On the way to work my mother stopped in at the post office and discovered there was a package for me. My copy of Matthew Sweet’s Japan-only release, Kimi ga suki x Raifu, which is intentionally broken Japanese for a “love you” life.
I’m listening to this album now, and it’s really great. It definitely has a feel much likeGirlfriend. Right now I can’t say if I enjoy this more than his work with The Thorns, but it’s going to be one of my favorite albums. It’s very spontaneous and rough, but in all the right ways.
The cover art is interesting. It was done by the artist Yoshitomo Nora, and is an image of a boy in a cat suit and a singing girl. The liner notes are in both English and Japanese, something I have only on some Elastica singles. Japanese written language always looks so beautiful to me. It seems so much more complex and timeless than our own.
Overall this CD will prove to be well worth the $30 US + $7 shipping + $10 customs that it took to finally get it in my stereo. It will be there for a long time to come and soon written to mini disc for work place music.
From The Liners:
To my Japanese Fans:
I dedicate this record to you, in gratitude for the many years of love and support you’ve sent my way (not to mention all the wonderful gifts)!
As an artist, it is the most incredible feeling to snese that some one REALLY cares about your work, and you’ve always given me that resepct.
Here’s hoping you’ll enjoy this as much a sI did making it! It is a love letter to Japan, one of my favorite places in the whole world!
YOUR FAN,
Matthew Sweet
Jan. 2003
The Idea
It is well known even in my own country that I am a great admirer of Japanese people and their culture. In my experience, more than anywhere else in the world the Japanese fans and critics seem to experience music in a deeply thoughtful and emotional way. When I visited there to play the 2001 Summer Sonic shows, I expressed interest to the press in making a record exclusively for my Japanese fans. This is that album, come to fruition. Though, like much of my work, this collection deals with very general themes, please know it was created with my love of Japan in mind!
The Songs
All the songs on the album were written specifically for it, over a one week period in January of 2002. This is the first time I have done something like that, and it was a little scary to commit to recording them so soon! But I really wanted the album to have a unique and spontaneous feeling, and not be pulled from my demos as usual. No demos were ever made of these songs!
The Reocrding
Though I have at many times threatened to make an album in my house, this is the first time I have actually done it! I produced, engineered and mixed this one myself. My friend Ric Menck from Velvet Crush played the drums, and when by chance Richard Lloyd was in town with his band Television, he came over and played some wonderful lead guitar! Greg Leisz also provided all sorts of extra guitars, essentially making this a Girlfriend-era line-up.
The Title
If the title of this record, Kimi ga suki x Raifu, seems a little confusing, don’t worry, it’s supposed to be! Often when I read Japanese advertisements that make use of English words, the words may be used in amusingly incorrect ways, but also seem pregnant with meaning. I love that kind of thing, so I tried to come up with such an effect in reverse for Japan. If I did it correctly, the title should seem a little strange or wrong, but still meaningful! The true definition is supposed to be a “love you” life, one devoted to loving someone or something, even life itself!
The Artwork
During my 2001 visit to Japan, I had the incredible opportunity to meet the artist Yoshitomo Nora. It is an honor that he was willing to provide the original artwork for this album. Since I am known to love cats (ok, I’m cat crazy), he also included a cat of sorts! I like to think that I am the cat, while the girl represents Japan. Japan’s beautiful song lures the cat from his hiding place, and on the back cover she serenades him through the clouds, all the way over the ocean!