It was a great comeback, love the first two albums, Ricky's guitar playing couldn't be reproduced but it's an album that you could make a single out of any song on it.
You said it. I checked out the lyrics to this brilliant song. They reflect the state of the world today 2024 frightening. We should have listened to them.
dave lesney complete distinct from each other and everyone else. and they understand how to make harmony sound right. they don't sing with each other, they sing against, leaning their voices against each other like two 2×4s making an A frame.
The harmonies between them are amazing. No other group sounds like them. They are truly unique and that is really something when you consider how alike everything coming out now is.
They were ahead of their time. Watching the news--any commercial network--mania is all that seems to be promoted rather than discussion. B-52s' "Songs for a Future Generation" could have been about online dating if it had come out later...
My favorite song from the Cosmic Thing album. It really showcases just how awesome Kate and Cindy's voices are and how perfect they harmonize together.
Agreed! Have you seen that old black and white LIVE from The Capitol Theater? Frakkin' Aural Bliss BABY! Hadta SHARE THIS! ua-cam.com/video/bVXfkG7q_0s/v-deo.html
This whole song is prophetc. " Smoke stacks, plutocrats, disinformation, market crash, space junk, bullshit. " " I want the world to change for me. " It is scary the predicament we were facing when this came out in 1989.
It's not Ricky's guitar work. His playing, early on at least, tended to be far more minimalist yet flavorful and with its own voice. I can't even think of a single guitar solo he did except for the last track off Mesopotamia, "Nip It in the Bud." But I've not listened to the 1982 - 1986 releases much. I do know that some guitar work got more complicated as time got on, but I'm not sure which songs from Bouncing Off The Satellites are actually him on guitar.
Every song in Good Stuff is a hit too. Hate to say it, but B52s are underrated. Not many bands can put out albums where every song is a top quality hit.
2022 and still loving this album. It came out when I was 12 and my best friends and I saw them on SNL and we were hooked!! Me as Fred and my two good female friends were the girls and we would sing these songs as loudly as possible. We sounded good!! Thanks for sharing!!
Wow The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have cumulatively sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide.
@@thefacelessmen2101 i also love Nile Rodgers and Don Was as well and this was the album that made me even aware of them to be honest. as for this video shit i'm gonna be 42 this year and i don't think i've seen this video since i was in my fucking teens to be honest. it's been that long and i forgot there even was a video for this cause the only ones they ever show on tv are Roam and Love Shack
The B52's were already legendary when this album came out. Afterwards, they were gods. This is their greatest album, in my humblest opinion. I played that CD until it stopped working. One day, it just stopped in the middle of "June Bug" and the screen said "you've played your limit."
To me, without question, this is the best ever B-52's song. It's not even close -- and this is not being dismissive of their other work...it's just that this song is THAT good.
The B-52s are one of only a handful of bands (They Might Be Giants also come to mind) where my favorite song of theirs is "the one I listened to last."
wygakyl she's modulating back and forth from minor and major while everything else is staying minor. and working in some chromatic descending scales. if it was a trumpet doing it it would be jazz.
I still remember when I heard Martha Quinn say "and now a world premiere from the B-52's..".I instantly loved this song and when Cosmic Thing came out I bought the cassette... I must have listened to it for over a year straight"...i still do from time to time but Channel Z still sparks the excitement of the band!
Cosmic thing is such a treasure from my tween years being a quiet and shy tween the b52s was the band that made me feel that being different and being yourself is just alright thank you b52s for being a band that has inspired me to embrace your differences and live life to the fullest
I love this song.just listened to it for the first time in a couple of years. Like all my favourite B-52's songs it builds up, full of energy, beautiful harmonies, and the lyrics. Wake up people the world is reaching the point of fkd with no chance of going back. As I listened I was thinking this should be extinction rebellions anthem. So yeah still brilliant and 30 years later absolutely relevant.
Killer guitar riff and bass groove, (still) relevant lyrics and one of the greatest vocal arrangements ever in pop music...IMHO, the best song they ever recorded.
Bought the Album when it was new and in 1989 the Group was touring Europe and then in September 1989 they played Hamburg !! One of the best Concerts I have been to !!
