50 Quotes by Matthew Sweet

More labels should be like that. Instead of putting these records out myself, I should have just signed with them, but they probably don't like my music (laughs).

My family lives there, so I come back sometimes between shows for a couple days. I get back a couple times a year. When I was 30 to 34 I was weirded out when I came back - you know, how your past gets away from you. It's grown so much.

I got better money playing live and some publishing money - I still get checks from publishing. But the label was always recouping advances.

He helped make Living Things even more crazy than I wanted it to be. He added old-fashioned piano and classical folk music - that weird otherworldly vibe - all these elements got onto the record.

My management always laughs at me when I say I felt all these pressures all these years. They think that I fought everything from the very beginning.

I think of it as 'pretend freedom.' It was a way to trick my mind into not feeling so pressured. I felt like I had become numb to that process.

When I go to Japan and do shows I play for 1,000 to 1,500 people. I like a lot about Japan. Their popular culture and mass commercialization appeals to me.

First off, I don't want anyone to think I'm this huge thing in Japan. Every group from here that's made any records over any length of time - even indie bands - have a Cheap Trick effect in Japan.

Things are going to change in this business. Look at how well Bright Eyes has done on Saddle Creek. No one's done anything like that before.