Music Matthew Sweet Back In Bed With Susanna Hoffs

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OCTOBER 6, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD COMEDY TECHNOLOGY BOOKS/NYR NEW YORK CHICAGO DENVER VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted: September 11, 2009 02:58 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index CDs -- Matthew Sweet: Back In Bed With Susanna Hoffs Read More: Albums , Bangles , Duets , Matthew Sweet , Music , Power Pop, Seventies , Shout Factory , Susanna Hoffs , Entertainment News Is there something in the air? Not since the Sixties has there been such an explosion of duet albums (at least in rock and roll). Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Zooey Deschanel and M.Ward with She & Him. Kasey Chambers andShane Nicholson. Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. And of course Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles with their secondduets album, Under The Covers Vol. 2. "That's true," says Sweet, who chats away by phone, excited to be talking with Huffington Post since he's a political junkie. (Not to mention a tech junkie, he can talk at length about software and is already itching for an iPod tablet.) "I immediately thought of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss because what they did was so interesting. As far as Sue and I, if we thought about all the otherpeople doing duo work, we would be horrified at our lowly status," he laughs. "And beyond duets albums, in general there's just more great music out there than anyone realizes." And Sweet should know: he's been in a creative resurgence the last few years. Touring as The Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge really freed up Sweet, who initially kept behaving like a solo artist who could call all the shots but finally learned to collaborate. Thus, the Thorns album led to Sunshine Lies, perhaps his best solo album since his breakthrough Girlfriend , which was named one of the 100 best albums of the 90s. Plus, he mentored the country rock band The Bridges (they're sort of a cross between Fleetwood Make HuffPost Your Home Most Popular on HuffingtonPost 1 of 2 SNL Vs. Obama: Sketch Details All The President's Failures... 6,057 Comments Conservative Bible Project Cuts Out Liberal Passages 5,401 Comments Jessica Simpson Dons See-Through Jumpsuit, Mumu (PHOTOS) 193 Comments Katla McGlynn Kevin Smith Talks Judd Apatow, Weed, And... 88 Comments Dr. Maoshing Ni 5 Ways To Age Naturally 80 Comments Arianna Huffington Lack of Legal Help: One More Way... 448 Comments Madonna & Lady Gaga's SNL Catfight (VIDEO) 326 Comments As Layoffs Persist, Good Jobs Go Unfilled 2,044 CommentsBIG NEWS: Jon & Kate Plus 8 | Celebrity Skin | Rihanna | American Idol | Health Action | More... LOG IN | SIGN UP Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg Get Breaking News Alerts Share Print Comments never spam Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell Has Blake Lewis & "HEARTBREAK ON Crazy Stage Costumes: Which Is Jessica Simpson Dons See-ThroughMac and the Dixie Chicks), recorded his two duets albums with Hoffs and is now producing the new Bangles CD at his home studio. But first he's on tour with Hoffs, trying to get the word out about their delightful collaboration. (They're performing in New York City tonight.) They certainlydon't think about all the other acts doing duet albums when diving into their favorite songs. "We make things in our own little world and we cover records as much as we cover songs." Indeed, Under The Covers Vol 2 is a different beast than Vol. 1 , which had famous tunes but also a lot of offbeat choices. Vol. 2 covers the Seventies -- when Sweets and Hoffs were coming of age and their defenses were down. They don't need to search record bins for obscurities. They lived these songs. "For some reason, when we got into the Seventies, it hit this time -- Sue was in high school and I was 12 in 1976 -- we have all these memories about this stuff kind of before we were cool, before we knew what was cool, in a way. For instance, Yes. Some of the first records I bought in 5th gradewere Yes because kids three years older than me, that's what they were listening to and theyseemed cool to me." So popular hits like Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes," "Rod Stewart's "Maggie May," and Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News" are presented in all their glory, without any attempt to reinvent or reinterpret the tune musically. In fact, Lindsey Buckingham appears on the Fleetwood track with his trademark guitar work, not to mention Steve Howe on a show-stopping Yes cover and other artists on their respective tracks. So the music is faithful without fear because just having both their voices changes up the tunes immediately. "We really hated to give up what was so cool about the record," explains Sweet. "And we sound so different anyway, with a lot of harmonies." So "Maggie May" is given a Sapphic spin with Hoffs rasping her way through that tune. And the Raspberries gem "Go All The Way" is sent into orbit when -- instead of a man singing how he wishes his