Come To My Pod: A Look Inside weezer’s Ill-fated Rock Opera Songs From The Black Hole

My first post is the first article/interview I wrote. Much of the information is outdated and/or has been proven to be plain wrong. I'll fix that as I go. It should be noted that not only have we now heard most of the demos for SFTBH (and at least one version of all known songs), we have also now read The Pinkerton Diaries, in which Rivers Cuomo has published many of his original notes for SFTBH. In this sense, much of this article is moot. I wanted to post it (and its follow-ups) here to preserve the feelings it captured in 2005 (and slightly beyond).

Come To My Pod: A Look Inside weezer’s Ill-fated Rock Opera Songs From The Black Hole

By: Mike Young

Originally published July 15, 2005 on the defunct "SFTBH Pod" message board.

Since their first album in 1994, weezer has had an interesting history, to say the least. In short, they have been popular, maligned, forgotten, and popular again. Lost inside this short description are many interesting details, especially about Rivers Cuomo, weezer’s lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter. One detail which has been lost on the mainstream culture surrounding him is the fact that he wrote and recorded songs intended for a rock opera set in space, called Songs From The Black Hole, an album which he failed to complete before moving on to what is now known as Pinkerton. This article will outline weezer’s history while placing Songs From The Black Hole into its proper place alongside weezer’s more celebrated works. It will then outline how the Songs From The Black Hole legend grew. Finally, thanks to correspondence with Karl Koch, many unclear details surrounding Songs From The Black Hole will be brought to light for the first time.

 On May 10, 1994, weezer released their self-titled debut album and quickly became a mainstream success. Riding high on the popularity of the singles “Undone (the Sweater Song)” and “Buddy Holly” (whose Spike Jonze-directed videos were extremely marketable), the band quickly earned a reputation for being a fun, geeky, quirky, post-grunge pop band with a leaning towards heavy metal. Their leader singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter Rivers Cuomo had a knack for strong melodies as well as the ability to write interesting lyrics to match them. The ten song album was surprisingly strong for a debut, with several outstanding compositions, including “No One Else” and “Holiday.” Under the guiding hand of producer Ric Ocasek, who helped give them their radio-friendly sound, the band was able to hit the big time. This newfound success did not hinder Rivers’ songwriting, however, and more ambitious projects lay ahead.

Prior to the release of weezer, Rivers had begun writing and recording new songs on his 8-track, including “NegativLand,” “Waiting on You,” “I’m Tired of Having Sex,” “Gitchoo,” “Why Bother?” and “Longtime Sunshine.” This ethos of writing continued after the release of weezer as Rivers used the time between tours to come up with “There Is No Other One,” “Proto-Devotion,” and “Devotion” in July 1994. After a very busy summer and fall, weezer took a break for Christmas. On weezer’s website it is written: “Over Christmas break, Rivers worked feverishly on writing, and recording 8-track demos at home in Connecticut, and emerged with a ‘mock-up’ demo of what he was starting to envision as weezer’s next album. Influenced by musicals, operas, and ‘rock-operas’, Songs From The Black Hole was an ambitious concept album idea.” Rivers was riding high the success of his band, and it came through in his songwriting, as he was taking risks and becoming more inventive with his music. The time off allowed him to focus his efforts on Songs From The Black Hole and really craft it into something special.

The notion of a band doing something so outlandish for a second album was quite striking, especially immediately following a hit debut album on a major label. Rivers continued to work on this project every chance he got. During a holdover in Hamburg, Germany in February 1995, Rivers rented some studio time and recorded the song he had started as “NegativLand,” now known as “Blast Off!” For the first half of the year, the band discussed the logistics behind the album and whether it was even possible to pull it off.  As the band began to do proper studio versions of some of the tracks for Songs From The Black Hole, Rivers started to question the direction and feel of the project.

