Scholarly but highly readable, written by someone who was there. I learned a lot. ( )

Lots of research here with plenty of notes about Athens, Georgia as a purported locus for alternative music's start. Hale is totally invested in this revisionist history of 70's-80's cultural politics. The jacket photo has The B-52s pictured but most of the book is about R.E.M. and other lesser knowns. Overall, this is great book about the evolution of the local scene which proved to be an unlikely setting in the South for trends simultaneously seen elsewhere. There are many of the usual suspects which get the expected browbeating: Reagan militarism, Christian conservatism, White racists. Overall a basic source of material for roots rock revivalists R.E.M., and perhaps The Black Crows. The one good thing I read here was that the B-52's Kate Pierson (born in NJ) moved to Georgia after having read too much Flannery O'Connor. Photos, Index, Extended Notes.