Linda Elizabeth Hopper is the vocalist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop vocal style helped to define the band\'s sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door". Prior to the formation of Magnapop, Hopper was a member of the Athens, Georgia music scene in the early 1980s, which included R.E.M., The B-52s, and her own band Oh-OK.\n', '

Hopper is a native of Marietta, Georgia who moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia to study art in the late 1970s. There, she befriended Michael Stipe in an art design class and she introduced him to her friends. The two became involved in the early local music scene and formed the short-lived experimental music group Tanzplagen along with Stipe\'s sister Lynda and other local musicians. After a matter of months, the band split up and Michael Stipe formed R.E.M., while Hopper made Oh-OK with Lynda Stipe on bass guitar and drummer David McNair (a later line-up would also include Matthew Sweet.) Oh-OK opened for Stipe\'s noise music project 1066 Gaggle O\'Sound and would go on to record two mini albums before disbanding in 1984, including 1983\'s Furthermore What, which was produced by Michael Stipe with a cover that he made. She then briefly belonged to a band named Holiday, who released their only EP in 1987.\n', '

In 1989, Hopper was introduced to Ruthie Morris—a guitarist who had recently moved from West Palm Beach, Florida to East Atlanta. The two became friends and began writing songs together, forming the core of what would become Magnapop. Michael Stipe saw their first public performance and offered to produce some demos for them in John Keane\'s Athens studio in December 1990. Their first high-profile show was at the July 1991 New York New Music Seminar along with three other bands that were introduced by Stipe. Their 1992 self-titled first album included four of the 1990 Stipe demos and was released on Caroline Records in the United States.\n', '

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