B-52's

In my first listening, I couldn't even get to the half point of the album. Four more listenings in, and I'm kind of loving this. It is such an extravagant record. It has some of the wildest and weirdest vocals performances I've ever heard. They are very inflated, making them feel a bit forced but also adding a lot of personality to the record. They even go as far as screaming at the top of their lungs! When it comes to the instrumentation, they are responsible for making the album not feel like a mess by keeping everything under control. What a peculiar and weird album!

1979? Sounds way before it's time.

From the intro to Planet Claire, we're transported to a different sound world. Great stuff.

The B-52’s manage to be erratic and quirky without ever losing their focus in delivering well crafted, punchy, new wave hits. There are several songs, like Rock Lobster, which almost sound like short sharp punk tracks that, rather than resolving within two minutes, spin out into different, ever more textured developments on a theme. All the while their crazed, energetic and joyful approach just fills the listener’s head with a big, bolshy buzz. How are these guys not even more popular than they are?

Some enjoyable numbers here.

Lots of quirky fun.

Their sound is so unique...love it.

Very fun!

Is this album sonically or technically very good? Eh, probably not. But who cares? The band is having fun, and that fun is infectious. It doesn't matter how ridiculous these songs get, you're having a good time, even if you try and deny it. And that's the best part about Athens Georgia's most important export.

The B-52’s are most known for their wild lyrics and loud outfits. Both of which are truly next level. But I don’t think they get enough credit for how tight they are musically.

Boy, they were original, weren't they?

This was a revelation when it popped in 1979. Could say it was original but Yoko Ono had been doing it for years. B-52’s made it mainstream and their own.

This debut is joyful, campy fun—what’s not to like? Surf rock riffs, space-age kitsch, and those wild harmonies make it a party from start to finish. I only dock a star because, all together and all at once, it can feel a little manic… and I’m not 16 anymore.

This album would still feel fresh and exciting if it came out in 2025. What a great sound.

I really enjoy the B-52's, and this was a delightful listen. I'm starting to hate that there are only 5 stars on this rating scale and I'm going to have to start assigning a meaning to each star because this isn't an album I already have or will add into my standard rotation, but I definitely would not mind a few of these songs popping up in my playlists.

Not quite funny enough to be a comedy band, not quite genuine enough to be taken seriously. I was a little resistant to this album at first. But by the end of the album I felt like I was in on the joke. Somehow the B-52s find the balance between gimmick and art and I'm here for that.

Much better than I was expecting. A throwback to when post punk and new wave were weird. Hard to believe these guys came up from Athens GA. Very unique and fun to listen to.

Martes de la penúltima semana de agosto con éste discazo de tremenda banda. La voz de Fred Schneider y sus tintes oscuros, post-punks, mezclados con un sonido más antiguo, de los 50s, quizás, y el contrapunto de la voz de Kate Pierson le dan a éste debut un vuelo propio. Favourite tracks: 52 Girls y Rock Lobster. Hasta mañana, gente

spooky boogie vibes

When people describe music as "tight" this is what I imagine. Parts of this feel religiously rehearsed and it made me consider them as a more serious band.

# Album Name: B-52s # Artist: B-52s # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: Solid opening to the album. First four songs were pretty good. Rock lobster being the absolute standout. Great song. Its a fun album. Ill come back to it # Top Tunes: planet claire / 52 girls / mess around / rock lobster # Would I listen to it again? Yes

13/08/2025 It didn't go how i expected it to go. A pleasant surprise if you will.

En 1979, le punk a tout juste fini de dynamiter les fondations du rock progressif et du gigantisme des années 70, laissant derrière lui un champ de ruines créatif où tout semble à nouveau possible. C'est dans ce climat de reconstruction, où l'urgence le dispute à l'expérimentation, qu'un objet musical non identifié atterrit en provenance d'Athens, Géorgie. Cet OMNI, c'est le premier album du groupe The B-52's, une galette jaune vif qui contient une proposition artistique des plus joyeusement décalées, des plus instantanément reconnaissables et surtout des plus durablement influentes. Une ligne de basse menaçante, tout droit sortie d'un film de science-fiction de série B, un riff de guitare surf minimaliste et un bip de talkie-walkie nous plongent dans une atmosphère à la fois rétro et futuriste. Nous ne le savons pas encore, mais dès les premières notes de "Planet Claire", nous venons de pénétrer dans l'univers B-52's, un monde où les coiffures "choucroute" défient la gravité, où les homards ont des droits et où la seule et unique mission est de danser jusqu'à l'épuisement. Ce qui frappe d'emblée, c'est la singularité absolue du son. Il est impossible de le confondre avec quoi que ce soit d'autre. La pierre angulaire de cette architecture sonore est sans conteste le jeu de guitare de Ricky Wilson. Armé de sa Mosrite, dont il avait retiré deux cordes pour simplifier son approche, Wilson tisse des riffs acérés, anguleux, qui empruntent autant au surf rock des années 60 qu'à une vision post-punk de l'économie de moyens. Chaque note est essentielle, chaque silence est signifiant. C'est un jeu percussif, dansant, qui sert de squelette à toutes les compositions. Soutenu par la batterie métronomique et irrésistiblement dansante de Keith Strickland, le groupe établit une base rythmique qui est une véritable machine à faire bouger les corps. Sur cette fondation instrumentale déjà unique en son genre vient se greffer le deuxième pilier du groupe : le trio vocal. Il ne s'agit pas d'un chanteur principal avec des choristes, mais d'une véritable conversation à trois têtes, un triangle vocal dynamique et excentrique. D'un côté, le "sprechgesang" (parlé-chanté) de Fred Schneider, dont la diction et l'énergie de maître de cérémonie un peu fou donnent le ton. Il ne chante pas, il déclame, il aboie, il invite à la fête avec une autorité comique. De l'autre, les harmonies célestes et les cris perçants de Kate Pierson et Cindy Wilson. Leurs voix, pures et puissantes, s'entremêlent, se répondent, créent des contrepoints sublimes avant d'exploser en des "yé-yé" stridents ou des imitations de créatures marines. L'interaction entre ces trois personnalités vocales est le cœur nucléaire de l'album. Les chansons elles-mêmes sont des chefs-d'œuvre de concision et d'efficacité pop, passées au filtre de l'absurde. "Dance This Mess Around" est un ordre, un hymne à la libération par le mouvement. "Lava" est une ode érotico-volcanique complètement folle. Et puis, bien sûr, il y a le mastodonte, la pièce maîtresse : "Rock Lobster". Sur près de sept minutes, le groupe déploie tout son arsenal. C'est une épopée surréaliste qui commence comme un simple morceau de surf rock avant de dériver vers une liste carnavalesque d'animaux marins, le tout ponctué par les cris d'oiseaux et les imitations de crustacés de Pierson et Wilson. C'est un morceau qui n'aurait jamais dû fonctionner, un collage improbable qui devient, contre toute attente, l'un des hymnes les plus définitifs de la New Wave. Un moment de pure génie. Mais et c'est là tout le problème de l'album, la force incroyable de cet album est aussi, paradoxalement, sa légère faiblesse. Le son des B-52's sur ce premier disque est tellement défini, la formule est si spécifique et si parfaitement maîtrisée dès le départ, qu'elle laisse peu de place à la variation. La palette sonore, bien que brillante, est volontairement étroite. La structure des morceaux repose presque systématiquement sur la même dynamique : un riff de guitare entêtant, une batterie implacable, et le dialogue entre la voix parlée de Fred et les harmonies des filles. Passés les chocs que sont "Planet Claire", "Rock Lobster" ou "52 Girls", des titres comme "6060-842" ou "Hero Worship", bien qu'énergiques et impeccablement exécutés, donnent l'impression de revisiter des territoires déjà explorés quelques minutes plus tôt. L'album est une course effrénée dans une seule et même direction stylistique. Il manque peut-être la respiration, le changement de rythme ou d'atmosphère qui aurait permis à chaque morceau de se distinguer encore davantage. C'est une fête endiablée du début à la fin, mais c'est toujours la même fête. Cette constance, qui garantit une cohérence sans faille, peut aussi donner le sentiment d'un album qui, une fois sa formule exposée, peine à se renouveler sur la longueur de ses neuf titres. En conclusion, "The B-52's" reste un premier album sismique, un classique incontournable et une capsule de folie pure. Son audace, son originalité et son refus de se prendre au sérieux ont ouvert la voie à d'innombrables artistes. C'est un disque qui a prouvé que la musique rock pouvait être à la fois intelligente, expérimentale, et surtout, incroyablement amusante. La légère redondance de sa formule n'enlève rien à son génie, mais elle tempère légèrement l'expérience d'écoute globale, l'empêchant d'atteindre le panthéon des œuvres parfaites et variées. C'est un chef-d'œuvre essentiel, un 4/5 éclatant qui, près d'un demi-siècle après sa sortie, n'a rien perdu de sa capacité à nous faire sourire et à nous ordonner, avec la plus grande bienveillance, de danser sur ce joyeux chaos.

