Power pop seems to transcend trends and find an audience no matter the decade. From The Beatles in the 60s through Todd Rundgren and Big Star in the 70s, into a legacy carried on by R.E.M. and others in the 80s and 90s.
Matthew Sweet is solidly in that tradition, and his 1991 album Girlfriend is considered one of the definitive albums both of the year and the genre.
For the first time in the eight years I’ve been blogging, a hurricane is hitting South Florida. I have a lot of experience with hurricanes, from Andrew in 2002 1992 to the quintet of storms that passed through my area in 2004-2005. And working in the media, I know how coverage of these events and their aftermath dominates my life for days and weeks.
I suspect that I should be a Matthew Sweet fan.
Sweet is a power pop singer-songwriter of exactly the sort I tend to like. Artists such as Squeeze, Barenaked Ladies, Fountains of Wayne, Owsley and mid-career R.E.M. are all cut from the same cloth.
But as with Neil Finn, another power pop practitioner I should follow, I’ve just never gotten around to listening.
Meet Me In Montauk 