Weezer’s first album, “The Blue Album,” was a multi-platinum success.
I liked it very much.
The record industry expected their second album, “Pinkerton,” to perform similarly, but when it was released, it received mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone magazine gave it 3 out of 5 stars, and later that year, it was voted the third-worst album of the year by Rolling Stone readers.
Despite the poor reviews, the album sold steadily over the years, thanks mostly to word-of-mouth on the internet.
In 2002, six years after the original release, “Pinkerton” was voted the 16th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone readers. The magazine reviewed the album again and awarded it five stars.
Lessons to be learned from this:
1. Great art will ultimately be recognized as great over time, so do not despair if your creation has not received the attention that it deserves. Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, and Vincent Van Gogh are perfect examples of this.
a. A corollary to the first possible lesson: If your art is going to ultimately be recognized as great, it’s best when it happens while you are still alive, unlike Melville and Poe or Van Gogh.
2. The public is a fickle mass of mindless ninnies who can love something one day and despise it the next, so artists should not invest too much time or energy in public opinion.
3. Critics are a fickle mass of mindless ninnies whose expert opinions are easily swayed by the public, so artists should not invest too much time or energy in their opinions.
4. It’s best to produce an artistic flop in the age of the internet, when small tribes of like-minded people can more easily gather, exchange, and spread information. The internet is the place where art can be given a second chance.
5. Just keep making your thing, regardless of the reception it receives. Your painting, poem, recipe for chicken soup, and song might not be appreciated at the moment of release, but we have no control over that. We do, however, have control over how often we work and how much effort we put in each day. Control what you can control. Leave the rest to the fickle ninnies.
