The guitarist and vocalist Rivers Cuomo wrote most of Pinkerton while studying at Harvard University, after abandoning plans for a rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole.

To better capture their live sound, Weezer self-produced Pinkerton, creating a darker, more abrasive album than their self-titled 1994 debut.

The title comes from the character BF Pinkerton from Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly, whom Cuomo described as an "asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star".

Every night, after performing with Weezer, he listened to Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly; the "depth of emotion and sadness and tragedy" inspired him to go further with his music.

[6] In the same period, Cuomo applied to study classical composition at Harvard University with a letter describing his disillusionment with the rock lifestyle: "You will meet two hundred people every night, but each conversation will generally last approximately thirty seconds ... Then you will be alone again, in your motel room.

[4][9] In 1995, shortly before Cuomo left to study at Harvard, Weezer spent two weeks at New York City's Electric Lady Studios, where they had recorded their debut, and tracked the songs "Why Bother?

[13] To give the album a live, "raw" feel, Cuomo, the guitarist Brian Bell and the bassist, Matt Sharp, recorded their vocals in tandem around three microphones rather than overdubbing them separately.

[10][15] In January 1996, during Cuomo's winter break, Weezer regrouped for a two-week session at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, to complete the songs they had worked on in August.

And I think I was starting to become frustrated with my whole dream about purifying myself and trying to live like a monk or an intellectual and going to school and holding out for this perfect, ideal woman.

[37] Calling him an "asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star", Cuomo felt the character was "the perfect symbol for the part of myself that I am trying to come to terms with on this album".

[41] Lyrics from Madama Butterfly are printed on the Pinkerton CD in their original Italian: "Everywhere in the world, the roving Yankee takes his pleasure and his profit, indifferent to all risks.

He drops anchor at random..."[42] Behind the CD tray is a map with the title Isola della farfalla e penisola di cane (Italian for "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog").

[42] On the map are a ship named USS Pinkerton and "Mykel and Carli Island", alluding to Weezer's fan club founders, and the names of some of Cuomo's influences, including Howard Stern, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian Wilson, Lou Barlow, Joe Matt, Camille Paglia and Ace Frehley.

"[30] The "El Scorcho" video features Weezer playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures flashing in time to the music.

[49] The video for "The Good Life", directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, stars Mary Lynn Rajskub as a pizza delivery girl, and uses simultaneous camera angles appearing on screen as a fractured full image.

[51] Afterwards, they flew home to Los Angeles, where Wilson and Sharp made a promotional appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show Modern Rock Live.

[51] On November 6, they performed an acoustic set at Shorecrest High School in Seattle due to a contest won by a student.

[57] The Geffen spokesman Dennis Dennehy defended the title, arguing that it was a reference to Madama Butterfly and not aimed at "any sort of corporate entity".

[70][71] Jeff Gordinier of Entertainment Weekly deemed it "a collection of get-down party anthems for agoraphobics" and criticized Weezer's choice to self-produce, which he felt resulted in a "sloppy and raw" aesthetic inferior to the pop sound of their debut.

[61] In Rolling Stone, Rob O'Connor called Cuomo's songwriting "juvenile", and singled out "Tired of Sex" as "aimless".

However, he praised "Butterfly" as "a real treat, a gentle acoustic number that recalls the vintage, heartbreaking beauty of Big Star … suggesting that underneath the geeky teenager pose is an artist well on his way to maturity".

[73] Steve Appleford of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Pinkerton's songs often "are sloppy and awkward, but express a seemingly genuine, desperate search for sex and love".

[64] Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork wrote that "Pinkerton might actually be a bit much for fans who were wooed with the clean production and immediately accessible sound of these guys' debut, but if given a chance, it might surprise even some anti-Weezer folk".

[62] In another positive review, Dave Henderson of Q said that "on every tale of romance, delivered in perfect verse/chorus formula, you can see Jennifer Aniston giving it some attitude in the kitchen".

[85][86] A wave of mainstream emo bands including Jimmy Eat World, Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional and Motion City Soundtrack began citing it as an influence.

[17] Cuomo was initially uncomfortable with the development, and told Rolling Stone in 2001: "The most painful thing in my life these days is the cult around Pinkerton.

It's like getting really drunk at a party and spilling your guts in front of everyone and feeling incredibly great and cathartic about it, and then waking up the next morning and realizing what a complete fool you made of yourself.

[97] That year, Alana Levinson of the Guardian wrote that Pinkerton's "conversational, confessional" lyrics were appropriate in the age of social media.

[105] The reissue debuted at number six on the Billboard Catalog Albums chart[106] and achieved a perfect score on the aggregate review website Metacritic.

[107] In 2011, Cuomo published a book, The Pinkerton Diaries, which collects his writings from the era, including lyrics, studio notes, journals, emails, letters, and essays.