♫ Before I talk, I should read a POLL! ♪ ILM Artist Poll #93 ♪ B-52’s ♫

27 wtf? i love this thing

yeah, cake is super good. it made my ballot, but it was one of those that i wanted to bump up near the top as i listened to it more.

just ran across this:

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Mesopotamia - The B-52's - Full third album fan edit

Loveland (Byrne mix)
Big Bird (Whammy version) - 8:30
Adios Desconocida (extra rare demo) - 12:44
Mesopotamia - 17:02
Deep Sleep - 20:48
Cake (Byrne mix) - 24:20
Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can (Byrne mix) - 32:08
Butterbean (Whammy version) - 37:56
Queen of Las Vegas (Byrne mix) - 42:17
Nip It In The Bud - 48:00

I know that "Mesopotamia" is not the record fans always prefers, but when reading about the story of that record, (David Byrne, the few tracks that never make it and all that stuff...) I was fascinated.
Between 2012 and last year, I've searched all the internet to find any of these outtakes and "special long versions" of "Loveland", "Cake" and "Throw That Beat" that didn't make it on the american version of the record. I did find almost all of these. The english version of the record is available on youtube. One outtake, "Queen of Las Vegas", is available on "Nude On The Moon". I even find some kind of a demo of the "Adios Desconocida" song, which is pretty rare. But the "Mesopotamian versions" of "Butterbean" and "Big Bird" are unavailble, or simply don't exist.
Anyway, with all the tracks I've found over the years, I made some kind of a "fan edit project" (with all the David Byrne's versions and outtakes) of the original third album from the B-52's.

Enjoy !

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3leq9q

The groove on "Cake" is fabulous in its post-Byrne re-mix.

the post-byrne, 1991 remix is the only version i've heard, i think! i think that's the version of spotify.

i'm listening to the original now (via the dailymotion upload just above), and yeah, the doubling of the snare hits is annoying the living hell out of me

My first vote! Cake was the big revelation for me in the poll, it's really top-tier imo. Byrne, like a total pro, zeroes in on the real source of sexual tension in the band--between Cindy and Kate...

but actually, the annoying delay on the snare is mostly confined to the beginning. and i like the way the chorus sounds, without the horns! i like both versions a lot tbh

mesopotamia rules

https://i.imgur.com/PRPV8t8.jpg
26. Bushfire

178 points, 9 votes. Highest position on ballot: 5

Cosmic Thing
live 1990

SMOKE IN YOUR EEE-YYYEES

this song is horny as hell

Haha otm I love Bushfire!

Re: Cake, sounds like the Byrne mix is actually just a rough cut demo, which makes a lot of sense to these ears

http://diffuser.fm/b52s-mesopotamia/

In Island’s haste to get Mesopotamia printed and in stores, the label accidentally included longer rough mixes of “Cake,” “Loveland” and “Throw That Beat” – upping the EP’s running time by more than seven minutes. The error was found and corrected, but the fans who got their hands on an initial version quickly dubbed the demo versions “David Byrne’s original mixes,” due to some funkier touches and denser sounds. Some listeners still prefer the rougher takes to the versions on the approved EP, which earned mostly mixed reviews from fans and critics

thanks, that article is really useful

I prefer pie tbh

https://i.imgur.com/UK2foHV.jpg
25. 6060-842

211 points, 11 votes. Highest position on ballot: 5

The B-52’s
live 1980

I know there's a place in one of the old B52s threads where Donut goes into a tremendous amount of detail abt the different versions of Mesopotamia

I love 'ya numbahz ben dis-ka-neck-ted' so much.

I love Mo-Dean and wish I'd had more room for it on the ballot

Like many Good Stuff tracks, "Is That You Mo-Dean?" is a minute too long.

Certainly not that euphoric last minute though...