In the fall, he enrolled at Harvard University and continued to tinker with the album. He wrote new songs for the concept to replace some of the songs from his early 1995 tracklist. He compiled a tape of a second tracklist featuring these new songs, but the completed album was not to be. At some point during the fall of 1995, his songwriting focus had changed and he was exploring new themes outside of Songs From The Black Hole with such songs as “El Scorcho” and “Pink Triangle.” By the end of 1995/beginning of 1996, he had given up on Songs From The Black Hole. During the spring of 1996, Rivers returned to the band with a new concept and a new set of songs, including “Falling for You,” “Across the Sea,” and “Butterfly,” to fill out the second weezer album.

As the story goes, weezer decided to self-produce their second album, Pinkerton. The album proved to be a commercial disappointment. The sheen that Ric Ocasek used so well on weezer was gone in favour of shouted vocals, squealing guitar feedback, and loose, pounding drums. For whatever reason, the teeming masses that lapped up weezer didn’t pick up on the lead single “El Scorcho” and the album failed to stay in the charts long enough for the follow-up single, “The Good Life,” to make a large impression.

Despite its lack of commercial success, Pinkerton was still a very strong album. The lyrics were more to the point, embarrassingly confessional, yet poetic. The melodies were still as grand as ever, with songs such as “Across the Sea,” “Pink Triangle,” and “Falling for You” matching (or surpassing) anything on the debut. The great songwriting didn’t stop on the album, however. The b-sides to both “El Scorcho” and “The Good Life,” proved that weezer could do no wrong at this time, at least musically. Unbeknownst to the public at the time, many of these songs had been part of the scrapped rock opera.

In the years between Pinkerton and its follow-up, another self-titled release in 2001 (aka The Green Album), weezer’s fan community grew to love weezer and Pinkerton more and more, to the point where it was rabid with anticipation for a weezer comeback. After the departure of original bassist Matt Sharp, who was replaced by Mikey Welsh, the new album came in May 2001. As with the debut, The Green Album was produced by Ric Ocasek, with similar results. It was a new era in alternative music, and the sound of the album reflected that. With two more hit singles (“Hash Pipe” and “Island in the Sun” and their accompanying ‘quirky’ videos), weezer reclaimed their original claim to fame as a geeky, good-time, summer power pop band.

Rivers Cuomo’s songwriting style had changed dramatically between Pinkerton and The Green Album. His songs were tighter and more focused on a single motif. They were straight-ahead pop songs with seemingly banal lyrics. In a way, they were perfect pop songs; so perfect, in fact, that the album seemed to lack the character of the first two albums. Whether this new style was intended as an intentional turnaround from the established weezer ethos, ironically in order to recapture their past glory, or whether it was just what Rivers was into at the time (he had purposefully become a songwriting machine, churning out song after song, day after day) is still somewhat of a mystery.

After their regained success, weezer went right back into the studio to record their next album, which was also self-produced. Scott Shriner had stepped in to replace Mikey Welsh, who was let go by the band due to personal issues. Released in May 2002, Maladroit was the product of Rivers wanting to churn out albums in rapid succession like The Beatles had done in the 1960s. The album was also an interesting experiment in fan participation, as the album was routinely posted on the band’s website, weezer.com, as a work in progress, with various versions of the newly-recorded songs popping up every few days. The fans would then discuss what they liked and didn’t like about the songs on the band’s official message board and other related boards. Ultimately, the album proved to be a disappointment for all involved, though it did contain a hit single and video with “Keep Fishin’.” The elder fan community was clamouring for a return to the form of the 1990s weezer that it had grown to love so passionately. Little did they know that their hopes would be fulfilled with a “Blast” from the past.

It was during the end of 2001 and beginning of 2002 that several old recordings done by Rivers Cuomo and/or weezer were made available to the public in mp3 format. Among them were several songs that were written during the period from before the debut album up to the release of Pinkerton. These songs included “Blast Off!,” “Come to My Pod,” “Oh No, This is Not For Me,” “Longtime Sunshine,” and the original demo of “Tired of Sex,” which had come out as the leadoff track to Pinkerton. These songs all had the distinction of being a part of the aborted space rock opera titled Songs From The Black Hole.

