posted
Are they a joke band? Honestly, now. "Love Shack" is on the tip of every wacky dance compilation, true. (That or "Rock Lobster.") But aren't these put-ons? Their lead singer never really smiles, he just stretches his face.
There was a brief period in the early nineties where my friends and I, such as we were, thought "Love Shack" was more or less the pinnacle of pop music. Mind you, these were troubled musical times, when my cousin's favorite band was Green Jello, and we all thought "Smells Like Nirvana" was the only good thing produced by the whole grunge scene.*
Anyway, "Love Shack" was on all our mixtapes. Now, of course, my tastes are a bit different. My good friend, on the other hand, still purchases vintage Vanilla Ice albums with absolutely no sense of irony.
And now, Carson Daly and Fred Durst discuss September 11th. What have I done to deserve this? Terrorism brings Durst and the lead singer from Creed together, healing those horrible wounds?
Deep hurting.
*: Or, perhaps more realistically, meme, since Weird Al was hardly an ex-member of Mother Love Bone or anything.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I think Fred Durst is just happy that people have been so busy talking about 9-11 lately they've forgotten to call him a talentless yahoo in public.
The B-52's? God, there's a flashback. Good memories and bad music seem to go together, like oreo cookies. One contains the other.
I suspect they're a joke of some kind, but I've never investigated the matter. Saw a movie about a kid obsessed with the B-52s once. Don't recall the plot other than the fact that he got his first blow job in an abandoned car while listening to "Love Shack". I'm also dimly aware that the B-52's were listed as producers of that sordid affair, and since the movie was apparently a comedy (and forgettable to the Nth degree) it would follow that at the very least the band doesn't take themselves seriously.
Which is good sometimes. I am perhaps NIN's greatest fan, but Reznor is so eternally serious and brooding that it makes me want to puke. Lighten up, Trent! You're only a young, wealthy rock star who has his pick of gorgeous and willing women! It can't be THAT bad, can it?
[ February 07, 2002, 02:47: Message edited by: thoughtcriminal84 ]
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
I can't name songs for you, but the B-52's were around long before Love shack, and did some decent stuff. I remember them being on the playlist a long time ago, when our main goal was beer. My cousin was a big fan of theirs, but that was a good 20 years ago, along with the "Boomtown Rats".
-------------------- Sparky:: Think! Question Authority, Authoritatively. “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” EMSparks
Shalamar: To save face, keep lower half shut.
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
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posted
New wave. Y'had t'be there t'get it.
"Planet Claire" forever.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
Registered: Jun 2000
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So what if they're a joke band? Maybe there is a slight sense of irony underlying everything, and again so what? Does anyone think the Cramps were (are?) totally serious? As far as I'm aware, They Might Be Giants are a joke band. . .
-------------------- "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride"
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
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TMBG are light-hearted, but I believe that they have truly more musical talent than most bands I've ever heard. Same for the B-52s. Does less serious/more talented = a joke. I think the joke is shitty-intense-weepy bands that don't know how to play their instruments but sell albums anyway.
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Registered: Sep 2001
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There's a gap in my musical continuum between The B-52's and TMBG. Or, perhaps an even closer match, between the B-52's and someone like The dB's. But I'm not quite sure I can put it into words. Anyway, my original post is based primarily on their live performances. Some seriously weird vibes being given off in those.
And how did the redhead get on that REM record, anyway? I didn't think that worked out at all.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Call me weird, but the B-52's aren't really that bad. I've got copies of their stuff up to their last studio album, not including their Greatest Hits and current "anthology". Anyway, they've been around since at least 1979. Rock Lobster was their only big hit for much of the 1980s until their Cosmic Thing album and Love Shack. For the first half of the '80s the'r music wasn't that great until about 1985 when their album Boucing off the Satellites cane out. There were no big songs from that album but they had improved greatly in my mind. Since that album, their material has been quite good. Love Shack may sound freaky, but Roam and Deadbeat Club from the same album are quite good.
And Kate Pierson, the red-head, did quite a few songs on REM's album Out of Time. Stand was not one of them. The song from that album you're thinking of is Shiny Happy People. She worked with them because she is Georgian as is REM.
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Registered: Feb 2000
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A good chunk of my favorite bands are from Athens, Georgia. That doesn't include REM.
Not that I dislike REM, they're just not at the top, Simon-liking-wise.
I've been contemplating The B-52's all day, especially during my film studies test. No realizations have struck yet. But I'll keep you posted.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Their work on the live-action Flintstones film was masterful.
Feel free to add sarcasm to that comment to taste.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
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