Matthew Sweet

Singer

Birthday October 6, 1964

Birth Sign Libra

Birthplace Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.

Age 59 years old

Nationality United States

#30551 Most Popular

1964

Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990s as a solo artist.

1970

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.

1980

As a high school student in 1980, Sweet wrote songs and recorded them on four-track cassettes.

He joined the band The Specs and released his first recording on a battle of bands LP produced by a local radio station, and fronted his own local band called The Dialtones.

After graduating, Sweet traveled 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.

1983

He graduated from Southeast High School in Lincoln, in 1983.

Upon graduation he moved to Athens, Georgia to attend college.

1984

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.

1986

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

1989

In 1989, he released Earth after signing with A&M Records; likewise, it was well-received critically, yet not commercially.

This marked a personal and professional low period as his record company lost interest and his marriage failed.

1990

In 1990, A&M released Sweet from his contract, and he signed with rival Zoo Entertainment, which evolved into Volcano Entertainment.

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.

The following year, Sweet released Girlfriend, which was widely considered an artistic breakthrough.

It 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.

1993

In 1993, Sweet released Altered Beast, an album which drew mixed reactions with its intense and brooding tracks (such as "Someone to Pull the Trigger" and "Knowing People").

1995

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 year's-best list.

1997

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.

1998

In 1998 his version of Walter Egan's Magnet and Steel was recorded on the Sabrina The Teenage Witch album with Lindsey Buckingham on guitar.

1999

In 1999, Sweet released In Reverse, a psychedelic album which featured Wall of Sound singles "What Matters" and "Trade Places".

The album is noteworthy for its 10-minute closing track, "Thunderstorm", a combination of several demos.

2000

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

2001

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

2002

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 group The Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge.

2003

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

2004

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

2006

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

2008

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

2009

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

2010

In 2010, the musical Girlfriend, using songs from Sweet's album of the same name, was staged by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

2011

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

2012

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

2018

His companion albums, Tomorrow Forever and Tomorrow's Daughter, were followed by 2018's Wicked System of Things and 2021's Catspaw, his 15th studio effort.

Sweet was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.