Immediately these songs were hailed as ‘classic weezer,’ especially “Blast Off!” and “Longtime Sunshine.” The shifting dynamics, the strong singing, the interesting melodies and lyrics, and the overall sound all hearkened back to the ‘good old days.’ The recordings were primarily the 8-track demos recorded by Rivers in 1994 and 1995. It was revealed that, in addition to these songs, several of the Pinkerton songs and b-sides were also intended to be part of the rock opera. weezer’s history had just gotten a lot more interesting.

weezer’s official website provided a wealth of information courtesy of band friend/historian/webmaster Karl Koch. In the ‘info’ section of the site, he listed all of the recorded songs intended for Songs From The Black Hole, including the two track listings that Rivers had compiled at different points during the project:

Tracklist 1:

1. Blast Off!

2. You Won’t Get With Me Tonite

3. Maria’s Theme

4. Come to My Pod

5. This Is Not For Me

6. Tired of Sex

7. Superfriend

8. She’s Had A Girl

9. Good News!

10. Now I Finally See

11. Getchoo

12. I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams

13. No Other One

14. Devotion

15. What Is This I Find?

16. Longtime Sunshine

17. Longtime Sunshine Reprise

Tracklist 2:

1. Blast Off!

2. Who You Callin’ Bitch?

3. Oh Jonas

4. Please Remember

5. Come to My Pod

6. Oh No, This Is Not For Me

7. Tired of Sex

8. She’s Had A Girl

9. Dude, We’re Finally Landing

10. Now I Finally See

11. I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams

12. Lisa

13. Superfriend

14. Superfriend Reprise

15. You Won’t Get With Me Tonight

16. What Is This I Find?

The songs from Tracklist 1 available on Pinkerton were “Getchoo,” “No Other One,” and “Tired of Sex.” The b-sides “Devotion” and “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” were also included. Of these, the outstanding “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” was the most important song. It featured a guest singer, Rachel Haden, singing lead vocals because the song was written from the perspective of a female character. This showcased the depth of the characters involved in the album, as well as the overall sound of a hypothetical completed SFTBH, including the extensive use of an analog synthesizer, the Electrocomp 101.

Once the weezer fan community caught wind of the existence of these demo recordings, not to mention its appetite having been whetted by the release of part of SFTBH, it cried out for the remaining recordings. For one reason or another, the flow of rarities had stopped, however, and no new SFTBH recordings were made available. The song that many fans wanted to hear the most was “Superfriend,” as it was said to be one of Karl’s favourite weezer songs. From here on out, fans would have to work with the song titles and the lyrics of the songs they did have in order to piece together and decipher the story in the rock opera.

In May 2003, it was announced that “Superfriend” would be released on a Buddyhead compilation called Gimme Skelter. As fan excitement rose during the build-up to the CD’s release, a curve was thrown into the works: the Buddyhead staff had decided that the song “You Won’t Get with Me Tonight” would be a better song for the compilation and they made the switch. Though there was disappointment in not getting “Superfriend,” the prospect of getting a new SFTBH recording was still too exciting to pass up. In September 2003, the song was ‘leaked’ from the compilation and the fans had a new piece of the puzzle. The release was greeted with much enthusiasm, as yet another ‘classic’ weezer song had been made available. It also cemented the legend of SFTBH, which continued to grow each day as more weezer fans discovered it.

The Buddyhead CD was officially released in October, 2003. The booklet contained detailed notes, written by Karl. “This track was written and recorded by Rivers as a home demo in early 1995, and was intended for the second weezer album. At the time, the second album was to be called Songs From The Black Hole and was intended to be a ‘space opera,’ along the lines of Tommy or Jesus Christ Superstar,” he wrote. “The song lyrics may seem confusing, but what must be understood is that there are 2 different characters here, one male and one female, and that on this demo, Rivers is singing both parts. The song is really a conversation between two characters.”

This new song really opened the floodgates as far as the storyline was concerned, as the dialogue tied together what was happening in “Blast Off!” to the next set of songs starting with “Come to My Pod” (on Tracklist 1).

The next major announcement came at the end of 2003, when it was known that Karl was putting together a DVD of weezer’s history up to that point. The DVD would contain previously unreleased footage of the making of weezer’s albums, weezer on tour, and some performances of songs that had been unheard up to that point. One of the songs was going to be “Superfriend.”

