In the early ’80s, Athens, Georgia had the most exciting and hyped-up underground rock scene in the country. The college town was home to crossover alt-stars R.E.M. and the B-52’s, as well as tons of relatively unheralded bands. The most heralded of those unheralded bands was the scratchy post-punk team Pylon, who never found mainstream success but who remain cult legends. Today, we get to hear Pylon’s Vanessa Briscoe Hay team up with the B-52’s’ Kate Pierson on a pretty great new song.

Pylon broke up in 1983, reunited a few times, and finally ended after guitarist Randy Bewley’s death in 2009. Five years after that Vanessa Briscoe Hay got together with members of younger groups like Supercluster and Casper & The Cookies to form Pylon Reenactment Society, a new band that plays old Pylon songs and new originals. Next month, they’ll release their debut album Magnet Factory. We’ve already posted their new version of “3 x 3,” Pylon’s 1979 debut single. Today, they’ve shared “Fix It,” a dizzily catchy new duet from old comrades Hay and Kate Pierson. It’s a spiky, spirited, catchy post-punk jam, and those two voices — Hay acidic, Pierson euphoric — sound awesome together.

Here’s what Vanessa Briscoe Hay says about the new song:

I’ve been a B-52’s fan since the first time I saw them, which was their third show ever. They were always supportive of Pylon. When I saw their final show in Athens, it struck me that Kate would be perfect for that particular song. It was such an honor to have one of my all-time musical heroes sing on our song.

Kate also graciously agreed to be a part of the video. She was filmed in Chattanooga, TN prior to a festival appearance with the B-52’s. The rest of the filming took place near Athens, GA at a shop owned by Curtis Crowe (drummer of Pylon) who makes a cameo appearance along with Michael Lachowski (bassist for Pylon), who was also the graphic designer for the Magnet Factory packaging. It was amazing having all of them be a part of this video

Check out the “Fix It” video below.

Magnet Factory is out 2/9/24 on Strolling Bones Records. Read our recent We’ve Got A File On You interview with Kate Pierson here.