It Came From ... Athens, Georgia!

Well, the theme for this mix is that all of the bands either come from, or have some connection to, Athens, Georgia, and an eclectic selection it is too. Nancy's liner notes are in italics, and I'll add my comments in the middle ...

Beep - Pylon

Pylon is of the old guard of Athens bands, alongwith the B-52s, in the late 70s/early 80s.

Choppy guitars, post punk, very upbeat and an excellent start to the mix. I hadn't heard of Pylon before, but I think I'd like more stuff in this style. You can definitely hear the B52 style in the guitar breaks. This is probably the track I've skipped back to more than any other on the cd.

Private Idaho - The B-52's
Roam 4:57 The B-52s

I put two tracks because, well, the B-52s are AWESOME and because their sound changed a lot between these two songs.

Yep, this takes me right back to Student Union discos circa 1983, along with Rock Lobster and Love Shack. Classic stuff. Their style mellowed with Roam, and I had quite forgetten about it until I heard it again on this mix. On balance I prefer the early style by a whisker, if only for the memories it evokes.

Radio Free Europe 4:05 R.E.M .
Losing My Religion 4:28 R.E.M.

Same with REM, their sound changed radically from the early days, the Pre-Intelligible Era.

Ah, now this is an interesting compare and contrast. While I do like early REM, particularly the more obscure lyrics (What is "I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush" supposed to mean exactly?), I prefer the later, more introspective style. "Losing My Religion" means a lot to me, for various reasons and it's nice to hear it again.

It Ain't Necessarily So - The Jody Grind
Hands of June - The Jody Grind

The Jody Grind isn't actually an Athens band, but they played in Athens a lot. Their members were from the Atlanta area, and the lead singer, Kelly Hogan, has gone on to have a solo career in the (less interesting to me) alt country genre. I still love her voice, but the Jody Grind, with guitarist Bill Taft, was the best showcase for it. They played in the early 90s, but two of their members died in a car accident and the band ended. I put the first for the lyrics, the second for the song.

We're moving into uncharted waters now, and wow, what a superb version of the Gershwin classic. Very mean and moody. The second song is good too, a nice punchy drum beat and bold guitar work with some lovely distortion. Yum.

I Believe In What You Do - Little Red Rocket

I just discovered this band last week because I was looking for more songs for this mix. They're broken up and on to other projects now, but I pulled this song off an Athfest CD and fell in love with it. I just got their second CD in the mail today. I hope it's all more of the same, with the horns.

I agree, the horns on this are fantastic giving a really big, brassy, satisfying sound. The song is pretty good too, and I bet this band would good live. What a pity they've broken up. I take it that Athfest is a local music festival? I really think that I should make the effort to go out and see more live music, I think. I'm a bit too old for camping at the mud at festivals and the like, but we have got some good live venues in Sheffield, such as the Leadmill and the Boardwalk.

I'm Alive - Heidi Hensley

This girl is my ex-next-door neighbor, and she just handed me this CD when I asked about her music. She was a fine neighbor and a great singer/songwriter,too.

How cool is that, to pick up a cd from a musician living next door. Not really my cup of tea, but she's perky and upbeat with a nice voice and a bouncy little song.

I love Music - Common People Band

Soul music. The bass player for this band played bass on a couple gigs with my friend Lavon and me. He is also the maintenance guy at Lavon's ex-apartment complex. Their claim to fame, according to Kenneth the bass player, was a gig at the Republican National Convention in 2004. I don't think Kenneth voted for Bush, though.

Wooah, this one came out of left field after the last track. A real old school, 70s style soul number, and very catchy too. I have to admit that this is probably not the sort of thing I'd expect to hear around Athens, Georgia given the preceding tracks, but it is a treat to hear it none the less.

Just As Soon As I Begin To Win - Redneck GReece

A little hillbilly honkytonk. I don't personally know Redneck GReece nor his band Deluxe. :-)

Another swerve, and another good one. It's the sign of a good mix when you can go from soul music to a country song about an inept stock car driver with both tracks complementing each other. This song really made me smile, amusing lyrics in the proper country tradition and a full complement of slide guitars and the like. Two thumbs up!

