Matthew Sweet

For the writer and broadcaster, see Matthew Sweet (writer).

Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet performing at the Turborock Festival in Spain, September 2011
Background information
Birth name	Sidney Matthew Sweet
Born	(1964-10-06) October 6, 1964 Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Genres	Power pop, alternative rock
Occupations	singer, songwriter, record producer, instrumentalist
Instruments	vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1980s–present
Labels	Columbia A&M Zoo Entertainment Shout! Factory
Associated acts	Community Trolls, Oh-OK, The Thorns, Susanna Hoffs
Website	www.matthewsweet.com
Music sample
Evangeline

Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964, in Lincoln, Nebraska) is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia, music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s. He continues to tour, and his most recent studio album, Modern Art, was released in 2011.

1980s

In 1980, while attending Lincoln Southeast High School, Sweet, having written and recorded songs on four-track cassettes, and having joined the band The Specs, released his first recording on a battle of the bands LP produced by a local radio station. After graduating in 1983, Sweet travelled to Athens, Georgia to attend college during the vibrant Athens music scene. That same year, Sweet, who had met the band R.E.M. when they played a show in his hometown the previous year, collaborated with frontman Michael Stipe in a duo group under the name Community Trolls, as well as played guitar in Stipe's sister Lynda Stipe's band, Oh-OK. In addition, he formed another duo, The Buzz of Delight, with Oh-OK drummer David Pierce, releasing an EP, Sound Castles, in 1984 on DB Records. On the strength of this 12" vinyl, Sweet was signed to a solo recording contract with Columbia Records.

In 1986, Sweet released Inside, his debut album, to good reviews but little commercial success.

In 1989, Sweet released Earth, after signing with A&M Records and, again, it was well-received critically, but failed commercially. This period marked a personal and professional low point, as both his record company lost interest and his marriage failed.

1990s

In 1990, A&M released Sweet from his contract, and he signed with rival Zoo Entertainment, which later formed into Volcano Entertainment several years later. Sweet formed a new band (which included Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine, Greg Leisz, Lloyd Cole, and Fred Maher), and together they spent that year assembling his next work, originally titled Nothing Lasts.

In 1991, Sweet released Girlfriend, the retitled pop-rock album which was widely considered an artistic breakthrough, and quickly garnered impressive U.S. sales, spawning a Top 10 single with the title track. The music video for "Girlfriend" (heavily aired on MTV, MuchMusic and Night Tracks) featured clips from the anime film, Space Adventure Cobra, while the video for "I've Been Waiting" used clips of the Urusei Yatsura character, Lum Invader.

In 1993, Sweet released Altered Beast, a harder rock album which drew mixed reactions with its intense and brooding tracks (such as "Someone to Pull the Trigger" and "Knowing People"). The music video for the single, "The Ugly Truth" (directed by Sweet) featured the singer being chased in the desert by police while driving his own 1970 Dodge Challenger, while the video for "Time Capsule" was a literary homage to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

In 1995, Sweet released 100% Fun, an alt-rock album best known for its lead-off track, the self-deprecating "Sick of Myself". The album itself fared better commercially, and even made it onto Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne's years-best list.

In 1997, Sweet released Blue Sky on Mars, a new-wave album which featured the synth-laden singles "Where You Get Love" and "Come to California". The music video for the former featured Sweet as an astronaut traveling through outer space.

In 1999, Sweet released In Reverse, a psychedelic album which featured Wall of Sound tracks, including the singles "What Matters" and "Trade Places". The album is noteworthy for its 10-minute closing track, "Thunderstorm", which is a combination of several demos.

2000s

In 2000, Sweet released Time Capsule: Best of 90/00, a retrospective compilation which featured two new tracks.

In 2001, Sweet and Darius Rucker performed The Beach Boys song, "Sail On, Sailor" on the special, A Tribute to Brian Wilson, and both the musicians later performed the same song with Brian Wilson himself on Late Show with David Letterman.

In 2002, Sweet released To Understand: The Early Recordings of Matthew Sweet, a retrospective compilation which featured unreleased material. Also that year, he formed the supergroup, The Thorns, with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge.

In 2003, Sweet released Kimi Ga Suki, a garage-rock album initially released in Japan, where Sweet has a significant following.

