In Defense of Across the Sea

[@nsiderultimaseth]

Across the Sea isn't about "I wonder how you touch yourself." It's about "As if I could live off words and dreams and a million screams, oh how I need a hand in mine to feel."

[@Onionok]

literally my favorite part of the song, probably why it’s my favorite song in the album actually…

[@thetakeoverthebreaksover]

EXACTLY

[@snot22]

EXACTLY.

[@psxfoxhound]

“I don’t read fan mail anymore. It’s too weird. For a while there, it felt like I didn’t have any real friends. All I had were fans, and I just sit around all day reading fan mail, and now I feel like that’s not a good kind of relationship to have. I wanna have normal relationships with real people that I can see and touch” - Rivers Cuomo 2001 Rivers is fully aware that falling in love with the young girl in Across the Seas is wrong; that’s not what the song is about. The song is about loneliness, social isolation, social anxiety, not being able to talk to people. Living the life of a rockstar and being unable to connect with people as a result. Just as another commentator mentioned, the song is about “As if I could live off words and dreams and a million screams, oh how I need a hand in mine to feel”. I think it’s totally valid to be grossed out by the lyrics in this song, but I think people focus too much on the “I wonder how you touch yourself” aspect of the song when it’s not really what discussion around this song should mainly be about. We could have really productive conversations about some of the topics I listed above instead.

[@CZsWorld]

I'll try to keep this civil but if you don't like this song, drink my blood.

[@milesforeman6537]

A Todd original

[@isthatallowed2887]

Gladly will

[@curly_wyn]

And why do you of all people like this song? It’s creepy as hell and morally questionable to say the least.

[@dordbird]

I know I'm a year late but I was not expecting to see you here lol, across the sea rocks tho

[@mauswaffles]

@@milesforeman6537 "well if you DO wanna get back together with me, ya know where to find me!"

[@skimmington]

Across the Sea is by far my favorite Weezer song and I am so wonderfully surprised to see this from you

[@AlexSeibel]

i had the same thoughts! tysm tectonic!

[@MattRanks]

Nice pfp

[@stapletong]

nice pfp

[@weezerautomatic1fan]

nice pfp

[@dichts]

Nice pfp

[@computeredfemale]

at first yeah of course its creepy because its talking about uncomfortable emotions that we usually dont like to talk about. for me its about being so lonely youd accept attention from anybody even a random person(fan) you dont know, even if you know its not right, because youre just that starved for love. its a beautiful sincere song and very complex. i think anybody can relate to this song to a degree and not just males like some comments suggest.

[@curly_wyn]

Finding young teenage Japanese girls attractive is not normal, chief.

[@computeredfemale]

@@curly_wynit not being normal is literally the point of the song. The only reason why he’s attracted to the girl in the letter is because he’s lonely. What people relate to is that loneliness. Im a teenage girl myself and even i can relate to that. Personally i dont think this song views his attraction as a good, normal, or healthy sexual or emotional desire, at least not the teenage part(i at least dont). The japanese thing is something i wont even try to defend though, its definitely an odd fixation.

[@curly_wyn]

@@computeredfemale Well, that doesn’t make it good. I could give my all into a sculpture made of shit that succeeds in its purpose of being shit, but at the end of the day, it’s still shit. If it’s just the loneliness that you relate to, then why not just cut out the creepy middleman? Pinkerton isn’t even the defining emo album. Sunny Day Real Estate released their debut album that brought emo to the mainstream proper, Diary, two years before Pinkerton. So, if you want the same effect with none of the moral questionability or cringey-ness, listen to Diary instead.

[@computeredfemale]

@@curly_wyn haha thats a great point lol. Weezer is far from perfect, but tbh i still like it despite the cringe. The songs are really catchy to me. And yeah pinkerton definitely isnt the defining emo album. i checked out Diary after reading your comment and thanks a lot for the recommendation its a beautiful album :) loved the drums especially and the melodies are so nostalgic. 48 and the last track are my favorites of the record.

[@dinkystick]

@@curly_wyn lol man-splaning emo is just as cringe as this song, chief

[@Lucid_Avery]

This song is too tame to be as controversial as it is.

[@anoriginalname8695]

Its such a great song. I relate to it so much because its not just about a fan, its about being so lonely that the thought of someone maybe liking you is enough to drive you crazy with love.

[@curly_wyn]

For a minor. Jeez, dude, if you actually relate to this, you might be a creep too.