This album is great, irreverent and funny, a really rocker record that is such a surprisingly enjoyable listening.

Fun, silly, goofy, and campy. Some of the vocals can get a little annoying, but looking pass that (a lil hard to do, I get it) you get the wackiest and one of the most creative albums to come out of the new wave genre, and with the hilarious genius that is the song Rock Lobster, you get an all time classic and an album that deserves to be called one of the 1001 albums you have to hear.

Three days of self-titled albums in a row! (I’ve never been good at writing these reviews, but the scant quality has dropped even lower the further in I get, so I’ll grasp at any asinine observation I land on) I’d heard of the B-52s before, but couldn’t have told your their genre or named any songs. This was much better than I expected - I’ve been missing out! (I had heard “Rock Lobster” before.) I don’t know that I’ll ever listen to this again, but it’s unique and it’s got heart and a truly creative spirit, and I have to reward that. 52 Girls, Rock Lobster 3.5

When Rock Lobster is one of the saner tracks in side A, you know you’re in for a fun ride.

6,77

Pretty undeniable! The B-52s are so important in music, and I think they get looked over sometimes! The campiness, the retro feel, the irony, the QUEERNESS - all SO important for the next 25+ years of pop music. Kate Pierson’s vocals are super influential to pop punk and especially riot grrl. Who doesn’t love the fucking B-52’s? I don’t wanna know em!

Awesome

Highlight Song/s: Planet Claire and Dance This Mess Around What an amazing album by a bunch of quirky individuals. They have a funny sense of humour. Ricky is such an underrated guitarist, such a shame he died; gone way too soon. Some of my favourite guitar tracks by him include 'Planet Claire', 'Dance This Mess Around' and the fabulous 6 star track 'Private Idaho' (though from the next album, 'Wild Planet.') At times I don't know If its Kate or Cindy singing, I get confused. But I'm pretty sure it's Kate that I like more (but both of them are amazing singers.) Kate has such good singing voice alongside her mostly unique scat singing with her OO's, OW's, OH's and AH's and her screaming; which actually was inspired by Yoko Ono. Funnily enough, John Lennon heard 'Rock Lobster' at a club and thought the club was playing 2 records and he reckoned one of them was by Yoko but NO, it was the B-52's. That experience got him back into making music, though not for too long...

Any time I think I have an idea that is too weird or unrelatable, I remind myself that every adult in my generation knows and will do "Rock Lobster" at the slightest provocation. Timeless record, because what conceivable time could this be from?

Led by that campy, eye-catching album cover, the B-52’s emerged onto the scene blending older sounds (surf rock and sci-fi flourishes, especially) with newer (synths and jagged post-punk guitars) and made something that manages to still sound fresh and futuristic. That they came out of the same Athens, Georgia scene that also gave us R.E.M. and Pylon definitely didn’t hurt (“Hero Worship” comes closest to sounding like the latter). Nor did lyrics that name-drop volcanos, made up names of sea creatures or delivered lines like “There’s a moon in the sky / It’s called the Moon.” One of my favorite stories about the band from this era is that the track “Mesopotamia,” which came out a couple years later, became a big hit in the Black dance clubs in Detroit, thanks to heavy rotation by an influential local DJ.

Quirky and fun but not something you'd wanna hear all the time.

Weird, but cool weird.

A little weird, extremely fun. They have such a distinctive sound on a fun dancey album

Alternative before it became a buzz word

Definitely more post punk than they sound in my head. The roughness was a good contrast to the surf party rock, which would have got older a lot faster otherwise

This is a party album. Put this on and people won’t sit still Love this lp

Not all the sonts are great but it doesn’t matter because this album is a lot of weird fun

Even if there's a few fillers out there, this album is an insane dynamic ride of fun and energy! Their sound is lovely.

i remember being OBSESSED with rock lobster as a kid.. hadnt heard the album in full since then and it was very good and very fun and very weird

First of all let me just say that "Rock Lobster" is one of my all time favorite songs. It's freaking brilliant. The rest of The B-52's eponymous debut is also brilliant. This album is kitsch, niche, queer, fun, sci-fi, throwback, modern, new-wave, and so much more.

Way cooler and more fun than one would expect having only heard “Love Shack”.

Planet Claire is such a great opener to an album, and I love the general "do it because it's fun" vibe you get from this band, but I'd prefer to listen to a Greatest Hits collection.

I generally don't like this genre of music, but talent is talent. That was cool.

The B-52’s are fun and enjoyable, but in moderation. This album is a great fusion of punk, new wave, and surf rock, with an upbeat, energetic vibe that’s clearly meant for a party atmosphere. It’s playful, whimsical, and quirky, which is what makes the band and album unique. However, after a while, all those elements can wear you out and start to get a bit annoying.

Spotify didnt have 2 of the songs from the album for me. :( so far my fav out of what we've heard so far. They have some fun little ditties. The female vocals are unique.

When the first song played, all I could think about was Perry the Platypus, so I knew we were off to a great start. Sadly 2 of the songs wasn't available on Spotify? But what was there I enjoyed. I didn't know these were the people behind Rock Lobster! 4/5

This is fun. I don't really (honestly) see the "underbelly of punk" or whatever some critics point out, but it was good fun.

planet claire- 7 52 girls- 6 or 7 dance this mess around- 6 rock lobster- i love the trixie mattel quote where she talks about the b-52's and she says "EVERYONE had matching towels" like she cant believe it. 8 or 9 lava- 7 theres a moon in the sky (called the moon)- so true. 6 or 7 hero worship- 6 6060-842- 6 or 7 downtown- 6

Name a funner band than the B-52s. They just bring it with their driving rhythms, discordance, yelling, speak-singing, and off kilter lyrics. They are new wave/post punk and all of that, but they are also singular in their approach. Camp meets a party.

