WoW i watched those music vault video's this morning and now someones posted them here.. strange anyways lately i've been listening to the Party Mix/Mesopotamia pack alot
― X-101, Friday, 25 July 2014 09:40 (nine years ago) link
Thanks, campreverb, this is indeed amazing! I saw this tour back then, but I don't remember the synth freakout in "Strobe Light."
― Both jaunty and authentic (Dan Peterson), Friday, 25 July 2014 16:57 (nine years ago) link
Sick stuff.
― Immediate Follower (NA), Friday, 25 July 2014 17:13 (nine years ago) link
Ricky Wilson was such a great guitarist.
― Immediate Follower (NA), Friday, 25 July 2014 17:24 (nine years ago) link
y'all our own Tyler Wilcox has posted an amazing B-52's bootleg, with near soundboard quality, and a much tighter performance than recently released iTunes show.Get caught up-http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/118118850842/b-52s-edenhall-amsterdam-the
― campreverb, Monday, 4 May 2015 16:21 (nine years ago) link
Nice! I'm usually not a big fan of live boots, but I'll make an exception for early B's.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 4 May 2015 16:36 (nine years ago) link
This is super hot! Cindy seems ready to levitate on "Give Me Back My Man."
― The job killing and likely illegal (Dan Peterson), Monday, 4 May 2015 17:59 (nine years ago) link
Been listening to Mesopotamia/Party Mix a whole lot lately
― X-101, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 13:02 (nine years ago) link
holy shit i just noticed i posted that last year lol
Lyrically this is one of the most subversive bands out there... hope any "duds" are from people who consider their lyrics plain silly. Wave that esoteric flag.
― Adam J Duncan, Wednesday, 17 February 2016 05:37 (eight years ago) link
http://georgiamusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/B52s_Athens_04.78_kb.jpg
― the 'major tom guy' (sleeve), Wednesday, 17 February 2016 06:19 (eight years ago) link
(at their first gig, Valentine's Day 1977)
― the 'major tom guy' (sleeve), Wednesday, 17 February 2016 06:20 (eight years ago) link
I'm actually really impressed they got such a good shot for their first gig. I'd have a big ol goofy John Prine smile.
But come on my straight brothers and sisters, you realize even their most straight-ahead novelty song is an ode to bathhouses, right? Approach the B-52s from that direction and you'll latch onto the substance behind the tinsel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOryJvTAGs
Glitter on the mattressGlitter on the highwayGlitter on the front porchGlitter on the hallway
etc etc etc
― Adam J Duncan, Wednesday, 17 February 2016 08:48 (eight years ago) link
I hear a windWhistling airWhispering in my ear
Boy mercury shooting through every degreeOh girl dancing down those dirty and dusty trailsTake it hip to hip rocking through the wildernessAround the world the trip begins with a kiss
(sorry to those that knew first time around, but believe me it ain't obvious to all)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwC0sp-uA4
― Adam J Duncan, Wednesday, 17 February 2016 08:52 (eight years ago) link
im missing the subtext in Roam
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 17 February 2016 15:16 (eight years ago) link
Although they split credit equally, Roam is mostly written by Cindy, the only heterosexual in the band.
― Three Word Username, Wednesday, 17 February 2016 15:19 (eight years ago) link
their most straight-ahead novelty song is an ode to
― how's life, Wednesday, 17 February 2016 16:06 (eight years ago) link
lol. Pineapples also come into play. And limburger.
That first gig photo is so sweet.
― Retro novelty punk (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 17 February 2016 16:11 (eight years ago) link
What can you do to save a party?Parcheesi, charades?A spur-of-the-moment scavenger huntOr Queen of the Nile?
from Party Out of Bounds. What is Queen of the Nile?
― how's life, Saturday, 3 June 2017 13:01 (six years ago) link
Good question!
― Brad C., Saturday, 3 June 2017 20:17 (six years ago) link
Cleopatra?
― Van Horn Street, Saturday, 3 June 2017 22:58 (six years ago) link
Is that a party game?
― how's life, Saturday, 3 June 2017 23:01 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjyJ7pSUnYU
Planets pulsating, constellations creatingVoices are guiding me to the cities by the seaYes, I see cities by the sea
― Treeship, Tuesday, 4 July 2017 04:52 (six years ago) link
Amazing song. This and Deadbeat Club and Dry County forever.
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 4 July 2017 12:12 (six years ago) link
When I finally ventured into Cosmic Thing when I was around 25, I was absolutely floored by 'Topaz.' How did such an incredible song not get released as a single?
