Pylon

Pylon began playing Athens, Ga., clubs back when that city's music scene was still in its infancy. Vanessa Briscoe's deep voice and severe tone anchored the band's daft off-key guitar ditties. Their 1980 debut, Gyrate, had few musical precedents save the scraping guitar funk of Gang of Four and the skewered robotic dance pop of Devo. Chomp and Chain, the band's only other full-length releases, pushed the band's sound into artier agit-pop directions, pioneering the realms of indie dance. Go figure. All of their work proved immensely influential on the likes of R.E.M., Love Tractor, and the Throwing Muses.