― slack thompson (Drugs A. Money)

Absolutely! The "astro projector" part is one of my favourite moments in music.

love this track, but why isn't it 606-0842, as per conventional US phone number notation?

know there's a place in one of the old B52s threads where Donut goes into a tremendous amount of detail abt the different versions of Mesopotamia

hmm, i just searched through the other b-52's threads, and while he does bring up mesopotamia several times, i think he really only discussed the different sounds here:

I should underscore that the arrangements for most of the songs on the original vs. 1990 remix of Mesopatamia are like night and day. The original is far more sparse and dubby, and entire chunks are either amplified and echoed, or just muted out. The 1990 mix is just a nice succinct "rock" mix. Both work, but both are practically different releases.

love this track, but why isn't it 606-0842, as per conventional US phone number notation?

haha, you know, i've never really noticed that! they do sing

606 and I'm waitin' for you /
6060-842

those b-52's are wacky, maybe they were just being funny

Great song, too low.

I'm curious whether anyone voted for "Downtown".

had Downtown low and dropped at the last minute - my list was super Cindy heavy

Can confirm someone voted for "Downtown" :)

https://i.imgur.com/3YWyLKs.jpg
24. Devil In My Car

220 points, 10 votes. 1 first place vote.

Wild Planet
promo video, 1978
live 1978

ow too low :(

"I've got the devil juice in my caaaaaaaarburettor" is a favourite B's moment

Chris Ott (sorry) had this great line about how 'Disturbance at the Heron House' sounds like a band that's totally at ease, playing to their strengths.
I get the same feeling about 'Devil in My Car'.
My #1.

that Mesopotamia article answers many questions, thank you DAM

As I remember, contemporary Athens reaction to the Byrne collaboration was "Of course, yes!" -- the only disappointment was that it wasn't an LP. Remain in Light and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts were both still in constant rotation, so working with Byrne seemed an ideal way for the Bs to expand on the sound of the debut and Wild Planet.

https://i.imgur.com/y3T3QL6.jpg
23. Wig

246 points, 12 votes. 1 first place vote.

Bouncing Off The Satellites
appearance on UK’s Get Fresh, 1987

this great line about how 'Disturbance at the Heron House' sounds like a band that's totally at ease, playing to their strengths.
I get the same feeling about 'Devil in My Car'.

A lot of Wild Planet sounds like that! Which is really rather remarkable for a sophomore effort.

Wig is the fourth one from my ballot today, all clustered around the 7-12 area

Five from my ballot have now placed, all from my nrs 14-19

I love Wig because it's about three songs jammed into one.

https://i.imgur.com/tcVsb0D.jpg
22. Hero Worship

260 points, 13 votes. Highest position on ballot: 3

The B-52’s
1978 promo video

live 1978

Cindy's screaming = A+

You can really hear the Velvet Underground influence in that first promo clip.

Glad I re-did my ballot, thanks Karl.
Too low!

Wig is an impressively dead-on homage to 50s novelty numbers like Yakety Yak, but because the B's have such a deep bag of tricks, there's all these 'free lunches' thrown in, like the gossip breakdown (complete with laugh track) and Kate's(?) soaring high notes during the "Wig's on fire" call-and-response section

https://i.imgur.com/6hSQxoT.jpg
21. Channel Z

262 points, 12 votes. Highest position on ballot: 4

Cosmic Thing
music video

rehearsal for Saturday Night Live, 1990

creeped-out lol at that image

you are killing it, Karl

Where's DJP been lately, he should be here raving about "Bushfire" with us.

Something good is happening!

Poppy Bush Interzone homage in that image!

Living on the edge of Z
Waste dumps
toxic fog
irradiate, and keep it fresh forever
Good old boys, tellin' lies

that's good ol' boy lee atwater on the right

https://i.imgur.com/cHpMUDQ.jpg
20. Summer Of Love

282 points, 14 votes. Highest position on ballot: 4

Bouncing Off The Satellites
PSA for AMFAR

Points to Doogie Howser, M.D. for including scene of Doog listening to "Channel Z" while in post-breakup haze -- on vinyl!

see "Summer of Love" is too clanky

I love "Summer of Love" but I don't LOOOOOVE it. #18 of my 20.

It made my Top 20.

that AMFAR ad was probably the first time I ever heard of the B-52s, I remember buying multiple albums by them and being like "huh, I guess that song (Summer of Love) isn't on this one"