Tinfoil Tiaras's Awesome Athens Adventures

[tinfoil tiaras]

As those who read the previous thread, I went to Athens, GA, this weekend, to, among other things, experience the little town that my favorite band, R.E.M., call home. I got more than I bargained for. Here's the (semi-detailed) play by play for each day;

Friday (evening); Took us forever to find our Holiday Inn, but eventually we found it. We got some maps and we were on our way. This is where the first and only R.E.M. sighting happens. I was walking up Hull fixing to cross onto Clayton when who do I see in a SHINY BLACK TOYOTA PRIUS...Mike Mills or as I like to call him, M -squared- (i can't do that little "2" thingy). I, of course, smiled like an idiot and of course, he probably just glanced at me or didn't see me. Oh well. We ate at this cool place called the Last Resort on Clayton and then after that we walked up and down the street, looking for places that were still open (it was about 6 EST), and amoung the places that were open was Wuxtry Records (were Peter Buck met Michael Stipe..:woohoo:). I got a shirt and a picture R.E.M. album that has "Nightswimming" (I'm quite famous around here for my impression of the song). Yaay. We had an early night.

Saturday; Got up around 9 and strolled more around Clayton, seeing the shops that weren't open last night. Then we went to lunch at Weaver D's ("Automatic for the People" :woohoo: ;this is where R.E.M. got their album name) and Weaver D himself came over to our table to ask us if the chicken was too salty or w/e. It was cool, and like always, I got a T-shirt =] Earlier that afternoon, we went into the Grit for just some drinks and whatnot. And oh, boy, there were SO many nice people, especially this one guy who told us where this building was that R.E.M. plays and possibly records in and the 40 Watt club. When we went by the 40 Watt, I only took a peek inside, but it was v. v. cool. Later that night, taking CottonBear's advice, we went to the Globe. It was cool, but, no Mills was to be found. Then we peeked into the Manhattan. We were gonna go in but no one was in there so we decided to go back to the hotel. I had a headache anyway... =(

Sunday (today); Got up, toured/took pictures of downtown one last time, went by Stipe and Mills's houses and ate brunch at the Grit. I got a t-shirt which is awesome and then, I guess we were on our way back to Jackson...

Hope I didn't bore you too much! :)

&&, BTW. I'm so going next year. AthFest baby! :woohoo:

[Elidor]

1. That's cool

Sounds like you had a great time. :)

My one weekend in Athens involved lots of booze and blood, so I probably didn't appreciate the place as much as I might otherwise.

[tinfoil tiaras]

2. Yeah, there are alot of bars in Athens

...like ALOT.

You should go again sometime. I was really sad to leave. But maybe being an R.E.M. fan makes me kinda biased... :P

[Crabby Appleton]

3. MM

= M²

[tinfoil tiaras]

4. Yaay!

You did it! :D :P

I <3 M²

i did it! :woohoo:

[Crabby Appleton]

6. does that mean

I ♥ M²

[tinfoil tiaras]

8. You are correct!

i do ♥ M ²!!!

:D :D :D

[idgiehkt]

5. wow, that sounds great.

I love R.E.M. They are my generation's Beatles.

[tinfoil tiaras]

7. Oh, I know

They're amazing. They're better than the Beatles, imho (sorry...:blush:)

I can't wait until their next album comes out & they tour again...:woohoo:

[idgiehkt]

9. I so agree.

The Beatles are almost as overrated as Sting. LOL. (flamewar to follow). REM are in a class all of their own. I haven't been to Athens in about 10 years. I need to go, I used to live just 45 minutes from there.

[tinfoil tiaras]

10. Oh, God you should SO go again

It has to be the most AMAZING place on earth. No kidding. I wanna go to college there & get a job at Wuxtry records...hey, i can dream, can't i?

What's your favorite song? Mine has to be These Days off of Life's Rich Pageant or Binky the Doormat (it's just so goddamn deliciously dirty! :P ) from New Adventures.

[Sugar Smack]

11. Ha! Bore us? Don't be silly! : )

That was great. I love your enthusiasm. You look to me like the living embodiment of what Carpe Diem is about. To have been in your shoes- REM is one of my all-time favorites. They have staying power. I saw several of their shows when I was in college.

Do you know anything about Mitch Easter? He was their producer for a while, and he had his own band called "Let's Active". I really liked how original they were. I have everything they ever made. Unfortunately, they broke up some years ago, I think due to Mitch's "Artistic Temperament".

Anyway, I was feeling "grabby" while I spent 3 weeks in the Keys in July. I wanted to take the Keys with me when I came back home.

:yourock: :hi: :woohoo: :applause:

[tinfoil tiaras]

12. Oh, yeah, I've heard of him

In some REM book I have, it mentions him. Didn't know he had a band though...awesome.

God that whole trip was amazing. Even if I didn't see Mike or Michael or anyone, I still met alot of really nice people. Oh, Athens. I'm so going next year too.

& you're so right about REM being original. They don't sell out to whatever's popular (unlike some bands), they just do their own thing. Which i think is WAY cool. =)

[taterguy]

14. Mitch is still recording and touring

His current band is Shalini. The focus is on the bass player and lead singer Shalini Chatterjee. Otherwise it's very similar. The drummer is Eric Marshall, the last Let's Active drummer. They have a couple CDs out.

[CottonBear]

13. Yay! You had an adventure and saw Mike Mills! How cool!

I'm glad that you had a good time! :) That's so cool that Dexter Weaver came over to talk to you! His sweet potato souffle is to die for! (It's Michael Stipe's fave dish there and mine too!)

One of my professors at UGA was the guy who takes a swim in the motel pool in the Nightswimming video! I love that song!

I'm happy that you met some nice people. The Last Resort Grill used to be a very cool club (when there were very few clubs) called the Last Resort (same location) back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I remember seeing Limbo District (a totally unique Athens, GA band that is simply to hard to describe here...) play there.

You'll have to make another visit someday! :hi:

[tinfoil tiaras]

15. Oh, you know I am

I'm going next year for AthFest. w00t. & i wanna go to college there too. Maybe when i go next year I might get to talk to Mike again (he was SO freaking NICE to me when I met him at the Atlanta 04 show). Or Michael. There were ALOT of Michael impersonators... :wtf: bleh.

Oh well. I saw Mike's car again on Sunday though, but no M ².