In 2004, Sweet released Living Things, an acoustic album which consisted mainly of material he wrote while recording with The Thorns.

Sweet in 2006

In 2006, Sweet and Susanna Hoffs released Under the Covers, Vol. 1, which featured covers of popular 1960s songs.

In 2008, Sweet released Sunshine Lies, his 10th studio album, which also incorporated a 2-LP set featuring 4 bonus tracks.

In 2009, Sweet and Susanna Hoffs released Under the Covers, Vol. 2, which featured covers of popular 1970s songs.

In 2010, the musical "Girlfriend", which used songs from Sweet's eponymous album, was staged by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

In 2011, Sweet released Modern Art, an album which featured the single, "She Walks the Night".

In 2012, Sweet celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Girlfriend" with a tour which featured the entire album played from start to finish.

Discography

Main article: Matthew Sweet discography

• Inside (1986)
• Earth (1989)
• Girlfriend (1991)
• Altered Beast (1993)
• 100% Fun (1995)
• Blue Sky on Mars (1997)
• In Reverse (1999)
• Kimi Ga Suki (2003)
• The Thorns (by The Thorns; Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins) (2003)
• Living Things (2004)
• Under the Covers, Vol. 1 (with Susanna Hoffs) (2006)
• Sunshine Lies (2008)
• Under the Covers, Vol. 2 (with Susanna Hoffs) (2009)
• Modern Art (2011)
• Under the Covers, Vol. 3 (with Susanna Hoffs) (2013)

Film & television

1992	"Silent City", Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1993	"Girlfriend", Baywatch
1994	"Superdeformed", Beavis and Butthead
1995	"Ultrasuede", National Lampoon's Senior Trip "My Pet", Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls "Everything Changes", The Babysitters Club
1996	"Flipper", Flipper "Happiness", Brain Candy "Dark Secret", The Craft "Swan Song", Bed of Roses
1997	"Hollow", The Game "BBC" (with Mike Myers), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
1998	"Farther Down", Can't Hardly Wait "Magnet & Steel" (Walter Egan cover), Sabrina the Teenage Witch "Magnet & Steel" (Walter Egan cover), Overnight Delivery "Sick of Myself", I Think I Do
1999	"Faith in You", Drive Me Crazy
2000	"Faith in You", Roswell
2001	"I've Been Waiting", All Over the Guy
2002	"It Don't Matter to Me", Ash Wednesday "Girlfriend", Crossroads
2003	"Daddy Wasn't There" (with Mike Myers), Austin Powers in Goldmember "Warmth of the Sun" (Beach Boys cover), American Dreams "I've Been Waiting", Scrubs
2004	"Cats Vs Dogs", Garfield: The Movie "Blue" (Jayhawks cover), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! "No Blue Sky", Smallville
2005	Theme song, Camp Burlesque
2006	"Girlfriend", Guitar Hero II (game) "The Tide Is High", How to Eat Fried Worms "Livin' Thing", My Name Is Earl
2007	"Come to California", Nancy Drew "Different Drum" (Stone Poneys cover), The Heartbreak Kid
2009	"Got to Get You Into My Life" (Beatles cover), Imagine That "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (w/ All Too Much), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
2010	"Wild", The Bigtop Theme song, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.
2012	"Girlfriend", Chasing Mavericks

Tributes & benefits

1993	"Superdeformed", No Alternative "She Said She Said" (Beatles cover), Born to Choose "This Moment", Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams
1994	"Let Me Be The One", If I Were A Carpenter "Bovine Connection", Yellow Pills, Vol. 2: More of the Best of American Pop
1995	"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?", Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits
1996	"A Day in the Life of a Tree" (Beach Boys cover), Honor: A Benefit for the Honor the Earth Campaign "Dragon Lady", A Small Circle of Friends: Germs (Tribute)
1997	"Do Ya" (Move cover), Live from 6A: Great Musical Performances from Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1998	"Girlfriend", Onxrt: Live From the Archives, Vol. 4 "We're the Same", Golden Jam: General Mills' Golden Grahams
1999	"Divine Intervention", 2 Meter Sessies, Vol. 5
2001	"Every Night", Listen to What the Man Said: Popular Artists Pay Tribute to Paul McCartney.
2002	"Karen", Shoe Fetish: A Tribute to Shoes. "Big Sky", This Is Where I Belong - The Songs of Ray Davies & The Kinks
2004	"Good Night" (Beatles cover), For the Kids Too
2005	"American Girl" (Tom Petty cover), High School Reunion: A Tribute To Those Great 80s Films
2006	"The Ballad of El Goodo", Big Star, Small World "Good Day Sunshine" (vocals w/ The Bangles), All Together Now: Beatles Stuff for Kids of All Ages
2007	"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (w/ Susanna Hoffs), Like a Hurricane: A Tribute to Neil Young
2012	"Hombre Secreto (Secret Agent Man)" (Plugz cover), A Tribute to Repo Man
2013	"Marianne" (vocals w/ Tim Robbins), Son of Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys "Second Choice" (vocals w/ Velvet Crush), Skrang: Sounds Like Bobby Sutliff

