BTOC Episode 9 The Music of Athens, GA.

There are those who claim that Athens’ transformation from sleepy hick college town to globally recognized mecca of cool was not slow evolution but the result of a single cataclysmic Big Bang event.

The date of this Big Bang: February 14, 1977 — the Valentine’s night that five hipster kids, dressed in funky thrift-store drag and banging inexpertly on bongos and a toy piano, played their first party under the name The B-52’s. Their combination of retro-kitsch style, outrageous stage presence, and danceable hooks is a wake-up call in those days when Southern boogie was the dominant party music. The local buzz surrounding their performance draws the nucleus of “the Athens music scene” and it is generally agreed upon that this is the beginning of the phenomenon. 

Bands Include: The B-52's, Pylon, The Method Actors, Love Tractor, The Side Effects, REM, Oh, OK!, Guadal Canal Diary, Kate Pierson, Blondie