So before Weezer recorded their second album, Pinkerton, they planned to record an entirely different and more ambitious album, Songs from the Black Hole. It was to be a space-themed alt-rock opera, chronicling the adventures of a bunch of twentysomething astronauts on a year-long mission in space. The space mission was a metaphor for Weezer touring as a suddenly huge band, and works as a reflection by Rivers Cuomo on how to live as a rock star as well as an awesome, sometimes anthemic record about space and relationships and fun.

For whatever reason, though, it was never professionally recorded or released, and it was considered a lost album. A few of the songs ended up becoming songs on Pinkerton, and a couple more resurfaced as B-Sides, but the majority of the album was lost. But then Rivers Cuomo started releasing a lot of his home demos of songs he’d never released, and eventually enough demos were made to release Songs from a Black Hole in its entirety. It’s definitely unpolished- Rivers never got to have most of the parts recorded by different singers, so most of the female parts are him using a falsetto. But even still, it’s an incredibly interesting and well-written look at what could have been. If it’d been released as planned, it would’ve been one of the most divisive and innovative concept albums of all time, and in my opinion, one of the best. But even still, it’s a great album, and a really worthy listen if you’re a Weezer fan. It comes recommended.

You can download the version of it I listen to here, though many of the songs are also available for purchase off of Cuomo’s Alone albums, which are also recommended.