athens georgia was the home of this college rock band
Music of Athens, Georgia The B-52's and R.E.M. became by far the most famous musical products of Athens in the 1980s, when both bands launched a string of hits. Their roots in the city's local scene go back to the 1970s and early 1980s. The B-52's formed after a St. Valentine's Day party in 1977. The members had little musical knowledge, but performed new wave music with a cheeky and humorous image and sound. They were known for their campy thrift store fashion, and their unusual and eye-catching music videos for hits like "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack".[18] Though the B-52's were the first Athens band to achieve national prominence, their popularity was soon eclipsed by R.E.M.. The future members of the band R.E.M. moved to Athens to work and/or attend the University of Georgia, including bassist Mike Mills and former drummer Bill Berry. The group began performing as R.E.M. in 1980. They became locally prominent, and released a single, "Radio Free Europe", that was a major college rock hit. Their popularity grew with a series of singles, EPs and albums that made R.E.M. the top underground band in the country, finally breaking into the mainstream with 1987's "The One I Love" and "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". By 1991's Out of Time album — which featured vocals by Kate Pierson of The B-52s — and its acclaimed follow-up Automatic for the People (named after the motto of Weaver D's, a local Athens soul-food eatery), R.E.M. had become one of the world's biggest rock bands. The band's style went through many evolutions but originally had a jangle pop sound and harmonies often compared to folk-rock band The Byrds; singer and songwriter Michael Stipe is known for obscure, allusive lyrics delivered in a monotonous drone.[19] The success of R.E.M. and the B-52's brought attention from major labels and music media to Athens, and many local bands received a career boost.