[@anoriginalname8695]

@@curly_wyn Jesus man, I'm talking about being so lonely that thinking someone might be into you is enough to make you fall in love with them. When i listen to this song, im not thinking of some random 18 year old Japanese from 26 years ago, I'm thinking of my own experiences in life. You do realise that you can relate to the over arching idea of a song without relating to the specifics right?

[@curly_wyn]

@@anoriginalname8695 You relating and getting that message from a predatory song like this is just something you’ll have to internally reckon with yourself, dude.

[@anoriginalname8695]

@@curly_wyn You have yet to explain how my enjoyment of the song is immoral and makes me a creep. You just keep on calling me a predator. I don't get why you gotta take this to such an extreme place when im just listening to a song, thinking about my crush like "damn maybe she does like me". Its really not that deep man. You don't even know me, and its strange how much your trying to paint me as a creep

[@curly_wyn]

@@anoriginalname8695 Not necessarily, I just think people who love this and this whole album just haven’t really thought about it that way. I think you should, and be honest about what the album is. Your personal troubles aren’t that, okay, that’s good, but this album itself is that deep.

[@fairmonkey4786]

My defense of Across the Sea: 1. She is 18 so no laws are broken 2. Rivers was only 25 at the time 3. He literally says I could never touch you, it would be wrong 4. Saying ive got your letter, you got my song is like a platonic handshake 5. He has never met her or attempted to contact her and has married someone else I view the lyrics as a man seeing a pretty girl from a distance and imagining a relationship with her but he knows they won't ever be together so he makes no attempt to do so but he secretly wishes they were. I have thought that before and I think a lot of men have whether they want to admit it or not. A lot of women have probably thought the same thing too. In River's case, he was depressed and lonely at Harvard and when he received the letter, the thought that a girl showed interest in him at a low point in his life made him fall in love with the fantasy of a relationship with the woman but he knew he would never meet her and even if he did, he wouldn't attempt to have her anyways because it would be wrong so I think it is a love song about a fantasy that won't happen in real life and a thank you to the girl who wrote the letter in a way. I think the controversy is blown out of proportion. Its just a song. He didnt meet her in real life. No sexual assault took place and it was written almost 30 years ago. Its gonna be ok. Its a beautiful song musically and sonically and i dont care about lyrics anyways

[@rainesaysdie863]

Idk if it's a true story as in he really did receive that letter and feel these things but if I sent him a letter and then he came out with this song I would probably throw up

[@bonecanoe86]

I've never thought Across the Sea was creepy. I think every man has had this moment where you catch a girl's eye, maybe she gives you a hint of a smile, and suddenly within that split second you are imagining your life together; what it would be like to be with this girl, to sleep with this girl, to know all the bits and intimate details about her that make her a real person and not just a fleeting smile that you see for half a second. That's all this song is about, but this girl gave Rivers an entire letter so its an even more striking impression. When this moment happens to you it's over as quickly as it happens; you never see the girl again and those fantasies that flash before your mind are just that. Just as Rivers said, it would be wrong to touch her. It's just one of those odd little pieces of life people don't often think about but a talented artist latched onto and created something that connects to so many people. One of the many reasons I always say that Weezer is the band of our generation.

[@curly_wyn]

I cringed hard reading this. Sicko. That’s clearly not what this fucking song is. It’s about Rivers finding a young Asian fan attractive and not getting to have his way with her.

[@livelaughlove0209]

@@curly_wyn no offense but you’re wrong and OP is right. Rivers said he got that letter during one of the most depressing moments of his life so if anything, the original comment is exactly correct. It’s about rivers imagining a happy life with a girl who seems to care about him, instead of his depressed life he was living at the time during his stay at Harvard.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

@@curly_wyn Can we cut the bullshit please? people talk about this song as if he's lusting over a 13 year old? she's 18, an age that is considered legally an adult in basically every single developed nation on earth. Does that make the song less weird thematically? no, but it also doesn't make him a fucking pedophile like everyone seems to want to portray him as. Why don't we sanitize every single piece of art ever created so that no one with the social intelligence of a newborn is made to feel uncomfortable ever again? would that make you happy? would the world be a better place if we all lived in nice safe little bubbles and never had to be exposed to no no words or ideas? Are you going to sit here and tell me that never in your life have you ever thought or felt something that would be considered disturbing by society? moron.

