Rivers Cuomo Bares Soul On Sound Opinions, Goes Punk

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 19, 2010 7:20PM

The weekend's episode of Sound Opinions features one of the best in-studio interview and performance we've ever heard on the program. Rivers Cuomo left Weezer behind for this one and entered the studio with Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis to give an astonishingly open interview about his past and the band he leads. He literally takes the listener through his development through the years, from the big bang of the band's debut, to his intention to create Pinkerton under the influence of bands like The Flaming Lips in hopes the "cool kids" would embrace it, to debunking the myth that "Beverly Hills" was written as an attempt to pander to the band's stadium rock-sized audiences. They cover just about every burning question you might have about the band, except for just what the heck he was thinking when he wrote "Love IsThe Answer." What was up with that?!

That in itself would make this episode a must-listen for most music fans, but Cuomo also allows DeRogatis and Kot to pick which songs he performs in the studio ... with the backing of the punk rock girls of The Cathy Santonies. Cuomo didn't practice with the band and he lays his vocals over their sped up raw readings of his catalog with enthusiastic abandon that actually works. In fact we're really hoping decent version all the songs from the live studio sessions eventually "leak" out because their infectious glee deserves regular play in any Weezer fan's personal set-list.

Listen to the whole thing go down on WBEZ tonight 8 p.m. or Saturday at 11 a.m., or any time after that through the show's website.