Loved this song and Robert Quine’s guitar work was insane 🤘

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Went to WHFS' HFStival at RFK Stadium in '95. Lots of very different acts, but when Matthew played his set, EVERYONE sang along to EVERY song. I guess he was the thing that everyone could agree on. Great times.

It seemed to me that whenever I went to other peoples' houses in that era, everybody had a copy of Girlfriend.

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Friendly_Tell6664@reddit

I added him last month on my Spotify playlist… & Veruca Salt, Hum & jawbreaker

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Friendly_Tell6664@reddit

… and

Archers of Loaf 🤘🏽

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squee_bastard@reddit

Jawbreaker has been my favorite band since I was 15, this comment made me smile.

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PresidentSuperDog@reddit

As much as I liked Jawbreaker in my youth, I enjoy listening to Jets to Brazil as an adult so much more. I think Blake’s lyrics just improved so much with maturity.

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

Love Veruca Salt!

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TheNamesDave@reddit

Hum

"I thought you'd be there holding daisies

You always wait for me

She thinks she missed the train to Mars

She's out back counting stars"

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pinecity21@reddit

Did a couple three CDs called under the covers with Susanna Hoff's of the Bangles and their fantastic many songs you know and some surprises

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Disastrous-Exit7614@reddit

I loved that album. I only owned two

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Blondisms@reddit

For a second I thought this thread was about the Matthew Sweet who was the front man for the Christian "metal" band, Stryker.

Unfortunately he's not well. Girlfriend is always one of my top 5 90s songs and it made me so sad to read he had a stroke and needed help paying his medical expenses. I am hoping he makes a strong recovery and can make music again.

Was that the one with Sublime doing Hong Kong Phooey? I came across it way later and it blew my mind.

Has there been anything like that since? Serious bands doing covers of shows from their childhood?

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IKSLukara@reddit

Yeah, that's it. Also Liz Phair doing the Banana Splits and the Ramones with the Spider-Man song, good stuff!

gong_show_judge@reddit

He seems to be doing better, but sounds pretty down. This is the latest update.

Great album!

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snerdie@reddit

Behold! Me in 1996. Bought the shirt at his concert a few years earlier. (Picture was on top of a lighthouse in th Bahamas. It was very windy.)

Well, I'm loaded, ready. Calmly holding steady. Looking for a sign to show me when. Well, I'm waiting, willing. The clarity is chilling....

I saw him at Berbati's Pan in PDX. Great show.

JibbityJabbity@reddit

Love him!!

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Awkward-Initiative28@reddit

Hell yeah!

I was curious what happened to them, this was quite the read….

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_House?wprov=sfti1#

It also referenced CDNow which I had completely forgotten about. I searched my email and found emails about online orders there 1999-2000….blast from the past!

I ordered:

For $17.96:

Papa Vegas : Hello Vertigo (CD) Oleander : February Son (CD)

For $63.76:

P.J. Harvey : 4-Track Demos (CD) Tricky : Angels With Dirty Faces (CD) Squarepusher : Selection Sixteen (CD) (This was in Dec 2000, must have been gifts, I don’t have these CDs)

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

From the Wiki—and this is so GenX and would make Bob Dobbs smile

These Columbia House envelopes would arrive as junk mail to countless homes on a regular basis. One recipient might get one type of offer, but a neighbor might receive a more lucrative offer. Many times, the teenagers of the house intercepted this mail. They were easily suckered in with the idea of getting the albums they wanted all at once and all they had to do was to buy three or four albums within the next two or three years. There were many underage customers who legally could not be bound to this agreement; Columbia House knew these were unenforceable, but they apparently did not care (though eventually this policy did change). Columbia House (and other music clubs) made it extremely easy to defraud them. There were countless cases of customers joining the music club, receiving free albums and never ordering more albums at full price as agreed. Customers would join the club several times under different names with no intention of paying—in extreme cases receiving recordings with a retail value of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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tacosandEDM@reddit

Not only did us GenXers get suckered into this, I noticed Columbia House dates back to the 50s. Reminded me that my mom has mentioned that her dad got records that way….

Where You Get Love

This and 100% Fun are required listening

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93195@reddit

Of course I do. I’m assuming this photo answers the question….

Matthew Sweet was , along with Teenage Fanclub and Big Star, the soundtrack to my nineties. Had a great four album run from Girlfriend to Blue Sky On Mars. Absolutely beautiful harmonies and some timeless songs.

I couldn’t pick a favorite song of his if you paid me. Evangeline from Girlfriend, Life Without You or What Do You Know? from Altered Beast, We’re The Same or Smog Moon from 100% Fun, Behind The Smile or All Over My Head from BSOM. His best of, Time Capsule, also has an absolute banger called So Far.

