Various Artists: Going To Georgia | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- If indie rock bands covering classic songs from the American state of Georgia sounds like your kind of jam, then you were in luck this week - as two separate releases matching that description came out on the same day from Death Cab For Cutie and the roster of Merge Records.

The state that gave us Coca-cola and Martin Luther King also has an extraordinary musical history; and in fact has probably had more impact on pop music over the last decade than any other locality given the unstoppable spread from Atlanta of trap music. But that’s not the reason for our recent windfall of Georgia-themed tribute albums. That’s come from the fact that, after swinging to the Democrats for the first time in three decades, Georgia now faces two run-off elections in January that will determine whether the Republicans maintain control of the senate. Like many southern states, Georgia has in recent years felt the effects of voter suppression. And these two records are both fundraisers for organisations trying to help people enrol and ensure all citizens can vote in January.

So that’s the context then, but what does it sound like? Well, Merge Records’ Going To Georgia features seventeen artists from the label working their way through a selection that goes some way towards capturing the state’s impressive musical legacy. Soul music pioneers Ray Charles and Otis Redding are there, while country is represented in the old-school hillbilly blues of Precious Bryant and the poppier, modern tones of Trisha Yearwood. Then there’s the southern rock of the Allman Brothers, indie icons REM and the B-52’s and plenty more.

It’s a formidable collection but still has some notable omissions. Sadly nobody attempted to cover any trap despite its contemporary popularity; nor other icons of black Atlanta music like Outkast, Usher or the Goodie Mob. Death Cab For Cutie, on their five track EP, do attempt one contemporary urban classic with a pretty vanilla version of TLC’s Waterfalls. Death Cab also remedy the most surprising absence on Going To Georgia, which is Neutral Milk Hotel. I would have thought their eccentric indie rock was an influence on many of the bands on the Merge roster.

This may seem a controversial statement from a white thirty-something who writes about music, but I find most contemporary American indie rock a bit boring. Thus I don’t think many of the songs here add much to our appreciation of the originals, though it is nice to hear songs in a slightly different context and discover some lesser known artists.

The prize for best song selection goes to Titus Andronicus for digging up the joyous alt-folk of The Indigo Girls’ Closer To Fine. That band’s status as lesbian icons too adds another element to the width and depth of Georgian music. Worst song choice goes to Lambchop and David Kilgour, who subject us to ten minutes of guitar noodling inspired by New Jersey’s Yo La Tengo that has nothing to do with the state of Georgia. Plus all of Merge Records loses a point because there are two songs each by REM and the B-52’s; but nobody did either the iconic hillbilly sermon The Devil Went Down To Georgia or the gorgeous country-motown hybrid Midnight Train to Georgia.

On a serious note though; this compilation is valuable (besides raising money for a worthy cause) because in the battle of national identity currently raging in the US, Going To Georgia is a reminder that every place is a more varied and complex than any simplistic idea presented to suit a political philosophy. Georgia is not simply a red state even given the last twenty-eight years of elections, nor is it just a blue state following Joe Biden’s marginal win. Despite the recent revival of civil war rhetoric, Georgia is not defined by the fact it was in the confederacy a century and a half ago.

It is, as this selection of musical history shows, a place of varied identities and unlimited possibilities - if the people of Georgia are given the ability to live out their full potential. This is why the work of organisations like Fair Fight and Mijente, trying to restore democracy to this place, is vital and deserves to be supported. But the remarkable musical history of this region reminds us the potential for creation is not limited to the ballot box.

Like civil rights activists turning their experience of discrimination into an inspiring vision of a better world, like the misfits from across the south who gathered in the college town of Athens and created an indie scene the envy of hipsters everywhere, even the way trap artists have turned their surroundings of poverty and crime into an artistic virtue: the moral of the story is that we are not limited by the places we come from or the way others have defined them. Along with the varied music that has come from Georgia, we have the potential to create our own realities and shape the world around us. With the US currently facing challenges from all directions, let’s hope the people of Georgia can make a contribution to rival this impressive musical tour.

- Andy Paine.
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