yeah, Matt Sharp was in Weezer, he was their OG bassist, but left the band over creative differences with Cuomo and started The Rentals. Had this super hipster minor hit and poof - that was it.
yeah, Pinkerton is some good emo longing music right there.
Maladroit, while often forgotten, is a fave of mine too.
As for Red, I prefer my alternate universe version where I drop the songs sung by the other members, get the Rivers-led songs & b-sides, then build a playlist of those songs.