Housekeeping note: If you prefer other platforms to Spotify, good news — I’m re-editing previous episodes for Spreaker, Apple and Google, where episodes will be available for a limited time. See next post (above, since this is reverse chronological).

This episode won’t be on other platforms because it’s dependent on music at Spotify.

In 1985, an up-and-coming band from Athens, Ga., released a quirky album that seemed a little puzzling to themselves, let alone a general audience. But in retrospect, how important was this album to the band’s development? And how good is it in its own right?

This is a Spotify/Anchor exclusive, taking advantage of the feature in which we can embed songs. If you’re a Premium user, you should get the whole song (though you can skip it if you like). Otherwise, you get 30 seconds, not of my choosing.

A few links:

• “60 Songs That Explain the 90s” podcast on the R.E.M. song Nightswimming
• R.E.M. plays Sweetness Follows at the 1999 Glastonbury festival
• My 2015 piece on What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
• My 2015 piece using Find the River to explain my career and life plans
• A 2015 post on the eccentric Brivs Mekis (the inspiration for Life and How to Live It) at an apparently defunct blog
• All about Philomath Presbyterian along with some history of the town
• The $733,000 house in Philomath (or Rayle)
• Comedian Martin Morrow on a song on a surprisingly horrid topic
• A 1998 interview with Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant
• A 2020 post on Wendell Gee (the person)