[@missioncontrol4662]

...are you saying you get those thoughts about underage girls? Because like

[@giventomato5079]

@@missioncontrol4662 She's 18

[@421Jurl]

rappers literally admit to killing and raping women in their songs. nobody should be offended by this song

[@craigfelloff]

THIS. EXACTLY.

[@ElCaptain_Noodles]

EXACTLY BRO RAPPERS WRITE WORSE THINGS (looking at u drake...)

[@tydk684]

Ok good point actually

[@masonmackinnon2802]

This has gotta be one of my favorite songs of all time The honesty in this song and Pinkerton's lyrics is straight from the heart,there's so much passion and.emotion on this album

[@curly_wyn]

Well, guess what? A emotional straight-from-the-heart creep is still a fucking creep, so..

[@silentserenitys7102]

@@curly_wyn what I’m saying… these people in the comments have some problems 😭

[@walterk9916]

"I'm a creep I'm a bimbo or whatever radiohead said."

[@Not_Dizi]

“Ima creep, I’m a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here” 🤓🤓🤓

[@adammartin3057]

This visceral expression of unrequited love is so universal that it would be a shame to completely write off the song.

[@curly_wyn]

Unrequited love for a fucking minor

[@salemh9313]

It isn't a song based on the fact that "Ooo 18 year old is hot and loves me." but more like "18 year old likes my music and is one of, if not the only person, to reach out to me in a hard time. This must be love, right?" I am always super iffy on subject matter similar to this song, and on the first listen, a few of the lines were jarring. But I really like this song and I can understand where Rivers was coming from. When covid hit and everything shut down, I had almost no way to connect to people from outside my family. School was hard as I had no friends and as a teen, that was super difficult for me. When someone finally wanted to talk to me and said they had a crush on me, I was ecstatic. I was head over heels for her, even if the love was more obsessive than a true romantic feeling. I understand why people wouldn't like the lyrics, but personally, this song just hits too close to home for me not to look past it and see what it's trying to say.

[@theboogiemonster123]

I can never really decide if I love Weezer or if rivers cuomo makes me deeply, deeply uncomfortable

[@albertgein3082]

Either way 👍

[@quad7685]

Rivers Cuomo is the most mysterious man in the world. He is my favorite person in the world, yet I hope I never meet him, simply because of how much I love him. I would be so happy in seeing him, that after I couldn’t see him anymore, I would suffer from post hot depression so badly, I would kill myself. This is how much I love Rivers Cuomo. Some people I’ve talked to consider this an unhealthy obsession, and I agree a little bit. Best band in the world, housing the best person in the world, in my opinion. It’s very late so I’m gonna go to bed

[@quad7685]

@Fant I am not. He is my favorite human being.

[@buhnana6117]

@@quad7685 that’s extremely weird and creepy man, seek help before you harm yourself.

[@quad7685]

@@buhnana6117 Nah dude it's not like that but yeah I just really love me some Rivers Cuomo

[@mtanning]

I almost see this song as a warning of what desperation leads too. Like going from "you wrote me a letter asking me my favorite food" to "why are you not here, right now." Especially in context (having the good life right after and this ending side 1) this feels to me like this is the first real turning point due to realizeing youve hit rock bottom

[@jwf1964]

This song is pure genius. Many fans obsess about bands. Here’s a band obsessing about a fan obsessing about a band. This is why this has such strong resonance with fans. The band is connecting to you in a song, just for you. The lyrics are not creepy, they are honest and insightful about the male libido. How many times does he have to say he could never touch her, it would be wrong. If you are a sexually active dude, gay or straight, and you think this song is creepy you are lying to yourself. Every guy has an inner creep. Don’t be a sheep. Appreciate the brilliant honesty. That inner creep is needed, it propagates the species.

[@curly_wyn]

Reported.

[@missioncontrol4662]

"The inner creep" 🤢

[@silentserenitys7102]

you are a walking red flag…

[@clione99]

wow thats really gross

[@TheChasedanger]

@@curly_wyn You know what, I actually I agree with you on this one, this guys kinda creepy, but I still think you're bait

[@mr_chicke]

I take this song (and the album as a whole) as just this unique deep dive into this troubled man’s mental state and thoughts and it doesn’t hold back at all. It just feels raw and yet so satisfying at the same time. Ugly and beautiful. It’s an amazing song and a very good album.

