#the B-52's

[cosmonautroger]

Fred Schneider, The B-52's

[tranquilitybasehotelcasino]

something something

[sowhatifiliveinfukuoka]

The B-52's (1978)

© George DuBose

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

The B-52's - Roseland, New York City, April 19, 1982

I was in NYC for a couple of days earlier this month and though time was limited, I did of course find a minute to visit a local record store — Academy Records on W. 18th St. Digging through the $5 bin, I found a nice copy of the B-52's' David Byrne-produced Mesopotamia mini-album, which I've always loved, but have never had on vinyl before. A no-brainer! As I checked out, I noticed that Mesopotamia had been recorded at Bob Blank's Blank Tape Studio, and some quick Google mapping revealed that I was just moments away from where that studio used to be on 37 W. 20th St. A legendary spot, as a footnote in Jesse Rifkin's great This Must Be The Place details:

"[T]he studio's discography includes Television's seminal punk single "Little Johnny Jewel"; disco hits by Musique, Class Action, Crown Heights Affair, and Inner Life; groundbreaking remixes by deejays like Larry Levan, Francois Kervorkian, and Tee Scott; and no-wave/mutant disco albums by the likes of James Chance, Lydia Lunch, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, and DNA. It was the favored studio of genre-bending auteur Arthur Russell, and classic albums by Talking Heads (Speaking In Tongues), the Gun Club (Miami), Joe Bataan (Mestizo), Ashford & Simpson (Solid), the B-52's (Mesopotamia), Miami Sound Machine (Eyes of Innocence) and Sun Ra (Lanquidity) were all tracked there."

All that and Madonna's first single, too! New York City is like this, of course — a neverending web of connections, a labyrinth of layers upon layers upon layers. You could spend your life walking down its streets, discovering the strange stories behind every building's facade. I could never hack it there full-time, but god bless the people who can!

Anyway — the B-52's! What a wonderful band. Here they are at Roseland (239 W. 52nd St.) right around the time that Mesopotamia came out. A killer SBD tape, featuring an expanded lineup: Dave Buck and Ralph Carney on horns. We get a bunch of the new mini-album, plus plenty of stuff from their already stuffed back catalogue. As with any B-52's tape, I'm sure it's not as good as being there in person, but it's still one heck of a party. Nip it in the bud!

(Oh and hey — this old Pitchfork column of mine has more live jams if you need to further celebrate the miracle of the B-52's.)

[adreciclarte4]

The B-52's

[possible-streetwear]

The B-52’s

[lisamarie-vee]

[music-polls]

Let them fight...

[kidpix-album-covers]

The B-52's - Whammy! (1983)

(requested by an anon)

[undergroundrockpress]

Kate Pierson (The B-52's) in 1980. Photo : B.C.Kagan.

[melodiousmonk]

River Phoenix, Kate Pierson, k.d. lang, Chrissie Hynde, Lene Lovich, Liza Minnelli, Fred Schneider at a PETA 'Tame Yourself' Party at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York, February 1991

[cosmonautroger]

Cindy Wilson, The B-52's, 1979

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

The B-52s |1978|

[sowhatifiliveinfukuoka]

The B-52's

Give Me Back My Man (1980)

[sowhatifiliveinasmalltowninjapan]

The B-52's

Wild Planet (1980)

[affiches-concerts]

The B-52's, 1989.