When the DVD was released in March 2004, fans couldn’t wait to hear the “great lost weezer song.” What they heard confused, frustrated, awed, and puzzled them. It turned out that the footage of “Superfriend” was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, when weezer were recording what became Pinkerton. The footage was shot from inside the booth looking into the studio where the band was playing the song live. The sound heard in the booth was inconsistent, as the engineer at the session was working the mixing board as the band played. Vocals came in and left, drums drowned everything out, and then, most frustratingly, the phone rang in the studio, and the song was drowned out by a conversation. The only thing that could be clearly heard was the chorus:

Pain, pain, go away

Come again another day

I’ve got a friend tonight

A superfriend to make things right

Needless to say, the fans who wanted to hear “Superfriend” were disappointed in not getting a good-quality version of the track. The DVD version of “Superfriend” has contributed to the myth of SFTBH without providing any real insight. Since then, no more SFTBH material has surfaced. weezer released its fifth album, Make Believe, in May 2005.

After over a year of SFTBH inactivity, the fans were starting to think that the chances of the remaining SFTBH tracks being released were diminishing, even though interest was as high as ever. In the search for more information about SFTBH in general, this writer found himself in correspondence with Karl himself, discussing many long-pondered details. Here are the results:

MY: Hi Karl, I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of 8-track
Rivers was using to record his home demos in 1994/1995.

KK: Tascam Midistudio 688. It was black and had the flip up panel at the top with the LEDs showing the levels. It was the midi version of the 488 I believe. Not like we ever touched the midi part.

MY: I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being 'interviewed' about SFTBH for our 'SFTBH Pod' message board that a few of us have created.

KK: I’d be happy to answer a few questions via email, send ‘em over.

MY: There are several characters. I know Jonas (Rivers), Lisa (Rachel Haden), and Maria (Joan Wasser), but I would like to know more about other characters. Who is Jonas' friend in “Blast Off!” and who would have 'played' him?

KK: I don’t know the name, but it’s a weird name, and I think it’s said in both “Blast Off!” and “YWGWMT” [“You Won’t Get with Me Tonight”], and I’m assuming it would have been Brian [Note: This is Brian Bell, weezer’s second guitarist]. In the 8/95 Electric Lady version, Brian does the other guy's lines.

MY: Also, does the robot from “Blast Off!” have a name (M1?)

KK: M1 is the name, no idea who would have played him. Rivers with a vocoder, heh heh. In the 8/95 version mentioned above, the M1 part has been removed/replaced with a new bridge part that then falls apart and the song ends.

MY: Of the SFTBH songs that were released on Pinkerton, would any of them have been duets, or songs sung from other characters' point of view (not Jonas’)?

KK: I don’t think so, which I think is why they were ‘ok’ to adapt for Pinkerton.

MY: Some of the Ft. Apache Pinkerton demos [September 1995] have different lyrics from the final released versions. Are these alternate lyrics the SFTBH lyrics?

KK: Can’t say for sure, but that’s likely, as at that point it wasn’t Pinkerton yet.

MY: Of the songs we have not heard, do any of them share musical themes with the later songs from Pinkerton (“Across the Sea” through to “Butterfly”)?

KK: As far as I recall they are all independent compositions with no shared musical parts that you’d recognize.

MY: The released version of “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” appears to be the best example of a fully realized SFTBH track, as it is synth-heavy and features Rachel singing as Lisa. Is the released version of this song a close representation of Rivers' ideal vision (production aesthetic) for SFTBH?

KK: Pretty sure, yes.

MY: Do the different tracklists reflect different stories (as far as the full plot of SFTBH goes)? Are these stories complete (i.e., could there be more to them)?

KK: No I think the earlier tracklist was incomplete, and things had been re-jiggered to something closer to the final deal by the second tracklist (i.e., whatever list matches that jpeg that surfaced of the archive CD) [Note: This can be seen on sftbh.com]. I really don’t think it was ever considered finished, but it’s totally possible that the songs we know of represent all the songs that were intended for the story/album. Both lists clocked in at under 30 min total, so it’s likely there was going to be more bridge material (instrumental) to link things together and fill it out. When you listen to the demos in order, it’s like a rock opera on fast forward – you’re left going "wait - this story is totally moving along too fast! Slow down!"

