Matthew Sweet - "Hide"

Get well soon, Matthew Sweet. Thinking of you while playing a song from your most underappreciated album, In Reverse.

matthew sweet - into your drug

I got into a Matthew Sweet kick on Spotify and stumbled across his greatest-hits collection, Time Capsule. Decent overview, but where's "Into Your Drug"? It's right here.

the shins' james mercer knows that his band is for wussies

From the Los Angeles Times' interview with James Mercer of the Shins:

He knows fans will be waiting and that for others, the Shins will remain a symbol of the soft, contemplative side of indie rock, and therefore a target for contempt. Mercer understands.

"I remember being in high school," he says with a laugh, "and you had to draw those lines and define yourself. I don't think when I was in high school I would have been willing to admit that I liked the Shins. I was into TSOL and Black Flag. I probably would have listened to the Shins secretly in my bedroom."

As someone who was into Matthew Sweet, Public Enemy, R.E.M. and Nirvana in high school, I think I would have dug the Shins. I'm starting to look ahead to best-of-the-decade listmaking, and I have to say: I think Chutes Too Narrow is going to place very high on my album list.

trouble the water

Trouble the Water leads my biweekly Consumables column, but its equal is the also-wonderful Shotgun Stories, which I finally caught up with on DVD. Also in Consumables, reviews of Elegy, Momma's Man, A Girl Cut in Two, Flow and Matthew Sweet's Sunshine Lies.

matthew sweet: i've been waiting

Matthew Sweet has been on my mind lately as I listen to his new album, Sunshine Lies, which I'll be reviewing in Monday's Consumables. So I decided to find an old favorite off of 1991's Girlfriend. "I've Been Waiting" is the sort of muscular power-pop he is exceptionally good at -- straightforward, instantly hummable, etc. He also captures emotions well: "I've Been Waiting" is what the glow of new love sounds like. (And I always loved that line "You can wear my clothes.")

And in case you're wondering, Sweet's a big fan of Japanese animation, hence the video's look.