So, when I first saw your comment I was pretty sure I’d heard this on a podcast, and yep, it was the episode from your edit! I’d have to listen again to see if Rivers got specific about when he started with the spreadsheet system, but I don’t think it’s something he’s always been doing.

But back when I listened to the episode, finding out about the spreadsheet made a ton of sense, because I’d low-key suspected Weezer lyrics to be jumbles of random ideas… though I don’t get that feeling from the first two albums, at least.