Livin' the Dream: Jacksonville

Since none of us were able to make the game on Saturday, it's a good thing we had some fellow Cadets representing us at the Jacksonville Landing last weekend.

Basketball Preview, Part 1

As I said earlier today, we're about a week away from the college basketball season, as Georgia prepares for Nov. 3rd's preseason exhibition against West Georgia. The season officially kicks off a week after that versus Southern University at the Stegasaurus. So I thought to myself, what better time than now to take a quick look at the team?

First, I'll be focusing in on who Georgia lost, and who they'll have coming in to take their places.

Losses:

Kevin Brophy, G: The Bulldogs lost Brophy in a car accident this summer, as we all know well. He was really coming along as a solid backup point guard toward the end of SEC play last year, particularly on the defensive end, so he’ll be missed on the court almost as much as he has been off of it. Without Brophy, Georgia lacks a true backup for Sundiata Gaines.

Younes Idrissi, F: Idrissi is another guy who improved greatly from his freshman to sophomore year. He’s a very, quick athletic big man who is still learning the game. If he ever gets his act together, he can be a heck of a player. Unfortunately, he took his services to Iona over the summer.

Jay McAuley, G: The former walk-on was Georgia’s lone senior last season. Though he saw his role diminish greatly with the arrival of Mike Mercer and Billy Humphrey, he’s a guy Georgia surely could've used this year with the loss of Brophy.


Takais Brown

Newcomers:

Takais Brown, F: One of the top ten junior college transfers in the country, the Bulldogs are fortunate to have landed the 6-8 250 lb. forward in the off season. From what I’ve read, he’s the definition of the word “banger,” and with the highly publicized frontcourt struggles Georgia had last year, he could be just what the doctor ordered.

Albert Jackson, F/C: No one really knows what to expect out of this 6-10 freshman out of Oak Hill Academy this year. But by all accounts, he’s going to get every opportunity to contribute right away. Hopefully, he can at least give the Bulldogs some good minutes on defense if he is still a little unpolished.

"Atlanta's Air Force"

It's almost basketball season, believe it or not, and 2006 should be the year where the Georgia Bulldogs and the Atlanta Hawks make huge leaps in their respective rebuilding efforts.

I celebrate with this amazing Hawks team video from the 80s. And yes, the backup band really is named "The Varsity." Check out the Stevie Wonder impression by Doc Rivers.

Livin' the Dream: St. Simon's

It's Georgia-Florida week, and you know what that means. The economy of St. Simon's Island will be booming, as the Georgia barrier island is transformed into Milledge Avenue South for the final weekend in October.

The only place on the planet where you can find hundreds of people on the beach wearing North Face jackets, because the temperature is borderline freezing.

REM: Document

Our tour of IRS-era R.E.M. ends today with 1987’s Document, the album that finally saw the band break through to the mainstream. Two of their signature songs, “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “The One I Love” are found here, as the band continued to push toward more of a mainstream rock sound, and get more political.



Athens Trivia:

I believe the dance scene for the “The One I Love” video was filmed at The Grit, and the song “Welcome to the Occupation” was written there.

Welcome to the Occupation

Exhuming McCarthy

"The One I Love" video


R.E.M. and a bunch of Athens musicians performing "It's the End of the World..." at the 40 Watt show

REM: Lifes Rich Pageant

With their fourth full-length album, Lifes Rich Pageant, R.E.M. began to change things up a bit and started to resemble the band that came out of nowhere to attain superstar status in the 1990s.



For the first time, Michael Stipe’s vocals are easily discernible over the sound of the rest of the band. They also introduce a harder rocking sound, which can be heard on the standout tracks “Begin the Begin” and “Just a Touch”. Finally, we begin to see some of the politically and/or environmentally-charged tracks we’ve come to expect from the band in “Fall On Me” (acid rain) and “Cuyahoga” (the polluted Cuyahoga River).

We also have bassist Mike Mills delivering his greatest lead vocal ever on the cover of the obscure garage rocker “Superman”.

