After nearly a century as the skinny paramour of Popeye The Sailor Man, skinny Olive Oyl has dumped the spinach-eating sea-hound and taken up with the lead singer of a rock band.
Yes, Jeff Tweedy and Ms. Oyl appear to be an item.
In an odd video, Wilco has cast itself as part of the old Popeye cartoons, and is spotted playing on an non-descript dock while Olive Oyl, Wimpy. Swee'pea, Bluto and Popeye cavort about them. At the end, Olive Oyl breaks up with Popeye - no reason is given - and shacks up with Wilco lead singer Tweedy as the dejected sailor man opts to sink into a can of spinach (literally, not for lunch).
We never imagined Olive Oyl had a thing for avant-garde rock bands with genre-busting tunes that mix country, punk and folk. We always thougth she had a thing for Popeye's gibberish-filled mutterings or his sea chanteys. Who knew Olive Oyl was excited about songs such as "Dawned on Me," "Hate It Here" or "You and I"?
Of course, this move raises questions: Does Olive Oyl know that a good chunk of Wilco's fan base still considers the combo an alt-country band and will continue to insist the band play "Passenger Side," "Casino Queen" and "Forget the Flowers"? Can she put up with infinite questions about whether her new boyfriend will ever reunite with former bandmate Jay Farrar?
We hope Jeff Tweedy has eaten his spinach.
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