THE B-52'S

Yesterday's post leads rather directly to today's, as yesterday I was trying to think what groups Imperial Teen borrowed some of their sound(s) from. The B-52's seemed a fairly obvious starting point.

I must have been in my early teens when I first head "Rock Lobster" on the radio. It remains brilliant and mad and catchy and so "stupid" it's "stoopid."

"Private Idaho" is just a brilliant pop song (so brilliant, of course, they made a movie title out of it).

And I'm going to forego the pretty swell (but overplayed) "Love Shack" for another favorite of mine from their big comeback album of 1989.

Rumor had it that the B-52's were going to release an album of new material back in the summer of 2005, which obviously didn't happen. But they continue to play together, and 2006 may yet see new tunes from one of the original "Athens" bands, and - as they themselves are wont to say - "the world's greatest party band."

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Private Idaho" [from the LP Wild Planet, 1980]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Roam" [from the LP Cosmic Thing, 1989]

[MP3] [right-click/"save as"] "Rock Lobster" [from their self-titled LP, 1979]