Guadalcanal Diary is an alternative jangle pop group from Marietta, Georgia. The band formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1989. The band’s origins are primarily in the Atlanta, Georgia suburb of Marietta (then a more separate town), though they were often billed as “from Athens, Georgia” in the early 1980s.
The group’s music was characterized by clear, bright guitar sounds, upbeat rhythms, and Murray Attaway’s clear, high tenor. Lyrically, the band mixed absurd, punk humor (“I Wish I Killed John Wayne,” “I See Moe,” “Watusi Rodeo,” “Cattle Prod”) with melancholy and spiritual themes (“Lewa Wechi,” “Always Saturday,” “3:00 AM,” “Litany”), and the band’s songs attracted both fans and critics with their derision and beauty. |
