Pylon was an American new wave/post-punk band from

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, United States, who were active from 1979 to 1983, 1989 to 1991, and 2004 to 2009. The band consisted of singer

Vanessa Briscoe Hay Vanessa Briscoe Hay (born October 18, 1955) is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society. Biography Born to a textile worker and a housewife in Atlanta, Georgia, Hay attended elementary ...

, guitarist Randall Bewley, bassist

Michael Lachowski Michael Scott Lachowski was the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crow ...

, and drummer

Curtis Crowe Curtis Hudgins Crowe is the drummer for the Athens, Georgia, rock band Pylon. He is a native of Marietta, Georgia, and is the middle child of five children. Crowe moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia art school. His sister Rhett ...

. They released three studio albums and a number of singles from 1979 to 1990, as well as a live double album in 2016 (recorded on December 1, 1983). The band's danceable sound, a blend of new wave,

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

jangle pop Jangle pop is a Music subgenre, subgenre of pop rock and college rock that emphasizes jangle, jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop music, pop melodies. The "jangly" guitar sound is characterized by its clean, shimmering and Arpeggio, arpeggiated ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the ...

, influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".

History

1979–1983: Formation, early years and breakup

Pylon was formed in 1979. The four members of Pylon were art students at the University of Georgia in Athens. Guitarist Randall Bewley and bass guitarist

began playing music and attempting to form a band in 1978. Neither had any musical experience: as Lachowski later recalled, "A lot of us in the art school were trying out different media with a punk rock message, which is just go in there and do it. You don’t need training, or authority or legitimacy. Just figure it out". They originally formed the band with the intention of securing live appearances in New York City, along with press attention, before splitting up. They practiced in a studio in downtown Athens that Lachowski rented from

, upstairs from the later location of the Grill on College Avenue. The room was lit by a single 40-watt light bulb, so the band referred to it as the "

40 Watt Club The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and new wave music. The 40 Watt Club was the primary performance space for numero ...

". Crowe, who lived above the studio, recalled hearing Lachowski and Bewley's early rehearsals through the floor: "a never-ending series of hooks—no bridges or chorus, just hooks". He soon joined the band as a drummer, stating that he "had every song memorized" before he approached them to join. Bewley then approached Vanessa Briscoe (now

) about joining the band on vocals, on the basis that the band were fans of her art work: although she was initially reluctant as she also lacked musical experience, she auditioned for the band on February 14, 1979 and joined the lineup. Contrary to some accounts, Pylon did not name themselves after

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

's 1935 novel of the same name. As Hay later explained to ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

'' writer Edd Hurt, the band was unaware of the Faulkner novel when they began playing, and instead were inspired by traffic cones. According to Lachowski, "we chose Pylon because it is severe, industrial, monolithic, functional". Their musical influences included Cabaret Voltaire,

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

, the ''

No New York ''No New York'' is a no wave compilation album released in 1978 by record label Antilles under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contains songs by four different artists, it has been considered important in defining and docu ...

'' compilation and the soundtrack to ''

Eraserhead ''Eraserhead'' is a 1977 American independent surrealist body horror film written, directed, produced, and edited by David Lynch. Lynch also created its score and sound design, which included pieces by a variety of other musicians. Shot in bl ...

''.

Pylon played their first live show at a party on March 9, 1979. Despite receiving a relatively cool reception at their first two concerts, members of

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

attended Pylon's third show, where "they started dancing and running around like crazy and everybody else did too", according to Briscoe Hay.

Fred Schneider Frederick William Schneider III (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock band the B-52s, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well known for his '' sprechgesang'', which he developed from reciting ...

and

Kate Pierson Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948) is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52s. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main ...

of the B-52's were particularly supportive and helped promote Pylon's music in New York City, getting them a gig at Hurrah. After Schneider passed Hurrah's manager

Jim Fouratt Jim Fouratt (born June 23, 1941) is a gay-rights activist, actor, and former nightclub impresario. He is best known for his involvement with the Stonewall riots and as co-founder of Danceteria in New York City. Early life Fouratt was raised in ...

a Pylon demo tape, Fouratt called the band and offered their choice of opening slots for a number of upcoming headlining bands: they chose to support the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

. Their performance was well-received by the audience and was the subject of a positive review by

Glenn O'Brien Glenn O'Brien (March 2, 1947 – April 7, 2017) was an American writer who focused largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in ''GQ'' magazine and published a book with that title. He ...

in ''Interview''. Pylon's debut single, "Cool", backed by "Dub", was released on

DB Records DB Records (stylized as DB RECS) was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, the lab ...

in 1979, and received many positive critical reviews. It was followed by their first full-length album, '' Gyrate'', in 1980. That year they also opened for the B-52s at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. The ''!!'' 10" EP, released in 1980 on the UK label Armageddon Records, included both sides of the debut single plus "Driving School" and "Danger!!" from the album. Two further singles followed, "Crazy" (1981), which charted at No. 61 for

club play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

in ''Billboard'', and "Beep" (1982). From 1980 to 1983, Pylon toured parts of the U.S., Canada and the U.K., playing with groups such as the B-52's, Gang of Four,

Mission of Burma Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller (rock musician), Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass guitar, bass, Peter Prescott (musician), Peter Prescott on drum k ...

