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The highly-anticipated follow-up only confirmed what fans and critics had already figured out: MGB had unquestionably become one of music�s most consistently interesting and inventive new groups. Marked by a refreshing blend of smart cynicism and poignant humor, "BEAUTIFUL MIDNIGHT" chronicles Good�s life in those difficult years between the ages of 16 and 26. Songs such as the haunting "Suburbia" and the vitriolic "Failing The Rorschach Test" are passionate, provocative, and often pissed-off, chronicles of the ups and downs of adolescence, of teenage kicks and crises.
"I can go through the record and everything means something," he says. "From �Hello Time Bomb,� which is me sitting around the gas station daydreaming about getting laid, to �Jenni�s Song,� which is about going out with a girl and getting loaded at 9AM on a Tuesday morning. I don�t really think that you should write records where people can�t put themselves in your shoes. As a writer, you�ve failed if that�s the case." Fuelled by a diverse array of influences ranging from Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Noam Chomsky, to Francis Bacon, U2, and the Pixies, Good is gifted with the ability �in songs, writings, and conversation � to spew scathing cultural satire in addition to profound personal truths (his monthly rants � known as "The Manifesto" � on the very popular www.matthewgoodband.com site will soon be gathered together in the upcoming book, Black Market Surgery). The turbulent "A Boy And His Machine Gun" has taken some heat for its expression of youthful violence in the wake of Columbine, but Matthew says the song is about something else altogether. On the other hand, he�s glad the song can be used as a starting point for discussion.
"I wrote it before school shooting became a prevalent thing," he explains. "It�s actually about being checked into a mental institution. But I don�t know, the First World is a really stupid place. Algerian rebels can walk into some mountain village and hack the legs off kids because they�re pissed off about the International Red Cross vaccinating them, but if some kid walks into a school in Denver and shoots some people down, it means morality is coming to an end! Because, what, we�re so much better than them? That�s just horseshit."
Awash in music and arrangements as potent and richly textured as Good�s lyrics, "BEAUTIFUL MIDNIGHT," like "UNDERDOGS" before it, was produced by Warne Livesey. "Warne�s like a real producer/engineer," Good says. "He�s not one of those producers who says �Everybody dress up in renaissance clothing, and I�ll be right back with the wine and hookers!� He actually produces and engineers the whole record. The thing about Warne is, I talk to him every week, I stay at his house when I�m in England, and it has nothing to do with him being a producer anymore. He�s just one of my friends and he makes records with me." "BEAUTIFUL MIDNIGHT" debuted atop the Canadian SoundScan chart upon its September, 1999 release, ultimately reaching double platinum certification. The album was an enormous success, spawning a #1 rock/alternative smash in "Hello Time Bomb." MGB received a record 11 nominations at the 2000 MuchMusic Video Awards � with "Load Me Up" scoring two trophies for both "Best Video" and "Best Rock Video." In addition, the quartet were honored with a pair of Juno Awards, for "Best Group" and "Best Rock Album."
MGB have also cemented their status as an extraordinarily intense live act, with any number of their own sold-out headlining treks, as well as an acclaimed main stage stint on 1999�s Edgefest Tour. They�ve also supported a wide range of artists, including the Who. "We�re probably the hardest working band in this country," Good declares. "We busted our asses big-time. Played a lot of shows. And this country is the worst country in the world to tour! I�ve toured in negative 50 degree weather. Fourteen-hour drives are commonplace � and that�s in a van with nine guys! So the States are going to be easy."
The proud battle cry of Victory Through Sheer Volume is MGB and their fans� rabble-rousing reaction to the New Pop Explosion, not to mention Nu-Metal or today�s purveyors of po-faced pretentiousness. Like any rock n� roller worth his salt, Good regularly rails against the disposability of modern music, while at the same time worrying about the future of the form. "The second largest record buying demographic is between the ages of like, 9 and 17, and of course they�re going to buy bullshit, just like kids that age always do," Good says. "The trick in all this is, those kids, when they�re in their late teens and going into college, are they going to go looking for music that means something? Are they going to desensitize themselves, rather than going �Oooh, that Patti Smith record I heard about from the Seventies, I�m going to check that out.� At least we had bands, when I was young, that you could listen to and go �That blows my mind in a way that I can�t explain to you.� It�s a generation that doesn�t know from putting on vinyl and sitting in your room and really listening. I miss buying records to listen to what someone�s going to say next. I find it unfortunate that in this day and age, I have to go out and buy new Bob Dylan records to get that feeling. I mean, for fuck�s sake, the man�s three hundred and twelve years old!"
With the mission to inspire and inflame both hearts and minds, Matthew Good Band are poised to teach the kids a thing or two about rock n� roll�s power and purpose. The fuse has been lit