The B-52s

It was forty years ago this month that the world was introduced to the wonderful and wacky B-52s, from Athens, Georgia. They were part of what was generally known as new wave, but they had a distinct sound that combined surf-rock and creature-feature soundtracks, and had a look that might be defined as thrift-store chic.

The band's self-titled debut album made an immediate impact, especially the single, "Rock Lobster," which combines nonsense verse perhaps inspired by monster movies and a great riff by original guitarist Keith Wilson. This is one of those songs that I can listen to over and over, and once upon a time I was known to dance to it. Fortunately there is no footage.

Another notable song is "Planet Claire," which has an eerie synthesizer and farfisa organ meant to conjure up late-night sci-fi movies, and "Dance This Mess Around," which is quite startling, with Kate Pierson wailing, "Why don't you dance with me?" The band has three lead vocalists, with Fred Schneider giving a dorky quality to the music and also Cindy Wilson, thus making the band far more interesting. Some of the female vocals recall the warbling of Yoko Ono, which is perhaps why John Lennon called The B-52s his favorite band, and inspired him to record again, the result being Double Fantasy.

Keith Wilson died in 1985, and the band went on hiatus, but returned strong with the 1989 album Cosmic Thing. They have put out only two albums since then, but some of the members have put out solo albums.

While certainly The B-52s conjure up nostalgia, I think their sound is fairly timeless, and can be enjoyed for its own sake. The greatest thing about them was their originality. I don't think they sound like anyone else, and no one seems to have duplicated them.