Love Tractor Love Tractor is a band from Athens, Georgia, founded in spring 1980 by guitarists Mark Cline and Mike Richmond, and bassist Armistead Wellford, students at the University of Georgia. Like The B-52's, Pylon and R.E.M., Love Tractor has been laud ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

and U2. ''

Chomp Chomp is a two-player strategy game played on a rectangular grid made up of smaller square cells, which can be thought of as the blocks of a chocolate bar. The players take it in turns to choose one block and "eat it" (remove from the board), to ...

'', their second album, was released in 1983. By that time, the members of Pylon were beginning to feel that playing together was becoming less fun and more like a business, and after being poorly received by audiences when opening for U2 on the U.S. leg of their

War Tour The War Tour was a concert tour by the Irish Rock music, rock band U2, which took place in 1982 and 1983 in support of the group's third album ''War (U2 album), War''.Exact delineation of this tour is subject to various interpretations. U2's w ...

, they decided to break up the band in late 1983, their final show being at Athens' Mad Hatter club on December 1. Hay later said, "For whatever reason it was our decision. We were like, 'Let's just quit while we're having fun.' That was kind of the idea in the first place. We were just going to perform as long as it was fun. So we broke up and it was a decision we all made together". Lachowski explained: "we accomplished what we set out to do...It’s not that we are miserable, it’s just that we’ve seen all we’re going to see and don’t want to put any more time into it".

Legacy and influence

With some help from the members of R.E.M., Pylon's reputation as one of the great underground bands of the new wave era was solidified in 1987. Numerous musicians from the Athens rock scene publicly attested to their deep reverence for Pylon in the film '' Athens, GA: Inside/Out'', released in February 1987. In April, R.E.M. released the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

Dead Letter Office Dead letter mail or undeliverable mail is mail that cannot be delivered to the addressee or returned to the sender. This is usually due to lack of compliance with postal regulations, an incomplete address and return address, or the inability to ...

'', which opened with a cover version of Pylon's "Crazy", previously issued as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of their 1985 single "

Driver 8 "Driver 8" is the second single from American musical group R.E.M.'s third album, ''Fables of the Reconstruction'', released in September 1985. The song peaked at number 22 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song refers ...

". When ''Rolling Stone'' named R.E.M. "America's Best Band" in December 1987, R.E.M. drummer

Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guita ...

said "We're not the best rock 'n' roll band in America", declaring that Pylon was instead the best. "That was (R.E.M.) just being gracious and honoring the scene that they came out of and the scene that they obviously contributed to," said Lachowski in a 2016 interview in ''New York Observer''. "R.E.M. became so successful and successful in a different way. They were true musicians and had all kinds of historical knowledge about musical forms and different kinds of music. They were just very adept and confident and had so much more range. We were truly just art students assembling things with sound and instruments".

1989–2009: Reunions

After a six-year hiatus punctuated with a smattering of reunion shows, Pylon officially reformed in 1989, coinciding with the release of a compilation of the band's work from 1979–83, ''Hits'' (1989). They opened for the final leg of R.E.M.'s ''Green'' tour. In 1990, the group released a new album, ''Chain'', on Sky Records. They played several more shows, including the

South by Southwest Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

in 1990 and 1991, but when guitarist Bewley decided to leave in 1991, the band broke up again. Pylon came out of retirement again in 2004, and played their first set in more than a decade in August 2004 at the then-fledgling Little King's Shuffle Club in Athens. They played the 2004 New Year's Eve show at the 40 Watt Club, headlined the first night of the Athens music festival AthFest in June 2005, and recorded an untelevised segment for ''

Pancake Mountain ''Pancake Mountain'' is a children's television show created by filmmaker Scott Stuckey (of the famous Stuckey's family). Described as an “alt-rock guerrilla kids' dance party, forged in the crucible of Washington, D.C. cable-access televisi ...

