A quick note (and shameless personal plug) for readers in our part of the world:On Sunday, October 21, 2007, the Athens Historical Society will present “R.E.M. in Perspective: An Athens History.” The event will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the historic Seney-Stovall Chapel at 201 N. Milledge Avenue in Athens, Georgia. The program will feature two previously unscreened vintage videos of R.E.M. and two panel discussions. The featured videos include an R.E.M. practice session recorded at Wuxtry Records in Atlanta, prior to the release of their first record, and an early performance at the 688 Club in Atlanta.
Biographer Tony Fletcher, author of Remarks Remade: The Story of R.E.M., will open the session with his observations on Athens’ place in R.E.M.’s history. A follow-up panel will discuss R.E.M.’s Athens musical and artistic roots. Among the participants will be artist and filmmaker Jim Herbert, producer John Keane and Wuxtry owner Dan Wall. Oh, and unbelievably, yours truly. A second panel will examine R.E.M.’s social, civic, political, economic and preservation impact on Athens and beyond. Scheduled participants are former Athens mayor Gwen O’Looney, community activist Tim Johnson, and historic preservation advocate Smith Wilson.
I hope a few of you can make it out to the event. To put you in the mood, here's the 7" single on Hib-Tone Records, recorded in the summer of 1981, that started it all:
MP3: R.E.M. - "Radio Free Europe" (Hib-Tone single - A side)
MP3: R.E.M. - "Sitting Still" (Hib-Tone single - B side)