[@aether2204]

i think hes just being honest about the creepy thoughts he gets. its not like he acted on it, or didnt think it was wrong. everyone gets uncomfortable thoughts sometimes. they just dont confide in anyone, or share them, in fear of getting bashed or being labeled a creep. which, yknow, rightfully so, because this song got labeled as controversial when it honestly really isnt, which proves my point. people dont look past the lyrics, into what rivers mightve actually been trying to communicate when he wrote them. part of what makes pinkerton so good is the fact that rivers was open and honest about everything. everyone praises him for that, but when they hear some of his more disturbing, uncomfortable thoughts, they suddenly turn away and call him creepy for expressing them. which literally goes against what they say about the rest of the album. its weird that people are picking and choosing what thoughts he can or cant share. its his songs, his thoughts, and his lyrics. i honestly cant imagine that it was very fun for him to be experiencing uncomfortable thoughts, so i can definitely see why he would want to open up about it. people should accept the album as it is, and understand that hes sharing his *thoughts and feelings*. the uncomfortable ones too.

[@Emanuelochoa22]

It’s deeply relatable to me for personal reasons

[@napoopy]

explain

[@callanleaper7643]

Explain

[@gawrgurafan1257]

Explain

[@Emanuelochoa22]

I like Asian women I also had a girlfriend from discord who was across the sea

[@Emanuelochoa22]

@@colossalsquidward1737 well i actually broke up with her I couldn’t take the reality and I just thought she was older than me or younger I met her on discord she was actually from the uk I never talked to her in voice chat i was to scared actually my friend help me get her I still like Asian women I just felt it wasn’t right to me I started to be obsessed with her and I am trying to find one when I go to Japan or hell might join tender cause some girls in my school are mean to me I did try and talk to her but I was to damn awkward

[@Dan-y6l3k]

A 26 year old guy writing a song for an 18 year old pen pal in Japan (where the age of consent is 16 years old) isn’t immoral or illegal (not in Japan or the United States). I sincerely appreciate Coumo’s frank and honest lyrics in “Across The Sea.” BTW, that girl in Japan is 46 years old now. River’s Cuomo just celebrated is 54th birthday.

[@EnricosUtLP]

The song is sadly so relatable and it's why it's my favorite Weezer song.

[@ELSTINKO.]

Fantastic video man. You have a great speaking voice and you get to the point of what you're saying while keeping it interesting. Genuinely a KZbin gem, especially in comparison to most video essays about subject matter like this. Keep up the good work man.

[@Laittth]

I wonder what the girl thinks

[@Dan-y6l3k]

Here are my guess(es)… 1.) WOW! Weezer wrote a song for me. 2.) The age of consent is 16 in Japan and 18 in the United States. Why are Americans so sexually repressed?

[@tydk684]

@@Dan-y6l3kum, uhh…

[@Fregulus5]

I met my now wife in Korea, but we had to spend two years apart while I was in Ft. Bragg and she was there. This song always reminds me of this time.

[@captainobvious9188]

I was in HS when The Blue Album and Pinkerton came out... and I loved Pinkerton to the point that when The Green Album came out sometime later with its fanfair, including the panning of Pinkerton by critics and even some statements by Cuomo himself, I basically ignored everything Weezer put out after Pinkerton. I've just started to listen to the last 25 years of Weezer after Pinkerton.

[@TectonicImprov]

I think Maladroit, White, and OK Human are all albums released past Pinkerton that I think are genuinely great. Definitely worth listening to.

[@curly_wyn]

The critical and commercial failure of this album was well-deserved. It bombed hard and received terrible reviews from people whose job it is to review music because they’ve heard a lot of it. The critical re-evaluation is not because people suddenly realized that Pinkerton was a perfect and untouchable album. That’s the fanciful story; here’s what really happened: All the incel dorks who somehow related to this album went and bullied and threatened critics into giving it perfect scores across the board. I think it’s pretty clear that that’s what happened. Metacritic’s 100/100 and Pitchfork’s 10/10 is absolutely undeserved, especially since there’s way better albums by better artists that were probably more deserving of that. Another album that Pitchfork gave the same score to was The Beatles’ Rubber Soul… RUBBER. SOUL. Pinkerton’s on the same level as Rubber Soul? Go fuck yourself, Pitchfork.

