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October 17, 2007
Retrohump: Gyrations
This week saw the first ever CD release of Pylon's classic 1980 debut, Gyrate. It had been languishing in scattered crates and fraying sleeves for nearly three decades before the heroes at DFA Records finally freed the seminal album from its dusty vinyl prisons. To celebrate the occasion, we've located the most fitting piece of footage from the Athens band's well spent youth currently available. It's a truncated document of a concert at the Mad Hatter club in Athens, recorded on December 1st, 1983. In the years between the band's first record and this show, they had been touring incessantly in support of such legendary bands as Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, and their city mates, the B-52's. After graduating to an opening slot on U2's first American tour, the band decided to call it quits. This is the last show they played before reforming in 1989 to tour with R.E.M., whom they had profoundly inspired. As far as everyone in the room was concerned, this was the last Pylon show ever. it's hard to quantify the energy that misconception brought to the room.
The first three song slice kicks off with Gyrate's "Working is No Problem." Vanessa Briscoe's guttural screams would seem to be at odds with her carefree nature, manifested by sweet twirls across the stage. She crosses paths with various band mates, also in near constant motion. Next is the post-Gyrate single "Crazy," which was later covered by R.E.M., and suggests the sounds that Stipe and Co. would become much more famous for. The last song seems to be a medley of the single "Beep" and EP cut "Four Minutes," though any confirmation of that from some old time Pylon heads would be much appreciated. Most of the band's catalog is still stranded out of print limbo, and internet guesswork can only take me so far.
Pylon - "Working is No Problem"
Part two features 1981 single "M-Train" as well as Gyrate's classic lead track, "Volume." Both kinetic bounders receive a hero's welcome from the congregation.
The final song preserved for our pleasure is called "Party Zone," which appeared years later on a db records compilation entitled Squares Blot Out the Sun. The trickle of enraptured Georgians filling the stage turns into a flood by the song's end (a similar response to Pylon's music was documented here). Even though this climactic finale wasn't the last anyone would see of Pylon, the band couldn't have asked for a warmer hometown "farewell."
Of course, you can disprove their early demise yourselves at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan come November 7th, and the next night in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Only twelve dollars, holmes, cough up.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at October 17, 2007 01:01 AM
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Comments
Maybe you can answer a question that's been bugging me for a couple of days now - why is CMJ so short this year? I could have sworn it was a 3-4 week event in past years...
Posted by: jennson Wong at October 20, 2007 07:47 AM
I don't think it was ever three or four weeks, although people often throw not quite affiliated parties before or after that might seem to extend it. With college radio folk flying in from around the country (the supposed purpose of the fest before it seemed to be all about bloggers) it would be unreasonable to expect them to take a solid month off to get drunk and go to shows.
But, being NYC, there's always decent stuff going on, just not in such a crazy clusterfuck.
See you @ Pylon?
Posted by: Jeff K at October 20, 2007 12:35 PM
