Comments on: Guadalcanal Diary :: Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man

By: The Caribbean

The Caribbean — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:35:43 +0000

I remember playing them many, many times on college radio in the late 80s; a great, great band. Thanks for this post!

By: Carlosdev

Carlosdev — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:47:17 +0000

As a G-Diary devotee I appreciate any press that this criminally underrated band receives. I remember hearing WITSOTBM for the first time and being blown away; however as fun a tune as “Watusi Rodeo” is, I think the backbone of the album has to be the more somber “Trail of Tears.” It leads directly into the transcendent “Fire From Heaven” which is, IMHO their best track other than “Litany (Life Goes On).” One of the drawbacks to G-Diary was the dichotomy on their own albums; some songs were amazing while others were mere filler. If you were to take their best 10-12 tracks, you’d have one of the best albums ever made. Things like “Michael Rockefeller,”"Lips of Steel” and “3AM” can alternately rock and grab you with their quietness. In any case, thanks for reawakening the memories…

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:25:26 +0000

uh, sorry, that should have read “Ghost On The Road”…sheesh, some fan I am…

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:24:21 +0000

I went to school in a town that had a wonderful radio station that played rock and roll you couldn’t hear anywhere else, including “Watusi Rodeo”…I was immediately a fan of that song, and quickly became a fan of the band as well…I had the pleasure of interviewing Murray Attaway for a daily newspaper in 1989 when Guadalcanal Diary was promoting Flip Flop…he could not have been more accommodating or more entertaining in the hour or so that we spent on the telephone…I was a fan prior to that, but a true fanatic afterwards…and live the band absolutely smoked…I have always been dismayed that Guadalcanal Diary wasn’t more widely known or appreciated…Rhino Handmade did deluxe reissues of “Walking…” and “2X4″ several years ago, and every effort should be made to track those down and hear what a fantastic band this was…fun fact, last I heard, Jeff Walls, the lead guitarist for Guadalcanal Diary, was playing lead guitar and producing the Woggles, a blistering garage band from Alabama (I hear them a lot on Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel on Sirius)…now I must go listen to “Ghost On The Highway”, one of my favorite Guadalcanal Diary songs…

By: j. kress

j. kress — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:24:54 +0000

Wish I could just edit my last comment, but alas…

I meant “its” rather than “it’s”–and “Always Saturday” is certainly in the same league as “Litany.” It just lacks context–maybe it’s the burbs coming out.

And as for Five Eight, I think The Good Nurse is the best thing they’ve done yet–though I dearly love the early albums (my I Learned Shut Up tape just gave up the ghost this year).

By: j. kress

j. kress — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:36:24 +0000

j. neas–Flip Flop does have it’s fine moments, no doubt–namely “Always Saturday,” “Whiskey Talk” and “…Vista.” The rest sort of sounds like filler. I just don’t think it stands up to the rest of the albums on the whole. (Thanks for the kind words–you helped set the standard.)

Dan–Five Eight is my favorite band of all time. Best live show I’ve ever seen (many times over).

By: Satisfied '75

Satisfied '75 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:53:01 +0000

@ Dan, 5-8 still has it. Saw them in Athens in June. Ferocious.

By: Mark E from Reno

Mark E from Reno — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:38:10 +0000

Nice column, sir! Was blown away by G. Diary when I saw them open for that aforementioned R-M group on the Pagentry tour and was a fan from that point on. Always sad that they never made it to a higher level per se (esp. with “Litany”) but also happy with the memories of ‘em anyway. Found a lot of “closet” G. Dairy fans here and there….

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:10:21 +0000

p.s. There is a justice in this world, and she’s called Elaine.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:07:47 +0000

Great post. God….memories. Been meaning to look these guys up again. I remember listening to this in the back of my sister’s boyfriend’s car. All of their “college” music filtered down to my middle school ears. Ever notice how college music only applies to the ’80s? Why is that? No one talks about ’70s college or ’60s college? Probably because Top 40 started to suck in the mid-’80s? (Notice how there’s not a single real rock band in the Billboard Top 100 these days? How weird.) But I digress.

I don’t hear any REM in these guys–never did–but not a bad thesis.

You left one very very important band out of your Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and that is Athens’ own Five Eight. Still the best live show I’ve ever been to out of the hundreds. If you guys can get your hands on their first two albums–I Learned Shut Up and Weirdo–you’re in for a treat. Their later stuff is also quality, but those two set the bar.

Viva Marietta!

By: Slicing Up Eyeballs

Slicing Up Eyeballs — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:39:21 +0000

I, too, will vouch for Flip-Flop and the stellar single “Always Saturday.” In fact, I need to dig that out right now. Thanks for the inspiration.

By: j. neas

j. neas — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:20:07 +0000

Let me go ahead and lodge a serious defense of some of Flip-Flop’s finer moments, especially the joyous “Always Saturday,” as close as a song can come to being tongue in cheek while being completely serious and sweet. Awesome write-up and wholeheartedly agreed.