R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (1992)

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Katherine Yeske Taylor is our guest today on The Record Player and boy, this conversation was an absolute joy. We discuss her new book, She's a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism, which is coming out on January 16, but we also dig deep into a bunch of different topics.

Katherine is a fellow music journalist who began her career as a rock critic in Atlanta in the 1990s, interviewing Georgia musical royalty such as the Indigo Girls, R.E.M., and the Black Crowes while still a teenager. Since then, she has conducted several hundred interviews and contributes regularly to Billboard, Spin, and American Songwriter, among others. She is a longtime New York City resident and is extremely active in the downtown rock scene.

We talk a good amount of journalism shop -- including the many things and particulars that go into the craft of interviewing. Katherine also shares a lot of good Athens stories and tales of how music can intersect with life in some pretty cosmic ways.

R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People weaves in and out of the discussion -- with some choice memories filtering through the songs and moments. If this episode doesn't make you want to visit Athens, you probably should think about visiting Athens.

If there's any justice, Katherine's book will become a valuable resource  -- both now and in the coming years -- for anyone who wants to know the often difficult path that women in rock have traveled as part of the ongoing fight for gender equality.  

Our thanks to Katherine for an inspirational, illuminating and entertaining discussion. We'll look forward to the next round!

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