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BatOutOfHello@reddit

Smog Moon is such a gorgeous song. The lyrics are so dark and sad but man, that melody is haunting.

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Cake_Donut1301@reddit

I carried his guitar to his tour bus back in the day.

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adudeguyman@reddit

How did that happen?

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my ex wife and i got the mama/baby dinosaur logo from Altered Beast tattooed on us

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

I knew the guy who did that cover art. His name was actually Art! He passed away a few years ago. RIP 🕊️

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OneValkGhost@reddit

OK. So it's a spontaneous thread about love for a indi singer, and not meant to scare me that his health problems have gotten worse. I hope he's able to regain his guitar playing abilities, as well as actual arm mobility because he needs that.

I had a Benzi Box in my ‘86 GTI. I went to the movies one night and put my radio in the trunk so I wouldn’t have to carry it in with me. Someone smashed my window and stole my box of 80 tapes. It was almost my whole collection.

It was then I converted to CDs.

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llbellenow@reddit

I taught school in downtown Atlanta, zone 3 for those who know - lol. After my radio was stolen the first time, I got one with a removable face plate. That one got stolen, too! And yes, I had the face plate with me when the rest of it was stolen!! I was so mad - ugh! All that frustration & expense, and it’s not even a thing that seems to happen anymore.

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KieranJalucian@reddit

check out his albums of covers with Susanna Hoffs!

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

Definitely doing this this week

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TheWarDoctor@reddit

Story time.

Back in 2010 I had some extra tickets to a screening of the Lost finale in LA with cast members, etc. Shout out to Jay and Jack Podcast. A friend of mine asked if they could offer them to a client of theirs, who happened to be Matthew. Flew out to LA, friend of mine and I drove to his house in the hills to deliver them.

He invited us in, and got to meet him and his partner (who I believe is the woman in the album art above). Toured his home, got to see his practice room with a bunch of instruments, and various memorabilia.

A few things stood out: 1) they were very much into cats and pottery, so the house was filled with these rather dick shaped cat sculptures, and 2) their art on there walls were these paintings of rather adult looking kids with huge eyes.

He invited us to hang out near the pool, we talk music, Lost, and he goes through a few joints in a medicine bottle. Now, I don't smoke, but I did find it rather odd he never offered. But hey, maybe it was expensive and I would have politely declined anyway.

After a few hours, we needed to head out to get ready for the finale, and he said he would meet us there at the Orpheum. On our way out, his wife gifted us some of those little statues. I had held onto them for quite a while until my toddler had eventually broken them.

As for that night, they never showed. Had folks that would have really enjoyed coming with us, and he never showed.

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pzeeman@reddit

Man. That album should be in the 1991 great albums list. It really is a masterpiece too to bottom. That, Altered Beast and 100% Fun make the all time power pop trilogy.

It really broke my heart when I heard about his stroke. I had one at 32 and was able to make a full recovery, but it sounds like he’ll be out of commission for a long time.

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

Wow good for you! I had no idea it could get as bad as what he describes.

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rlr0718@reddit

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rlr0718@reddit

I also did not realize he had so many albums.

Wow I didn’t know that! Hope he’s on a good path to recovery.

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Ruddiver@reddit

God that sucks. I just listened to this. All us GenX should like this. his cover of Scooby Doo.

Agreed! Had to listen to it.

Thanks OP I'm now totally into this artist!

https://youtu.be/n12OBlcHx9E?si=fumy10tnyTHL-NHf

tmolesky@reddit

This album was great. Underrated guitarist Robert Quine- it sounded very Hendrix-y to me.

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Nazz1968@reddit

That’s what drew me in the first time I heard it back in the day. Quine looked exactly like the tax lawyer that he in fact was, but had the most fluid lead playing I’d heard since Hendrix.

Geisterspielmitwurst@reddit

As an overall album “Girlfriend” is one of the greatest under appreciated albums the same way Big Star’s #1 record was. A new generation of kids will unearth this gem and start the process all over again.

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

For anyone who wants to contribute, here’s his GoFundMe. He had a terrible stroke in 2024 and is still in recovery. You can read his latest update on the page. It’s tragic. I hope he sees this thread.

Daddeeeeeee ….Daddy wasn’t there!

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LightFlaky2329@reddit (OP)

Winona!

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Mistermxylplyx@reddit

The video for Girlfriend will always get my vote for best MV.

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thespillover@reddit

gif

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FerretPrestigious306@reddit

Hell yeah!

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PoisonMind@reddit

gif

I saw him multiple times from mid-90s up to 2021.

