Sidney Matthew Sweet (born c. October 6, 1964) is a pop-rock musician from Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s. Image File history File links MSweet. ... Athens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, at the eastern terminus of Georgia 316. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Power pop is a long-standing musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop music. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... This article is about the music genre. ... Nickname: Location in Nebraska Coordinates: , Country   State     County United States   Nebraska     Lancaster Founded[1]   Renamed   Incorporated 1856   July 29, 1867   April 1, 1869 Government  - Mayor Chris Beutler Area  - City 195. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Largest metro area Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq mi (200,520 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 0. ... The 3rd location of the 40 Watt Club: the one that represented the scene at its most prosperous. ...

Early career

As a teenager in Lincoln, Sweet wrote and recorded songs on four-track cassettes, and in the ninth grade joined the band the Specs which resulted in his first recording on a battle of the bands LP produced by a local radio station. Sweet set off to Athens, Georgia in the early '80s after graduating from Lincoln Southeast High School in 1983 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. In 1983, Sweet collaborated with R.E.M. member Michael Stipe under the name Community Trolls as well as being in Stipe's sister Lynda Stipe's band Oh OK, and that year also formed another band, Buzz of Delight. The Specs was a New Wave cover band from Lincoln, Nebraska, featuring a teenage Matthew Sweet, that played together from 1978-1980. ... Athens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, at the eastern terminus of Georgia 316. ... The 3rd location of the 40 Watt Club: the one that represented the scene at its most prosperous. ... R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Michael Stipe (vocals). ... The B-52s are a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, an important center of alternative rock. ... John Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960 in Decatur, Georgia) is the lead singer of the American rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known (and occasionally parodied) for the mumbling style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and... In 1993 Michael Stipe and Matthew Sweet wrote and recorded three songs together under the name Community Trolls. ... Lynda Stipe is an American musician, who has been a bass guitarist and singer in the bands Oh-OK, Hetch Hetchy and Flash to Bang Time. ...

In 1985 he was signed to a solo recording contract with Columbia Records. One album, Inside, was released by Columbia in 1986 to good reviews, but limited success. Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

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. A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ...

Sweet quickly recovered and formed a new band including Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine, Greg Leisz, Lloyd Cole, and Fred Maher. The new group spent 1990 assembling Sweet's next work, originally titled Nothing Lasts. Richard Lloyd (born 25 October 1951, Pittsburgh, PA) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, probably best-known as a former member of the rock band Television. ... Robert Quine (December 30, 1942 - May 31, 2004), a native of Akron, Ohio, was a guitarist known for his innovative guitar solos. ... Greg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass. ... Lloyd Cole with his old band during a reunion concert in London, October 2004 Lloyd Cole (born January 31, 1961) is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and for his subsequent solo work. ... American musician and record producer. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Commercial breakthrough

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). The video for the title track was aired on MTV and MuchMusic and features anime-style animation, of which Sweet is a fan. The animated clips in the video for "Girlfriend" are taken from the movie Space Adventure Cobra, and the video for "I've Been Waiting" uses clips of the Urusei Yatsura character Lum Invader, of whom Sweet has a tattoo. Zoo Entertainment was an American record label, and a subsidiary of BMG. The label was formed in the early 1990s by industry icon Lou Maglia (former president of Island Records), but is now defunct. ... Girlfriend is the third album by Matthew Sweet, his most commercially and critically successful album to date. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ... MuchMusic (often referred to only as Much) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel owned by CTVglobemedia dedicated to music and music-related programs. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... Space Adventure Cobra (Manga title: コブラ, TV anime title: スペースコブラ, theater released anime title: コブラ SPACE ADVENTURE, DVD released anime title: スペースアドベンチャー コブラ) is a sci-fi manga created by Buichi Terasawa, later turned into an anime movie and a TV series. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday Original run 1978 – 1987 No. ... Urusei Yatsura ), a. ...

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 accessible 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." Altered Beast is the fourth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ...

In 1995, Sweet released 100% Fun. The album mixed bouncy pop style with darker lyrics, including a leadoff track, the self-deprecating "Sick of Myself." The track has been covered live by Jon Auer, co-frontman of fellow '90s power poppers The Posies, as well as by Death Cab for Cutie and Bowling for Soup. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... 100% Fun is the fifth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Auer performing with The Posies in 2005. ... Power pop is a long-standing musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop music. ... -1... Death Cab for Cutie is an American band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. ... Bowling for Soup is an American Grammy nominated, comedy influenced pop punk band who originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994. ...

Recent history

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^{[citation needed]}; however he gained a significant following in Japan and his 2003 album Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, was initially a Japan-only release. For other uses, see Fear of flying (disambiguation). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In early 2002, he formed the supergroup The Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge. Also see: 2002 (number). ... In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe music groups comprising members who had already achieved fame or respect in other groups or as individual artists. ... The Thorns are a rock band formed in 2002; it is a project of 3 solo artists Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullins. ... Shawn Mullins (born March 8, 1968 in Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia) is a singer-songwriter who specializes in folk rock, Instrumental rock, and adult alternative music. ... Pete Droge is an American adult alternative/folk rock musician. ...

