18. Cosmic Thing by The B-52s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axyFMQUFASA&list=OLAK5uy_lCiIAxZkSeKCFtWxrukxbkgDk87CEUKss
Wanna party like it's 1989? Then you're gonna need this album, not only because the songs put you in a party mood, but also because the album cover looks like a party decoration.
The instrumental "Follow Your Bliss" is the only song you really couldn't dance to, unless you're keen to slow dance, in which case it might suffice. It's the last song on the album, so I look at it as the music that you play at the end of the party when everyone is exhausted and there's nothing left to do but clean up and go to sleep.
Obviously, the biggest hit off this album was "Love Shack," which was written in homage to the little cabin in Georgia in which the group wrote "Rock Lobster," which happened to be the biggest hit from their 1979 debut album, which also happened to be the song that got John Lennon wanting to write music again, which happened to lead to his final album, Double Fantasy. (Nice factoid. THANKS!)
Having already been a fan of The B-52s and owning their first two albums, it wasn't a hard sell to get me to buy this album when it came out during the summer of '89, even though money was tight during that summer. See, that was the summer that Julie spent getting pregnanter and pregnanter, and with no air conditioning in the Standrod House, she holed up for a number of weeks at her parent's house just trying to stay cool and keep food down. I was taking summer courses at ISU with Hondo and trying to work enough side jobs to pay the bills. Then Erik was born in September, and money got even tighter. The only way we survived was that we were living rent free in the Standrod House. Otherwise, I would have had to drop out of school and work full time just to keep the kid in diapers. Fortunately, we were able to scrape by, so I was able to stay in school long enough to graduate and get my first teaching gig at Irving Jr. High. And this album was one that I listened to a lot whenever I was working in my classroom. We even had the 7th grade kids dance in the hall to "Love Shack" once in a while. Also, during this time Julie went back to school and started her job as a nurse, which left me to do a lot of baby tending, which meant lots of trips to the zoo and walks with the stroller around downtown Pocatello. So this album is part of the soundtrack to those early years of marriage and family building in Pocatello--years that were really hard at the time, especially financially. But now I look back on them with much more fondness than they probably deserve. But then again, how can you not have positive memories when the ultimate '80s (and '90s) party album is playing?!
Nardo
#18: The B-52’s—Cosmic Thing. This album leaves me shaken, but not stirred. (But with a definite desire to shimmy.)
ReplyDelete“Love Shack” is, of course, the standout song here. When I first started listening to this album, my youngest excitedly exclaimed, “Hey, I know this song!” (Apparently his kindergarten teacher played it for some activity.) It’s a great song. We both had those huge cars reminiscent of the Chrysler that’s as big as a whale. Mine was a Dodge Coronet I called “The Hulk,” and I used it not to transport honeys to a Love Shack, but instead loaded it with co-eds from the dorms to Tuesday dollar nights at the movies in downtown Provo. This is such a classic, well-loved song, that I get angry when radio stations don’t play the whole song. Too often they play the shortened version that omits a few of Fred’s “knock a little louder” and “I can’t hear yous.” A song this great deserves to be played in full!
Aside from radio hits “Roam” and “Deadbeat Club,” I wasn’t too familiar with most of the other songs on this album. I had heard “Channel Z” a few times, but I think that’s about it. Of course, when “Roam” first hit the airwaves a mix of bad hearing and poor stereo equipment led me to think the lyrics were, “Roll, misty waters” instead of “Roam if you want to.” (I really should get my ears checked.)
You’re right, of course, this album is chock full of party tunes. I would submit, though, that “Follow Your Bliss” is one of my favorite songs. It’s got a cool, relaxing, dare I say blissful feel to it. It makes me happy to listen to that slow, meandering lead bass line. (Not every song has to make the shack shimmy.)
And, I appreciate your memories of this album. That time in Pocatello was full of fun. You were in the Standrod House, living the life of a young family man, and I was in my basement apartment on Bonneville trying (and mostly failing) to live the life of a wild college student. (Maybe I should have listened to more “Cosmic Thing” and less “Mingo, the Man With the Bullwhip.”) Still, good times. Good times.