Feb 2022 college-rock 80s rock retro w4 four-chord-loop
EDITED a couple hours later. Holding my little notebook 6" from my face, I skipped a verse. So now it's all there.
I'm going back to my start in music in Athens, Georgia. When I was probably still in middle school, a local band called the B-52s got big, had records out, and played on Saturday Night Live. By the time I hit high school I could go see REM at a free outdoor show at the University of Georgia, or at Teen Night at a local bar.
My first real gig was opening for Love Tractor at the 40 Watt Club in Athens. I was a senior in high school.
This song is kind about what it may have been like for the very first bands that started the scene. I came later, the scene was very well established by the time my band (Banned 37) played the 40 Watt.
One reason that scene existed was because of the college radio station there, they played local bands in rotation with the big shots like Psychedelic Furs, Bauhaus, X, XTC, the Cucumbers, and Elvis Costello.
I tried to write this like I recall the local music at the time. Bass and drums up front, simple guitar because the guitar player is probably an art student, and a little bit of surf influence. Vocals a little buried. Bass flub left intact.
out in the hinterland
we didn't know what we were doing
it was something the water
made for our undoing
People just started forming bands
playing little shows for their friends
Chorus: Nobody knew a goddamn thing.
There was no MTV
there was no Coachella
just people with guitars
turning into storytellers
Every night was
amateur night
a 40-watt bulb
was just enough light
Nobody knew
it could go far
we were just playing
at a local bar
nobody knew.
@oswlek Mar 2022
I really like that lead guitar during the refrain. It gives that part some nice sparkle and makes it feel fresh despite the chords not changing. This is one that I think is worth a post-FAWM screw tightening, Not so much that you squeeze the raw authenticity from the piece, of course. :)
@liz561 Mar 2022
Fun bit of nostalgia for the late 70s-early 80s rock scene. Music for music's sake and not for views.
@timfatchen Mar 2022
Gives a lvoely feel and window both on the past AND how new live music should still be but isn't...Smiles at the liner notes--the art student on lead, well, that's about my level :D ditto bass flubbery. Bas, bas! Applause!
@thedutchwidows Mar 2022
Oh my. Your liner notes - you grew up in Athens! There are two points in musical history where I wish I'd been. Somewhere in the late-60s, doesn't really matter where, but let's say London around 1967 to 1968. I love everything about the period and it was totally wasted on my parents (they didn't like The Beatles after Help - too many drugs apparently (The Beatles, not my parents) - and my mum walked out of a Dylan concert when he pulled an electric guitar out... sigh). But probably just ahead of that is Athens, Georgia in the early 80s. I love REM probably more than any other band; I've been obsessed with them since about 1986 when I was given a tape with Life's Rich Pageant on one side and Fables on the other. Instant love and probably the most important influence on my life - music and beyond. I think I saw them maybe 8 or 9 times. And you were there at the start. Envy doesn't come close to capturing it. And you've played the 40 Watt Club. That place has mythical status in my head. My oh my. I'm aware I'm rambling a little, sorry.
Your song captures that period really well - that four-piece structure and particular make-up for a band just can't be beaten, especially the 'art school guitarist' and I think you nailed the economy of that style. Really good stuff. I will stop writing now. Sorry!
@robynmackenzie Mar 2022
I'm in love with those drums. This brings me right back to the 90's and listening to the radio with my dad as he worked in the garage. The lyrics tell a compelling story of days past, and I like the simplicity of the chorus.
@driftwood1 Mar 2022
"People with guitars turning into storytellers." I like that. Very nostalgic feel to this. I know it is supposed to be about the writing, but I have to comment on the vocal performance here. Really emotional and it sells the lyric. Powerful stuff. #listeningskirmish
@elesimo Mar 2022
"simple guitar because the guitar player is probably an art student" YES, that's what I've been doing all this time! :)
The song is great, it made me wish I was there. I think this is my favorite of your songs this year, it's honest and truthful and it really connects. Really nice!
@elainedimasi Feb 2022
First of all the 4th chord in the loop gives a neat twist to this progression, I really like that. Second, it's awesome to hear a story that's actually a story, with a beginning and then the rest. So it's even neater that the song talks of the storytellers. Love the detail of the 40-watt bulb to try to see something by in that dive. Finally I totally dig the way you're singing this. Nice one for sure!
@ductapeguy Feb 2022
I've never been to Athens. I have read about what it was like in the 80s and 90s. Now you have taken me there. Thank you. That one line chorus is epic!
@zecoop Feb 2022
Really nice... Raw open honesty and emotion. The love of music and playing is so out front in this song and I just love it along with the backstory. Such a cool thing. You were in such an amazing scene. I mean there were scenes everywhere but that was an incredible scene that I loved from afar. My band couldn't play anywhere in East Lansing, Mich because we played originals, so we made our our place in the basement and had our shows there. I completely related to this song and loved every second. :)
@nancyrost Feb 2022
I really like the sentiment of this - just people doing what they enjoyed, playing with and for their friends.
When I listened without reading the lyrics, I appreciated what a great rhyme Coachella/storytellers was, really natural and makes perfect sense.
And the 40-watt was just enough light, not a well-known venue name.
Obviously I can still hear the lyrics so the vocal's not *too* buried. Just enough for historical reference. I like the sound, bass flub and all.
@deena Feb 2022
That was a great scene! So many great bands and so much excitement. Thanks for bringing it back!
@gilhari Feb 2022
Nicely done… I lived those days and this captured that era well.
@sph Feb 2022
You transport the sentiment very well. Yes, drums and bass upfront. That was here as well - even when the local bands didn't grow as big as in Athens
@anthonykapfer666 Feb 2022
i like this a lot. it has that retro college rock sound. i would say you nailed it! this is a fun one
@hamiltonpoolhall Feb 2022
Oh la la - love the feel of this from the first notes. I’m a sucker for some rock tenor vocals, which you deliver in spades, over fabulous guitar tones and a cool, loping groove. Great to have the liner notes backstory, and plenty of great lines throughout the lyrics,
@tseaver Feb 2022
Nice write! Seems to me to find that vibe you are remembering: raw, but honest, without pretense.