MY: Are there any alternate versions of songs that we have already heard? I know of “NegativLand,” and I assume that there are SFTBH (8-track) demos of the Pinkerton-era songs... Are there any more alternate versions?

KK: Whatever I know is in the recording history, including 'prototypes' etc.

Note that there are references on pages besides the 'black hole' page of the recording history

[Note: http://weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist1.htm – SFTBH is primarily on Page 7].

MY: Are any of the songs we haven't heard instrumentals?

KK: Everything’s got lyrics, but some of them are very short and only have a few lines, tops.

MY: The lyrics for “You Won’t Get With Me Tonight” are intelligible except for two lines:

So pissed at those boys

Let me comfort you and hold your hand.

Especially that ????

Acting like he knows he's got a ????

I know his type; you're safe with me for a while

But that don't mean I'll get with you tonight

Can you enlighten me as to what those lines should be? There's a theory that the first ???? refers to Jonas' friend (see the first question) so it would be nice to know what is being said.

KK: Especially that "Danno"

(I really can’t recall. This is likely the same weird-ass name as heard in “Blast Off!” at the end of the first verse – “oh, Juanie Danno” is my best guess at that - its weird...)

Acting like he knows he's got a big thing

(I think)

EDIT/CORRECTION:

New data!!!! Latebreaking!

It's "Oh, Wuan and Dono" (possibly Donno) (w/ accent mark over the last 'o') = 2 characters. One to be played by Matt the other Brian (not sure which is which)

Wuan pronounced Juan. All names in story vaguely hispanic, yet 'futuristic/distant galaxy' style (kinda the way Star Wars names are 'different' yet familiar, like 'skywalker', etc)

M1 was to be played by me!! hahahahaha i forgot this entirely.

MY: Another member of the board has made a guess as to the lyrics for Superfriend based on the DVD clip. He wrote:

Someday, [we'll meet again]

I could try and [get] back [with her]

If only I could realise that now

??????

??? "penin"

Save me seats for the [opera]

You can show your [will] to me

[Just] close your eyes and kill [Lisa's light]

Pain pain go away

Come again, another day

I got a friend tonight, a superfriend

To make things right

KK: Note, these [the first set] are the second verse. The DVD footage, though it appears that it goes from the beginning of the song, does not. For some reason that run-through that I happened to film started part way into the song, I don’t know why. Or rivers was already altering the song, or just experimenting. The demo has a full verse and chorus before the part you see in the DVD.

Person 1 (assumed to be Jonas):

Turn away from weakness

Turn to something better

Show me how to live right

I never noticed you

Now I worship you

Person 2 (female, presumably):

Don’t be talking silly

Save deceits for the young girls

You can talk for real to me

Close your eyes

And leave the lies

Correct chorus

This song is basically Jonas (?) and a female (??), discussing stuff. Jonas (?) in the 1st verse (which you don’t have) is deriding himself for giving into sexual desire with a girl he’s not really into. The other person (female I’m assuming) is reinforcing this - i.e. don’t lead her on, you are capable of better. As we see in the second verse now Jonas (?) is now suddenly 'worshipping' this other person (female I’m assuming), who tells him to chill and just get real.

MY: One reason I am so interested in SFTBH is the story development that I have heard so far (the songs are great, of course). I have made a guess as to the plot for each song. Could you help me with some of the songs we haven't heard?

KK: I’m not going to be much help, as you’ll see. But for the most part I don’t think you are far off...

MY: For Tracklist 1:

1. Blast Off! - We hear that Jonas slept with Maria in the academy

2. You Won't Get With Me Tonight - Jonas tells Maria that he won't sleep with her

3. Maria's Theme/Oh Jonas - ?Monologue from Maria explaining how she loves Jonas?

KK: Pretty sure.

