Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1992, consisting of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals). After signing to Geffen Records in 1993, Weezer released their debut self-titled album, also known as the "Blue Album", in 1994. Backed by successful music videos for the singles "Buddy Holly", "Undone - The Sweater Song" and "Say It Ain't So", the Blue Album became a quadruple-platinum success.

Weezer completed the Pinkerton tour in mid-1997 and went on hiatus. Wilson returned to his home in Portland, Oregon to work on his side project, the Special Goodness, and Bell worked on his band Space Twins. Sharp left Weezer to complete the follow-up album for his group the Rentals. He said of his departure from Weezer: "I don't really know how to speak on this because I don't know what should be kept private and what should be shared. I certainly have my view of it, as I'm sure everybody else has their sort of foggy things. When you have a group that doesn't communicate, you're going to have a whole lot of different stories."  Cuomo returned to Harvard but took a break to focus on songwriting. He formed a new band composed of a changing lineup of Boston musicians, and performed new material, including possible songs for the next Weezer album. Wilson eventually flew to Boston to join as Homie's drummer. The songs were abandoned, but live recordings of the Boston shows are traded on the internet.  In February 1998, Cuomo, Bell and Wilson reunited in Los Angeles to start work on the next Weezer album. Rumors suggest Sharp did not rejoin the band and left the group in April 1998, which Sharp denies. The group hired Mikey Welsh, who had played with Cuomo in Boston, as their new bassist. Weezer continued rehearsing and cut demos until the fall of 1998. Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and in late 1998, Wilson left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo. In November 1998, the band played two club shows with a substitute drummer in California under the name Goat Punishment, consisting entirely of covers of Nirvana and Oasis songs. In the months following, Cuomo entered a period of depression, painting the walls of his home black and putting fiberglass insulation over his windows to prevent light entering.

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