So I just found out that another one of my favorite bands of all time had reunited recently to do a show in their native Athens, GA.

PYLON ROCKS!!!!!

For those who do not know who they are, they were one of the many bands to come out the Athens, GA music scene in the New Wave era. So they were sharing kinship witht he likes of R.E.M. and The B-52's. But unlike their soulmates, they never really took off. But That's not say they aren't good. In fact, they're GREAT. They've got this herky-jerky, angular, dance/Punk thang going on. They're like Gang of Four meets The B-52's. But it sounds like a lot of their songs are just improvised jams when you listen to them. They also kinda remind me of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs where the lead vocalist can croon one line but shout the next one.

Anyways, they're a great band, and recommend them to everyone, but especiallly those who are into 80's/New Wave/College Rock.

http://www.wearepylon.com/

http://pylon.kerndt.com/
[Edited 9/12/04 10:12am]

Here's a clever and insightful review that I found of their "Hits" CD:

Pylon - Hits (CD) (DB): Started by University of Georgia art students in 1979 and named after a William Faulker novel, Pylon was a tent pole of what came to be known as the "Athens, GA scene". While no way near as popular as the B-52's or REM, they quickly developed into a "band's band", which meant, like being a comic's comic, they dazzled the crapola out of everyone but never made it big themselves. Hitching a ride on the B-52's growing live fan base in NYC, they impressed the hell out of The Village Voice's Robert Christgau, who wrote about the band whenever they played in town. They left copies of their 1st single, "Cool" with any record store they came across, and that's how they got their name out to the east coast hinterlands. In 1980 they released the Gyrate LP, followed 3 years later by Chomp. They started but did not complete a tour with U2, and broke up shortly after. By their own admission they never cared for putting up with the nonsense of a music career. In 1987 Rolling Stone named REM "America's Best Band". Drummer Bill Berry insisted the honor actually belonged to Pylon, who had broken up years earlier. This sparked media interest and the band reformed and recorded their final album, Chain, in 1990. They played their last show in 1991. This 20 track greatest hits collection was issued in 1989.

One fan site says that singer Vanessa Briscoe is now a registered nurse, the mother of two girls and married to Bob Hay, the former guitarist for the Squalls. Guitarist Randy Bewley is the father of two boys and teaches art at an elementary school. Drummer Curtis Crowe is the father of a boy and a girl and works for TV shows and movies as a carpenter. Bassist Michael Lacowski has a graphic design agency and DJ's Techno (god save us all) at Athens-area clubs. The site also notes "None of the members of Pylon is making music", which sounds like the postscript of a crime drama.

The band claimed their influences as Television, the Mekons, Gang Of Four, and The Talking Heads. Listening to Hits I come away with a strong comparison to the Au Pairs, followed by Gang of Four, Wire and the B-52's on a few songs that have a slight surfy dance element to them. The deal with Pylon songs is that they function more as jams than deliberate songs. They have beginnings, middles and ends, but the tracks play more like ideas and concepts explored for a time and then faded out or stopped. The drums pound asymmetrically in minimalist fashion while the bass works independently from the drums to create very effective heavy, asymmetrical riffs that thankfully don't get too funky. The guitar is all over the place, stalking the vocals and sharply slashing the sonic landscape. The genius of Pylon is how they combine elements that mostly refuse to conform with each other. My one gripe with Pylon is Briscoe's singing, which sometimes growls like she should be singing with Heart. It's not a constant thing but on a track like "M-Train" I find her style not to work with the material.

Hits boasts a lot of good songs that may sound alike if you're not a fan of the genre they're working in. At times I'm happily transfixed by it all. "Stop It" sounds very much like a 1977 Devo song called "Social Fools". "Yo-Yo" is a horrible track that sounds like the worst rejected track from Tina Weymouth's side project the Tom Tom Club. The act of listening to this song makes me feel ashamed and embarrassed. For you it might trigger an epileptic seizure, so be sure to chomp down tight on a pencil if you play track 14.

You mean to tell me that no one here has heard of Pylon? Shame on you all.

i've always wanted to get into Pylon - i LOVE anything New Wave... but all their CDs appear to be out of print.

JonSnow said:

Yeah. But do not fret. A box set is in the works and should be due next week.

Meanwhile try ebay or gemm.

NWF said:

cool.. a box set. Will the regular CDs be reissued?

JonSnow said:

I don't know about those, but the box set should pretty much cover most of the material from most of their albums.

Very COOL group. Gotta check out the Box set. I saw them awhile ago I think they opened for the B-52's.