4. Come to My Pod - Maria convinces Jonas to get with her tonight

5. This Is Not For Me - Jonas realizes he can't do it

6. Tired of Sex - Jonas realizes he wants love, not sex

7. Superfriend - ?Jonas tries to get with Lisa?

KK: Possibly. See above - somebody wants to get with someone he knows he shouldn’t

8. She's Had a Girl - ?Either Lisa or Maria gives birth or one of them is a lesbian?

KK: Somebody gives birth, Jonas's kid. No lesbian activity.

9. Good News!/Dude, We're Finally Landing - ?The ship has made it?

KK: Yes

10. Now I Finally See - ?Someone realizes the truth about someone else...?

KK: ‘Now I finally see what it is I want’ is the first lyric from this one. This lyric is reprised from the end of “She’s Had a Girl.” It’s musically similar to “Devotion”

11. Getchoo - ?Lisa burns Jonas, just like Jonas did Maria?

KK: Possibly/probably

12. I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams - ?Lisa realizes she made a mistake - did she have a love back home and cheated on him/her with Jonas?

KK: Possibly

13. No Other One - ?Jonas realizes that Maria's all he's got, even if she's bad for him?

KK: Possibly

14. Devotion - ?Jonas settles for Maria, whom he thinks loves him?

KK: Possibly

15. What Is This I Find? - ?A twist in the story - Jonas does not end up with Maria, but why?

KK: This is about some package that was discovered opened. “I wonder which of us best of friends opened and used it?”

16. Longtime Sunshine - Jonas is filled with regret and longs to go home or even die

KK: Seems logical.

MY: Can you clarify the meaning of She's Had a Girl?

KK: Somebody definitely has a baby, that’s for sure, and I guess Jonas is the father. Honestly, I’ve never seen the lyrics nor heard detailed explanations from Rivers, (not since 1995 anyway), so I don’t know how much I can help you with this. As indicated above, many of your guesses wouldn’t surprise me if they were correct - they don’t sound 'off' to me.

MY: Does ‘Danno’ at any point in the story hook up with Maria (or even Lisa)? It would be an interesting twist, I think. The “Blast Off!” lyrics are somewhat ambiguous as to who says what (at least in the Hamburg copy we have) because there's no panning like on “YWGWMT” or pitch-shifting/falsetto since it's all male. You mentioned a later version with Brian singing ‘Danno's’ parts. Could you clarify who says what? (I understand that the version with Brian singing is a different structure, but maybe you can help, anyway) [Note: I sent Karl the lyrics from sftbh.com]

KK:

Rivers (Jonas?):
Blast off! Up to the stars we go
And leave behind everything I used to know
Somebody's giving me a whole lot of money to do what I think I want to

So why am I still feeling blue?
Oh what a time though

(Note: this is the lyric I think really is addressing the other character, i.e., ‘Danno’, like “Oh, (something) Danno,” or a full name that’s really weird, “Oh, Juan Danno” or something)

Brian (other dude ('Danno'?)):
Goddamn, get your head out of your hands.
Here's to all the times we're gonna have.
Cooped up for a year with the two best-looking babes I've
seen all year Get me another bottle of beer

'Cos I'm feeling fine

Both in harmony:
Go ahead, waste your head
We've got the time. I hope you don't object if I speak my mind

Then it goes into a bridge section that sounds like it was just being written, it breaks down part way into it, and the recording ends.

Continuing along with the demo...

M1:
Don't forget the purpose of the mission

Or Nomis will be swallowed by its sun
Each one of you is a top graduate of the Star Corps Academy
It's up to you reach for a dream

[indecipherable]

*in my opinion*, this next part would have been Brian’s:

Go ahead and waste your life
I'm still in fear (I think this line is really “with silly fears” or something - Brian/'Danno' would not show any fear in my opinion)
I hope you don't object if I
Crack another beer

This next part seems to be Jonas, sort of to himself now (remember, that in operas/musicals, you cant assume all the "conversations" are with other characters, there could be parts that the person addresses the audience or 'talks to himself') - or you might be right, it could be a trade off every line...? Good theory, but there’s no way to know this.