This was a shock to a boy in the midwest. Stuff like this was hard to find and didn't find any air time on radio stations stuck in rock and roll motion. It took a while to understand and find the groove for me but it is full of energy and life.

Fun and memorable.

# Playlist Track - Planet Claire # Notes - Silly fun, in a very good way! - Unfortunately "Lava" and "Hero Worship" are not available in my country for some reason. No idea how this would affect the score.

what up b-52's! Saw you in concert at the Minnesota Zoo and it rocked. Our neighbor did torture us by blasting a best of album while they were out of town for 2 days but there's a lot to love. It's a mood, it's a vibe.

Like Smashing Pumpkins this is an artist that I thought I had no interest in listening to but actually ended up enjoying a ton. Felt way more punk than I would have guessed Fav song: Dance This Mess Around

Who’s out there doing the Shy Tuna?! 7/10

Okay, so Rock Lobster is an incredibly charming song, but other than that I don't really know much about this band. If that song is anything to go by, then I expect a wacky, goofy and inherently weird experience with this album. I do fear it could end up being sort of annoying, still only judging from one song. Will be extremely disappointed if this turns out to be boring, though I doubt it will. Planet Claire Has a bit of that surf sound that I expected from them. Did not however expect something so moody and dark. Decently catchy bassline and very a unique keyboard sound. Definitely has that spacey sound you'd expect from the title. Strangely psychedelic. Good. 4/5 52 Girls Great energy. The surf guitar is pretty fun. Extremely stupid lyrics. The lyrics get a bit grating. Has some charm to it. Can't hate a song with that much personality to it no matter how dumb it is. Decent. 3.5/5 Dance This Mess Around Has a kinda threathening sound to it with the screamy vocals, the intense drum pattern and the ominous organ. Really, really weird. Cursed song. 2.5/5 Rock Lobster Banger. Iconic riff. Who even would think of these lyrics. It's unfathomably bizzare. Love the synthline. The female vocals really add to the strange aquatic theme, where they almost evoke dolphin-like qualities. Wacky, confusing, absolutely meaningless and at times even a bit abrasive. This does not get in the way of it's quality in anyway. It's an absolute blast. Delightful. 5/5 Lava Really solid groove. Fun theme. Really cheesy. The frequent references to famous volcanoes are pretty charming. Solid harmonies. Decent. 3.5/5 There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon) Interesting into. Another stupid premise that somehow works. Thanks to this song I now know that the Moon is called "The Moon" and that it's located in the sky! The band has so much chemistry and the concept is so bizzare it's impossible for me to dislike it. It's just really entertaining. Good. 4/5 Hero Worship Intense vocal performance with a lot of personality and energy. Fits the more punk aesthetic of the track. Steals the show. Catchy riffs. Generally has a very cool atmosphere to it. Good. 4/5 6060-842 (6060 842) Another song that's really, really weird. It's in a similar vein to previous tracks in that it's fast paced, strange and very conceptual. This time I feel it's just a little bit lower quality than the rest, where perhaps the concept doesn't land as well. The performances are still good however. Fine. 3/5 Downtown Weird accent. Don't love the organ. The vocal inflections are a bit much. Feels like they're not taking this serious at all. Dislike. 2/5 Memorable, fun and unique. Honestly exactly what I expected it to be. You'll have a hard time not smiling when hearing some of these songs. The concepts are goofy and the vocal deliveries are full of character. It comes to a point where you're just impressed that they are able to pull it off in a likeable way, without being too annoying. And there's more to this album than just novelty, as the riffs from both the surf guitar and also the keyboards stick in your head as both well constructed and catchy. And while the songwriting veers on the quirky side it's done in a clever and researched manner, which when put together with the interesting song structures ends up a genuine highlight. This album has energy, it has charisma and it is extremely unique even in the often out there New Wave genre. You can feel the band's chemistry and enjoyment on each and every track on here. The entertainment value here is off the charts, and even when there is a weak song you'll at least be left with some sort of impression of it. If sea creatures, volcanoes and distant planets sound interesting to you, you should definitely give it a go. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4/5.

Nearly perfect but the album does backload the weaker songs at the end. Love the guitar playing and how tight the band is.

> The Beatles

New Wave Psychedelic Surf is a genre right? This is a whole ass party on a record, everything you need is here

Nostalgic

Planet Claire!

What a thrill to relive all those 80’s dance parties I remember. Along with many more that I can’t remember.

Really enjoyed this, more unconventional song structures than I thought and some good girl screams. More punky than I expected. I really enjoyed - very fun album.

A really good album, I liked A Planet Called Claire and There's A Moon In The Sky.

Rather fun album in my opinion. Liked most of the tracks and would probably listen to this more. 4/5

Enjoyed the absurdity of the B-52's. Rock Lobster!

They live in their own weird little world and we get to be part of it for a few minutes. You always know its the B-52's, they have a sound that is all their own. Is it amazing, not necessarily but its fun and different. They are quirky but that is their appeal. I don't know if anyone understands Rock Lobster but its still a fun jam. I also really liked Hero Worship. One criticism could be that the songs don't always have a lot of lyrics but just sort of repeat the same things over and over. Cindy's voice isn't amazing, but its perfect for them and she brings so much emotion to the songs.

Never listened to a full B-52's album before. They are odd in mostly a fun way. Sometimes annoying. My least favorite song is The Moon in a Sky called the Moon. Which is funny but that's the punchline and the rest of the lyrics just seem like Fred is doing some stream of conscious bullshit that isn't that inspired and how many planets can we name? Dance This Mess Around is interesting because I like the first part when Cindy is singing but then Fred shows up and it becomes ridiculous trying to do all 16 dances or something while we are going to a party which doesn't even feel like it was where Cindy was going with the first half of the song but... whatever. I'm sure it's a collaborative process. I would've loved to been a fly on the wall when they were writing these songs. I did like Planet Claire, 52 Girls, and of course Rock Lobster is great. My favorite thing about this album is the guitaring and the drum beats. Not something I could listen to often but it was a fun ride.

When I hear the term “art rock” my mind always baselines to this album. It’s weird, kitschy, and definitely pushes the boundaries of what rock music can be. There was definitely something truly special going on in Athens, GA in the late 70’s early 80’s because it birthed the B-52’s and my all time favorite band, R.E.M. Both bands have an off kilter weirdness and both have written some of the best songs of the 80’s.

I've never done a deep dive into the B-52s, so it was fun to get this today. They are so funky and weird. The songs crack me up when they pick a topic and then incorporate a list a lot of items under that topic into the track (women's names, dances, aquatic animals, planets, etc.) They really go all in with each song's theme, lol. This is all very creative and fresh, and I love their style and their vibe. I'm sure it made a huge lobster splash in 1979!

Bizarre music, but mostly good fun.

Unique and innovative. This is the kind of material I expected to find on this list at the outset. Great fusion of punk and new wave, full of personality and promise, inspiring. Well produced. 4/5, for listening value and for fulfilling the mission of the 1001 list.

