That song written by Matthew Sweet for the Springfields
featured here at the end of last week got me going to the shelves for another one of his rarities from the '80s. Sweet went to school briefly at the University of Georgia in Athens where he was pals with Michael Stipe. They had met earlier when R.E.M. made a tour stop in Sweet's hometown back in Nebraska. Through that friendship he met Michael's sister Lynda, a bassist and songwriter with the trio Oh-OK. At that point, the band had already released the 'Wow Mini Album' on the legendary label DB Recs, home to the B-52's. Pylon, the Swimming Pool Q's, Love Tractor and many other local bands. What I always found interesting about that 1982 EP is there was no guitar. Drums, bass, vocals. That's it.
In 1983, Oh-OK would shuffle the lineup a bit for the second (and last) release. Linda Hopper and Stipe remained. Drummer David Pierce was replaced by David McNair and Sweet joined on guitar. The lighthearted tone and humor remained from 'Wow Mini Album', and Oh-OK's sound became just a little bit more accessible on the six-song 'Forevermore What' EP. There is nothing here that screams Sweet, but I find the EP more than just a passing curiosity. It's off-kilter, fun and a good listen. And given Sweet's well-documented love of felines, I think the cover of 'Forevermore What' is a smile.
'Such n Such'
'Guru'
Sweet would remain busy on the Athens scene. There was the short-lived Community Trolls side project with Michael Stipe. Sweet would also join up with Oh-Ok's original drummer to form the Buzz of Delight, also on DB Recs. Of course, it wouldn't be long before Columbia came calling, and after a couple of generally praised but poorly sold solo albums, the rest, as they say, is history.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention you can get both of Oh-OK's EPs along with a 1984 live performance from the Peppermint Lounge in NYC on one beautiful piece of vinyl HHBTM Records put out in 2011 called
'The Complete Reissue', and it's still in print!
4 comments:
Coincidentally, I saw Linda Hopper perform two nights ago with her current band, Magnapop. I need to pick up that HHBTM record -- thanks for the tip!
Thank you too, Jonder. I had no idea Magnapop were still out there. Lost track of them in the '90s. Happy to hear Linda is still out there doing her thing. Will investigate.
Magnapop has only made two albums since the turn of the century, but they've enjoyed a "big in Japan" relationship with music fans in Belgium and the Netherlands for the past 25 years. The band plays occasional club gigs for hometown fans in Atlanta and Athens, but they sell out shows and are a big festival draw on their tours of the Benelux countries.
I found this charming video of Oh-OK lip-synching "Brother" on an Atlanta cable access drag queen variety show, from back in the days when RuPaul was still a local phenomenon. youtu.be/eSd9M9Y_juI
Magnapop I'm familiar with, but not so Oh-OK. Enjoyed these two tunes a great deal.
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