I’ve always felt like I have the potential to be a big Matthew Sweet fan. I don’t really know any of his music, but I’m aware enough of his sound to get that he lands in the same general ballpark as a lot my favorites.
Sweet is a power pop singer-songwriter who hails from Athens, Georgia, and once formed a band with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. He has the DNA of an alternative rocker raised on 50s and 60s pop.
He has never had a big hit, but he made a minor splash with two albums in the early 90s. The first was 1991’s Girlfriend and the second was today’s featured album, 1995’s 100% Fun.
I’ve owned this record pretty much since it came out, having picked up the CD in a bargain bin, but I can’t recall ever playing it all the way through. I don’t know if that’s the music’s fault or mine.
Browsing the album for this post, I’m hearing what I expected to hear — smart guitar pop with sticky hooks. I don’t know if it’s quite smart or quite hooky enough to keep me coming back at this point in my life, but if I had bought in to Sweet 30 years ago, I bet I would have listened to this a lot.
You don’t know how you move me
Deconstruct me
And consume me
I’m all used up
I’m out of luck
I am starstuck
By something in your eyes
That is keeping my hope alive
[Chorus]
But I’m sick of myself when I look at you
Something is beautiful and true
In a world that’s ugly and a lie
It’s hard to even want to try
And I’m beginning to think
Baby you don’t know
[Verse 2]
I’ll take or leave
The room to breathe
The choice to leave you
I’ll throw away
A chance at greatness
Just to make this
Dream come into play
I don’t know if I’ll find a way
[Chorus]
‘Cause I’m sick of myself when i look at you
Something is beautiful and true
In a world that’s ugly and a lie
It’s hard to even want to try
And I’m beginning to think
Baby you don’t know
And I’m beginning to think
Baby you don’t know
[Chorus]
There’s something in your eyes
That is keeping my hope alive
Cause I’m sick of myself when I look at you
Something is beautiful and true
In a world that’s ugly and a lie
It’s hard to even want to try
And I’m beginning to think
Baby you don’t know
And I’m beginning to think
Baby you don’t know
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’ve heard of him, but am not at all familiar with his music.
Matthew Sweet hooked up with Susannah Hoffs for three volumes of “Between The Covers”. Each CD contains cover versions from a specific decade and each CD is a gem. Their voices mesh incredibly well together. Highly recommend folks check these CD’s out of you are a fan of either Sweet of Hoffs.