Older & Weezer

But that wasn't quite the end of the drama. The first single, the sing-along riff-fest "Hash Pipe," is a "totally insane song about a homosexual transvestite prostitute," says Cuomo. Not unexpectedly, Interscope, the band's label, balked at making it Weezer's big comeback moment. Cuomo insisted. "They wanted something more straight-up. Man, it was a huge fight. I got up in a meeting with all the executives and I was screaming."

Eventually, Interscope acquiesced, and the tune has taken off. Characteristically, Cuomo's still gloomy. "Of the millions of people who've already heard [the album], they all say that it sounds totally different from either of the first two; we've lost what made us great. They hate it. Go on the Internet."

If those online grumblers do exist, they don't seem to be among the 35,000 people in attendance at Coachella. Cuomo and Co. are met with warmth and affection as they perform old hits and new tunes in front of a giant, Kiss-style lighted W. Conspicuously absent, though, are most of the tunes from Pinkerton. "It's tough," Cuomo says. "The fans have given us this miraculous career, and it's all because of Pinkerton. That's all they want, that's all they care about. It's so frustrating, because I don't want to turn my back on them, but I sure as hell don't want to do Pinkerton. I have to face the fact that I'm going to completely p--- off all these fans who have been so good to us over the past few years." Sounds like a perfect career move.