[@nicorepetto5781]

The song is incredibly uncomfortable but I think that's what's relatable and Rivers ability to be vulnerable is commendable. I think this kind of depravity and loneliness is incredibly common amongst men and I'm glad there's a song that covers that uncomfortable subject matter in the way it does. The song didn't age badly because it was always creepy. And I think it's good that way. It's honest. I think by dismissing the song because it makes you uncomfortable is a shame because you're also dismissing the larger theme

[@MysticClaws100]

As someone who is very left-wing, a lot of the music I listen to is very edgy, very politically incorrect, contains some uncomfortable lyrical content. But a lot of the time, that's kind of the point. Art is often about making the listener feel uncomfortable, to show the song's narrator to be a very flawed, problematic but real person or even to bring up uncomfortable truths.

[@drumfan83]

You nailed it. Perfect analysis Regardless of mainstream opinion I agree that this is the best Weezer song ever. The album reception followed by The Green Album could best be compared to Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. I think Rivers wrote Pinkerton about himself primarily. The fans didn’t like the album, probably because it was a surprising drastic shift from what they would have expected if they were looking for something more commercial feeling and radio ready like The Blue Album had been. When they rejected Pinkerton Rivers would have felt as though he were also being rejected since he wrote it about himself, it was personal. This rejection would have soured him to the idea of giving himself totally to his fans again, hence The Green album. This is why it sounds so much less personal and shifts back into a safe commercial pop record. The same thing happened with Salinger’s Catcher which is years later regarded as his very best work. Luckily Rivers was able to cope enough to still make records that he will allow to be published regardless of the quality of that work. Salinger never got over the poor reception from Catcher. He is now considered one of the the most reclusive writers that ever lived. He was bitter and sad his for the rest of his life and only a handful of photos of him in later years exist. He never did any interviews, accepted any awards, and never published anything ever again.

[@YannY1150]

Salinger did have a stash of a short story collection though right? I think it's unavailable to the public until like 2084 though.

[@jamesnelson540]

I always just took it to be a song about a touring band and a fan letter. Those two things still exist but are very rare. This song is a wonderful time capsule

[@puertoriconnect4611]

The lyrics are cringe but he wrote it when he was, what, 25? A 25 year old having a crush on an 18 year old isn't really that crazy and, like you mention, he never says he intends to actually seek out this girl.

[@New.Radio1]

Nah thats weird

[@puertoriconnect4611]

@@New.Radio1 Can we stop pretendíng 18 year olds are toddlers

[@New.Radio1]

@@puertoriconnect4611 hey just cause they turned 18 doesn’t make them FULLY adults they are still teenagers. If someone in their mid twenty’s wants them WHEN THEY ARE BARELY LEGAL that’s a problem

[@nederlandsefrhd]

Come on now, there is a line in the song metioning the girl goes to school. Anyone in their mid 20s who's sexualising a schoolgirl needs to have their actions called out. Not only that but young asian girls are constantly fetishised and objectified while anti asian racism is on the rise and the scary thing is that so many people still try to justify and normalize behaviour like this and don't see anything wrong, meanwhile the victims of things like this are left to deal with the very real repercussions. Not to mention, this is a young fan who probably looked up to rivers. Imagine how disgusted and exposed they felt when they listened to this album and heard one of their heros sexualising them and broadcasting it to the world after they had sent fan mail

[@jmaksi]

@@nederlandsefrhd lmao cry about it it's Weezer's best song

[@smithwez1101]

The album is a story. They are into Japanese girls and their culture doesn't mix. Followed by, wow, when we do have things in common, it still hurts.

[@r3ntz699]

“Since sophomore year I loved the album pinktreon” Bro!! I became a weezer fan this year and I am a sophomore! I guess that’s the sophomore tradition lmao. But your take on this song is great. Yeah it’s a creepy fuckin song. But it does show his mental state and what he went through at the time, plus it just slaps

[@segasonic23]

Across the sea is not one of my favorite weezer songs, but musically its incredible. Some of the best melodies, bass, and drums on the whole album. I interpreted the lyrics as the often uncomfortable relationship between bands and their fans, tinted by Rivers' state of mind at the time. A twisted, reverse engineered take on the themes of Rush's Limelight, with raw and intrusive thoughts replacing poetically expressed anxiety. Its very uncomfortable but thats what he was going through. Pain, loneliness, disillusion, loss. The song is a deep dive into Rivers' psyche, for better or for worse. The song definitely gets a lot more disturbing if he knew the girl was underage but that claim doesn't exactly seem to be substantiated

[@subway2227]

An Aesthetic Win on his way to cope on all of the reply section

[@TheChasedanger]

true

[@albertgein3082]

That fender strat sound that I miss... At the beginning 😑

[@weezalicious]

If it makes you guys feel better she’s 45 now.