Nice and fun vibe.

Kinda funky.

Full of weird fun!!

Groovy and fun to listen to! Reminded me of being a carefree teenager! Album rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Weirder than expected! Like.

Awesome album full of energy and fun! I’m taking one star off because I really hate “6060-842”.

Slapssssssss. So punk and so funny. Big fan, can’t stop walking around imitating their voices. (4.5 stars)

Quite an interesting pick, really wasnt expecting a lot when I started it but it blew me away, will listen again

My first introduction to The B-52's as a child was Love Shack -one of the most annoying pieces of forced joviality of any era, not just that one. Then not long after, Kate popped up in the Shiny Happy People video, again it was terrible but she definitely stirred other feelings in my confused pre-teen brain. Thus, I had definitely written off this band as not for me and was probably in my 20s before I found myself more intrigued by some of their older material. This was the first time listening to their debut and it was fun, the best moments were Planet Claire, Dance This Mess Around and Rock Lobster, the cover of Downtown is rather unnecessary so it's not quite a 5 for me but comfortably a 4 and made me want to check out to deep dive into more of their early-80s output.

Will require a few listens. Some decent songs but a few irritating ones

It's a fun album. It belongs on this list.

Very good debut album and a fun little romp besides.

One of the most infectious bands of all time. the B-52s always deliver.

A real fun album from a band I had kind of dismissed as not that relevant in the grand scheme of things. But this is good. Truly. One wish, though: A proper remix/remaster, as this really sounds very tinny.

A Really fun record that I would love to revisit it soon

Iconic

An interesting album where this band shows their own style that sounds a bit if The Beach Boys and some female punks joined together to perform Talking Heads songs. It all sounds productively messy but still poppy enough with a funky groove. I do think that the back-and-forth between the male and the female singers is a formula they rely too much on.

Meget mærkeligere end jeg forventede, men stadig meget catchy at lytte til. Den kvindelige sanger har en fantastisk stemme. Solidt, unikt popband

I'll have whatever they're having! 💊 So deeply weird, but generally really good songs. Rock Lobster is a classic!

Rock Lobster is a certified banger. Haven't listened to this album alone before. Definitely unique for it's time.

Their sound is so unique. Strange and different, you always know a B-52's song when you hear it.

Yeh pretty cool stuff and sounded like a lot of fun to record. Not always down with the shouty staccato new wave but this was deserving of an exception

Well that was a turn up, let’s face it most of us only know the overplayed Love Shack, but I enjoyed this album a lot. The guitar parts had a great style (love the bit of surf influence) and the vocals are unique with the interplay between vocalists pretty cool. While the first half is undoubtedly stronger (52 girls a total banger), I just like the upbeat vibe of the whole thing. Strongly suspect I’ll revisit this….

Surprised how much I enjoyed this. It’s a unique vibe.

There are many things I could say, but I'll stick to this: if you actively dislike this, you are anti-fun. Fav tracks: 52 Girls, Dance This Mess Around, Rock Lobster, Lava

Ajoy to listen to this long forgotten gem after the best part of 4 decades. 'Rock Lobster' & 'Planet Claire' are just as brilliant as I remember them. How on earth could you remove this from the list whilst retaining 4 albums of dogshit from the Beastie Boys.

3.5/5

4/5 👌

Может быть всё дело в том, что чтоб добыть этот альбом, мне пришлось распаковать свое подростковое прошлое с определенными сайтами на .org, зе риск зе раш, но прямо вот отличный альбом. Лучшая песня - 52 Girls.

Being a forefront of early new wave music, The B-52’s self titled debut is fashionably campy, eccentric and kitschy, and that can be for better or for worse. For the most part though, it’s for the better. The B-52’s don’t take themselves seriously and it shows, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. They just want to make good, fun, and strange songs, and they entirely succeed in that. The opener *Planet Claire* sets the stage of what to expect, and like most of this album is gloriously tongue-in-cheek. The absurdist lyrics to be found throughout this song and the album add to their eccentric charm. The guitar riff from Ricky Wilson on *Planet Claire* is great, however the guitar is good throughout the entire album. The more heavy and eccentric guitar sounds on *Lava* is a good example of this. The song is full of innuendo and it’s still catchy in the process. *There’s a Moon in the Sky* is a fun song inspired by older Sci-Fi. However, the mainstay of this album and the definite highlight is the nearly seven minute epic of *Rock Lobster.* Everything great about this album comes to a head here. The surf rock and almost punk-ish vibe, the vocals, the instrumentation, lyrics, it’s all so fashionably weekend. Once you hear the riff on *Rock Lobster* it never leaves your head. Fred Schneider’s vocals are strange and unique, and really help with this album’s vibe. In short, while this album’s eccentricity can be a bit much sometimes for me, I still had a fun time listening to this. I’d recommend this if you want something more out there, if you know what I mean.

Man there was nothing quite like the B-52s (especially in Georgia!) when they came sidewinding out of the gates with this record in 1979. "Planet Claire" takes the "Peter Gunn" riff and turns it into a garbage sci-fi epic. Kitschy, punky, new wavey, mid-fi, repetitive, mostly bass-less, arty, goofy, poppy and always fun, it's nonetheless a small miracle they had national success. It's probably largely because of "Rock Lobster", which was the party anthem of the next 5 years at junior high and high school dances and beyond. Not all the songs are great. Some sound like riffs that tried to become songs but never quite made it. "Downtown" is a weird cover choice and REALLY sounds like filler. Have to mention Ricky Wilson's guitar: so much of the musical weight falls on him. Often the keyboard serves an auxiliary role and there's no bass player. The keyboard sometimes does a bass part, but the guitar playing is really underappreciated in those early B-52s songs. It sounds aggressive and loose, yet it's clean and precise and in the pocket at the same time. Kudos! If Rock Lobster were the only decent song on this record it would still rise to 3 stars. There's enough here that makes it better than that.

Loved this album. What a cool band

If going based on pure originality, they are clearly a 10. The question I always deal with is, could I listen to this on the regular? My life isn’t weird enough for the B-52’s to be my favorite band or even in a top 50 conversation, but I do greatly respect what they did and what they stand for. There are layers to this music, it should be studied, and it will be studied for years to come. It is simultaneously retro and futuristic, rocking and irritating, introspective and simplistic. I don’t know what to with this, but yes it’s important.

Started awesome. The middle was awesome. The last 2 or 3 son though weren't the best.

Quite enjoyed it - crisp but warm tone

It really grows on you!

Classic

Game changer. Love the use of dissonant chords. A little bit of menace always lurking. Rock Lobster is an all time great song.

I dug this album much more than I was originally expecting. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for The B-52s, and I'm not sure why.

While I don't go out of my way to listen to the B52s, it's always a good time when I do. There's something so fun and happy about listening to this cacophony of sound that always puts you in a good mood.

