he abandoned Songs from the Black Hole. While attending Harvard, Cuomo experienced loneliness and frustration while also undergoing an extensive surgery for his left leg. These experiences influenced his songwriting for the next record. The other members of Weezer decided to embark on their own side projects during this time. Sharp started The Rentals who released their debut album, Return of the Rentals, in October 1995. The album also featured Patrick Wilson on drums. Wilson also formed his band, The Special Goodness, during this time. Bell decided to work on his band, Space Twins. Weezer's second album, Pinkerton, was released on September 24, 1996. Pinkerton is named after the character BF Pinkerton from Madama Butterfly, who marries and then abandons a Japanese woman named Butterfly. Calling him an "asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star", Cuomo felt the character was "the perfect symbol for the part of myself that I am trying to come to terms with on this album". It produced three singles: "El Scorcho", "The Good Life", and "Pink Triangle". With a darker, more abrasive sound, Pinkerton sold poorly compared to the Blue Album and received mixed reviews; it was voted "one of the worst albums of 1996" in a Rolling Stone reader poll. However, the album eventually gained a cult following and came to be considered among Weezer's best work; in 2002, Rolling Stone readers voted Pinkerton the 16th greatest album of all time, and it has been listed in several critics' "best albums of all time" lists. In 2004, Rolling Stone gave the album a new review, awarding it five out of five stars and adding it to the "Rolling Stone Hall of Fame". Pinkerton was later certified platinum in 2016. In July 1997, sisters Mykel, Carli and Trysta Allan died in a car accident while driving home from a Weezer show in Denver, Colorado. Mykel and Carli ran Weezer's fan club and helped manage publicity for several other Los Angeles bands, and had inspired the "Sweater Song" B-side "Mykel and Carli". Weezer canceled a show to attend their funeral. In August, Weezer and other bands held a benefit concert for the family in Los Angeles. A compilation album, Hear You Me! A Tribute to Mykel and Carli, was dedicated to their memory. The album included "Mykel and Carli", as well as songs by Ozma, That Dog, and Kara's Flowers. In 2001, Jimmy Eat