Dreams They Complicate My Life

Haahnster, my new favorite blogger (well, he's not new to blogging, but I'm new to reading his page), has a great post on R.E.M.'s Green. He's definitely worth the click, so "Get Up" and head on over there.

If you can't get enough of the Athens music scene, don't miss Dale's I'm Not No Limburger (one of the greatest song lyrics ever), or Savage Distortion's Talk About the Passion. And longtime fave Scrivener is mastering Neutral Milk Hotel (and he's definitely on the way to becoming one of the coolest people on the whole frickin' planet).

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Athens, Part 1: Come Relive My Misspent Youth

Great day in Athens! It's spring break for UGA, so the town had a slow, laidback feel. The baubles hunt was successful. Sadly, though, I didn't hear any great new music while flipping through Wuxtry; the record-store guys were cute and chatty, though, so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

I took some digital pix around town, to give you a peek at my Athens.

Here's a shot of downtown Athens, from North Campus. An adorable Irish lad first developed a crush on me down this street way back in March 1984.



My dorm, Brumby Hall; the red arrow points to my windows.



OM bought me this telephone pole for my 20th birthday, after an unfortunate incident involving our woody station wagon and a road-zipping squirrel. Did you know you have to pay for the pole if you crash into it and snap it in two? If you’re interested in paying homage to the Coffey pole, it’s just half block from Brumby.



My sorority house, home to my short-lived preppy phase. Bring on the Pappagallos and add-a-beads, and let’s shag, baby!



Renae’s Athens home in the mid-1980s. Boy, did I have a lot of good times in that place …



Here’s Five and Ten, around the corner from Renae's old duplex, in the Five Points section of Athens. Five and Ten is one of my favorite restaurants in the world; Karen and I celebrated my birthday in style there last year (just ask the folks at the next table!). If you haven’t been, make plans; it's well worth the drive. I'll take you out-of-towners the next time you visit me.



Today’s bauble haul. I can always find cool jewelry at great prices in Athens. I had just an hour to shop with a strict spending limit … so I'll probably zip back up Highway 78 in the next couple of weeks.



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Athens, Part 2: The R.E.M. Tour

OK, French, you can stop reading now.

I didn't have enough time to do the full tour (every spot where I saw them perform! the place where Michael eye-flirted with me at breakfast!) ... but I hit the highlights.

This is Potter’s House, where The B-52’s and R.E.M. and the other cool kids in the Athens music scene bought their groovy vintage clothes and party dresses. Renae bought some fabulous dresses and sweaters there; wish she still had that party dress with the black velvet top, brocade skirt and naughty, naughty rose.



The center of my soul’s universe: R.E.M.’s headquarters, on the second floor. I waved.



R.E.M.’s rehearsal space, just a few blocks from HQ. My boys are into historic preservation in the Athens area; this was an old feed store or something that they refurbished and saved from the wrecking ball.



Here are a couple of shots of Michael Stipe’s house:





Peter Buck’s last house in Athens, before he moved to Seattle and married not-Beth. It was blue when he lived there.



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I'm going to Athens today!

Sunny and 65 ... out of the office on a work day ... yep, it's going to be a great Wednesday. Of course, I do have to tour an exhibit and meet with the curator ... but I should have some time to enjoy my favorite Georgia town ... pop into a CD shop and discover some new music ... pick up a bauble or four ... have a beer on a patio. Wonder if Michael's in town this week ...