On August 27, 1980 The B-52's released their second album Wild Planet. It sounds better than the debut but it's not a huge leap creatively. In fact, five of the nine songs on the album — including two of the best, “Devil in My Car” and “Strobe Light” — were written before the first album was recorded.
Some critics were wondering if the B-52's were just a novelty act. Los Angeles Times critic Richard Cromelin suggested the band's lyrics weren't as entertaining this time, pointing out, there are no lines as “devastating as last year’s ‘Why don’t you dance with me/I’m not no Limburger.'”
Rolling Stone's Frank Rose loved the opening track "Party Out of Bounds", but he's not entirely sold, writing:
"Party out of Bounds" notwithstanding. Wild Planet plainly lacks the relentless exuberance of the group's debut disc. This is partly a result of the production: flatter and duller sounding than its predecessor, the new LP doesn't attempt to dazzle Mostly, though. It's a case of sound following substance, because the doings on Wild Planet turn out to be a little bit creepy It's almost as if we're being treated to the "dark side" of the B-52's – their Twilight Zone as it were last year, we got "Planet Claire" and the Aqua Velvat this year, we get "Devil in My Cat" and "Quiche Lorraine" (Don't laugh. Qutche Lorraine is the name of a lost poodle) Now, in fact, we're served something of a B-52's noir Maybe "Party out of Bounds" was meant as a warning.
From Smash Hits:
After giving the debut an A, Robert Christgau gave Wild Planet a B+, writing: I keep waiting for number two to come through on the dance floor the way the debut did, but "Party out of Bounds" and "Quiche Lorraine" are expert entertainments at best and the wacko parochialism of "Private Idaho" is a positive annoyance. Only on "Devil in My Car" and "Give Me Back My Man" do they exploit the potential for meaning--cosmic and emotional, respectively--that accrues to the world's greatest new-wave kiddie-novelty disco-punk band.
Around the time of the album's release The B-52's appeared in both the Heatwave Festival and in Paul Simon's One Trick Pony film. Wild Planet peaked at US#18, more than 40 spots higher than the debut.
Fred Schneider says the band has one goal. "Just to be entertaining. That's all we want."
On August 23, 1980 Heatwave, a day-long New Wave music festival held near Toronto on August 23rd drew more than 60,000 people who saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Talking Heads, the Pretenders, the B-52's and Rockpile. Promoters need 90,000 to break even and failed. They blamed the lower-than-expected turnout on four factors: a limited advertising budget that didn't penetrate U.S. markets deeply enough and didn't include a sufficient budget for print ads; the lack of a big-name crossover artist like Tom Petty or the Cars, which would have attracted a broader audience; the riot that broke out a few days before the festival when Alice Cooper failed to appear at a concert at the nearby Canadian National Exhibition; and lack of support from record companies which were were reluctant to help with advertising costs and even wanted to charge the festival for photos and biographical material. It didn't help that The Clash dropped out. Overall promoters lost a million dollars.
But even if Heatwave wasn't a smashing commercial success, it was an artistic triumph. Particularly noteworthy were performances by Talking Heads and Elvis Costello (his only North American appearance so far this year). The Heads appeared with an expanded — and funk-infused — lineup of nine musicians, including keyboardist Bernie Worrell from Parliament-Funkadelic and guitarist Adrian Belew, who's played with David Bowie. Costello appeared friendlier than usual as he chatted and joked with the crowd ("Hi, we're the Clash" were his opening words), which brought him back for three encores.
In 1980 quite a few rock bands recorded songs about the threat of nuclear warfare. I've already covered that. 40 years later, we now live in a new age that will define this generation. To lower the infection rate of the Covid-19 virus, we must put up barriers between the infected and would-be patients. Here are some songs to help us keep this in mind.
1. The Police : Don't Stand So Close To Me
Inspirational Lyric:
He starts to shake he starts to cough
Just like the old man in
That famous book by Nabakov
Don't stand so close to me
2. Joy Division : Isolation
Inspirational Lyric:
In fear every day, every evening
...
Isolation, isolation, isolation.
3. English Beat: Mirror in the Bathroom
Inspirational Lyric:
Mirror in the bathroom
Please talk free
The door is locked
Just you and me
4. Generation X : Dancing With Myself
Inspirational lyric:
So let's sink another drink
Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancin' with myself
5. 10cc : I Hate To Eat Alone
Inspirational lyric:
'N' frozen dinners don't do much for me
When you've got T.V. on the table
'N' T.V. on T.V.
