Mix Tape Friday: Georgia Dance Party

Georgia boasts some amazing musicians. We’re probably among the top five music states throughout this vast nation of ours. Three of the most influential artists of the nascent rock ‘n’ roll era — James Brown, Little Richard, and Ray Charles — hail from Georgia. My fellow Georgians include Otis Redding and Gladys Knight, Jessye Norman and Johnny Mercer, Widespread Panic and The Allman Brothers, Moe Tucker and Gram Parsons, Kelly Hogan and Chuck Leavell, Ray Stevens and Mac Davis. Some of the best producers live here, too, including Brendan O’Brien, Butch Walker, Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin, and L.A. Reid. The ATL is home to many rap and hip-hop artists, as well as Southern rockers (um, that’s a duh, isn’t it?). Country music is well-represented by Chet Atkins, Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, and Alan Jackson. And Athens is a goldmine of great music — it even has its own Wikipedia page. Bob Mould and Matthew Sweet lived there for a while, and Camper van Beethoven/Cracker helmsman David Lowery lives there now.

And R.E.M. is an Athens band. But you knew that.

Let’s quit with the musical history lesson. It’s a holiday weekend. Everybody’s home for Thanksgiving, and I’m catching up with farflung friends who flew in. So we’re throwing down a Georgia dance party. You may not be familiar with some of these artists, as they’re local acts from our new-wave era. But give ‘em a listen. Introducing you to new artists is the goal of this weekly feature.

Take it away, B-52’s.

The B-52’s: Party out of Bounds

Gnarls Barkley: Gone Daddy Gone

The Producers: She Sheila

Guadalcanal Diary: Watusi Rodeo

Outkast: The Way You Move

Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx: Gold Digger

The Basics: Sexual Object

Of Montreal: She’s a Rejecter

Brick: Dazz (Disco Jazz)

R.E.M.: White Tornado

Oh-OK: Lilting

The Method Actors: E-Y-E

Cee-Lo feat. Timbaland: I'll Be Around

Jermaine Dupri feat. Ludacris: Welcome to Atlanta

The Swimming Pool Q’s: Rat Bait

Butch Walker: Bethamphetamine (Pretty, Pretty)

Neutral Milk Hotel: Love You on a Tuesday

R.E.M.: Catapult

The Black Crowes: Jealous Again

Gregg Allman: I’m No Angel

Gram Parsons feat. Emmylou Harris: Ooh Las Vegas

Drive-by Truckers: Aftermath USA

Dixie Dregs: Take It off the Top

Elton John: Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting

The Woggles: People Come On

James Brown: Get up Offa That Thing

RuPaul: Supermodel (You Better Work)

Olivia Tremor Control: Love Athena

Pylon: Dub

Apples in Stereo: 7 Stars

Art in the Dark: Calling Everyone

Elf Power: Let the Serpent Sleep

Modern Skirts: Seventeen Dirty Magazines

Man or Astroman?: Italian Movie Theme (Pylon cover)

Magnapop: Cherry Bomb

R.E.M.: Ages of You

Usher feat. Li'l John + Ludacris: Yeah

Danger Mouse + Jemini: The Only One

Vic Chesnutt: The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia

Loving every song? Then give your right-click a rest by downloading the entire playlist.

Some of you may consider RuPaul a New Yorker, but he grew up here in Atlanta. One friend loves to recount the first time he saw RuPaul — in Piedmont Park, wearing a bridal gown and army boots. The best I ever saw him look was at the old Celebrity Club. He was dancing on the bar, wearing nothing but a loincloth — and was beautiful.

Elton John, Georgian? Yep. He has a two-story condo on Peachtree, at Jesus Junction, and spends a good bit of time here. Tower Records used to open early for him every Tuesday he was in town so he could get the latest releases, and I hear Neiman-Marcus opens up just for him, too.

I used to live in an apartment next to a beautiful but dumb model, who had an equally beautiful but dumb beau. The beau came over one day with a Rolling Stone, beaming and bragging that he was mentioned in the beginning of a Black Crowes article. Chris Robinson told a story about how he hated his pretentious high school (same high school the Beloved Ex attended) and classmates. Soon after The Black Crowes hit it big, he went to The Buckhead Diner (one of Elton’s favorite spots). He was making fun of the valet, who was in the popular clique at his high school, and was now gushing all over this now-rockstar he once ignored. The beau was that valet. He was so beautiful but so dumb, he was proud of the mockery.

I get a lot of Google hits from folks looking for Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m No Angel.” Maybe it’s because I grew up listening to both Bruce and Gregg, but I’ve never noticed the similarity in their voices.

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