She's Gone - Rocket 350

Technically from Atlanta, but they've played around town. Rockabilly, I think?

This is almost 50s style rock, rather than rockabilly I would say. I love the horns and the echoey guitars on this, and it would just take a doo-wop chorus to make it perfect.

Bump - Rehab

The drummer for this song is my friend Lisa's boyfriend. This song from their first album really stood out for me.

Another excellent change of direction, this is almost electro in the style of Daft Punk. I'm not too sure about the main vocal line, but the vocoder chorus is wonderful.

The Needle And The Damage Done. - Five-Eight

Five-Eight is the first band I heard in Athens. They're a hardworking group of musicians with a solid fan base, but haven't ever shot up into a more financially rewarding limelight. I never became a big fan of their music, so I'm kind of cheating by giving you a Neil Young cover. I'm a big fan, however, of their bass player, who made my burritos for years. And who played in the following
group:

I can see why people would like this band, technically very good, but it just doesn't quite grab me for some reason. The song does pick up somewhat when they start rocking out about two thirds of the way through, which suggests that I might like some of their other stuff.

One More Warning - Audition With Max Reinhardt

I kept putting on and taking off tracks from this CD, which I love. The bass player from Five-Eight plays and sings on this song. The group was a brief recreation for the members, all cobbled together from other bands. They broke up when the lead singer, Sunni, went home to Germany. I got to see them play just one time, and it was fantastic.

Oooh, this is lovely. Really atmospheric and off beat in a Bertolt Brecht style. I could imagine listening to this in a smoky Bierkeller or a seedy Cabaret style night club. It reminded of the band Devotchka that I saw last year supporting the Dresden Dolls, mainly for the eclectic instrumentation.

In The Airplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

According to Wikipedia, this song was inspired by a recurring dream the writer had of a Jewish family in World War Two.

This starts out like a Del Amitri song, which caused my hackles to rise slightly, but they pulled it back with a nice bit of trumpet and something that sounds like a theremin playing air raid siren type noises. This has grown on me since first listening I think.

Look at Me - Vic Chesnutt

Even though I'm not all that familiar with his work, I had to include Vic Chesnutt as he's one of the most revered songwriters in the Athens music scene.
His personal story is pretty interesting, and most of his music is biographical to some extent.

I'm not entirely sure about this. I like the sentiment of the lyrics, but I'm not too keen on his acapella singing style. Half a thumb up, I suppose.

Tremor - Japancakes

Great name, isn't it? I wanted to include a track by the Dictatortots, but they're not on iTunes and I don't love them enough to buy a whole CD. Japancakes, you'll hear, does cool instrumental music.

It is indeed a great name, and very misleading as to the style of the song - I was expecting a bit of J-Pop, but it turned out to be an excellent bit of guitar work that reminded me very much of Mark Knopfler's film scores for things like Local Hero. This is definitely a band I want to hear more of.

Visit Constantly (gb) - Valentine Wolfe

Experimental electronic music by my friend Helly's brother's wife and another friend of theirs.

Ah, I mentioned The Dresden Dolls earlier, and this track fits perfectly with that particular style. I like this quirky sort of music, with moody bass lines and looped vocal lines. I'd like to hear more of this, to hear where they are going with it.

Angel 5:06 Lavon and Me
Faith 3:14 Me

Now begins amateur hour. (Be kind in your review!) The first song was written by Lavon, the second by me. Lavon plays guitar in both. This was recorded at a show last year (I think), and the friend who did the editing didn't cut anything out. So when you hear the music stop, go to the next track or you'll hear a bunch of talking and chairs moving and stuff.

Now, this really did impress me. Lavon's guitar work is great and reminded me of Steve Hackett from early Genesis. You have a lovely voice and I really wanted to hear it brought forward in the mix - this would really sound good recorded in the studio. Most definitely two thumbs up for both tracks!

So, all in all, an excellent mix - a couple of old favourites and plenty of new stuff. I'll be looking out for Pylon and Japancakes in particular. I really do wish that I had the talent and the voice to produce music, but thems the breaks I guess. This mix is going to be a permanent fixture on my mp3 player - thanks!