All you do is chew your fingers
Down to the bone
I hate to eat alone
6. The B-52's: Private Idaho
Inspirational lyric:
You're living in your own Private Idaho
Living in your own Private Idaho
Underground like a wild potato
Don't go on the patio
7. Bruce Springsteen : You Can Look But You Better Not Touch
Inspirational lyric:
You can look but you better not touch boy
Mess around and you'll end up in dutch boy
You can look but you better not, no you better not, no you better not touch
8. Utopia : Alone
Inspirational lyric:
Alone, alone
Nobody knows how lonely it can be
And I'm so tired of being alone
9. The Cramps: Fever
Inspirational lyric:
When you put your arms around me
I get a feeling that's hard to bear
You give me fever, when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
10. The Specials Do Nothing
Inspirational lyric:
I'm just living in a life without meaning
I walk and walk, do nothing
I'm just living in a life without feeling
I talk and talk, say nothing
On July 6, 1979 The B-52's released their self titled debut album, recorded at Compass Point Studios in in Nassau, Bahamas with Island founder Chris Blackwell producing. NME visited the recording session and relates a mixing session for "Lava" in an a June 9, 1979 article:
"Are you all sure you're happy with that?" Blackwell scrutinizes the faces gathered in the air-conditioned, hermetically sealed studio control room. A studio, to the layman, is like a hotel bedroom: once inside you could be anywhere. The B-52's glance anxiously at each other..."Because if you aren't happy, now is the time to speak up. Once the record is made, it'll be too late. That's it. It will always be The B-52's first album."
Kate, who take the most diligent interest in the protracted and distracting mixing process, pipes up first: "Do you think you could push Cindy's voice up a little at the end? When she slide up the register on the 'red hot lava' harmony...the effect is kinda lost."
Keith also applied himself, ensuring that none of the group's tightness is submerged. He wants to hear the guitar brought up a little. Or something.
I remember the first time I heard the album. A friend played side one for me in his room and I was immediately struck by how fresh, fun and quirky it sounded. The album begins with the single "Planet Claire", which struck me as surf rock from outer space. It's followed by "52 Girls", which has one of the great drumming performances of the year. Then "Dance This Mess Around" where Kate sings at the top of her voice "WHY DON'T YOU DANCE WITH ME?? I'M NOT NO LIMBURGER!!" By the time the side ends with the epic"Rock Lobster", I knew I needed my own copy of the album
A lot of people felt the same way. The album has gone platinum in both the United States and Australia
Most critics were fans as well. The album ranked #7 in the Pazz and Jop Critic's Poll. Robert Christgau gave the album an A, writing:
Fond as I am of the pop junk they recycle -- with love and panache, like the closet ecologists they are -- there's something parochially suburban about turning it into the language of a world view. So I'm more delighted with their rhythms, which show off their Georgia roots by adapting the innovations of early funk (a decade late, just like the Stones and Chicago blues) to an endlessly danceable forcebeat format. Also delightful is their commitment to sexual integration -- Cindy Wilson is singing more and more, although her voice occasionally gives out before her ambitions do. Major worry: only one of the copyright 1979 songs -- my favorite track, "Dance This Mess Around" -- is as amazing as the 1978 stuff.
Some, like Red Starr of Smash Hits, found the joke wearing thin:
After all the fuss, this is a real disappointment. The American girls chant jokey lyrics over a pipe organ and sledgehammer drumming in songs that sounds like accidents. Quirkily amusing at first but gets very tiresome very quickly. More style (hairstyle mostly) than content
Hearing "Rock Lobster" in a disco is said to have motivated John Lennon to come out of retirement and begin recording again.
“I said, ‘That’s Yoko!,’” Lennon recalled that fall in an interview with the BBC. “I thought there were two records going at once or something. Because it was so her. I mean, this person had studied her. I thought, ‘Get out the ax and call the wife!’ I called her and I said, ‘You won’t believe this, but I was in a disco and there was somebody doing your voice. This time, they’re ready for us!”
I'm not sure how a music snob can justify naming a Bee Gees smash my favorite song of the year, but "Night Fever" has topped my list. It must be something deeply buried in my cortex because it has nothing to do with the chorus ( "night fever, night fever, we know how to do it") and the wah wah guitar in the bridge. I spent most of 1978 as a long haired, too tall and too skinny 14 year old who rarely attended dances at his boarding school. When my parents played the first side of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and tried to get me to dance, I bolted from the room. But if I closed my eyes on a Saturday night, I could imagine astonishing my classmates with my Travolta like disco moves.
Nah, never happen.
The Big Hits
Bee Gees Night Fever
Rolling Stones Miss You
Gerry Rafferty Baker Street
Robert Palmer Every Kinda People
The Babys Isn't It Time
Disco
This was a new discovery: a disco song by art rocker Arthur Russell with guitar lines contributed by David Byrne.
Dinosaur : Kiss Me Again
Chic Le Freak
Heatwave The Groove Line
Cheryl Lynn Got To Be Real
Sylvester You Make Me Feel Mighty Real
The Jacksons Blame It on the Boogie
Power Pop + New Wave
Wings : Backwards Traveller
A 69 second McCartney throw away. But I like this half finished, pure shot of inspiration on the otherwise bland London Town.
Tom Petty + the Heartbreakers Listen to Her Heart
Cheap Trick Surrender
The Motors Airport
Chris Stamey + the dB's (I Thought) You Wanted to Know
Jules and the Polar Bears : You Just Don't Want to Know
The more I hear this one, the more I like it. Jules Shear would eventually make a name for himself on MTV and as a songwriter but this early tune is my favorite of his.