He released a new album of solo material, Living Things in late 2004, though the material on the album was recorded in 2002. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

In April 2006 he partnered with Bangles rhythm guitarist-vocalist Susanna Hoffs to release a collection of 1960's classics, titled Under The Covers Vol. 1 featuring their take on such widely known '60s hits as "Monday, Monday" and "The Kids Are Alright," the album represented a return to the accessible and melodic approach associated with Sweet's early breakthroughs. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bangles were a popular American pop band of the mid 1980s, one of the new generation of independent all-women bands that followed The Go_Gos. ... Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles (2003 promo photo) Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is a vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Bangles. ... The Kids Are Alright is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who. ...

His hit single "Girlfriend" from the album "Girlfriend" appeared on the hit video game Guitar Hero II [1]. Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. ...

Sweet is currently extremely heavy, causing concern among his long time fans. However, Matthew is said to be healthy. ^{[citation needed]}

Sweet is currently shopping around an album of new material, hoping for a late fall/early winter 2008 release. Samples of some of the songs can be heard on his MySpace page in the form of a promo he recorded for his manager. Although he states in the recording that the the songs will be on the album "Rock Bottom", in June of 2007 Sweet stated that he had no intention of naming the album that and that he had not anticipated the recording being posted online.

Discography

• Inside - Sony Records - 1986
• Earth - A&M Records - 1989
• Girlfriend - Zoo Entertainment - 1991. Later re-released as a Legacy Edition.
• Altered Beast - Zoo Entertainment - 1993
• Son of Altered Beast - Zoo Entertainment - 1994
• 100% Fun - Zoo Entertainment - 1995
• Blue Sky on Mars - Zoo Entertainment - 1997
• In Reverse - Volcano Records - 1999
• Time Capsule: Best of 90/00 - Volcano Records - 2000
• To Understand: The Early Recordings of Matthew Sweet - Hip-O Records - 2002
• Kimi Ga Suki - RCAM Records - 2003
• Living Things - RCAM Records - 2004
• Under the Covers, Vol. 1 (with Susanna Hoffs) - Shout! Factory - 2006

Inside is the debut album by alternative rock singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet. ... Sony Records is a record label courtesy of Columbia, Epic and American Recordings. ... Earth is the second album by alternative rock singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet. ... A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ... Girlfriend is the third album by Matthew Sweet, his most commercially and critically successful album to date. ... Zoo Entertainment was an American record label, and a subsidiary of BMG. The label was formed in the early 1990s by industry icon Lou Maglia (former president of Island Records), but is now defunct. ... Altered Beast is the fourth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Zoo Entertainment was an American record label, and a subsidiary of BMG. The label was formed in the early 1990s by industry icon Lou Maglia (former president of Island Records), but is now defunct. ... Son of Altered Beast is an EP by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Zoo Entertainment was an American record label, and a subsidiary of BMG. The label was formed in the early 1990s by industry icon Lou Maglia (former president of Island Records), but is now defunct. ... 100% Fun is the fifth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Zoo Entertainment was an American record label, and a subsidiary of BMG. The label was formed in the early 1990s by industry icon Lou Maglia (former president of Island Records), but is now defunct. ... Blue Sky on Mars is the sixth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Zoo Entertainment was an American record label, and a subsidiary of BMG. The label was formed in the early 1990s by industry icon Lou Maglia (former president of Island Records), but is now defunct. ... In Reverse is the seventh album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Volcano Records is a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainments Zomba Music Group, and controls the Scotti Bros. ... Volcano Records is a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainments Zomba Music Group, and controls the Scotti Bros. ... Hip-O Records is now part of Universal Music Group. ... Kimi Ga Suki is the eighth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. ... Living Things is the ninth studio album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet . ... Under the Covers, Vol. ... Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles (2003 promo photo) Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is a vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Bangles. ... Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 and which was started by Richard Foos (co-founder of Rhino Records), Bob Emmer (former Warner Music Group and Rhino executive) and Garson Foos (former Rhino executive). ...

Compilations

• Luxury Condos Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon - Coyote Records - 1985. Under the name "The Jacks," Sweet, Chris Stamey, and Don Dixon contributed a reworking of the dB's song, Ask for Jill, to this Hoboken anthology, with Sweet on lead vocals.

Chris Stamey (born December 6, 1954, Chapel Hill, North Carolina) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ... The dBs were a power pop group of the late 1970s and 1980s. ...

