Matthew Sweet
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Matthew Sweet (born c. 1966) is a pop-rock musician from Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
As a young musician wanting to make a name for himself, Sweet set off to Athens, Georgia in the mid '80s, to attend college and join the vibrant Athens music scene, most famous as the home base for R.E.M. and The B-52's. Matthew worked with R.E.M. leader Michael Stipe at this time, joining Michael's sister in a band called Oh-OK and then forming another band, Buzz of Delight. Before long he was signed to a solo recording contract with Columbia Records.
One album, Inside, was released by Columbia in 1986 to little success.
Sweet was then picked up by A&M Records where he released his second album, Earth (1989), again without commercial success. This period marked a personal and professional low point for Sweet, as A&M lost interest and his marriage failed.
Sweet quickly recovered, and put together a new band including Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine, Greg Leisz and Fred Maher. The new group spent 1990 putting together Sweet's next work, originally titled Nothing Lasts.
In 1990, A&M released Sweet from his contract, and he signed with rival Zoo Entertainment. The album, still under construction, was retitled Girlfriend and released in October 1991. This album featured a classic set of pop-rock songs, was considered by many to be an artistic breakthrough and quickly garnered impressive U.S. sales (spawning a top-10 single with the title track). Girlfriend continues to be regarded as Sweet's breakthrough album and some regard it a major '90s classic.
The video for the title track was featured on MTV, featuring Anime-style animation, of which Sweet is a fan.
Sweet's follow-up album, 1993's Altered Beast, was borne out of an apparent determination not to become mainstream. A more diverse and less immediately accesible album than Girlfriend, the album divided fans and critics who had mixed reactions to emotionally intense and brooding tracks like "Someone to Pull the Trigger" and "Knowing People".
In 1995, Sweet displayed a sense of irony on his next album, 100% Fun, mixing bouncy pop style with darker lyrics, including a leadoff track, the self-deprecating "Sick of Myself".
Decidedly out of the musical mainstream, Sweet would issue a few more albums in the second half of the decade and maintain a devoted core of fans, but critical acclaim and chart success would be hard to come by.
Sweet's international success had been somewhat limited by his fear of flying; however he gained a significant following in Japan and his most recent album, Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, was a Japan-only release in 2003.
In early 2002 he formed the supergroup The Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge.
He released a new album of solo material, Living Things in late 2004, though the material on the album was recorded in 2002.
Discography
- Inside (1986)
- Earth (1989)
- Girlfriend (1991)
- Altered Beast (1993)
- Son of Altered Beast (1994)
- 100% Fun (1995)
- Blue Sky on Mars (1997)
- In Reverse (1999)
- Time Capsule: Best of 90/00 (2000)
- To understand: the early recordings of Matthew Sweet (2002)
- Kimi Ga Suki (Japan only) (2003)
- Living Things (2004)