Oblivians

Scaring the country folks of Memphis with their brand of sleazy raunch & roll since their 1995 debut album, Soul Food, the Oblivians refuse to mold into the stereotype of three-piece ensembles sounding "wimpy" or "watered down." Instead, the Oblivians pay tribute to <a href="spotify:artist:1co4F2pPNH8JjTutZkmgSm">the Ramones</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2g3PKH7Z1Ofn5oGR6oDjLy">the Sonics</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4BFMTELQyWJU1SwqcXMBm3">the Stooges</a> by creating their own sound of nostalgic '60s garage punk with their use of lo-fi equipment. Following Soul Food, the next year brought a live studio collection entitled Sympathy Sessions and their second album, Popular Favorites. Continuing on with their unorthodox lineup of two guitars and drums, the Oblivians collaborated with keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:7oYKm5OvA9Z2TZZWCoqMz1">Mr. Quintron</a> on the appropriately titled Play 9 Songs with Mr. Quintron in 1997. It was the group's last studio set, as Greg Oblivian (aka <a href="spotify:artist:4SshVhFgHYFHasFzZCTc6w">Greg Cartwright</a>) and <a href="spotify:artist:5JCUdrDNPQzz92wVEu6lGS">Jack Oblivian</a> chose to re-form their earlier band, <a href="spotify:artist:2aSQWCI5yCT8lHd7Mf9irY">the Compulsive Gamblers</a>; <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sympathy+for+the+Record+Industry%22">Sympathy for the Record Industry</a> released an official non-<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Crypt%22">Crypt</a> best-of in 1999 called The Best of the Worst: 93-97; Melissa's Garage Revisited followed a year later.

Many other projects followed the breakup, including the long-running Greg Oblivian-fronted band <a href="spotify:artist:1YRBRIN8d5Xa6vU1OKUc4t">the Reigning Sound</a> as well as work with <a href="spotify:artist:4tWFXbJnjC9lM3UzmOpUiR">the Detroit Cobras</a> and with original <a href="spotify:artist:1WvziZcLLYLoMMdmQx7qcN">Shangri-Las</a> singer <a href="spotify:artist:5vyGOpJcELzex97z214tTu">Mary Weiss</a> on her late-2000s comeback album, Dangerous Game. Oblivians member Eric Friedl continued to run the increasingly successful <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Goner+Records%22">Goner Records</a> label and its affiliated store, working with future stars like <a href="spotify:artist:3cAGUcRbwsFHwKbJv8FT4T">Jay Reatard</a>. In 2009 the Oblivians re-formed to play shows with the also reunited trash rockers <a href="spotify:artist:5tcr1ujTO3Q0WH2wkY7RWh">the Gories</a>, and by 2012 it was confirmed that they would be working on a new studio album. That album, Desperation, materialized in 2013 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22In+the+Red+Records%22">In the Red Records</a>. ~ Mike DaRonco, Rovi