The B-52's: their legacy/influence today

14C 062-64775

This is a Greek pressing. Surely this was pressed in other countries as well, maybe even in the U.S.

Also - dare I mention early Bis has a bunch of the B-52's silliness/energy, although obviously not as guitar-based.

Aside from "Planet Claire," which is almost in its own category, "Dirty Back Road" is for me the perfect B-52s song.. driving, up-tempo, harmonies that go on and on, gliding over the bumpiness of the beat like they're cushioned with shock absorbers.. and those clean guitars like cool water.

do you believe everything you read?

Moon In the Sky, Party Gone Out of Bounds, Trism, Bushfire, Junebug, Topaz...

Has anyone heard that new song "Pump" they're doing for the L Word? I bet it's not going to be pretty...

tank top aggro boy band choreography
vs.
uniformed be-headset-ed lawnmowers in sunglasses

it has guitar almost immediately, then vocals, so I guess not

fortunatehazel, you have solved the riddle of why I don't like Stereolab anywhere near as much as I expect I should.

La Lupita do a song called "Ja Ja Ja" which is a wonderfully shameless B-52s rip, only imagine if the B-52s singing in Spanish.

And I love the line in rock Lobster that goes 'everybody had matching towels!'

AND, i think the hypnotic throb of "Dirty Back Road" is almost Köln-style minimal techno. just imagine a 10 minute instrumental version!

http://mobile.theonion.com/articles/honey-im-not-going-to-stand-here-and-debate-the-me,18952/

I love The Onion...

Ricky Wilson's guitar playing is really unique and has a very minimalist perfection on those first two B-52s albums. The arrangements on the tunes are really clever, mostly just using a simple organ, key bass, the 3 vocals and maybe a guitar over dub. The songs are sparse as there isn't a whole lot of sustained chords, it's all these spikey simple melodies bouncing off each other. Listening to The B-52s now and hearing all of the octave chords playing simple melodies brings out a textural similarity to Sonic Youth and Fugazi, as they use that same type of chording and phrasing all over their tunes.

Ricky Wilson's one of my favorite guitarists, period.

Not just some vague "favorite," I'm talking like top 5.

don't know if it is considered a part of their legacy, but to me they are without a shadow of a doubt the funniest band.

this is the thread where i learned about ILM's obsession with the B-52's debut album (the very first Acclaimed Music poll that i ran): ttp://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=92483

try that again: Acclaimed Music Top 25 from 1979 poll

Imperial Teen - "Ivanka," "Baby," "Teacher's Pet" from the album On, but every album has a few.

Check out B-52's contemporaries The Cosmopolitans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skNId-8g17A

Did the B-52s do any gigs with The Cramps? They would have had to, right?

The Cosmopolitans sound quite a bit like the B-52s, but there is something oddly about the dual female vocals that reminds me of Stereolab. Groovy.

Whenever I play early B-52s these days, I'm surprised how much they engender the same response for me as The Fall - jagged twang, bemused alienation, the perfect non sequitur. One spits where the other squeals with delight, but still. I imagine a face swap of "Mesopotamia" and "Bingo Master's Break Out".