[@infinitedraught1336]

I agree with this take on "Across the Sea". I remember picking up Pinkerton my back in 1996. I was a sophomore in college and already a huge Weezer fan. I remember being shocked when i heard Pinkerton, it was so different than the Blue Album, but I fell in love with it immediately. Did I recognize the troubling lyrics right away? Of course I did, but I also understood the underlying context and the lyrics on Across the Sea, Tired of Sex, and numerous other songs that divulge Rivers' inner private thoughts. The transparency into things most of us keep to ourselves, on a certain level , is what I thought made this album an absolute masterpiece. It took courage for him to write these songs and put everything out there, intrusive thoughts included, for the world to hear and witness by the author himself. A deep dive into each song, can at times be a hard listen (lyrically speaking), but I think if you understand that in particular, this song, really isn't about what's on the surface, but more of how a moment of admiration spawned during a dark time for him, then you you can further appreciate the song. His honesty and transparency gave the album this raw, honest and imperfect feel, that I think, makes Pinkerton one of the best albums ever written and recorded in history.

[@haylicharron]

when i first started getting into weezer in the fall of 2019 i heard this song and was creeped out by it. it has grown on me a lot

[@MrAwesome191]

It reminds me of scott pilgrim dating knives, the point is its uncomfortable and wrong, but the motivation behind it is what is being analyzed and critiqued

[@WREPS2GOG]

Very good, I enjoyed this thoroughly

[@maxxpower3d6]

Defending the utterly, completely, definitively defensible

[@christopher-xi2ey]

Remember pen pals? I signed up for one at school and got letters from Japanese girls for two years

[@Driver8takeabreak]

In hindsight the lyrics from "No One Else" on the blue album are likely more problematic than this song (though I get the criticism for this one too).

[@letrollers]

The one dislike is from the guy who wrote.. Wel that

[@Bird_in_a_Trenchcoat]

the only thing that makes me a little uncomfortable withacross the sea is that with other songs in pinkerton they revised some of the creepier lyrics in more recent performances (ex. in why bother they changed "so i better keep whacking" to "you better get packing") so why not make changes in across the sea? its a small thing so it doesnt really matter, i still enjoy the song its just a thought. Edit: disregard this comment actually, I was accidentally spreading misinformation on the internet. Idk where I even heard that lmao

[@Twiddly_Thumb_Tim45_369]

Nooooooo they changed the masturbation line? 😢 That's dumb 😡

[@Bird_in_a_Trenchcoat]

@@Twiddly_Thumb_Tim45_369 so uh you’ll be happy to know I was actually misinformed. At the blue planet tour they used all the original lines. Idk where i got that information lol

[@Twiddly_Thumb_Tim45_369]

@@Bird_in_a_Trenchcoat thank God FOR GIRLS!

[@coledavidson5630]

Rivers was in his early 20s when he wrote it, right? He definitely says some creepy and obsessive things, but it's honestly not bad or wrong to have feelings for an 18 year old in your early 20s.

[@karensabortionclinic7491]

um no. bye-

[@coledavidson5630]

@Mark Wehner yeah that's older than I thought he was

[@FlippinT]

He wrote the song a year before it was released

[@colossalsquidward1737]

Hugh Hefner would laugh if he saw this

[@youarethebluestlight]

@Kayla Kosatka 8 year differences

[@dougrattmann3554]

I'm surprised it even needs to be defended. It's my favorite Weezer song

[@coffeepeals3936]

That makes me sad that people don’t take the time to understand lyrics. I guess that’s why most parents don’t realize that they’re little kids are dancing to songs… well let’s just say they dance to kid bops songs that aren’t the kid bops version. That shit is creepy.

[@curly_wyn]

Any parent letting their children dance to this song and album should be considered child abuse.

[@nimkiibineshi24049]

thats the point of pinkerton isnt it? i feel like disregarding uncomfortable thoughts and feelings is a pretty bad thing that shouldnt be done. like hes messed up in the head but he doesnt really wanna do nothing wrong. this is his therapy and that is literally the point lol people calling him a womanizer and groomer because hes had intrusive thoughts looooool

[@mauswaffles]

Its unfortunate that many perceive this song and album, or even Rivers, as what he aspires to explore and understand. That is why the album is named as such.

