Matthew Sweet onstage in Chicago, June 30, 1992
PAUL NATKIN/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
BY THE START of the 1990s, Matthew Sweet had released two critically acclaimed albums, 1986’s Inside and 1989’s Earth, but commercial success eluded him. That changed with the release of Girlfriend, issued in 1991, which established him as an alternative-rock star. The album cracked the upper half of Billboard’s Top 200, and its zippy title cut hit number 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart.