Few experiences are quite as disconcerting for music fans as when they realize that the once seemingly ageless artists who created the soundtrack of their collective childhood are now deep into middle-age. When these former music icons – now bloated, balding, or gray – show up on some sad VH1 retrospective to recount tales of their heyday, it’s their fans who suddenly feel very old.
So when our long-standing musical heroes return to defy Father Time and live up to, or even surpass our expectations – recent examples being U2 or Bruce Springsteen – they are typically welcomed by fans with unbridled glee. Rock ‘n’ roll never forgets, indeed.
The latest band to successfully emerge from the time capsule (which is, ironically, the title of the group’s 1998 hits compilation) is the quirky pop-dance band the B-52’s. Touring in support of Funplex, the group’s first original album in over 16 years, the B-52’s are in the midst of a cross-country spring/summer tour.
Vocalists Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson are both Northern New Jersey natives, but the group, which also includes guitarist and composer Keith Strickland and vocalist Cindy Wilson, will always be associated with the Athens, Georgia new wave music scene they helped establish in the mid-to-late ’70s.
“We were the outsiders in Athens,” Schneider told Time Out London in 2007. “We'd go to parties and people would, like, bolt the door.”
With a sound that combined elements of punk, surf guitar, and early '60s go-go pop into a visually unique, kitschy mix, the B-52’s began winning over audiences with tracks like “Planet Claire,” “52 Girls,” and the group’s breakthrough hit, “Rock Lobster.” The interplay between the female harmonies of Pierson and Wilson (who wore large, beehive style wigs, aka B-52’s), and the half-sung, half-shouted vocal counters of Schneider became another of the group’s trademarks.
The group’s goofy/hip visual style combined with the off-the-wall nature of their song lyrics seemed to scream “FUN PARTY BAND,” but Schneider says that the group always took its work seriously.
“We're serious about what we do, even though a lot of it is humorous or whatever,” he said in an interview last year for AOL Sessions. “People say, ‘Oh you probably just throw things together.’ We don't. We spend a lot of time on songs. We've always been serious about wanting to do good songs, and if they make you laugh, great.”
Throughout the ’80s and into the ’90s, the B-52’s kept fans smiling, dancing, and partying with hits like “Private Idaho,” “Roam,” “Good Stuff,” and their biggest hit, “Love Shack.” The material on Funplex complements that repertoire perfectly. The album mostly avoids the double-edged sword of trying to sound either too retro or too trendy. A modern electronic-dance vibe filters through songs like “Pump,” “Juliet of the Spirits,” and “Love in the Year 3000,” but the band doesn’t overreach trying to update its sound to match current fashion.
“I wanted it to be more rock and more electronic – leaner, more focused and up-tempo and danceable,” Strickland said in a 2008 interview with MP3.com. “I also felt that if we are to release a new album after 16 years, then we've got to give it our all and do what we do best. I've always felt that what we do best is really high energy, up tempo, shameless dance floor party music. A lot of the dance music aesthetics have filtered into our sound, but I still feel like we still sound distinctively like the B-52’s.”
If you take the songs on Funplex at their word, the band, which now ranges in age from 51 to 61, still revels in dancing, partying, and making frequent visits to the proverbial “Love Shack.”
“Yeah,” Schneider says. “We are a bunch of oversexed middle-aged people. It’s pretty tongue-in-cheek, but I think every song except one is about sex.”
If nothing else, Funplex confirms – for both the band and its fans – that while you can’t avoid growing older, you don’t have to grow old.
“There's a maturity to [this record],” Wilson said in an interview with Atlanta Creative Loafing, “but we're not about to grow up. It’s still us, you know.”
So when our long-standing musical heroes return to defy Father Time and live up to, or even surpass our expectations – recent examples being U2 or Bruce Springsteen – they are typically welcomed by fans with unbridled glee. Rock ‘n’ roll never forgets, indeed.
The latest band to successfully emerge from the time capsule (which is, ironically, the title of the group’s 1998 hits compilation) is the quirky pop-dance band the B-52’s. Touring in support of Funplex, the group’s first original album in over 16 years, the B-52’s are in the midst of a cross-country spring/summer tour.
Vocalists Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson are both Northern New Jersey natives, but the group, which also includes guitarist and composer Keith Strickland and vocalist Cindy Wilson, will always be associated with the Athens, Georgia new wave music scene they helped establish in the mid-to-late ’70s.
“We were the outsiders in Athens,” Schneider told Time Out London in 2007. “We'd go to parties and people would, like, bolt the door.”
With a sound that combined elements of punk, surf guitar, and early '60s go-go pop into a visually unique, kitschy mix, the B-52’s began winning over audiences with tracks like “Planet Claire,” “52 Girls,” and the group’s breakthrough hit, “Rock Lobster.” The interplay between the female harmonies of Pierson and Wilson (who wore large, beehive style wigs, aka B-52’s), and the half-sung, half-shouted vocal counters of Schneider became another of the group’s trademarks.
The group’s goofy/hip visual style combined with the off-the-wall nature of their song lyrics seemed to scream “FUN PARTY BAND,” but Schneider says that the group always took its work seriously.
“We're serious about what we do, even though a lot of it is humorous or whatever,” he said in an interview last year for AOL Sessions. “People say, ‘Oh you probably just throw things together.’ We don't. We spend a lot of time on songs. We've always been serious about wanting to do good songs, and if they make you laugh, great.”
Throughout the ’80s and into the ’90s, the B-52’s kept fans smiling, dancing, and partying with hits like “Private Idaho,” “Roam,” “Good Stuff,” and their biggest hit, “Love Shack.” The material on Funplex complements that repertoire perfectly. The album mostly avoids the double-edged sword of trying to sound either too retro or too trendy. A modern electronic-dance vibe filters through songs like “Pump,” “Juliet of the Spirits,” and “Love in the Year 3000,” but the band doesn’t overreach trying to update its sound to match current fashion.
“I wanted it to be more rock and more electronic – leaner, more focused and up-tempo and danceable,” Strickland said in a 2008 interview with MP3.com. “I also felt that if we are to release a new album after 16 years, then we've got to give it our all and do what we do best. I've always felt that what we do best is really high energy, up tempo, shameless dance floor party music. A lot of the dance music aesthetics have filtered into our sound, but I still feel like we still sound distinctively like the B-52’s.”
If you take the songs on Funplex at their word, the band, which now ranges in age from 51 to 61, still revels in dancing, partying, and making frequent visits to the proverbial “Love Shack.”
“Yeah,” Schneider says. “We are a bunch of oversexed middle-aged people. It’s pretty tongue-in-cheek, but I think every song except one is about sex.”
If nothing else, Funplex confirms – for both the band and its fans – that while you can’t avoid growing older, you don’t have to grow old.
“There's a maturity to [this record],” Wilson said in an interview with Atlanta Creative Loafing, “but we're not about to grow up. It’s still us, you know.”
***
TOUR DATES FOR THE B-52's:
Saturday, May 09, 2009 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
Sunday, May 10, 2009 Morristown, NJ - Mayo Center for the Performing Arts
Wednesday May 13, 2009 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
Thursday May 14, 2009 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
Saturday May 16, 2009 Boston, MA - House of Blues
Wednesday May 20, 2009 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
Friday May 22, 2009 Little Rock, AR - Riverfront Park
Saturday May 23, 2009 Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino
Sunday May 24, 2009 Norman, OK - Riverwind Casino
Wednesday June 17, 2009 Seattle, WA - Woodland Park Zoo
Friday June 19, 2009 Portland, OR - Oregon Zoo
Saturday June 20, 2009 West Wendover, NV - Peppermill Casino
Sunday June 21, 2009 Aspen, CO - Belly Up
Monday June 22, 2009 Denver, CO - Denver Botanic Gardens
Wednesday June 24, 2009 Tucson, AZ - Centennial Hall
Thursday June 25, 2009 Del Mar, CA - Del Mar Fairgrounds
Friday June 26, 2009 Agoura Hills, CA - The Canyon Club
Saturday June 27, 2009 Oakville, CA - Robert Mondaydavi Winery
Tuesday June 30, 2009 Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
Thursday July 02, 2009 Livermore, CA - Wente Vineyards
Saturday July 04, 2009 Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Casino and Resort
Sunday July 19, 2009 Costa Mesa, CA - Pacific Amphitheatre (Orange County Fair)
Saturday August 01, 2009 Hyannis, MA - Cape Cod Melody Tent
Sunday August 02, 2009 Cohasset, MA - South Shore Music Circus
Tuesday August 04, 2009 Altoona, PA - Railroaders Memorial Museum
Wednesday August 05, 2009 Bethlehem, PA - Musikfest
Friday August 07, 2009 Lincoln, RI - Twin River Events Center
Saturday August 08, 2009 Vienna, VA - Filene Center
Sunday August 09, 2009 Westhampton Beach, NY - Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center
Wednesday August 12, 2009 Glen Allen, VA - Innsbrook Pavilion
Friday August 14, 2009 Mableton, GA - Mable House Amphitheatre
Saturday August 15, 2009 Saint Petersburg, FL - Tropicana Field
Thursday August 20, 2009 Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Center
Friday August 21, 2009 Chicago, IL - House of Blues
Saturday August 22, 2009 Petoskey, MI - Odawa Casino Resort
Monday August 24, 2009 Green Bay, WI - Oneida Bingo & Casino
Sunday October 04, 2009 Austin, TX - Zilker Park
Saturday, May 09, 2009 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
Sunday, May 10, 2009 Morristown, NJ - Mayo Center for the Performing Arts
Wednesday May 13, 2009 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
Thursday May 14, 2009 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
Saturday May 16, 2009 Boston, MA - House of Blues
Wednesday May 20, 2009 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
Friday May 22, 2009 Little Rock, AR - Riverfront Park
Saturday May 23, 2009 Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino
Sunday May 24, 2009 Norman, OK - Riverwind Casino
Wednesday June 17, 2009 Seattle, WA - Woodland Park Zoo
Friday June 19, 2009 Portland, OR - Oregon Zoo
Saturday June 20, 2009 West Wendover, NV - Peppermill Casino
Sunday June 21, 2009 Aspen, CO - Belly Up
Monday June 22, 2009 Denver, CO - Denver Botanic Gardens
Wednesday June 24, 2009 Tucson, AZ - Centennial Hall
Thursday June 25, 2009 Del Mar, CA - Del Mar Fairgrounds
Friday June 26, 2009 Agoura Hills, CA - The Canyon Club
Saturday June 27, 2009 Oakville, CA - Robert Mondaydavi Winery
Tuesday June 30, 2009 Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
Thursday July 02, 2009 Livermore, CA - Wente Vineyards
Saturday July 04, 2009 Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Casino and Resort
Sunday July 19, 2009 Costa Mesa, CA - Pacific Amphitheatre (Orange County Fair)
Saturday August 01, 2009 Hyannis, MA - Cape Cod Melody Tent
Sunday August 02, 2009 Cohasset, MA - South Shore Music Circus
Tuesday August 04, 2009 Altoona, PA - Railroaders Memorial Museum
Wednesday August 05, 2009 Bethlehem, PA - Musikfest
Friday August 07, 2009 Lincoln, RI - Twin River Events Center
Saturday August 08, 2009 Vienna, VA - Filene Center
Sunday August 09, 2009 Westhampton Beach, NY - Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center
Wednesday August 12, 2009 Glen Allen, VA - Innsbrook Pavilion
Friday August 14, 2009 Mableton, GA - Mable House Amphitheatre
Saturday August 15, 2009 Saint Petersburg, FL - Tropicana Field
Thursday August 20, 2009 Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Center
Friday August 21, 2009 Chicago, IL - House of Blues
Saturday August 22, 2009 Petoskey, MI - Odawa Casino Resort
Monday August 24, 2009 Green Bay, WI - Oneida Bingo & Casino
Sunday October 04, 2009 Austin, TX - Zilker Park
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3 comments:
Beautiful post, great ))
Enjoyed reading/following your page.Please keep it coming. Cheers!
Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely return.
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