[@DestroyerOfWombs]

If it was a woman singing about an eighteen year old man, it would be praised.

[@aether2204]

what would it be praised for exactly? being creepy? i mean seriously, what point are you even trying to make???

[@MysticClaws100]

It really wouldn't. You're trying to make some kind of "society says it's ok when women do it" but it wouldn't be considered any different

[@hojugames8340]

Across the Sea is by far my favorite Weezer song on my favorite Weezer album. The music, melody and production are phenomenal. The lyrics are uncomfortable and I believe that's intentional. He wasn't in a good place mentally when it was written. It's honest. By today's standards it stands out but to me doesn't detract from the overall piece they're presented in.

[@GregBonks]

You're fighting a losing battle gamer.

[@Dialga9187]

I was looking for that one song from attack on titan, what have I gotten myself into???

[@MattRanks]

Great video bro

[@denpa3184]

great video. i wish all the people who are against across the sea would watch this video lol.

[@ManfredoMorales]

hey, that was pretty good

[@DavidRFIT]

Across the Sea lyrics didn't age well... In reality most music critics and their parasitc, ruffian work do not age well.

[@ssl3546]

it's controversial? maybe among dumb people. the entire album is brilliant. played it 1000 times in the kitchen in the 1990s.

[@wallyosmond9204]

What's to defend? lol. Oh it's got creepy lyrics? It's art. Art is sometimes about creepy things. What's uncomfortable?

[@curly_wyn]

A guy basically admitting his attraction to a minor in song is not art. Piss off.

[@_Sol6]

Lyrics aren't even creepy tho

[@indiefan23]

@@_Sol6 yup. Hardly.

[@curly_wyn]

@@_Sol6 they were written because Rivers got a letter from a young Japanese fan girl who he assumed was probably 14. Yes, it is most particularly creepy.

[@_Sol6]

@@curly_wyn cope

[@chattingesque372]

Whoever attacks this song is a dummy

[@curly_wyn]

Whoever defends it is an even bigger dummy

[@Bryan-ux3yt]

good video

[@americanpancakelive]

Well, you certainly made a genuinely sensitive song about loneliness super cringey, within your description whether that was intentional or not. I don't think Across the Sea is perverse either as you say but do agree that it is brutally honest yes. Perverse would be if (in the song) Rivers was singing about a girl in his neighborhood who was an underaged teen but it is not. He is singing about thoughts about a someone who is in a faraway country and who he will never met or intends to meet. As far as chiding Rivers for singing the song as he gets older, that is just plain stupid beyond stupid. He is singing a song penned at a different time, songs don't culturally or emotionally transpose according to age or who sings it.

[@ahhcmon9604]

Boy did you blow it your analysis is terrible its dark but not for the reasons youre saying its not a difficult subject matter

[@NotSome1]

Le gana getchoo

[@DaveAnchovies]

i think most of Weezers rabid fans were a bit younger than them. and so were the critics, obviously. i was in college and working at the coolest record store in town...probably the same age as the band. we all liked obscure music and weezer wasnt that...but we all liked it. pinkerton was a good step ahead. they were growing up, kids. a good pop record that a younger generation got to shred every lyric. welcome to life...we all liked it. never thought of it as creepier than we all think. i guess you have to be looking for trouble...if yer uncomfortable, you have problems. we all get more screwed up in the head...he wrote a letter,ill tell you, ive heard much worse by zz top to tsol. too bad his fans kinda are of the undoing of the reality behind the lyrics. Vice, Pitchfork are not where you'll find the answers. My genertion just sucked less than the following one, and so on. id have to throw out my favorite albums--from angry samoans to early roxy music and especially mc5. yes, fuck the harvard piece of shit. if thats whose writing about music, avoid at all costs--or be spoonfed the green new deals garbage. i guess what im saying is, its a great song. it took these weenies to make me think it might be anything but that. my mind is unchanged. you have billy eyelash or whoever that neo pop queen is...

[@DaveAnchovies]

jeffrey ellinger will never be a lester bangs, a metal mike or a tim yohannen. thank god. dude is trash.

[@ahhcmon9604]

18 is an adult your headline is a bad joke me will always date younger women