About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2011)
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Or, in the parlance of the band itself, the guys have decided “to call it a day.“ This announce ment came via a simple posting on the band's website last Wednesday, albeit one that rocketed around the world with pretty amaz ing speed. While not a total surprise—there's been quiet scuttlebutt suggesting this exact thing for almost a year now—the news still came as a blow to the identity of the Athens music scene which has had R.E.M. as a sort of cultural backbone for the past 31 years. Warner Brothers will release what is described as a “career spanning* compilation on Nov. 15 titled Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011, named so after Peter Buck's famous description of R.E.M. The group's popular fan club will shut down, and this year's Christmas single and holiday package will be the last such release from the band. It's impossible to quantify in a single paragraph the enormity of the band's contri bution to our town. Suffice it for now to say that our common sense of what constitutes the Athens landscape of music, art, politics, historic preservation, etc. owes a massive debt to R.E.M. Both as citizens and a professional organization, R.E.M. was always will ing to work from where they were to do what they could and never forgot that all politics is local. Often cred ited, and not erroneously, with being ! the single most important band dur ing the college radio revolution of the ! 1980s, the band was a multi-platinum international success less than a decade after forming. By the time '90s "alternative rock" swept the world R.E.M. were the form's most respected elder statesmen. After drummer Bill Berry left the group in 1997, Michael Stipe, Mike Mijls and Peter Buck aug mented the group with other players both live and in the studio, but there was never any mistaking who was call ing the shots or writing the songs. It would be very easy to continue on citing facts and memories and attrib uting saint-like status to R.E.M., but, to steal a line from Collapse Into Now, "We'll leave the allegory to a different Bible story" and just say a simple thank you directly to the band. So, thanks R.E.M., for every thing. To read the band's official statement, please see www.remhq.com. Quietly Superb: Supergroup, of sorts, Nightskys released a cool little record almost completely under the radar last month. The band is composed of Steven Trimmer and Eddie Whelan, both of Eddie the Wheel, along with Dena Zilber (El Hollin) and Ruby Kendrick. Titled Open Windows, the album is a sweet 12 tracks of unpretentious synth-pop that feel off-the-cuff yet are sensationally well arranged. It's easily running neck and j neck with Tunabunny's new one as my favorite record of the last month. Get it for free over at www.nightskys.bandcamp.com. The Heart of Rock and Roll: Speaking of the | aforementioned Tunabunny, that band is out on the road celebrating the release of its new est LP, Minima Morolia, which came out on HHBTM Records a few weeks ago. It's a short jaunt up the East Coast and then to Chicago before winding things down in Cleveland, OH. They'll be back a few days after you read this, so ask 'em how it went! For more information, please see www.tunabunny.tumblr.com or www.facebook.com/Tunabunny. V He Ain't Wrong, He's Just Different: Matt Hudgins & His Shit-Hot Country Band released their new album, Hit Makers Vol. 1, last week via Bandcamp.com. The 10-track album features, of course, the band's signature early '70s-style outlaw country sound with occasionally comical lyrics, and the cover art is a beautiful portrait of Matt Hudgins and his patriotic beard. The whole thing can be yours for $5, which is less than you lost on the barroom floor last night. Head to www. shithotcountryband.bandcamp.com and get your copy. Will and Presentation: The philosophy depart ment at UGA will host its Interdisciplinary Conference on Pop Culture on Saturday, Oct. 29. Researchers, faculty and graduate students from all academic departments are encouraged to submit paper abstracts showing how their research is "inspired by and is clearly dem onstrated in a variety of media, such as lit erature, film, music and other forms of visual art." The deadline for submitting abstracts is Saturday, C t. 1. The conference is planned as a multimedia event, so it's cool to use, urn, multiple media in your presentation, but you should be prepared to have your time in front of everyone last 20-30 minutes with Q&A time after that. While this is a UGA-centered aca demic conference, organizer Luke Johnson— himself a veteran player—says collaborations with Athens artists and musicians are highly encouraged. So, drop your abstracts to him via ljo@uga.edu; that's also the best way to ask any questions you might have. Gather Your Bros, Bud, While Ye May: If you missed out on getting tickets for Widespread Panic's hometown Toys for Tots benefit show at the Georgia Theatre, you can still catch the show. HDNet will broadcast the show live Sunday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. Although the tick ets for the benefit show were far from cheap ($151 and S501), the event was an easy sell-out, and it's for an awesome cause, so no one should complain about anything. For more information on HDNet Concerts, head to www.facebook.com/HDNetConcerts. And for all your Widespread Panic needs, continue to visit www.widespreadpanic.com. Gordon Lamb lhrealsandpromises@flagpole.com Matt Hudgins & His Shit-Hot Country Band released their new album, Hit Makers Vol. I. 14 FLAGPOLE.COM-SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