Damn cool. 4/5

Planet Claire - 6 (No se que opinar, molan los sonidos) 52 Girls - 7 (Mola la guitarra limpia y agresiva) Dance This Mess Around - 8 (Me encanta el ritmo y la espontaneidad) Rock Lobster - 7,5 (Cancion surfera que saldría en Bob Esponja) Lava - 7 (La más rock, pero no la mejor) There’s a Moon in The Sky (Called The Moon) - 8,5 (La mejor por ahora) Hero Worship - 6060-842 (6060 842) - Downtown -

like cosmic surf rock. reaches peak extraterrestrial vibe on the opening track populated by eerie sound effects. assimilates a lot of the 60s pop tradition, with a heavy dose of disco and funk. belongs to the tarantino school of art creation, repurposing pop/genre junk in a triumphant collage of time periods and aesthetics. very post modern in its approach, reinterpreting these inspirations with an emphasis on the bizarre core. particularly, beyond the surface level novelty of the fusion, the band embraces a sort of deliberate detachment—robotic vocals, syncopation, technically tight compositions—quite similar to devo. also like devo, heavy on the mongoloid irony, both sonically and lyrically. the imagery and chanting is engrossingly surrealist. for the most part, enjoyed vocal variety–mix between male and female vocals. however, cindy wilson's vocals sometimes fall short of their ambitions. starts with a bang; opening track, and especially rock lobster, are bangers. loses momentum on the b-side when the novelty wears off–also fewer bangers.

4. Creck.

Super fun listen. Will as to the collection.

Quirky, vibrant, and other. It was a fun listen. I'm not sure why I've never bothered to check out their albums before, despite enjoying the oddness of their singles.

4.0

Funky!!! Never listened to a full album of theirs, but it was a catchy, poppy kind of punk. Loved the bass line and the beats throughout. Made me want to dance!

Great album. Never one of my favorites but a really original sound.

This is the soundtrack to every party I went to in college. Sounds different than almost anything I can think of. The songs are fun and definitely this band did not take itself too seriously.

4.5/5

Female-driven new-wave pop punk? Dame másssss. Es jodidamente excéntrico, pero eso es lo bueno. Definitivamente up my alley, de esos álbumes que me ponen de buen humor, y eso que hasta ahora solo había escuchado "Rock Lobster". No le doy 5 estrellas porque a veces es demasiado excesivo en su rareza y en chillidos.

This album was much better than I expected. While “Rock Lobster” is the big hit, the rest of the tracks carry an even cooler vibe that is quirky, energetic, and endlessly fun. It’s a surprisingly strong and cohesive debut.

Un groupe qui, en dépit de multiples influences, demeure inimitable par ses voix outrancières, son ludisme, son je-m’en-foutisme solaire.

Fun album, I dig it.

Quite funny and entertaining album, something different from the recent records on this list. Pleasant surprise.

The first time I heard, Rock Lobster was when the B-52's played on Saturday Night Live (yes, I'm fairly sure I saw this when it was first broadcasted) and my first thought was, "what the hell?". Such a kooky, bizarre band that reminded me of some outer space band from the Flintstones or Jetsons and their sound was something I had never heard before. That organ sound is soooo new wave and those hairdos and the way they dressed wasn't in my "wheelhouse" of musical preference at the time. Fast forward and this album keeps showing up on my algorithm on my music streams and it's hard not to listen to it repeatedly. It was a "game-changer" record and actually, they're retro sound, brings back so many memories of the late 70's and early 80's when my music tastes started to evolve (change for the better). I have a place in my heart for the B-52's now, though it's still hard to handle Fred Schneider's voice and the shrieky backing vocals, but there were a lot worse imitator-bands from the era. The chicks are cool and Ricky Wilson's guitar playing is way underrated.

Grandes

This is a very good listen. Some of my favorites here.

Will listen to more of them

Not peak B-52's, but damn this is a fun album. Feels ahead of it's time by a few years at least.

I love The B-52's ability to for some reason make a song sound dark and eery. Just add a crap ton of bass and suddenly I'm feeling like a cool villain in an animated kids movie.

this is so fun I love it. I also enjoyed the songs that aren't on Spotify.

Before Love Shack they were better.

This is a great album! The B-52’s are the weird I want, maybe even the weird I need. I love Dance This Mess Around.

i loved it, my girlfriend loved it. i suppose everyone loves this album.

Well, Spotify opens a two song album but when I read the reviews I realized there should have been more songs... My first time listening the band and it was fun and a bit chaotic in a good way.

Well, Rock Lobster was a great single, and I can see from Wikipedia that there were several singles drawn from this album. The whole retro-glam-punk schtick is pretty appealing, as it was for Scottish band The Rezillos, and it's a fun album to play. I don't think they really had enough material and the last track is filler. But the other songs are great, often with pretty idiotic lyrics.

Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 🟨🎨🥸 Production: 🤔🙂👌 Music: 🌊🦞🌋🎨🌀🤪 Rating: 🦞🦞🦞🦞/5

Such a unique sound. You can tell it’s them. Fun listen and quick. Enjoyed the mix of genres. 3.5/5 Will probably listen again

Favourite tracks: hero worship; 52 girls; rock lobster; dance this mess around; 6060-842

Punk like silliness Fun loving, odd ball lyrics And surf inspired tones

One of those albums I thought I knew, turns out it was only Rock Lobster. I like it more than I expected. I think there is a tendency in the UK to view them as purely a novelty act. So wrong.

Ah nee niet weer een rock album... Of wacht, dit funkt? Best wel hard zelfs??? Ik vermaak me????? Ik zal niet te snel klagen, blijkbaar is dit ook geen straight up rock, maar is het New-wave, het zal wel. Duidelijk is in elk geval dat dit echt vermakelijke muziek is voor me! Rock Lobsterr is 1 van de leukste nummers die ik ooit heb gehoord, wat een topplaat hahaha Sowieso is dit album echt pure pure fun. Love dit album, ik word er echt vrolijk fan, want wie de fuck bedenkt een nummer Theres a Moon in the sky(Its called the Moon). Sorry hoor, maar dat is pure genialiteit in muziekvorm. Dikke dikke dikke 4 sterren is dit voor mij! FAVO: Planet Claire, 52 girls, Rock Lobster, Theres a moon in the sky

Always fun and enjoyable.

Having mostly heard the radio singles (“Rock Lobster,” et al), I wasn’t expecting much. But I liked it a good bit better than I thought I would. They do carry that kitschy energy throughout, but the songs are well written and very different from anything else that was popular at the time. Definitely more than just a novelty band.

So much more than (the quite annoying) Love Shack. Great look. Great stuff. One star off for the unnecessary apostrophe in their name.

I can't even articulate why but I really enjoyed this

Fun band out of the 70’s and 80’s. Great music. Iconic songs.

Early alternative important album.....nice.

Goofy energenic fun built on surf rock but claiming its own. Truly infectious (there's a cream to relieve the itch).

My first time listening to this as an album (I knew the singles) even though I own and love both Cosmic Thing and Good Stuff. Considering how annoying Fred's voice is, it's amazing how much I like the B52s. But I really do. I especially love that Kate Pierson is still going strong, dying her hair bright red, releasing music, and singing in that fantastic "I'm just singing along" voice. I should have listened to this before, it's great!

Just joyous.

great! if you like this you should listen to Live! 8-24-1979, the energy is so fun and a lo-fi touch really works well, probably my 5 star B-52s album. it's as big as a whale

Such a solid and funky album

A classic. Great album.

Kom á óvart. Mjög þétt og góð plata. Geggjað sound í HIGH FIDELITY! Rock lobster er svo rúsínan í pylsuendanum. Hélt ég myndi ekki fíla þetta.

Svakalega hresst, frumlegt og skemmtilegt. Ég er rokkhumar! Ótrúlegt að tvær svona risa Alt hljómsveitir eins og B52´s og REM hafi komið frá Athens Georgíu á sama tíma.

Love the guitar

This album made me think about the cringey tell-all novel Outline of My Lover and how much cooler it would have been if the 1990’s Athens GA indie Star had been Fred from B-52s.

a really solid new wave classic. the b-52's are always off kilter and corny and they're probably not for everyone, but i enjoy their schtick. very unique sound that is beyond referential to early 60s music. the vocals are atypical and odd but to me, that's what makes them charming. the instrumentation here is really solid. nothing flashy, but good all around. the songs here are what limit this from being a 5 for me. very clearly, 'rock lobster' (their most famous song) is far and away the best song here. there's nothing bad here, but just wish more songs were as catchy as their big song. overall, it's a cool album that i enjoyed, just wish it got to more higher highs.

Very cool. /Almost/ sounds like The Talking Heads made a record with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I want whatever they were on

R O C K L O B S T E R

Great songs by the B52s

It's only weird if it doesn't work, and this works.

Very good, very enjoyable. Their cheekiness is fun and the music is very good.

Such fun twisted party music! Love the way the songs can be silly but also just ride a groove for five minutes. Good stuff (which isn’t on this album)

The B-52s are so much more than Love Shack, and I’ve like them for awhile. I have this album on vinyl. This isn’t all 4 and 5 star songs, it’s got some 3s on here. And a couple fives: Planet Claire and, my favorite of their songs, of course, the legendary Rock Lobster. What a top notch song. If I went back, I might give some more songs 5? Even a three star song like Dance This Mess Around ends so weird and wonderful, I can’t really NOT like it. This is a solid four stars. Very weird, very rocking, very fun.

No one is like them.

Fun, weird, interesting

Though remarkable, I’ll always hold “Wild Planet” slightly more favourably.

Surf punk? Is that a thing? This album's answer is an emphatic "yes." "Rock Lobster" is such a fun, funny relic, and I'm glad the world over knows that tune. Aside from that, some great deeper cuts on here too. Just a fun ride all the way through, such an anomaly of an album and band, I'm not sure what else they did but I want to pretend it was just this, like a meteor striking earth. Not true though, but this is their debut! Talk about dialed in from the get-go. Also the B-52's is such a great name for a band, they really nailed that. Favorite tracks: Rock Lobster, Lava, 52 Girls, There's a Moon in the Sky. Album art: Drop dead classic, iconic cover. Bright, vibrant yellow, and I'm assuming this is a band photo but nothing like any other band photo, looks like a lounge-style ad from the early '60s. Perfect aesthetic choices made all around. 4/5

I love the B-52s for how weird and kitschy and unselfconscious they are. Bops up and down this album.

IRAQ LOBSTER?! Favourite Songs: Planet Claire, 52 Girls, Dance This Mess Around, Rock Lobster. Least Favourite Songs: There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon), Downtown.

You know, they're actually pretty good. I don't think I'd heard anything but "Rock Lobster" by them. This is all a good assortment of vibes, very silly, little crunchy, good stuff.

Excellent

The B-52s basically created a genre. It’s The B-52s. Such a unique sound! 3.7

Rock lobster is an all time fav.

Lana is too slow; I especially like Planet Claire, 52 Girls, Rock Lobster

Tremendous. Fun. Loud. Memorable

Fantastic album

solid, over rock lobster but the rest is good

Incredibly fun record. As kitschy and campy as you remember from the Love Shack video. But if you accept and get in on the joke the result is joy.

Wildly fun debut. Their voices make me wanna Dance This Mess Around. Despite their perhaps unconventional beauty compared to many musical icons, I've always loved Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. They are so outgoing, sultry voices, and their eyes suggest unpredictability at full throttle. I've mostly listened to their singles, so this was a real treat. Thanks 1001 & Geoff.

This rocks. The guitar is so good, the vocals are so good. Every song is so good. A novelty act that overcomes being a novelty act.

Really fun album

4.5

perfect boost for a plain day

Imma da rawk lobstah. Make music silly again.

Very surprised. Really fun listen.

buen descubrimiento osi

Had only heard a couple of songs from this album but really liked several of the new songs

This album is a lot of fun. It's just a total bop from start to finish, and my foot was in a constant state of tapping. I like the groovy beats. I like the attitude. It's refreshing. This album will be making an appearance at some summer barbecues this year for sure.

Been a staple for 3+ decades. Maybe not the most diverse set but still sounds good.

what an album. what a group! 1979 was such a great year for music.

A great album, original and fun

this is such a beachy album. i wanna go to the beach now. i wanna look like this album it is so fun.

4.5. I had no idea this was released in 79. Timeless.

So fun and whimsical. Very girl punk at points - surprising. 4.5 rounded down.

Cock Lobster is the best song.

Bara hört Rock Lobster tidigare men det här var inte kattskit. De använder sig kanske inte av så många ackord och mycket låter ganska lika. Men det är roligt och glatt.

Rock molto energico e contento. Perfetto per iniziare la giornata con un po' di energia in più. Mi piace l'alternanza dei cantanti e i modi in cui danno movimento ai loro testi nel cantare, testi altrettanto divertenti. Sonorità quasi di un surf rock magari, alle volte un po' più spooky e alien, che li rende più particolari ma di certo non pregiudicano l'orecchiabilità dell'album, anzi li rendono più ricchi di identità. Sempre molto contenti e energici.

Honestly, I give The B-52s so many kudos for this album. On their debut album, they managed to do something so conceptually unique. They took new wave music (which was itself still in its infancy) and turned it on its head by injecting it it with surf rock and other general kitschy "atomic age" motifs. And with some clever guitar-driven moments, but mostly through the art of really just not giving a fuck, they project an element of offbeat punk into their style and music as well (another big genre of the time). This album is honestly not just weird as hell, it's fun as hell! They defy all expectations and create something that is really just so unique to them. Probably a 3.5, but rounding up.

nice album, made me think of Mr Popiel from Weird Al

Great fun. Good beats, excellent voices. B-52s are often just through of as the rock lobster and love shack people but I think there's a lot more too them that those two.

Cool album

This album is quirky and weird but in a good way that really works with their sound. It's funny and fun listening but delivered with such earnest commitment that you can take the band seriously but not too seriously at the same time. Great energy and an enjoyable listen!

Funny

The best B- 52’s album there is

Classic groovy B-52s

I've always enjoyed the B-52s. They're fun, and very danceable. It always feels like the song comes part for them, and they just make up random lines for the songs. Sometimes it works ("Rock Lobster" ("6060-842") but sometimes the lyrics are real nonsensical and kinda take me out of it ("Dance This Mess Around," "Planet Claire"). The worst culprit for me is "There's a Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)". The lyrics just seem so dada. I hate when people say about a movie to "just shut off your brain when you watch it" but I think it really applies the B-52s. The song's music is really supposed to take over and you have to go with it. And for the most part, it's not a problem. Still... "Do the Hypocrite?" What kind of dance _IS_ that?

