(Not So) Sweet on Baltimore

Spotting a song called "Baltimore" on the new Matthew Sweet disc, Modern Art, I hoped that maybe, just maybe, it would tap into the eccentric vitality of this town, rather than taking its place in the long line of down-and-out-in-Baltimore tunes. Hey Randy Newman, you're still at the head of that line. After all, there's plenty to love about Baltimore, especially if you're a musician or artist, right?

But iit wasn't to be, and Sweet's tune opens with him singing, "I'm stuck here in Baltimore/while you walk free." Oh, well. Still, it's the best damn song on the disc, so we Baltimoreans can take pride in the fact that our town inspired yet another great tune. And if Sweet plays it at tomorrow night's show at the Avalon Theatre in Easton, I'll be singing along, reluctantly.