“Hash Pipe”
Writers: Rivers Cuomo
Original Release Date: April 2001
Weezer has been around for so long, it’s almost hard to keep track of all the singles they’ve released over the years. So it’s funny when you rediscover a song as random as “Hash Pipe”—one of their biggest hits—and realize it’s the same dude who recently wrote, “Do You Wanna Get High?”, proving that Rivers Cuomo hasn’t really changed that much over the past few decades.
With chugging guitars, falsetto vocals, and weird lyrical content—it tells the story of a transvestite prostitute—“Hash Pipe” is a weird but wonderful song. It’s also one of the most censored Weezer songs out there—because of the lyrics, Geffen Records didn’t want it to be the first single released off The Green Album. They released it anyway and, for a while, it was banned in the UK, not because of the lyrics, but because of the “drug taking culture” implied in the title. Even MTV censored the title, referring to it as “H***Pipe” or “Pipe”.
All these issues didn’t stop Arizona band Anarbor from covering the song on their 2011 mixtape. Vocalist Slade Echeverria makes a solid effort to mimic Rivers Cuomo’s falsetto without stretching his voice too much, and the guitars feel even more rock ‘n’ roll and grittier than the original. Overall, it’s a fitting tribute to a band who has inspired so many.
