The B-52's (1979)

 


When The B-52's burst onto the American New Wave scene back in 1978 with "Rock Lobster", they must have seemed like aliens. Their whole make up and exisitence seem wildly original, yet made up of such familiar yet uncelebrated elements.  Trash culture, obvious flaming homsexuality, pre-'64 hairstyles, instrumental surf guitar music, de rigeur futuristic sci-fi synths with an unmistakeable dose of disco, punk, girl group and Yoko Ono added in for good measure: The B-52s are both a very much a group of originals. 

Originally based in Athens, Georgia, they inhabited a weird niche in American culture:  music was somewhere poised betwen the drop-out sixties hippie underground and  the darker, keener-edged sounds of nascent New York punk scene....and the collision of all these elmenets  sounded like such a party that it literally established the sleepy southern college town as a Mecca for would-be artists and musicians that eventually gave rise to a scene that would spew out, with awesome regularity,  American alternative rock stars for the next two decades: Pylon, R.E.M., Matthew Sweet, The Indigo Girls, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power...and many others...: it all starts here with this highly danceable fun album: The B-52's cultural impact is actually very underrated...and it's more relevant than ever.

But that makes it sound a lot more ponderous and unfun than it is...and saying what I just wrote makes it sound a lot less intelligent and creative and weird than it is. It's a goddamn trash masterpiece. But, no that makes it sound less professional and on point than it is...which makes it sound a lot more boring and  staid than it is. Let's just stick to masterpiece.

The band's committment to dance numbers and fun has an intense, hypnotic almost religious aspect to it.  It's almost scary, as you can see from this live (I think) video below.

5/5


Annoyingly, this does not stream on Spotify in Europe. There are however a huge amount of greymarket live albums on Spotify.


My version is just a stock original master pressed in Europe. I don't know if the album has ever been remastered: I hope not. It's perfect.



Coming Up:

All This Useless Beauty - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- Wilco

American Idiot - Green Day

Amnesiac Radiohead

Another Life - Another Life

B

The B-52s

Bachelor No. 2 (Or, The Last Remains of the Dodo) - Aimee Mann

The Ballad of Easy Rider - The Byrds

Bambu - Dennis Wilson

Band on the Run

Bangles EP

The Basement Tapes - Bob Dylan & The Band

BARB

The BBC Sessions -- Belle & Sebastian

The Beatles [The White Album] 

Beatles For Sale 

Beauty and Sadness -- TheSmithereens

Beauty and the Beat -- The Go-Go's

Become What YOu Are - The Juliana Hatfield 3

Before & After - Tim Finn

Beggar's Banquet. The Rolling Stones

Begin Here - The Zombies

Being There - Wilco

The Bends -- Radiohead

Berlin - Lou Reed

The Best of Badfinger

The Best of Dark Horse - 1976-1989 - George Harrison

The Best of Sam Cooke

Best Shots - Pat Benatar

Betchadupa

Between The Buttons - Rolling Stones

Big Canoe - Tim Finn

the Big Express - XTC

Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi - Camera Obscura

Billy Idol

A Bit of Previous - Belle & Sebastian

The Black Album - Prince

Black Gold - Nina Simone

Black List - Alex Chilton

Black Market Clash - The Clash 

Black Sea - XTC

Black Snake Diamond Role -- Robyn Hitchcock

Black Spring - Lush

Black-Eyed Man - Cowboy Junkies

Blind Man's Zoo - 10000 Maniacs 

Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan

Blondie

Blood And Chocolate - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan

Blue Kentucky Girl -- Emmylou Harris

Boats Against the Current -- Eric Carmen

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963

Book - They Might Be Giants

Bookends -- Simon and Garfunkel

Booker T & The M.G.'s

The Bootleg Series 1-3 Bob Dylan

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen

Born toDie - Lana Del Rey

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Bossanova - The Pixies

The Both

Boy - U2

The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian

Boys Don't Cry - TheCure

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan

Brutal Youth - Elvis Costello

Bryter Layter - Nick Drake

Buena Vista Social Club

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield Again

Buoys - Panda Bear

Byrdmaniax - The Byrds


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