Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is a power pop musician from Lincoln, … Read Full Bio ↴Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is a power pop musician from Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s.

As a young musician wanting to make a name for himself, Sweet set off to Athens, Georgia in the mid '80s, to attend college and join the vibrant Athens music scene, most famous as the home base for R.E.M. and The B-52's. Sweet worked with R.E.M. leader Michael Stipe at this time, joining Stipe's sister in a band called Oh-OK and then forming another band, The Buzz of Delight. Before long he was signed to a solo recording contract with Columbia Records.

One album, Inside, was released by Columbia in 1986 to little success.

Sweet was then picked up by A&M Records where he released his second album, Earth (1989), again without commercial success. This period marked a personal and professional low point for Sweet, as A&M lost interest and his marriage failed.

Sweet quickly recovered, and put together a new band including Richard Lloyd, Robert Quine, Greg Leisz, Lloyd Cole, and Fred Maher. The new group spent 1990 putting together Sweet's next work, originally titled Nothing Lasts.

In 1990, A&M released Sweet from his contract, and he signed with rival Zoo Entertainment. The album, still under construction, was retitled Girlfriend and released in October 1991. This album featured a classic set of pop-rock songs, was considered by many to be an artistic breakthrough and quickly garnered impressive U.S. sales (spawning a top-10 single with the title track). The video for the title track was aired on MTV and MuchMusic and features Japanese animation (commonly known as "anime"), of which Sweet is a fan. The animated clips in the video for "Girlfriend" are taken from the movie Space Adventure Cobra, and the video for "I've Been Waiting" uses clips of the show Urusei Yatsura featuring the character Lum, of whom Sweet has a tattoo.

Sweet's follow-up album, 1993's Altered Beast, was borne out of an apparent determination not to become mainstream. A more diverse and less immediately accessible album than Girlfriend, the album divided fans and critics who had mixed reactions to emotionally intense and brooding tracks like "Someone to Pull the Trigger" and "Knowing People."

In 1995, Sweet released, 100% Fun, a darkly ironic title alluding to a quotation from Kurt Cobain's suicide note: "The worst crime I could think of would be to pull people off by faking it, pretending as if I'm having 100% fun." The album mixed bouncy pop style with darker lyrics, including a leadoff track, the self-deprecating "Sick of Myself". The track has frequently been covered live by fellow '90s power poppers The Posies.

Decidedly out of the musical mainstream, Sweet would issue a few more albums in the second half of the decade and maintain a devoted core of fans, but critical acclaim and chart success would be hard to come by.

Sweet's international success had been somewhat limited by his fear of flying; however he gained a significant following in Japan and his most recent album, Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, was a Japan-only release in 2003.

In 2000, Sweet worked with the Canadian band Delerium, to release the song "Daylight" that appears in their album Poem.

In early 2002 he formed the supergroup The Thorns with Shawn Mullins and Pete Droge.

He released a new album of solo material, Living Things in late 2004, though the material on the album was recorded in 2002.

In April 2006 he partnered with Bangles lead singer Susanna Hoffs to release a collection of 1960's classics, titled Under The Covers. Featuring their take on such widely known '60s hits as "Monday, Monday," and "The Kids Are Alright", the album represented a return to the accessible and melodic approach associated with Sweet's early breakthroughs.

He is featured in the release in November of 2006 of the Activision and Red Octane Play Station 2 game, Guitar Hero 2. His hit song "Girlfriend" is featured on the hit game.

Hollow
Matthew Sweet Lyrics

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Capture
The spirit of adversity
Be sure to put the lid on tight
And watch it carefully
Sew shut
The mouth of the river slut
The entrance to a place discussed
But hardly there for you

Hollow
An evil bigger than you could know
Has taken root
Rapture
So what do you care
You know if it was up to me
I'd take you anywhere
Hollow
An evil bigger than you could know
An evil bigger than you could know
An evil bigger than you could know
Has taken root
Hollow
An evil bigger than you could know
An evil bigger than you could know

An evil bigger than you could know
Has taken root

Overall Meaning

The song "Hollow" by Matthew Sweet has some dark and mysterious lyrics that leave a lot of room for interpretation. The opening line "Capture the spirit of adversity" suggests that the singer is urging someone to confront their problems and not run away from them. This is reinforced by the line "Be sure to put the lid on tight and watch it carefully" - the idea being that if you're going to face your demons, you need to be prepared to contain and control them.

The next few lines are a bit more tricky, but it seems like the singer is referring to some kind of forbidden or secret place - perhaps a metaphor for something unspoken or hidden in the psyche. The phrase "Sew shut the mouth of the river slut" is particularly evocative, conjuring up images of a silenced or silenced female figure. This could be interpreted as a warning against speaking out, or an acknowledgement of the difficulty of expressing certain feelings or experiences.

The chorus provides the title of the song, and repeats the line "an evil bigger than you could know / has taken root". The use of the word "hollow" suggests that the singer feels empty or void, as though something essential has been removed. The repeated use of the word "evil" suggests that there is a malevolent force at work here, and that the singer feels overwhelmed by it.

Overall, "Hollow" seems to be a song about facing up to one's inner demons, but also acknowledging that it is a difficult and perhaps even dangerous process. The imagery and language used is quite evocative, and leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

Line by Line Meaning

Capture
Seize and hold on to

The spirit of adversity
The essence of difficulty and challenge

Be sure to put the lid on tight
Make sure to secure it

And watch it carefully
Observe it closely

Sew shut
Stitch firmly closed

The mouth of the river slut
The entrance to the promiscuous body of water

The entrance to a place discussed
The gateway to a location mentioned

But hardly there for you
But scarcely accessible for you

Hollow
Empty, without substance

An evil bigger than you could know
A wickedness greater than you can comprehend

Has taken root
Has established itself