Murmur is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 12, 1983, by I.R.S. Records. The album was recorded at Reflection Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, with musicians Don Dixon and Mitch Easter serving as producers. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its unusual sound, defined by lead singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bass guitarist Mike Mills's melodic basslines. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It retained the position in the 2012 list and was raised to number 165 in the 2020 revision.
Peter Lawrence Buck is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his career with R.E.M. (1980–2011), as well as during his subsequent solo career, Buck has also been at various times an official member of numerous 'side project' groups. These groups included Arthur Buck, Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, Tuatara, The Baseball Project, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Tired Pony, The No-Ones, and Filthy Friends, each of which have released at least one full-length studio album. Additionally, the experimental combo Slow Music have released an official live concert CD. Another side project group called Full Time Men released an EP while Buck was a member. As well, ad hoc "supergroups" Bingo Hand Job, Musical Kings and Nigel & The Crosses have each commercially released one track.
Mitchell Blake Easter is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontman of the 1980s band Let's Active.
DB Records was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, the label became known as a source of southern regional music.
Pylon was an American new wave/post-punk band from Athens, Georgia, United States. The band's danceable sound, a blend of new wave, post-punk, jangle pop, alternative rock and funk rock, influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. AllMusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".
The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The B-52's, and several long-time indie rock groups. Athens hosts the Athens Symphony Orchestra and other music institutions, as well as prominent local music media, such as the college radio station WUOG. Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city. The University sponsors Western classical performances and groups specializing in other styles.
Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a 1986 documentary film about the mid-1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia. The film has been described as "the definitive portrait of the city's world-renowned music scene."
The Side Effects were an indie rock band, part of the music scene of Athens, Georgia. The Side Effects debuted in 1980, alongside other local performers like R.E.M.
Oh-OK was an American musical group from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1981 with singer/lyricist Linda Hopper, bassist/vocalist/lyricist Lynda Stipe, and drummer David Pierce. Other members later included drummer David McNair and guitarist Matthew Sweet. The trio began practicing together at parties in the college community in the spring of 1981. Their first club performance break came when Stipe's brother, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., needed an opening band for a show at the 40 Watt Club.
The 688 Club was a popular alternative music venue in Atlanta, Georgia, located at 688 Spring Street, near the intersection of Spring and 3rd Streets. The 688 Club opened in May 1980 and closed in November 1986. The club was operated by Steve May. The club was co-owned by Tony Evans, John Wicker, and in its final years by Mike Hendry. Cathy Hendrix served as the club's music director. During its brief lifetime, the 688 played host to hundreds of punk rock, new wave and alternative rock bands, many of whom would later become well known.
Community Trolls was the group name of a short-lived musical duo between Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Matthew Sweet. In 1983, they collaborated as part of the Athens, Georgia, music scene, writing and recording three songs together. One of the compositions, "Tainted Obligation", was nearly released on a compilation album in 1986, and later appeared on bootlegs; it was released officially in 2002. Another Community Trolls' song, "Six Stock Answers", appeared in an unreleased indie film featuring Stipe, Sweet and some of their friends.
The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and new wave music.
Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society.
Michael Scott Lachowski was the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crowe as a drummer, and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, a fellow student at the University of Georgia. They recorded the single "Cool/Dub", an album Gyrate, an EP, another album Chomp, and two singles. Pylon toured the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom before breaking up in 1983. They returned to tour again in 1988, and recorded another album, Chain, in 1990, before breaking up again in 1991. Pylon reformed in 2005 and occasionally performed until 2009, when Bewley died. Their first album, Gyrate Plus, was reissued on October 16, 2007, by DFA Records, New York City. In 2009, Chomp More was also reissued by DFA Records.
Curtis Hudgins Crowe is the drummer for the Athens, Georgia rock band Pylon. He is a native of Marietta, Georgia, and is the middle child of five children. Crowe moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia art school. His sister Rhett Crowe was later the bass player for the band Guadalcanal Diary, a fixture on the college music scene back in the 1980s and 1990s. He has also been involved in several other music projects such as Strictly American and Dodd Ferrelle and the Tinfoil Stars.
Randall Eugene Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia, band Pylon. Born in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, DC and near Atlanta, Georgia while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia art school where he met Michael Lachowski, a fellow art student. They became roommates and decided to form a band. He and Lachowski, along with fellow art students Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Curtis Crowe, formed Pylon, having their first performance in 1979. On their first trip to New York City, they were reviewed in Interview Magazine.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana, Pixies and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left in 1997, the band continued with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011, having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.
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.
Chomp is the second studio album by Athens, Georgia band Pylon, released in 1983. It was re-released in 2009 via DFA Records.
Themes from Venus is an album by the American band Love Tractor. It was released in 1988, and marked a return to an independent label, after the bankruptcy of RCA-affiliated Big Time Records.