I don’t know any Athens-related facts about this one.

Begin the Begin

Superman


Here is a reunited R.E.M. playing "Begin the Begin" at the 40 Watt Club on September 12.

Best South Parks Ever!!

In honor of a hilarious 10th season so far i decided to come up with the top ten south parks so far. Tell me what yall think and let me know if i leave any out.

10.) Ladder to Heaven
9.) Biggest Douche of the Universe
8.) Stupid Spoiled Whore
7.) Little League Baseball
6.) Lemmiwinks
5.) Crips and Bloods
4.) Scott Tenerman must die.
3.) Towelie
2.) Special Olympics
1.) Hippie Fest

REM: Fables of the Reconstruction

We continue today with what is probably the most underrated album from R.E.M.’s IRS catalog, 1985’s Fables of the Reconstruction, criticized by the band and fans alike. Having to follow Reckoning is difficult enough, but getting caught between that album and Lifes Rich Pageant, which we’ll get to tomorrow, is probably the biggest reason fans fail to give Fables its due. As for the band, recalling the tensions that arose during recording (the most tenuous period of their career) is likely the cause of their distaste for the record.

Nevertheless, Fables, though it was recorded in London, has the band exploring their Southern roots in ways they had never before (and never would again). Southern mythology and the trains are present throughout. Specifically, a number of the songs (Old Man Kensey, Wendell Gee, for example) focus on eccentric individuals from their hometown of Athens. The eccentric individual, of course, being a common theme in most Southern literature and art.



The sound is darker, a reflection of the subject matter as well as the strained environment in the studio. While the album isn’t as consistently great as Murmur and Reckoning, its high points may be even higher than those of the other two records, as “Driver 8” and “Can’t Get There From Here” rank with the best work of the band’s career.

More Georgia trivia, from Wikipedia:

"Maps and Legends" is dedicated to the Reverend Howard Finster, "a man of vision and feeling—a fine example to all."

"Life and How To Live It", though not referencing him by name, is certainly about Georgian author Brivs Mekis that is alluded to in the live version on the And I Feel Fine... bonus disc.

Driver 8

Can’t Get There From Here

Felton Gets Big Commitment

The Bulldogs have just landed one of the top players in Georgia in Chris Barnes, a 6'8" forward from Riverdale. He chose Georgia over Kentucky, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, which is why I consider this news.

So, Yeah...

...all of this election talk is going to make my head explode soon, so I had to find something to post here.

I don't know why I'm doing this, because I'm sure you've all already downloaded the stuff I've posted this week. But if you haven't, here are the songs on YouTube, so you don't have to go to any trouble.


Radio Free Europe



Harborcoat



Pretty Persuasion

REM: Reckoning

The second installment of our series focuses on my favorite R.E.M. record, 1984’s Reckoning. The band moved away from their trademark early sound for their full-length debut, Murmur, but Reckoning saw the young group quickly reverting to that age old Byrds-esque jangle pop sound for their second album.

The songwriting is more focused and accessible here, as a look at the classics “So. Central Rain (I‘m Sorry)” and “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” would indicate. It would be a long time before the words sung by Michael Stipe would be so straightforward. Nor would the band let loose with so many easy country rockers.



From AMG:

“Opening with the ringing "Harborcoat," Reckoning runs through a set of ten jangle pop songs that are different not only in sound but in style from the debut. Michael Stipe continues to sing powerful melodies without enunciating, but the band has a propulsive kick that makes the music vital and alive. On the surface, Reckoning may not be as distinctive as Murmur, but the record's influence on underground American rock in the '80s was just as strong.”

Athens trivia, as per Wikipedia:

The cover art is a collaboration between Stipe and Georgia folk artist Howard Finster. The video for “Radio Free Europe” was actually filmed in Finster’s garden, and he also appears in Athens, GA Inside Out, a documentary chronicling the mid-80s Athens music scene.

