A musical blast from the past.

On the ride into work today CD101 was playing "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet.  Man, it's been awhile since I heard that song.  When that cd came out I played the hell out of it.  Non-stop, spin, spin, spin.  Which was a weird for me as a guy whose preferences were mainly rock-metal, that disk spoke to me in a way no music ever had before.  Maybe it was because I was going through my first real lost loves and broken hearts?  Maybe it was the cute manga girls in the videos?  I listened to a decent amount of different-style music but college-rock radio wasn't one of my favorites.  It was also (I think) the first time I thought of an album as a whole entity instead of just a collection of songs, hits and duds.  All the songs on that had a place and a purpose and got equal treatment from the craftsmen involved.  Lenny Kravitz's "Mama Said" may have opened my eyes to that concept earlier, I don't remember.


I think my friend Tim summed it up best when he said "it's great because the lyrics are clever and sensitive and the girls will like it, but then it rocks out with solid songs and there's the weird guitars that make it cool for a guy to listen to."  The guitars of Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd, if I remember correctly.

A few years ago Matthew Sweet re-gathered the Girlfriend musicians and recorded a quick album for his Japanese fans that was later given a US release.  It was quick, dirty and fun, spontaneous and solid.  I wish he would continue to work in that direction instead of trying to re-invent Pet Sounds over and over again.  The rough edges suit his songs much better than the shiny polish of his last few "official" releases.

I should start a music blog.  I could write all day about my collection.  Maybe musicians would start to send me free music?  Probably not.  ;-)

So, anyone else like "Girlfriend" as much as I did?