There are bands that you carry around with you like a talisman. Like a set of worry beads or a rosary, they are found nearby to make you feel better about things, to calm you down, or perk you up when needed. A band which is often forgotten, then comes back when needed to bring everything back into order just at the right moment.
For me, this band is The B-52s.
So they're from the late seventies and early eighties.
They're sort of discordant, post-punk, thrift shoppy and weird. I love their early stuff best - from The B-52s and the Wild Planet albums. I'd love to hear an interview one day - I can only imagine the accents - they're from Athens, Georgia.
Okay, so Rock Lobster came out when I was ten. I love songs like Private Idaho, Party Out of Bounds and Planet Claire. I don't mind songs from their Cosmic Thing album, with songs like Roam and Love Shack - even though I only found out a few years ago that Kate Pierson shouts 'Tin Roof - Rusted' in the latter. As I said, strange lyrics.
It's the perfect music for dancing around the kitchen on a wet winter's day. Rock Lobster is the one song which will get everybody up and dancing at a wedding where nobody is dancing (and doing the dead ant is obligatory).
For me, The B-52s signify youth and freedom. It's a strange, happy sound. Everything from Fred Schneider's odd vocals and out of synch dance moves to Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson's beehives - something which had been out of fashion for 25 years when they came back again.
I saw them once live, in about 1989 at the Thebarton theatre in Adelaide. Stupidly, I had a seat in the Dress Circle. You can't dance in the dress circle. They were okay - not great. But I'm glad I saw them.
And below is one of my favourite songs - Give Me Back My Man.
I just love the sound - and the clip - made in 1981 before the beehives got too big. And after watching this clip I just want to take up the tambourine.
The B-52s just make me smile.
Today's Song:
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