Harborcoat

Pretty Persuasion

These two songs really are great. You should download them.

***All MP3s are for sampling purposes only and will stay up for seven days. If you like the music, buy the music. If you have any concerns about the materials posted, please e-mail me or leave a comment.***

REM: Murmur

I return from a lengthy hiatus for the second installment of a feature I’ve (tentatively) decided to call “It’s Really Hard to Write About Music.”

So when you read these posts and then decide that I’m functionally handicapped, just keep in mind…It’s Really Hard to Write About Music. Bear with me.

Thanks to a couple of semi-reunions (at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame induction and a tribute show at the 40 Watt) and the release of …And I Feel Fine, a look back at the band’s work on the IRS Records label, R.E.M. has been talked about even more than usual here in their home base of Athens in recent weeks.

Over the next couple of days (weeks), I’m going to take a look back at some of the best work from one of the five greatest bands ever to exist’s albums from the IRS years.

We begin with 1983’s Murmur.



From All Music Guide:

“Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings, R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album, Murmur. The songs on Murmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert folk and pop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory.”

Some Athens trivia, as per Wikipedia:

“The cover art features sepia-toned photos of a trestle and kudzu vines covering the ground and nearby trees. The trestle featured on the album's cover, originally part of the Georgia Railroad line into downtown Athens, has become something of a local landmark. Plans to demolish the trestle, now commonly referred to as the "Murmur Trestle," met with public outcry. On October 2, 2000, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission voted to save the trestle.”

Samples:

***All MP3s are for sampling purposes only and will stay up for seven days. If you like the music, buy the music. If you have any concerns about the materials posted, please e-mail me or leave a comment.***

Patrick, if you could throw the above disclaimer into the sidebar somehow, it would keep me from having to post it every time. If not, no big deal.

Radio Free Europe

Shaking Through

Livin' the Dream: One is the Loneliest Number

I actually traveled a week into the future to find the photo for this week’s edition of Livin’ the Dream.

As you all know, whenever you go into Sanford Stadium, you have to take a picture of yourself with the field in the background, no matter how many times you’ve done it, no matter what is going on around you.

Anyway, this picture was taken at halftime of the Georgia-Mississippi State game on October 21.

You're Dead to Me

Sorry to steal your thunder with the Colbert thing, Patrick, but in light of recent events, I feel like it's time Stephen unveiled his first "Dead to Me" board of the year.

Livin' the Dream: Special Midweek Discussion

If you haven't already, check out this opinion column from today's Red & Black. Pay attention to the last two paragraphs in particular.

Is this more good-natured humor from our good friend Mr. Burch, or does he honestly feel this way? You decide.

Don't Be a Quitter

If you think about quitting picks over on Pure Football, just know whos company you will join.

Livin' the Dream: They Got Me

Try as I might, I can't come up with anything to say about this week's picture. But thankfully, it more than speaks for itself.

Livin' the Dream: Tailgating, v. 2.0

In honor of one of the biggest tailgating days of all time, I thought I'd give you a few things to keep in mind on Saturday.



The people sitting in the section of the stadium pictured above:

WILL be drunker than you.
WILL be having a better time than you.
and WILL care more about Georgia football than you.

So why should we even bother?

Say...does that sound like somebody we know? Nah. Probably not.

The Grove Comes to Athens

If you had asked me if I was going to the Ole Miss game at the beginning of this year, I would have given you a resounding YES! Well plans change and I unfortunately didn't make it. Now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't so unfortunate at all considering the way Georgia played. Anyways, when a certain someone told Larry and I that the Grove was going to come to Athens on Friday, I was hard pressed to believe him. However, when I walked in to Apartment 434 Saturday morning I about had a heart attack. The Grove had indeed made its way to Athens in the form of branches and leaves from the outside bushes courtesy of the Lodge of Athens. I must say it was quite a sight to see. So much that I took the pictures to prove it. On a side note, the game was watched downtown for the first time, and it will never happen again. We should have listened to you Larry!