Other appearances

• In 1983, Sweet was an extra in the film, Terms of Endearment, in a scene featuring Debra Winger and Jeff Daniels at the University of Nebraska.

• In 1985, Sweet contributed a cover of the dB's "Ask for Jill" (with Don Dixon and Chris Stamey) for the Hoboken anthology, Luxury Condos Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon.

• In 1986, Sweet contributed lyrics and vocals to the song, "Something Becomes Nothing", for The Golden Palominos album, Blast of Silence.

• In 1988, Sweet co-wrote (with Jules Shear) the title track to the final 'Til Tuesday album, Everything's Different Now.

• In 1991, Sweet contributed bass guitar to Lloyd Cole's cover of "Chelsea Hotel" for the tribute album, I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, and also toured with his band, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.

• In 1992, Sweet was featured on an episode of the series, 120 Minutes, hosted by VJ Dave Kendall, which included an interview and live performance.

• In 1994, Sweet co-produced the Velvet Crush album, Teenage Symphonies to God.

• In 1995, Sweet appeared on an episode of the series, Space Ghost Coast to Coast. That same year, he was featured on an episode of VH1 Duets with John Hiatt, and also contributed guitar and vocals to the song, "She's Not In Love", on the Kim Stockwood album, Bonavista.

• In 1996, Sweet contributed bass guitar to the song, "Are You Ready for the Fallout?", on the Fastball debut album. Also, Sweet provided backing vocals for Kris McKay in a cover of his own song, "How Cool", on her album, Things That Show.

• In 1997, Sweet was the subject for Matthew Sweet: On the Edge, a documentary produced by NPTV (Nebraska Public Television). Also that year, Sweet contributed vocals to the song, "Sixteen Down", on the Jayhawks album, Sound of Lies.

• In 1998, Sweet appeared on an episode of the series, The Drew Carey Show, as a musician auditioning to be in Carey's band.

• In 1999, Sweet co-produced (and co-wrote two songs) on the Velvet Crush album, Free Expression.

• In 2000, Sweet contributed lyrics and vocals to the song, "Daylight", on the Delerium album, Poem. Also that year, he appeared on the game show, Win Ben Stein's Money, as a contestant playing for Alzheimer's.

• In 2001, Sweet was interviewed for the book, Behind The Muse: Pop and Rock's Greatest Songwriters Talk About Their Work and Inspiration.

• In 2002, Sweet contributed vocals to the title track of the Counting Crows album, Hard Candy.

• In 2003, Sweet co-wrote the song, "Stumbling Through the Dark", for the Jayhawks album, Rainy Day Music.

• In 2004, Sweet co-wrote the title track to the Hanson album, Underneath.

• In 2008, Sweet was featured in Mellodrama, a documentary about the keyboard instrument, the Mellotron. That same year, he produced The Bridges debut album, Limits of the Sky.

• In 2010, Sweet was featured on an episode of Stripped Down Live With Curt Smith, which included an interview and live performance.

• In 2011, Sweet performed the Big Star song, "September Gurls", with Mike Mills at a tribute concert to Alex Chilton.

• In 2013, Sweet performed the Beatles songs, "Nowhere Man" and "Day Tripper", along with the Wild Honey Orchestra (featuring Rusty Anderson) at a tribute benefit for autism. That same year, he contributed bass to the Lloyd Cole album, Standards.

External links

• Official website