Flashback: Matthew Sweet’s Early ’90s Power-Pop Perfection
Green Day’s American Idiot begins previews on Broadway in two weeks and we’re stoked (obviously) but that’s not the only musical we’ve got our eyes on this spring. Next month the Berkeley Repertory Theater will premiere Girlfriend, a new show built around the perfect pop confections of Matthew Sweet’s 1991 album — a.k.a. the best power-pop album of all time. (Seriously. It’s amazing. We wouldn’t joke about power-pop.)
The musical is actually a boy-meets-boy love story, so we’re curious how they’ll spin the title song. The album’s other star single, “I’ve Been Waiting,” on the other hand, bypasses personal pronouns entirely, so no rewriting there. Check out the videos for these two “rock and roll valentines” and lap up the chiming guitars, layered harmonies and wickedly infectious melodies. For all you manga fans out there, “Girlfriend” features animated clips from the movie Space Adventure Cobra, and “I’ve Been Waiting” uses clips of Lum Invader, a character from the series Urusei Yatsura. Plus, check out Sweet and Susanna Hoff’s Live at Rolling Stone set.
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His work has always been great, & he remains one of the most overlooked musicians in recent memory. I’m not much for any rock & roll hitting the stage in musical revues (I think it’s another part of what’s ruining rock in today’s world), but hopefully someone in the audience for this show will be moved to seek his albums out.
One of the best albums of the 90’s, and one of my favorite albums of all time. If your running out of talk show flashback ideas, then you should check out Husker Du on the Joan Rivers show.
And yet “Girlfriend” is not on the RS 500 Best Albums. Time for an update!