Other work

• Sweet apears briefly as an extra walking by the camera in the film Terms of Endearment
• Sweet has contributed numerous tracks to compilations and soundtracks, ranging from the Carpenters tribute album If I Were A Carpenter, to soundtracks for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Brain Candy and Can't Hardly Wait, as well as "Superdeformed" to the AIDS benefit album No Alternative and "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" to the compilation Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits.
• Sweet provided guitar, bass and/or vocals on a number of tracks on Lloyd Cole's albums Lloyd Cole (1990), Don't Get Weird on Me Babe (1991) and Bad Vibes (1993), as well as bass on Cole's recording of "Chelsea Hotel," on the Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan.
• Sweet coproduced the Velvet Crush albums Teenage Symphonies to God and Free Expression and cowrote two songs on the latter.
• Sweet and Jules Shear collaborated to write the title track for Everything's Different Now, the third and final album by 'Til Tuesday.
• He has also co-written at least one song with the Jayhawks, "Stumbling Through the Dark," on which he sang backing vocals, and has provided backing vocals on at least one other Jayhawks song, "Sixteen Down." In addition, the Thorns recorded a Jayhawks tune, "Blue."
• Sweet collaborated with Delerium on a song called "Daylight" from their 2001 album Poem.
• Sweet was also the guitarist in Ming Tea, a band featured in the first Austin Powers movie, with Susanna Hoffs and Mike Myers.
• Sweet was namechecked in Kosuke Fujishima's long-running manga series Ah! My Goddess during a storyline about the male lead, Keiichi Morisato, and his encounter with Schrodinger's Whale (a play on Schrödinger's Cat, this was a whale that existed in a five-dimensional quantum state). Keiichi taught the whale Sweet's song Millennium Blues, thus ensuring (albeit inadvertently) that the species would survive by having a call that they would be able to locate each other by.
• Sweet worked with Anton Fier's Golden Palominos in 1986, Blast of Silence CD, reissued in 1998.
• In 2001, he co-wrote the song "Underneath" with the re-emerging rock band Hanson. The song appeared on Hanson's 2004 album Underneath.
• Sweet provided backing vocals on the title track from Counting Crows' 2002 album Hard Candy.
• "Girlfriend" is featured in the video game Guitar Hero II.
• Sweet performed "Ballad of El Goodo" on the 2006 Big Star tribute album, Big Star Small World

For other uses, see Carpenter (disambiguation). ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 comedy film about a Valley Girl cheerleader (Kristy Swanson) chosen by fate to fight and kill vampires. ... Brain Candy (aka Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy) is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe. ... Cant Hardly Wait is a 1998 romantic teen comedy film directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... No Alternative is regarded as the definitive alternative rock compilation of 1994, receiving a rating of A+ from Entertainment Weekly. ... Lloyd Cole with his old band during a reunion concert in London, October 2004 Lloyd Cole (born January 31, 1961) is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and for his subsequent solo work. ... Leonard Norman Cohen, CC (born September 21, 1934 in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. ... Jules Shear is an American singer and songwriter born in Pittsburgh in 1952. ... Everythings Different Now is the third studio album by the American band Til Tuesday, released in 1988. ... The band on the cover of their debut album, Voices Carry. ... Hailing from Minneapolis, the Jayhawks are a band playing a style of alt-country and roots rock with elements of folk. ... Delerium is a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1987, originally as a side project of the influential industrial music act, Front Line Assembly. ... Poem is an album by Canadian industrial/electronic music group Delerium in 2000 (see 2000 in music). ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles (2003 promo photo) Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is a vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the Bangles. ... This article is about the actor. ... Kosuke Fujishima (藤島 康介 Fujishima Kōsuke) (born July 7, 1964) is a Japanese manga artist. ... This article is about the comics published in East Asian countries. ... Oh My Goddess!, known as Ah! My Goddess (ああっ女神さまっ Aa! Megami-sama) in Japan and in some English releases, is a manga and anime series by Kosuke Fujishima. ... Keiichi Morisato (森里 螢一 Morisato Keiichi) is a character in the popular manga Oh My Goddess! (OMG) and in the anime of the same name and is voiced by Masami Kikuchi. ... Schrodingers Whale is a fantasy fictional animal invented by Kosuke Fujishima in his manga Oh My Goddess!. It is a five-dimensional creature that uses quantum principles to travel throughout the whole time-space continuum. ... Schrödingers Cat: When the nucleus (bottom left) decays, the Geiger counter (bottom centre) may sense it and trigger the release of the gas. ... Anton Fier, born: June 20, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, is a drummer, composer and bandleader. ... The Golden Palominos was an American musical group headed by drummer and composer Anton Fier that was first formed in 1981. ... Not to be confused with Hanson Brothers or The Hanson Brothers. ... Counting Crows is an American Folk Rock band originating from Berkeley, California. ... Hard Candy is the fourth studio album by Counting Crows released in 2002 on Geffen Records. ... Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. ... Big Star is an American rock and roll band of the early 1970s whose work is often cited as a prime example of power pop. ...

External links

• Official website
• The Thorns official website
• Matthew Sweet discography
• Lazy-i Interview: October 2004
• 1997 TV Profile of Matthew Sweet - NET Television
• Matthew Sweet on MySpace
• The Matthew Sweet Song Database

References