Pitchfork: Matthew Sweet Plans North American Tour

Though expressing delight at this news pegs me as an old-timer here at the Pitchfork Mansion, I nonetheless express my delight at the prospect of a Matthew Sweet tour, in support of the power-pop kingpin's two newest records, released simultaneously Lambchop/Guns N' Roses/Nelly/Tom Waits/Bright Eyes-style. Living Things was cut last year in the aftermath of Sweet's dalliance with Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins in the Thorns, and features collaborations with Smile second-banana Van Dyke Parks, while Kimi Ga Suki is actually the American debut of a Japan-only 2003 disc. The dates cover the good bit of the country, though he'll only be on the road for two weeks. Details:

11-03 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
11-04 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
11-05 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
11-06 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
11-07 Chicago, IL - The Vic
11-08 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club Theatre
11-10 Philadelphia, PA - TBA
11-12 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
11-13 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11-15 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle
11-16 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11-17 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge

Now, if you'd like some witty, in-the-know gossip for your pre-show repartee, we can also tell you that Sweet has been dabbling in a couple of weird things lately, namely: a) making oblong vases, and: b) Hanson. "I've been throwing pottery on a wheel," he declared in a recent interview. "It's really fun, but it's so different, because I have the object. It's sort of problematic, because they build up and then you have all these objects that you couldn't give away to your family."

And speaking of things you couldn't give away to your family... If you haven't yet found sufficient motivation to pick up this year's new Hanson disc Underneath, perhaps it will intrigue you to know that Sweet co-wrote the title track. Or perhaps it will horrify you. Tough rocks, old-timer. Here, we made you an ashtray.