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Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2007 > October > 16 > Entry
Respect the Pylon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today, another Georgia underground classic comes to CD for the first time. You can finally get “Gyrate,” the 1980 debut album from influential Athens post-punk quartet Pylon on a shiny silver disc.
The skittering guitars, thumping bass and the keening, cooing voice of Vanessa Briscoe (now Vanessa Briscoe Hay) inspired a cult of adoring fans over the years, and some of those admirers are pretty accomplished musicians. The liner notes for this expanded and remastered version of the album include contributions from the B-52’s Fred Schneider, Gang of Four drummer Hugo Burnham and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. Pylon opened for every one of those bands in its earlier days.
Even folks who haven’t heard Pylon might know one of their songs. R.E.M. did a version of “Crazy” (it’s on the compilation “Dead Letter Office”). With this new reissue, perhaps a new generation will discover how cool Pylon was (and still is). In recent years, the band has been doing occasional gigs again, and they’ll be playing at the EARL in East Atlanta on Nov. 1.
I saw the band at the I & I Club in Athens, probably sometime between the release of “Gyrate” and the band’s second album, 1983’s “Chomp.” I still remember it being one of the loudest gigs I’ve ever seen —and I loved it. Anyone else have memories of seeing Pylon back in the early ’80s? Or on the R.E.M. tour back around 1990? Are you planning to replace that worn vinyl copy of “Gyrate” with the one of those newfangled, remastered discs?
Comments
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By Pylonidal Cyst
October 16, 2007 7:30 PM | Link to this
Pylon’s “M-Train” was one of those records that you had to have at any party and had to be in the record collection of any DJ at any club in Athens back when I was going to UGA in the early-mid 80s. We were all mystified when they failed to follow bands like REM and the B-52s into worldwide notoriety, but at the same time, we got to keep them as our little secret. It’s the secret handshake now. “Woo woo? WOO WOO!!”