Party Out of Bounds: The B-52's, R.E.M., and the Kids Who Rocked Athens, Georgia (Music of the American South)

As a longtime fan of both the B-52s and R.E.M., as well as a longtime reader of books about music and the scenes that created various types, I have to say that Brown's book just might be the best. It doesn't have the chronological and philosophical sweep of, say, Marcus' Lipstick Traces on a Cigarette, but it doesn't have to. What it does paint is a vivid portrait - a little sketchy in some places, deeply layered in others - of a time and place from which then-new sounds gestated and then burst forth onto a music landscape that hadn't really seen anything like it before, and especially not from little ol' Athens, GA. Brown's insidery take gave him access and his talent gave him effective communication of this college town and the scene that art students and townies alike created out of a mix of creativity, boredom, controlled substances, dreams, and whatever was to hand.Not only did I love getting early-days' details on two of my favorite bands, I relished discovering others of the scene, particularly Pylon, and look forward to following up on still more (Love Tractor). I was a little too young to be in college at the time this was happening, but my high school and college (and beyond) musical tastes benefited from the Athens scene; this book only made me like them more. Thank you, Rodger Lyle Brown, for the original book and getting it back into print.

I just finished reading Part Out of Bounds as the primary text for a history of Athens Music class at University of Georgia. I can't imagine a better writing style for describing the uncontrolable energy of an emergent scene - of describing characters that would rather be misunderstood than transcribed. I now feel a new sense of presence and history to the town and music scene that I inhabit, and a familiairity with the musicians I grew up listening to.

It's great to see this book back in print - seemingly a modest look into a grass-roots community of eclectics and artists, PARTY OUT OF BOUNDS actually presents a valuable piece of history - the rise of the Athens GA music and arts scene.The reverberations from Athens ultimately threw a spotlight onto similar developments in Austin, Boulder, Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem, Minneapolis, Seattle/Olympia, Monterrey MX, and countless other places off the beaten track of the commercial culture industry, spawning a tremendous amount of great and influential work in the process, and this book is - amazingly - still one of the only documents of it all.Browne was a part of the scene, so his resources, contacts and memories aid in the construction of a rich cultural history. The DIY spirit of the times has been reflected in other works (Clinton Heylin's FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS springs to mind) focusing on other places, but certain other aspects - the diversity among the people and participants - is largely overlooked in most histories, and Browne gives the art influences, the 'Southern' influences, and the gay influences that all formed some of the scene's foundations the respect they deserve.And Browne does detail just how stressing and grueling being in a struggling young rock band can be - the joy and the myth is here for sure, but so is the work and financial strain. Browne hits the perfect balance in the writing - he manages to convey, with equal import, the cultural significance, and the fun and energy in scenes like the one that exploded in Athens, and one is also left with a great picture of how such developments can impact (culturally) cities and towns for decades afterwards: again, though this book is Athens-specific in its' historical focus, this in many ways is the story of many places.At every level, this is an essential recounting of the history of grass-roots and underground creativity in the US.-David Alston

"Party Out of Bounds: The B-52's, R.E.M., and the Kids Who Rocked Athens, Georgia" is a reissue of the original 1991 release, published right at the tail end of the first Athens, GA-as-music-mecca scene. What makes volume sing is that author Rodger Lyle Brown was there, and the book reads like an insider tale of one of those legendary scenes that stopped being a scene once you’d heard about it. From the B-52’s to Pylon to R.E.M., it’s all here, in all the hilarity and poignancy of a spent youth that feels like yours whether it really was or not.Highly recommended.

A little too much detail and I am a fan so.....

This is a fabulous book, painstakingly researched and artfully written. See my full review on a blog about the Athens music scene: (...)

Well researched and poetically rendered, this book tells a compelling story of The Little Town That Could. It's not just for R.E.M. fans, either; some of the best passages take the reader to the early 70s, when chance meetings, boredom, a thriving gay subculture, and some unsung movers-and-shakers who watched from the wings made things happen. Rodger Lyle Brown was there for much of the action and he captures the voices (and vices) of scores of characters who sowed the seeds that were reaped by bands such as the B-52's and R.E.M..

Just so that the author isn't the only one posting reviews, let me just say that I've lost track of the number of times I've enjoyed this book. Every time I reread it, it conjures up a movie in my mind, artistic college kids in the deep South living to party and play music. Although I grew up in Minnesota, the early punk/new wave scene of the late seventies was much the same here as it was in Athens, GA, and the (hazy) memories of that time are lovingly recounted here.

Having spent a bit of time recording in Athens was great to read about the vibrant scene. The only book I've seen about this. Would be nice to see a part 2 with the more up todate indie scenes of E6 and on... etc.