I saw him open for the Indigo Girls at the Fox Theater in St Louis in what I believe would be 92. It was an awesome concert all around! 🔥

The industry just kind of passed him by in the 90s. And that's a shame because he was a master of the 3-minute spiky pop song.

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Deputydogg1976@reddit

Tremendous album, start to finish. Divine Intervention a banger. Saw him live in 2024 for the first time in 30 years, and the band was tight (the drummer from the bangles was his drummer), and the crowd loved him. Sad to hear about his health problems.

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Desperate_County_680@reddit

Saw him in KC, February 2024.

Sounded so good.

I love his music dearly. Seen him in concert 5-10 times? Talked to him after shows 3-4 times. Great guy.

He had a massive stroke. Probably will never be the same.

Sick of Myself. Such a great song.

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bozoskeleton@reddit

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-matthew-sweets-stroke-recovery?modal=updates

I hope he is doing well, he had a stroke a while back.

Great song writer and guitar player, I cant imagine what he is going through.

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zornmagron@reddit

looking at the sun might be the best breakup song ever created... this got me thru an ugly first breakup. and will always have a special place in my heart.. Plus girlfriend is chef kiss perfect song

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Karadek99@reddit

Loved this album

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Infamous-Wasabi-9418@reddit

I do. He was my first concert. ❤️

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WeirdFiction1@reddit

Love this album so much, as well as his next several. 100% Fun is incredibly good. Matthew unfortunately suffered a stroke a while back and has been in rehab/recovery since. There's an active GoFundMe to help with his medical costs, if anyone would like to donate to help him.

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phunkmunkie@reddit

Girlfriend is an absolute banger.

That album is perfect and has the best cover.

I’m so sad what happened to him. And is still happening to him. Tragedy.

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Ike_In_Rochester@reddit

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Amazing album it’s still in my rotation. Matthew Sweet writes some great songs!

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fiddintotellya@reddit

Smoking set of tunes

I remember reading that when Matthew recorded this he told everyone they only had three takes, then they picked the best one. Lends itself to the raw sound I love so much.

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_Aardvark@reddit

I'm a fan of him. This was a tough read:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/matthew-sweet-interview-since-stroke-health-update-1235354779/

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ZombieJoesBasement@reddit

Jesus, he had no health insurance when he had the stroke.

Willing_Crazy699@reddit

He was going to title the album "Nothing Lasts Forever " or something like that, but the actress on the cover, Tuesday Weld, said she would withdraw her ok to use her photo so they went with Girlfriend instead.

Tuesday Weld was one of the most beautiful actresses of the 1960's

*

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Erok2112@reddit

100% fun was a great album I thought.

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TheEvilOfTwoLessers@reddit

Just linked Holy War in this sub the other day.

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I loved this song but then I went and listened to his albums and they were all kinda whiny and bland.

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birdsinapuddle@reddit

If you ever have the chance to see the play Girlfriend, which uses music from that album, definitely go. It’s a wonderful play, and the music fits perfectly

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Hoosier100s@reddit

Wife and I still listen to a fair bit of his catalogue regularly. We were fortunate to attend one of his last shows before the stroke. His later stuff is all quite listenable, but that run of albums in the ‘90s was top tier.

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Accurate_Comedian526@reddit

How could I forget? I'd just moved to Lincoln, NE for college when Girlfriend dropped. For a few months, that was the only thing rivaling Nebraska football in the town pop-culture.

Astrofunkadunk@reddit

Richard Lloyd....one of my fav guitar players.

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W_J_B68@reddit

Absolutely.

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Inevitable-Rush-2752@reddit

I was playing this very album yesterday evening!

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yoursweetbaboo@reddit

I’ve been trying to forget

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FormerCollegeDJ@reddit

Hopefully Sweet is doing alright after his stroke (IIRC) a couple years ago.

I have a few of his albums on CD, put many of those songs (particularly from what is considered his classic trilogy - Girlfriend, Altered Beast, and 100% Fun) on my iPod Touch a number of years ago, and listen to them as part of my few thousand songs playlist regularly. I’ve also seen him live I think three times, once on the 100% Fun tour in 1995 and twice in the last 10 years prior to his stroke.

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hiro111@reddit

Girlfriend is a classic album. Altered Beast is underrated. 100% Fun is another classic album. In Reverse is ridiculously underrated and might be my favorite of his albums.

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mmr364@reddit

I bet you've already heard it, but Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu is excellent as well. I picked it up on a whim years ago and loved it ever since.

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nonotburton@reddit

I do!

Saw him live in a bar in Birmingham. Good show, nothing fancy, just him 10 feet away doing his thing with the band.

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