Nick Lowe I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
NRBQ Green Lights
The Records Starry Eyes
The Cars Just What I Needed
New York City
Television : Days
Gorgeous song I've loved for decades and decades. Gah! I'm getting old.
Talking Heads Take Me To The River
Johnny Thunders (You Can't Put Your Arms Around A ) Memory
Lou Reed Street Hassle
Blondie Hanging on the Telephone
Ramones I Just Want to Have Something to Do
Bruce Springsteen Prove It All Night
UK Critical Faves
Magazine : Shot By Both Sides
DeVoto had something to prove with his first solo single since leaving the Buzzcocks, taking nothing but his awful haircut and a guitar riff the Buzzcocks would also use in "Lipstick".
The Jam Down in the Tube Station at Midnight
The Clash (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais
Siouxsie + the Banshees Hong Kong Garden
The Buzzcocks Ever Fallen in Love
Elvis Costello : I Don't Want to go to Chelsea
In which the Attractions show why they may be the best backing band in the world. They deserved songwriting credit for the way they made these songs jump out of the speakers.
Bryan Ferry Sign of the Times
Devo Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy
The Undertones Teenage Kicks
The Saints Know Your Product
Discovered This Year
Be Bop Deluxe : Panic in the World
From the final Be Bop Deluxe album, a catchy should-a-been hit.
Kleenex Ain't You
Radio Birdman Aloha Steve and Danno
The Wipers Better Off Dead
Ultravox Slow Motion
The B-52's : Rock Lobster (DB Records version)
I like this original version better. See! my snobbery is coming back.
Shoes Tomorrow Night (Bomp! Records version)
Embarrassed to Admit
Journey : Lights
I grew up in San Francisco so this is a sentimental favorite.
Suzi Quatro + Chris Norman Stumblin' In
Billy Joel Rosalinda's Eyes
The Doobie Brothers What a Fool Believes
Todd Rundgren Can We Still Be Friends
And then...
Rolling Stones : Shattered
To be cranked on headphones whilst walking down the avenues of NYC when your life is in tatters.
Kraftwerk The Model
Warren Zevon Lawyers Guns and Money
Bryan Ferry Carrickfergus
BONUS :
A list of the most played 1978 songs on my computer (number of plays)
Bee Gees Night Fever 19
Bryan Ferry Take Me to the River 13
Magazine Shot By Both Sides
Paul McCartney Backwards Traveler
Al Di Meola Mediterranean Sundance 12
Blondie Hanging on the Telephone 11
Ramones I Just Want to Have Something to Do
Talking Heads The Good Thing
The Saints A Minor Aversion 10
Blondie Heart of Glass 9
Bryan Ferry What Goes On
Bryan Ferry Sign of the Times
Rolling Stones Miss You
The Saints This Perfect Day
The Babys Isn't It Time 8
Bryan Ferry Carrickfergus
Devo Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy
Gerry Rafferty Baker Street
Kate Bush Wuthering Heights
The Only Ones Another Girl/Another Planet
Pere Ubu Non Alignment Pact
Shoes Tomorrow Night
On September 2, 1978 The B-52's played the The Downtown Cafe in Atlanta. This was clearly a band to be reckoned with, as Chris Stamey noted in his memoir A Spy in the House of Loud:
The B-52’s seemed to play the Mudd Club every month or so in 1978. Their fast-paced, infectious tune, an example of what would have been called a novelty record back in the fifties, framed absurdist recitatives of aquatic scenarios with Farfisa organ lines, surf guitar figures, Theremin-like vocalese reminiscent of Yoko Ono, and . . . no bass guitar at all.
The setlist that evening included 52 Girls, Hero Worship, the Petula Clark cover Downtown, Dance This Mess Around and Rock Lobster, which would all appear on the 1979 debut, recorded in the Bahamas in early '79.
They even played Devil in My Car, which would kick of Side Two of 1980's Wild Planet.
In 1978 The B-52's released two thousand copies of "Rock Lobster" b/w "52 Girls" upon the world. Self-produced and recorded for DB Records, an independent label out of Atlanta, the 7 inch single sold out almost instantly.
"The first version is crisper and pokier," Fred Schneider told People Magazine. " Commercial radio wouldn’t touch it, but the independent single turned out to be, I think, the biggest selling independent single that year."
Schneider got the idea for the song on a visit to an Atlanta disco club that could only afford to put up slides of animals. The slideshow obviously included a lobster. "Rock Lobster" sounded like a good song title to Schneider. Keith Strickland came up with the guitar line.
Kate Pierson remembers:
Keith would play instrumentation and Fred would do a poem. And Ricky had that riff, so we put it together. Then we jammed. Cindy and I added the fish sounds that sound Cindy does at the end. But we also incorporated some Yoko Ono-isms in our fish sound. She was really an inspiration to us. We listened to Elephant’s Memory and we were into Yoko, genuinely. So that was like an homage to Yoko. It was just all out of jamming, because nobody would sit down and go, “Hey, let’s add Yoko Ono fish sounds.”