girl would urge him to "go all the way" -- you suddenly have Hoffs responding to Sweetby cooing those very words. "I know! Isn't that great?" enthuses Sweet, who can talk for hours about Hoffs' talent, not to mention his love of the artists they're covering. (Ask him which Lindsey Buckingham solo album ishis favorite and you can sit back for a while.) The album features 16 tracks, another ten on the deluxe edition and Sweet is pondering putting up a single or two down the road just because it's so easy. As he lists the numerous tracks they recorded but didn't include, it becomes clear he's not an artiste obsessed with capturing a certain sound in the studio. "People fix everything. They make it so perfect. I'm much less of a perfectionist than anybody thought, I think," says Sweet. "I'm less of a craftsman. I just like whatever and I don't plan a lot." He also politely disagrees with his Wikipedia entry, which states that Sweet intentionally turned his back on the growing fame that greeted him with the release of Girlfriend . "I never willfully have tried to not be popular," says the 44 year-old Sweet. "My thing with popularity is that I didn't crave popularity for its own sake really ever. I wanted to make music andI was interested in recording songs. To some degree, I wasn't willing to be shaped the way I would have needed to be I guess to theoretically be more commercially successful. I didn't feel like there was anything I could write that would make sure I was commercial so I just never did it." Check out the music on Under The Covers Vol. 2 right here. Matthew Sweet talked with me about his entire career, working with the Bangles, his love of technology and other topics in a 45 minute interview. Download my free podcast from iTunes. It's the first episode of my interview show Popsurfing. Search iTunes for Popsurfing or go right here. And visit me at my website MichaelGiltz.com.Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz More in Entertainment... 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The Greatest?... Jumpsuit, Mumu (PHOTOS) HuffPost Stories Surging On Digg Ads by Google Michael Moore Does Michael Moore Hate America? 1-Minute Survey Cast Your Vote Now! www.Moore.OpinionOrbit.com Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to HobbyWizard I'm a Fan of HobbyWizard 2 fans permalink Wow, shocked to find a blog post about Matthew Sweet, my favorite pop singer and songwriter. I thought the first volume of Sid n Susie had a lot of interesting material. Worth the price of the CD for the Left Banke song, which they sang the hell out of. Not so much digging the 70s edition, though, which is disappointing because there is a galaxy of out- there stuff they could've picked. I think as much as the pedestrian selection was the overly faithfulrenditions of songs that, frankly, shouldn't be replicated at all, much less covered so closely. Whywould anyone think to cover All the Young Dudes, for instance? For pete sake, it stinks when Bowiesings it, and he wrote the damned thing! After checking out "Vol 2" on Last FM, I decided just to download a couple of the songs. Sorry, Matt and Susanne! (I did like the Raspberries cover just because I can't stand their lead singer's voice.) Michael Giltz I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz 4 fans permalink Hope you find his other projects more rewarding. With Susanna covering Maggie May and other songs about women, I guess it was only fair for Matthew to sing one to the guys. But that's the great part of the net: you can check out a lot of tracks on an album and buy what inspires you. I bet the result is you buy more music and are happier with your purchase. It'sso easy to listen to two or three tracks on most any new album out there that no one has totake the word of a one paragraph rave in a British magazine or one song on the radio beforecommitting to an entire album. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:30 PM on 09/12/2009 See Sal Nunziato's Profile Sal Nunziato - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Sal Nunziato 28 fans permalink Just caught Sid N Susie last night at City Winery. LOVE these records and your podcast was a blast. But I was really disappointed by the performance. Michael Giltz I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz 4 fans permalink Bummer, I saw their last tour and thought it was fun. One drawback of a small label is nomoney for tour support: they've only got a few dates and probably didn't get a chance torehearse much. Hopefully they'll be better the next few nights.Thanks for the nice wordsabout the podcast. You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with Ads by Google Download Music For Free Unlimited Music Downloads Choose From Millions of Tracks www.Kazaa.com HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:30 AM on 09/13/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:06 PM on 09/12/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:31 AM on 09/13/2009

Music Matthew Sweet Back In Bed With Susanna Hoffs

📄 Music Matthew Sweet Back In Bed With Susanna Hoffs

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