'' in 2006. On April 4, 2007, Pylon performed an impromptu show at Little King's to announce the reissue of ''Gyrate'' on

DFA Records DFA Records is an American independent record label based in New York City. The label was originally founded in 2001 by Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. Goldsworthy and Mur ...

. Expanded with extra tracks and retitled ''Gyrate Plus'', it was released on October 16, 2007. They performed several key shows in 2008, including the Part Time Punks Festival in Los Angeles, a show taped for Georgia Public Broadcasting in Athens, and the Revolve Film and Music Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. On February 25, 2009, Bewley died, two days after suffering a heart attack while driving his van. Bewley's death brought the band's career to a close; Hay said, "Pylon died when Randy died".

Subsequent developments

DFA reissued the band's second album in expanded form as ''Chomp More'' in 2009. In October 2011, DFA issued a two-track 7" split single called ''Cover + Remix''. The A-side featured a cover of Pylon's "Cool" by

Deerhunter Deerhunter is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Bradford Cox (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Moses Archuleta (drums, electronics, sound treatments), Lockett Pundt (guitar, vocals, ...

, while the B-side consisted of a remix of "Yo-Yo" by Calvinist. On July 25, 2016, Chunklet Industries released the double album ''Pylon Live'', which had been recorded at Athens club The Mad Hatter on December 1, 1983, before they disbanded for the first time. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' called it The album was previewed by Chunklet's April 20 release of a 7" single, "Gravity", taken from the live album.

New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Nashville and Athens, Georgia. It previously had offices in Burbank, California and Beverly Hills, California. From 2013 to 2018, New West's records in the U.S. were distributed by Alternative Distrib ...

reissued the "Cool"/"Dub" single as a special edition for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

in 2019. On August 28, 2020, the label announced the November 6, 2020 release of ''Pylon Box'', a vinyl box set that contains remastered editions of ''Gyrate'' and ''Chomp'', and two exclusive albums, ''Extra'' (containing various non-album tracks and five previously unissued recordings) and ''Razz Tape'', containing the band's first-ever studio recordings, preceding the "Cool"/"Dub" single. The box also includes a 200-page hardcover book with new interviews with the surviving members of the band and testimonies from members of

The B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

The Bongos The Bongos are a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey, that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...

Beat Happening Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-f ...

, and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, and others. In September 2020, the city launched the Athens Music Walk of Fame. The public art walk spans a two city blocks loop around West Washington and Clayton Streets connected by North Lumpkin Street. Guitar pick plaques were laid down on the sidewalk in front of such significant music venues as the Georgia Theatre, the 40 Watt Club, and the Morton Theatre. The first round of inductees included The B-52s,

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse is a British action cartoon which has had two incarnations: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series ...

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock music, rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley (American musician), Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as ...

The Elephant 6 Recording Company The Elephant 6 Recording Company is a loosely defined musical collective from the United States. Notable bands associated with the collective include The Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, The Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, ...

Hall Johnson Francis Hall Johnson (March 12, 1888 – April 30, 1970) was an American composer and arranger of African-American spiritual music. He is one of a group—including Harry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Eva Jessye—who had great success per ...

Neal Pattman Neal Pattman (January 10, 1926 – May 4, 2005) was an American electric blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Sometimes billed as Big Daddy Pattman, he is best known for his self-penned tracks, "Prison Blues" and "Goin' Back To Georgia ...

, Pylon, R.E.M.,

Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little (album), ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the rele ...

, and

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell (musician), John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJ ...

Other projects

Hay is a member of the Athens band

Supercluster A supercluster is a large group of smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups; they are among the largest known structures in the universe. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group galaxy group (which contains more than 54 galaxies), which in tu ...

, formed in 2007. Bewley was also a member before his death. In 2014, Hay formed Pylon Reenactment Society with guitarist Jason NeSmith, drummer Gregory Sanders, and bass guitarist Kay Stanton, members of more recent Athens bands like

the Glands The Glands were an American indie rock band from Athens, Georgia, United States. Their first CD, ''Double Thriller'', was self-released in 1996 and reissued on Bar/None Records in 1998. Their self-titled album was first released in August 2000 ...

and

Casper & the Cookies Casper & the Cookies is an American rock and pop band from Athens, Georgia, United States. History Multi-instrumentalist and singer Jason NeSmith (pronounced "KNEE-smith," no relation to Michael Nesmith of the Monkees), began using the pseudo ...

