Pink Triangle (song)

"Pink Triangle" is a song by American rock band Weezer. As the only promotional single from the band's second studio album Pinkerton (1996), it was released to radio on May 20, 1997 by DGC Records. The song was written by Rivers Cuomo.

"Pink Triangle"
Promotional single by Weezer
from the album Pinkerton
Released	May 20, 1997
Recorded	September 1995 – June 1996
Genre	Emo[1][2] power pop[3] alternative rock
Length	3:58
Label	DGC
Songwriter(s)	Rivers Cuomo
Producer(s)	Weezer
Weezer singles chronology
"The Good Life" (1996) "Pink Triangle" (1997) "Hash Pipe" (2001)

Background

The song describes a man who falls in love with a woman with whom he imagines he could settle down and be married. However, he soon discovers that the object of his affection is a lesbian who possibly thinks that the man himself is gay.^[4] The song is based on a real person that Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo encountered while a student at Harvard, whom he fantasized a life with until he saw a pink triangle—a symbol used by the Nazis to label someone as gay, on her sleeve. According to Cuomo, a year and a half after the album was released he discovered that the woman was actually not a lesbian and had just been showing support for the gay community.^[5]

A promo single was sent to radio stations that also contained an acoustic version of the song recorded at Shorecrest High School in Seattle, Washington. The song received limited airplay and never charted and thus was deemed not to warrant a video.^[6] This would be the band's last single with bassist Matt Sharp before he left a year later.

In 2004, the band released its first DVD Video Capture Device, which features a video of the Shorecrest performance as well as a video cut by Weezer.com webmaster and longtime friend of the band Karl Koch that features footage shot by Jennifer Wilson, wife of Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson.

Composition

"Pink Triangle" is composed in the key of F♯ Major, however, has an unstable tempo, as the album was recorded without the use of a metronome.^[7]

Reception

Mark Beaumont of NME ranked "Pink Triangle" as Weezer's fifth best song.^[2] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club considered the song to be "less successful—musically and emotionally" compared to other songs on Pinkerton.^[8]

Track listing

Radio Station Promo CD

1. "Pink Triangle" (Remix) - 4:02
2. "Pink Triangle" (Live Acoustic) - 4:18

Live acoustic track is the same as on "The Good Life" OZ EP

Personnel

Weezer

• Rivers Cuomo – lead vocals, lead guitar, glockenspiel
• Patrick Wilson – drums
• Brian Bell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Matt Sharp – bass guitar

Additional Personnel

• Scott Riebling – bass guitar (remix only)

References

1. Cizmar, Martin (March 5, 2009). "10 Emo Songs That Don't Suck". Phoenix New Times.
2. Beaumont, Mark (August 24, 2017). "Weezer's 10 best songs". NME.
3. Jennifer, Eklund (December 7, 2020). "Pink Triangle [late intermediate]". musicnotes.com. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
4. Luerssen, John D. (2004). Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. Toronto, Canada: ECW Press. p. 196. ISBN 1-55022-619-3.
5. Gross, Terry (January 21, 2009). "Home Recordings from Weezer Frontman". Fresh Air from WHYY.
6. Luerssen, 2004 p. 232-235
7. Jennifer, Eklund (December 7, 2020). "Pink Triangle [late intermediate]". musicnotes.com. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
8. Modell, Josh (November 30, 2009). "Weezer's Pinkerton". The A.V. Club.