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A lover of learning; from the Greek “philos”; Philomath is the name of towns in both Oregon and Georgia; 45 seconds into “Can’t Get There From Here,” the first single from R.E.M.’s 1985 album, “Fables of the Reconstruction,” Michael Stipe sings, “If you’re needing inspiration/Philomath is where I go”; I.R.S. Records released the single for “Can’t There From Here” as both a 7’’ and 12,” and the B-side was “Bandwagon”; during my sophomore year in high school, my friends and I, all recently turned 16, took every opportunity possible to go driving; one Saturday morning, after listening to “Can’t Get There From Here,” three of us decided to look for the town of Philomath; the original name of Philomath, Georgia, was Woodstock; we drove in my friend Rob’s Toyota Corolla and stopped at a Golden Pantry, purchasing sunflower seeds and gas station cappuccino, which we nicknamed “crappacino”; we got quite lost looking for Philomath, but eventually found the town; there was not much there besides some memorials to the Confederacy and William Bartram; we determined that Michael Stipe was being ironic; “Can’t Get There From Here” is my third favorite song on “Fables of the Reconstruction,” after “Driver 8” and “Green Grow the Rushes”; I still enjoy going for long drives, and sometimes, during these drives, I listen to R.E.M.; “Reckoning” is my favorite R.E.M. album; I have never been to Philomath, Oregon, though, if it is anything like Philomath, Georgia, there are no doubt many more trees than people; so, if you are looking for inspiration, and find yourself in Philomath, Oregon, you should expect to find it in a forest.

~ by tinyfacts on April 28, 2008.

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Tags: 1985, Bandwagon, Can’t Get There From Here, cappucino, Confederacy, Corolla, Driver 8, Encyclopaedia of Tiny Facts, Encyclopedia of Tiny Facts, Fables of the Reconstruction, Georgia, Golden Pantry, Greek, Green Grow the Rushes, I.R.S., Michael Stipe, Oregon, Philomath, Philos, R.E.M., Reckoning, sunflower, Toyota, William Bartram, Woodstock