I Can't Stop Listening to the B-52's...

by Jake Russell Thompson, Voices Found Co-Founder and R&J​ director

This whole album is great, but I've had "Hero Worship" stuck in my head for almost three days now.

Their first album, The B-52s, was released the same year as Joy Division's considerably moody, dark, and all-around unsettling debut, Unknown Pleasures.. Don't get me wrong, Joy Division is awesome, and will absolutely have a place on the R&J mixtape. But compare the second tracks of The B-52s and Unknown Pleasures.

These albums came out in the same year. Along with Talking Heads' Fear of Music, Gang of Four's Entertainment!, and Joe Jackson's Look Sharp!

This genre is insane and I love it.

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Before their addictive "Song for a Future Generation," their wedding staple "Love Shack," or the perfect windows-down driving anthem "Roam," The B-52s entered the scene with unashamed kitsch, silliness, and energy. Their debut flamboyantly blended pop, surf, funk, and borderline amateurism for a consistently smart, catchy, and utterly unique vibe, Their lyrics don't make any damn sense.

And their lyrics don't make any damn sense.

Track 1: Planet Claire

She drove a Plymouth Satellite
Faster than the speed of light
​Planet Claire has pink air
All the trees are red
No one ever dies there
No one has a head
Some say she's from Mars
Or one of the seven stars
That shine after 3:30 in the morning
Well she isn't!
​She came from Planet Claire

Track 3: Dance This Mess Around

Why don't you dance with me 
I'm not no Limburger 
Everybody goes to parties 
They dance this mess around 
They do the Shu-ga-loo 
Do the Shy Tuna 
Do the Camel Walk 
Do the Hip-o-crit 
Ah-Hippy Hippy forward Hippy Hippy 
Hippy Shake, Hippy Shake 

Track 6: There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)

There's a moon in the sky
It's called the moon
And everybody is there, including:
Saturn! (Mercury)
Saturn! (Venus)
Saturn! (Mars)
Saturn! (Jupiter)
Roll-roll-roll-roll-rollin' in Andromeda
Won-ton-ton-ton rama-in-Andromeda

The guitars are twangy, the drums are crunchy, and the vocals can only be described as "The B-52's". 

As a member of my generation, I am more than capable of pulling media apart into tiny little pieces for in depth analysis, resulting in an entirely too passionate opinion about it. I could certainly do that for The B-52's, but I won't, because I'd just start waxing poetic about hiding a sarcastic analysis of American culture behind catchy kitsch and a twisted sense of humor, and what a hilarious genius The B-52's contributed to the foundations of post-punk.

But of course, I'm not going to.

Instead, just listen to their cover of "Downtown." It's weird.

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Romeo & Juliet will play during the second weekend of August, 2016 at the In Tandem Theater. Buy tickets here, and subscribe to our blog to follow the production and get updates on what we’re working on!