. In a 2016 interview, Hay said "It's been inspirational, if that's the right word, to be able to play this music again. I really don't want people to forget Pylon. These are different people and we are re-enacting this experience, so it's not exactly Pylon, but it's fresh and done in the same spirit". In October 2017, Pylon Reenactment Society self-released an EP initially recorded on December 11, 2016 for broadcast in Los Angeles for DJ Michael Stock's ''Part Time Punks''

KXLU KXLU (88.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting out of Loyola Marymount University in southwest Los Angeles, California. It was first on the air in 1957, and in 2007, celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is a non-commercial college radio statio ...

show, titled ''Part Time Punks Session''. On February 9, 2024, Pylon Reenactment Society released their full length album debut on

Strolling Bones Records Strolling is walking along or through at a leisurely pace. Strolling is a pastime and activity enjoyed worldwide as a leisure activity. The object of strolling is to walk at a slightly slower pace in an attempt to absorb the surroundings. Works ...

titled ''

Magnet Factory ''Magnet Factory'' is the debut full-length studio album by American rock band Pylon Reenactment Society. It has received positive reviews from critics and was promoted by live touring by the band and music videos for "3 x 3" and "Fix It". The ...

''. The album of eleven songs includes two tunes written by Pylon in 1979, but never formally recorded in the studio – "3 x 3" and "Heaven (In Your Eyes)". It also includes a track ("Fix It") featuring vocals by

Members

* Randall Bewley – guitar (1978–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009) *

– drums (1978–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009) *

– vocals (1979–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009) *

– bass guitar (1978–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Gyrate'' (November 1980,

DB54; reissued on CD 2007 as ''Gyrate Plus'',

DFA2181CD) * ''

'' (April 1983, DB Records DB65; reissued on CD 2009 as ''Chomp More'', DFA Records DFA2220CD) * ''

Chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

'' (1990, Sky Records)

Singles and EPs

* "Cool / Dub" 7" single (April 1980, DB Records DB53) * ''!!'' 10" EP (February 1981, Armageddon Records AEP10214) * "Crazy / M Train" 7"/12" single (March 1982, DB Records DB61) * "Beep / Altitude" 7" single (September 1982, DB Records DB62) * "Beep / Altitude / Four Minutes" 12" EP (September 1982, DB Records DB62) * "Sugarpop / Sugarpop Remix / Interview" promo CD single (1990, Sky Records) * ''Cover + Remix'' 7" single (split single with

(June 2011, DFA Records DFA2279LP) * "Gravity / Weather Radio" 7" single (April 2016, Chunklet Industries CK7010)

Live albums

* ''Pylon Live'' (July 25, 2016, Chunklet Industries CHKLP020)

Box set

* ''Pylon Box'' (November 8, 2020, New West Records)

Compilation albums

* ''Declaration of Independents – 13 Tracks of U.S. Rock 1980'', Vinyl LP, Various artists (1980, Ambition Records AMB1, Basement Records BASE 6005,

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London by Dave Robinson (music executive), Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the p ...

Yank
Various - Declaration Of Independents
Discogs * ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

Presents the Best of America Underground'', Cassette LP, Various artists (1983,

ROIR ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...

A124
Various - Trouser Press Presents the Best of America Underground
Discogs * ''Jericho Go'', Vinyl LP, Various artists (1985,

D BAT80) (DB Recs / Victor Musical Industries, Inc. VIL 2803
Various - Jericho Go
Discogs * ''Athens, GA – Inside / Out'', Vinyl LP, Various artists (1987,

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...

IRS6185) * ''Hits'', Cassette, CD (1989,

DB9
Pylon (4) - Hits
Discogs * ''Squares Blot Out the Sun'', Vinyl LP, CD, Cassette, Various artists (1990, DB Recs DB7
Various - Squares Blot Out the Sun
Discogs * ''Totally Wired'', CD, Various artists (1995,

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles and ...

RE 207
Various - Totally Wired
Discogs * ''KFJC 98.7 Fifty – Blowing Minds Since 1959'', Vinyl double record LP, Various artists (2009, No label KJFC2
Various - KFJC 89.7 FM - Fifty Blowing Minds Since 1959
Discogs * ''Keith Haring – The World of Keith Haring – Influences + Connections '', Vinyl triple record LP boxset, Triple CD boxset, Various artists (2019,

Soul Jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including sa ...

, Ltd. SJR LP44
Keith Haring
Discogs * ''Blank Generation: A Story Of Us - Canadian Punk & Its Aftershocks 1975-1981'', Five CD Boxset, Various artists (2023,

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

CRCDBOX14

Cherry Red Records

Filmography

* '' Athens, GA: Inside Out'' (1987)

References

External links

Pylon official web site
* * *
Village Voice Interview with Michael Lachowski and Randy Bewley
{{Authority control American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups American jangle pop groups Alternative rock groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Indie rock musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 American musical quartets American funk rock musical groups Musical groups from Athens, Georgia