Hold on, who is it here that I see?
Wasn't she a she a favorite bitch in the Academy?
I don't know if I wanna lead on this woman

You know I've done that before
She's actually a good girl
Or at least a cheap ho...

Who you....

Here I’m a little stumped - it goes right into “Who You Callin’ Bitch,” which is also a conversation, but one voice on the demo is 'sped up', implying it represents a girl character. It segues so fast that I’m not sure who’s supposed to be 'present' on stage for it. I forget what’s 'said' exactly though. I recall it’s a debate, I think the girl is sort of defending the guy who called her a bitch! UNLESS I’m remembering it wrong - which is entirely possible.

Also I wouldn’t accept 'Danno' as a real character name - I'd keep it in quotes as a 'placeholder' for whatever the real name is. Only Rivers knows the real name, unless Matt or Brian happens to remember it.

MY: So do you think that there's a possible storyline involving 'Danno' and one of the other girls? Based on what you said about the last verse, you seem to not know... I was hoping that there would be something more explicit, maybe in a later, unheard song (later on the album, I mean).

KK: I honestly just don’t know. Only Rivers had the story in his head.

MY: Does the plot with Nomis and the sun ever pop up again (maybe in “Dude, We're Finally Landing”) or does it just disappear around the personal conflict on board the ship?

KK: As far as I know, no. Really, the SFTBH is still woefully incomplete, in my opinion, for a rock opera. I mean it’s like 27 minutes long. I think if Rivers had kept working on it, it would have addressed that Nomis plot and many more topics. Calling it finished or complete I think is a major error - even though the whole (character) story arc is apparently addressed in what exists.

MY: I assume you're talking about the Tracklist 2 version of the album. I have made a 'fan mix' of the songs from Tracklist 1 (using the Pinkerton versions of those songs) and that totals 24 mins without “Superfriend,” which, based on the DVD, is probably upwards of 4 minutes. Would it be fair to say that Tracklist 1 is a more 'complete' version of SFTBH and Tracklist 2 is only part of the story? I got the impression reading the two tracklists that #2 was only half of the story, especially based on the placement of “YWGWMT” and the seeming non-resolution given by “What Is This I Find?”... Would this be accurate?

KK: I believe so, yes.

MY: Since you say SFTBH is incomplete, I'd like to know if it was ever actually pitched to Geffen [weezer’s record company] as an idea for the 2nd album or if it was replaced by Pinkerton before even making it that far. Do you know at what point SFTBH officially 'died'? The Recording History seems to indicate that SFTBH was still around in fall 1995 but gone by January 1996. I guess while at Harvard Rivers decided to quit working on Tracklist 2 and he just scrapped most of it in favour of the new Pinkerton material? This would explain why it's woefully incomplete. Have I got this right?

KK: Yeah, exactly. Once Rivers was at Harvard, Black Hole faded away and Pinkerton came into being. But it took the whole school year. The January '96 sessions (after one semester) were no longer considered for Black Hole, but the Pinkerton concept was not revealed yet. By spring break, the remaining Pinkerton-centric songs (like “Falling for You,” “Butterfly,” etc.) were locked in and Black Hole was already a distant, abandoned memory.

There was never a pitch of Black Hole to Geffen. Rivers and the band knew of Black Hole but didn’t tell anyone yet - or if they did tell Todd Sullivan, their A&R guy, he never spread the part about the rock opera (very weird for a band with 1 album) plans to his superiors, and was likely very relieved when he learned they weren’t going to do a rock opera.

MY: I would like to thank Karl for his generous contribution, time and effort in dealing with me for the sake of this article.

-End Interview-

The implications of the information published in this interview for the first time, such as the lyrics to “Superfriend” and the details about the unheard songs, will truly be felt once the weezer fan community learns about it and discusses it. The ultimate purpose of this article was to raise awareness of Rivers Cuomo’s lost work and inform the world of what it was missing in one of the modern era’s most masterful songwriters’ most ambitious project. Songs From The Black Hole was written at a time in Rivers’ life where he was possibly his most inspired, creative, and skilled at his craft. The fact that this music does exist on tape means that there is hope that we may one day hear it and enjoy it.