This album and this group. They are so eccentric. But so fun! Honestly, what they do here is up there with what the Talking Heads were doing at the time. It's off-kilter and it's one-of-a-kind, and yet it's ushering in a funky new wave era that sounds similar in some ways. I've got to give them credit. Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson's vocals on Rock Lobster are awesome - the warbly ooh's throughout and all the animal sounds near the end? So strange but so good. And the beats to that song are so catchy. This is where Ricky Wilson (guitar) and Keith Strickland (percussion) - who together composed most of the album - plus Pierson (organ & keyboards) are better than you think. For example, the opening 2.5 minute instrumental to Planet Claire is so good (including Pierson's vocals made to sound like synth). It's a completely 60's campy / beach party / superspy motif (as is Rock Lobster), but it works so well. And they do good work on other songs too - particularly, Ricky Wilson, his low-tuned guitar is awesome on 52 Girls, Lava (so good), and Hero Worship (again, so good). And then back to the vocals - throughout the album, the girls' separate vocals and vocals in harmony, along with Fred Schneider's distinct and quality speak singing just works. Honestly, if you like Karen O from the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's then you have to appreciate the loud even screamy vocals of Pierson and C Wilson on this album. These guys have to be some of the strangest cats ever to come out of the 70's (their lyrics are just out there) but there is something about this album. I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this a lot. Fave Tracks: Planet Claire, 52 Girls, Rock Lobster 4/5

Funny story, I am not a huge Panic at the Disco fan but there is one particular song I like a lot from them: Nicotine. The reason I like Nicotine is because it has an absolutely killer guitar riff. Well, after listening to this album it turns out I don't just like Nicotine, I actually like Rock Lobster, because Nicotine interpolates the guitar riff from Rock Lobster.

Iconic and original

Rock Lobster is a very interesting song and I am here for it. Overall a very enjoyable album and definitely a prime example of The B-52's music style. 4 stars for sure.

Good.

Roligt och unikt. Bra rytm och inte för skrikigt även om det var mycket skrikande.

4.4

I get it. I dig it. I don’t love it.

Rock Lobster earns this one a whole extra star. “You’re a rock bob bobster”

The guitar sound of the early B52s was simply out of this world. The guitar player, Ricky Wilson used some unheard of tunings and would often play with a couple different strings missing. Supposedly he said the guitar was too hard to play with 6 strings, but take that with a grain of salt. In any case this record is really good and you can see it's influence in new wave and post-punk for the next decade and beyond.

Oh ya.

Strange group. But I’m with it 8/10

This was fun. 7/10

Their energy is cosmic and addictive. T 8/10 K 7/10

Very fun tunes

Drulluskemmtilegt stöff.

This album was released in 1979. It does not sound like an 1970s album to me. In some ways it's timeless, but the production just seems really clean and it's really hard to pigeon hole into a specific decade. I'm going to give this 4 stars as it's a feel-good album that was deeper than I thought it was going to be and I think I will revisit. I even liked the weird cover of Downtown!

This is a thoroughly entertaining listen. Creative and unique for certain. Strong 4.

Surprisingly normal and good new wave. The girls particularly liked it making dinner.

Deliciously stupid and incredibly fun. Rock Lobster is a 5 and Planet Claire is close behind.

This is a really solid debut album. I only recently started to get the B-52's. Growing up I thought they were a joke band because of some of their big hits, then I realized they're a real band that just doesn't take themselves too seriously, which is great. It was cool to listen to a full album of their early music to get an understanding of where they came from. Personal favorite track was "Hero Worship" but I liked the majority of the songs on the album, no skippers that I heard. Standout Tracks: 52 Girls, Rock Lobster, Lava, Hero Worship, 6060-842

I liked this more than I thought I would! I’ve always been aware of the B52s… Love Shack, Rock Lobster, etc… but this is the first time I’ve listened to a whole album. I thought it would be too quirky for me …but I liked it!

New wave, post-punk. Está bien. Un 4.

didnt finish but rock lobsters are great

this feels like a classic debut album. starts so strong with four great songs in a row, then the back half drags. "Rock Lobster" on its own earns this album at least a 3. Their weirdness, the vocals, and the guitars push it up for me; the unevenness of the songs, and the samey-sameness of the back half drag it back down.

Yeah sure! A couple of songs get draggy or the vocals get to be too much. It's The B-52s idk what to tell ya

Dance This Mess around is an incredible track

One of my favorites. I keep coming back to them time after time since the '80's and these guys still seem fresh.

I've always enjoyed The B-52's. High energy and fun.

Doesn't even have Love Shack! Would be lying if I said I didn't vibe though.

Own

Love this and then. Artistically, are they on same level as Coltrane? Nah. But based on their impact on music and culture, I understand why they are included. Personally, too many fond memories of dancing and partying to their music not to love!!! ❤️

rock lobster!

I've always loved this album.

4/5

Quirky and fun, with a punk dance beat that has survived as totally enjoyable for generations.

Almost 4

The B-52s have such an interesting style. I don't particularly like their sound, but at the same time, having a camp approach to music is very interesting. This is especially true relative to all their peers, since I can't think of another band working in that punk/alternative area of rock that was doing what they were doing. It's not a band I'm generally all that interested in listening to, but I have to admit that they put together a good and wholly original album here 4/5

We tend to forget that a lot of so called new wave was really doing the punk manifesto of returning to a Pre 1965 ethic. A short list might include in no real order Nick Lowe. Dire straits. Springsteen, the stray cats the ramones. The cramps. And the b52s. All drew on inspiration from before revolver really. Sometimes it was the Spector wall of sound. Sometimes it was surf music. Sometimes it was pop or rock and roll. The b52s dressed like they came out of the late 1950s-1960s and their better early stuff gave the impression of cheap exploitation films. Rock lobster is at least to me a 1950s horror, that might have made it into the golden turkeys if it was a film. Gloria in Excelsis The b52s are tremendously fun. In fact too much fun to write too much about. Analysing this is like explaining a joke everyone gets. Doesn’t add to the enjoyment. Makes you look like a wanker. But I’d have loved to have seen them in a small club, say, the love shack in Atlanta. But they are an arena band now, if indeed they tour at all. My blessings to them. I missed out. Ah well. A great band with terrific musicianship. Turn this album up loud and pogo till you drop.

Right Band, wrong album. Yes we get "dance this mess around" and "rock lobster" for a taste of zany crazy fun. But maybe "Cosmic Thing" is the name of the album all the young kids need to hear. This album (B-52s by the B-52s) is a musicologists choice as it's their debut and they introduced a new and very distinct and original style. But I can't trash the album. Extra points for being so wacky and out there. Nice cover art.

