Sweet Relief

I was very sad to read the news that Matthew Sweet has suffered a devastating stroke, a few dates into his current US tour and shortly after his 60th birthday.

 

I didn't hear via the usual music news channels, although I see that NME has belatedly posted an item. Rather, it was a tweet from Lloyd Cole:

At the time of this post, the original $250k target has been exceeded and stretched to $400k, to cover medical expenses and loss of touring income. Matthew apparently doesn't have medical insurance, a reminder to this UK national how lucky we are to have a National Health Service. If you feel moved to donate, you can do so here.

 

Either way, here's a snapshot of Matthew's rather fine music making, with the video for Girlfriend and live performances of Time Capsule, Trick and Sick Of Myself. 

 

And, to close, one of the best career decisions Matthew ever made, that is, teaming up with Susanna Hoffs (sigh) for the Under The Covers series of albums. Beautiful, dreamy, enchanting...and that's just Susanna. Their version of Different Drum is pretty darn good, too.

Best wishes for a supported recovery and the opportunity to sing and play again, Matthew.