― Austin, Tuesday, 4 July 2017 16:20 (six years ago) link
sometimes my favorite b52's song! did they do anything else quite like it? New cities by the seaSkyscrapers are winking
― tylerw, Tuesday, 4 July 2017 16:27 (six years ago) link
'Roam' is fucking all-time.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Tuesday, 4 July 2017 21:57 (six years ago) link
Topaz is one of my top 20 songs of all time. One of the prettiest melodies ever recorded.
― kitchen person, Tuesday, 4 July 2017 22:32 (six years ago) link
It's a truly beautiful song. I hadn't heard it until the other day.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 11:40 (six years ago) link
have i ever weighed in on this thread that Dirty Back Road is the best B-52s song? if not, here i am, and it is
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 11:47 (six years ago) link
I think there could be compelling arguments for so many B-52s songs to be the best B-52s song.
Did you hear the Veruca Salt song from two years ago that references Dirty Back Road in the chorus though?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMeYDS9kZcE
― how's life, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 12:14 (six years ago) link
ha no! unsurprisingly the best part of the song by about a million miles!
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 12:20 (six years ago) link
They were here in concert on Sunday but I didn't go. I thought about about starting a TS: B-52s vs. King Crimson, since they were here recently too, and I didn't go to that either. Seemingly polar opposites, prog vs. new wave, both hugely influential to me in their heydays, both led me into rabbit holes of unfamiliar music (KC: classical and jazz, B-52s: surf music and Henry Mancini.) And I don't listen to either a whole lot these days, although I always love 'em when I do.
― smug dinner-jazz atrocity (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 14:10 (six years ago) link
Glove slap, baby, glove slap.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 14:49 (six years ago) link
Fripp played in the B-52s once!
http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Robert_Fripp_in_Best
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 17:01 (six years ago) link
whoa and The Screamers?!?!?
― sleeve, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 17:05 (six years ago) link
damn
Ruby Ray JUST posted all her pics of the night Fripp played with The Screamers https://www.facebook.com/ruby.ray.752/posts/10214036279682579?pnref=story
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 17:29 (six years ago) link
saw them last night in L.A. -- they still sound amazing. It wasn't a super long set, they were on a bill w/OMD and Berlin (Berlin was decent, only caught the last couple songs, OMD was astonishing as per usual), but they played all the key hits. Rock Lobster closed it out. They had someone in a lobster suit dancing around onstage with them. good times!
― omar little, Monday, 5 August 2019 18:38 (four years ago) link
Cool. Was Tracy W on bass?
― U or Astro-U? (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 5 August 2019 18:42 (four years ago) link
yep! that band was super tight.
― omar little, Monday, 5 August 2019 18:44 (four years ago) link
"Some say she's from Mars or one of the seven stars that shine after 3:30 in the morning. WELL, SHE ISN'T!" just jumped out at me. Never really noticed the last part before.
Listening at work, no one can see me laughing under this COVID mask.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Thursday, 18 June 2020 15:59 (three years ago) link
I only just noticed this morning that for their formative (pre-mainstream) days, the B-52s didn't have a bassist!
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 6 October 2021 12:55 (two years ago) link
There's a Bass in the Band (And It's Called the Bass)
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 6 October 2021 13:25 (two years ago) link
the gypsies had no home and the b-52s had no bass
― na (NA), Wednesday, 6 October 2021 13:53 (two years ago) link
https://www.vintagesynth.com/sites/default/files/2017-05/sb100.jpg
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 October 2021 14:26 (two years ago) link
iirc ricky wilson tuned the bottom two strings down, removed the middle two strings, and played "bass" on the low strings simultaneously with guitar on the high strings.
― Thus Sang Freud, Wednesday, 6 October 2021 14:56 (two years ago) link
A number of songs are CFxxFF, where x is missing string.
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 October 2021 15:25 (two years ago) link
and Kate Pierson handled the rest on her keyboard xpost
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 6 October 2021 15:36 (two years ago) link
I just tried experimenting with the CFxxFF tuning for the first time, and it's amazing! Taking the bottom strings down that far makes them ridiculously slack and floppy, but you instantly get *that* sound. (I'm guessing Ricky used thicker gauge strings for this?) And then tuning the top two to the same F is similarly weird, but it is the magical sound of the "down! down!" part of "Rock Lobster." The way he combined bass parts and lead parts on only four strings was wonderfully eccentric and original.
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 14 October 2021 15:02 (two years ago) link