Back in the arms of a good friend

I kept hearing the familiar lead break from Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" playing over and over while browsing through the local Fry's Electronics a few months back, almost like the song was playing in a loop. It was actually someone playing "Guitar Hero II" where "Girlfriend" was one of the featured tracks.

Checking the google for more info, I came upon this review of Guitar Hero III that opines "The first thing you'll notice about GH III is that there's not a cruddy song to be found here — unlike its predecessor, which burdened us with the yawn rock of Matthew Sweet, among others". Subjectively speaking, "Girlfriend" is so Not a cruddy song. And what the heck is "yawn rock"?

Did anyone hear about the Romantics suing Activision (the makers of "Guitar Hero") for including a soundalike version of "What I Like About You" that sounds too much like the original? Romantics singer said that the (licensed) cover infringes on their "distinctive" sound. Somehow I don't think a I-IV-V progression can be trademarked?

Anyway, hearing Matthew Sweets non-yawn rock on "Guitar Hero II" got me in the mood to hear the Girlfriend CD, so I tried to dig it up when I got home but couldn't find it. I think I might have sold it back during one of my disc purges. I probably decided at some point that I could live with Time Capsule (compilation of all the best songs from Matthew's 90s albums) and without each of the individual albums. This true for his later albums, but Girlfriend is its own thing, and I suddenly felt empty without that thing (that I didn't even know I didn't have), so I put it on my mental list of albums to pick up the next time I was CD shopping.

The original Girlfriend is pretty easy to find in used bins, but I decided to splurge for a brand new copy of the extended version released last year, and I'm glad I did. The bonus tracks include live performances and alternate/preliminary demo of the album called Goodfriend. It has to be one of the most endurable and timeless albums of the early 1990s. I'm not sure why I sold the disc back in the first place. It's also an album that should be heard on CD instead of mp3 for a full dynamic listening experience. I've been listening to more and more albums on my hi-fidelity stereo, and forgot how great they sound after years of car/computer/iPod listening.