10 Most Underrated Rock Songs Of The 90s
2. Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet
One genre that didn't have nearly the shelf life it deserved in the '90s was power pop. Although you did see traces of it with the pop punk acts coming to fruition like Green Day and Weezer, the days of bands like the Jam and Big Star felt a lot more few and far between in the age of Beck and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Every decade has their exceptions though, and Matthew Sweet arrived as our resident lovesick fool.
Having the same type of aggro stomp that you would expect from the alternative boom, a song like Girlfriend is a lot more straightforward than what you would find on the charts. What's this? A love song...and it's not about how the singer thinks that he/she is a creep next to the object of their affection? Make no mistake, there are bits of corny moments on here, but Sweet is just selling it so well that it's kind of hard not to love it for what it is.
Being one of the few indie darlings who never really managed to cross over for too long, Girlfriend is still a hell of a jam if you're itching for a little more Fountains of Wayne style hooks with your Pearl Jams of the world. And let's face it...the alternative nation isn't always about having fun, so it's best to celebrate the ones you get.