Sometimes, working through this particular list of 1001 albums, I tire of the bias towards white-boy, rock critic approved material. As a result, the list skews towards straight, white males and their concerns. At extremes, this leans towards homophobia and misogyny. And often it is very self-serious, and not a lot of fun. And so, thank goodness for the B-52s. They bring a whole boatload of campy fun to their party rock. My first introduction to the B-52s was a child, seeing the video clip on Simon Townsend's Wonder World. They would often play the clip (or maybe not that often; I just remember it so vividly). I would have been about 10 years old, and it hooked right into my brain. Emma Madden, in her Pitchfork essay 'The Secret Gay History of Indie Rock' (https://pitchfork.com/features/article/the-secret-gay-history-of-indie-rock/) insightfully states: 'If there were ever a band that took suburbia—and, in turn, indie rock—and queered it, it was the B-52’s. With the influence of the Velvet Underground and Yoko Ono filtered through a kitschy sound, the group became the substratum of indie rock in the ’80s; their queerness deep-seated rather than explicated. “It was unspoken but it was out there,” says Cindy Wilson, the B-52’s’ sole heterosexual member. “We were saying it without saying it.”' And the queer culture is a key part of what makes this great: the dancing, the clothes, the weird jokes, the embrace of wild fun, the love of kitschy pop culture. Indie rock has a tendency towards being po-faced and overly serious, and the B-52s are here to blow all that pretention away. And in a very inclusive way; everyone is welcome at their party. Their own songs have their own logic. It is that wonderful blend of stupid and smart. Ricky Wilson himself thought that the riff to Rock Lobster was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. But it is so much fun, and underpins one of the best songs ever for getting party really wild. Their songs are seemingly random, simplistic and nonsensical, but as you listen through the album, they have a raw and consistent framework. They are a good example of what Simon Reynolds in 'Rip It and Start Again'; they are informed by music of the past, but they have created their own rule book. I think that's why the cover of Downtown sounds so out of place. It just doesn't fit the unique world of the B-52s. So, I love this record. It is tons of fun, and you can dance to it all the way through. It still sounds fresh all these years later.

Just a super creative and fun band. They aren’t all hits but when they hit it’s like a truck.

Sounds like the soundtrack to a B-grade sci-fi movie from the 60s. The B-52s built their own genre for music and haven't looked back. Somewhere in the proto-punk-new wave-alternative-post punk lanes you find the B-52s and this near perfect album. 4.5/5

Really fun album. A few of mene songs made me chuckle.

This is in the category of "Oh I meant to listen to this but I forgot". I've heard various B-52s songs at parties over the years, but only remembered the hits. This is the first album where I've not known the album, but immediately wanted to play it again after it finished. It's not a masterpiece that will end up in heavy rotation, but it's good.

ROCK LOBSTER

I love the song rock lobster

I'd always suspected that I liked the B-52s. Love Shack is a banger, and I won't take any arguments suggesting otherwise. Whenever any of their other tunes have popped up they tend to have ticked the right ear buds. What I wasn't expecting was for how this album sounded. It's obviously B-52s. That kitsch 50s/60s surfer rock thing with the unmistakable vocals ... but it's so stripped back and efficient in how it does it. And danceble. Some tracks are like ESG stripped back. Bass and driving rythym being the focus rather than wailing guitars. I thought I would like it. I loved it.

My first thought was "where's Love Shack?" since my only knowledge of B-52s (the apostrophe is irritating to my OCD) related to the aforementioned song and their appearance on (as it turns out fellow Athens, Georgia natives) R.E.M.'s Shiny Happy People. Nevertheless, what my ears experienced was a pretty cool album, some of the vocals were a little too screamy but on the whole it was good fun and quite groovy.

So trashy but so good.

I always forget how truly unhinged B-52s were (in the funnest of ways). What an absurd treat.

I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be a very funny and fun album.

Rock Lobster is really good and there's enough other strong material here. Fun riffs. Deranged sci-fi soundtrack feel on Planet Claire.

Actually had a lot of fun listening to this album, kind of punky I thought and I enjoyed the style they went will. Not something I would normally listen to I don’t think, may have caught me in the right mood.

Стилек

Fins i tot en un any com 1979, l'estrena discogràfica de B-52's era original i diferent. No el vaig viure en directe, però imagino que al seu moment devia ser cool of the coolest. Amb tants anys passats, continua sent un disc fresc, engrescador i un testimoni de luxe més dels millors anys de la música pop

so good!!! my dad used to play this around the house a lot when i was little but i’ve never actively revisited it as an adult. he rly loved quoting dance this mess around and commanding ppl to do all of the various moves. rock lobster was a childhood fave and still holds up to this day. BOYS IN BIKINIS! THERE GOES A NARWHAL! i put it on my very first mix cd. 52 girls is FIREEEEE. was also very surprised it came out in ‘79 it feels sooooo 80’s to me! ok that’s all i think

would give 3.75 but can't... like a high B. i had fun!

Great album with a few stand outs - my favourite being Dance This Mess Around. What an awesome song that is. Cindy Wilson’s voice gives the B-52’s such a distinct flavour, it’s chronically underrated in general. Great album.

A fun and groundbreaking album.

Amazingly I haven't ever listened to this album. "WELL SHE ISN'T!" from Planet Clair - lol.

Ten years after this, Love Shack was ubiquitously annoying, but at this point, the B-52s were goofy, spiky, surfy, punky fun.

a four. this was enjoyable enough, not what I expected going into it. rock lobster is kind of an earworm.

3.6

Great new wave and bonkers sounds from a fairly unique band. Very enjoyable all round.

It’s a unique jam phase for a band but I feel like the songwriting came later

I got this album right before I started college in the mid-80s and, wow, did I absolutely love it. It was so different from just about anything else I'd heard, and it still holds up superbly well. To my ear, the tracks are original, fun, a little spooky, quirky, kitsch-y (in a fun way, without tipping into mockery), and they compose and perform so skillfully. I had some of their later albums, too. On this album, I remember being captivated by both Ricky Wilson's guitar, which was interesting to my ear, and the vocals by all, especially Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. They deliver so well! Listening to this album all the way through once again was a true delight. Love them. I remember my first time hearing and seeing them. They were the musical guest on SNL in 1980. We weren't allowed to stay up late enough to watch it live, but we were allowed to record it, so we did each week...yep, on Betamax. I was about 13 years old and my older sister had heard them and liked them, so we watched the band's performances together. It was so different, so cool, especially to me who at that age was mostly listening to bands like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and their ilk. Started opening me up to different styles. Soooooo good!

I liked it

ROCK LOBSTA

Kanske bättre som singelband nen första är bästa.

'Planet Claire' & 'Rock Lobster' are classics

4/5. Quite weird but so silly and fun. Hard for me to say I would enjoy this all the time but I cannot find a fault on this one. And although Rock Lobster is joked about a lot, it really is such a good song. Plus the songs flow into each other so well. It does drop near the end of the album but almost perfect.

She came from Planet Claire I knew she came from there She drove a Plymouth Satellite A-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 Great album! 4/5

йоу алкоальбом: ну B-52

На улыбочке и стиле прокатились с кайфом. Ё НАМБЕР ХЭС БИН ДИСКОННЕКТЕД!

I love whacky spooky music like this

Just very very fun. Planet Claire is a great opener, Rock Lobster is of course amazing, and the whole album is just really enjoyable

Lovely kitschy punk-rock fun.

Just weird fun. I appreciate that they are themselves and make what they want. I get Rock Lobster stuck in my head often along with their other hits. Great fun vibe

Slightly bigger fan of Wild Planet, but this is a fun album with some classics. It's quite unique as well and holds up for a listen nowadays.

Better than I'd hoped.

In high school, my friend had a car that only played cassettes, so he went to the thrift store to pick up some old tapes. One of the ones he grabbed was this album. We drove around one day listening to it, cracking up at how completely ridiculous it was. But damn, if this album isn't fun as hell.