Yes I had to read the lyrics. " Getting to much static in my attic from channel z" This means thier minds are full of disinformation from media. This problem has metastasised 35 years later. The physical planet is being corrupted by the corrupt. Same people are corrupting our minds with bullsh*t. They want something to change the state of the world. This was in 1989. The only dilemma is what to do?
Every time i listen to the B52s i got massiv goosbumps. Shivers up and down my spine. The harmonys in there voices, the music. It just make me feel soooo good 🥰
Went to see them 4 times in the 80s. Just a fabulous band. Yes underrated singers and guitarist, but we know they were fantastic to dance to! I'm a B girl forever!!!
Love Shack will always be remembered as the B52's song, but Channel Z is really them at their best. If you're not moving along with it you're not listening to it.
i will be 59 next month ... this band filled a hole for me after my brother was killed in the gulf war ... this was one of the cd's that came back in his stuff ... i listened to it every day for almost a year ... loved it then and i love it now . i listen to it every time i have the chance ....
LOVE THIS TUNE WHEN I SAW THEM IN CONCERT THIS WAS THE LAST SONG THEY PLAYED THANK GOD... I WAS YELLING IT ALL NIGHT..I GUESS THEY GOT TIRED OF HEARING IT...LOL B-52s FOREVER..LOVE EM ALL#!💛💜💛💜💯💯🐉
PUFF the magic Dragon I saw them during this tour and they brought the house down with this. One of the most fun concerts ever! loved them since I was a kid.
I've loved the B-52s since I first heard them, around 1981 I think. "Rock Lobster" was one of my favs in high school (OK, "Relax" by FGTHW was too.... but I grew up). This was an awesome resurgence album, and this was the best track among many good ones. I have so many favorite B-52 tracks, I can't name this #1, but it's close.
Let us not forget how instrumental Keith Strickland was to this song. My friend played this album for me on cassette and I was like "eh," until I landed on the B-Side and this song. Topaz too. Cosmic Thing is a most fantastic album. Probably one of the greatest.
got to meet them all before poor Ricky passed. spent time at the hotel they were staying at and they are incredibly funny and so down to earth. I have been a fan since the late 1970's. they are the reason my sister and I had a band. they influenced John Lennon. they are amazing.
I really don't think they influenced John Lennon since he was in the Beatles in the 1960s. Who the hell you trying to snow? Do you even know what they are singing about? Channel Z?! John Lennon died in 12/1980 the B52s didn't even come together as a band until the late 1977s they were done 1979. John Lennon may have seen them, but his singing shoes were hung up and he was being a jerk with Yoko by then. I don't even like the Beatles, I just don't like people trying to pull the wool over other peoples eyes.
That's an honor onto itself. The Rock n Roll Hall of "Fame" is an embarrassment of poor decisions. I would take it as an insult to be selected at this point. You know how else is not in the RnRHoF? The Pixies, INXS, Dick Dale, New York Dolls, Devo..... FUCKING DEVO! (If you don't know, Devo was not a 'one hit wonder', their catalog is _very_ rich and far better than most of the bands in the HoF) And even few times they pulled their head out of their 1970s ass to induct someone that wasn't classic rock, most of those have only happened in the last four years or so (Kraftwerk, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, MC5.... *FUCKING MC5 WAS NOT INDUCTED UNTIL 2024!!* absolute madness). Basically really is just the Rock n Roll Hall of Popularity. Quality of music is not the measuring stick, it is the quantity of radio airplay.
Because the goverment-subsidized news/entertainment complex’s #1 priority is ratings and elections, not ‘truth.’ Think about it like this: we shouldn’t trust the government, right? I agree. Well... the mainstream media IS the government, so why are you trusting the news/entertainment complex? It’s propaganda. I’m here because I like this song. I like this song because it’s a simplistic celebration of the problems & concerns of modern life. It’s entertaining. Do I “believe” in the cult of climate change? Of course not. Do we have pollution & space junk issues? Of course we do. Should we clean up after ourselves? Absolutely. Can any amount of my money make someone else clean up after themselves if they don’t want to? Nope. So there we are. Might as well dance :)
Because it IS. The Ailes empire has got us in a bubble, man. What they do today makes "Wag The Dog" look like a cartoon. The 80s scandals were KINDERGARTEN compared to the shit that's goin' down right now.
My very first B-52’s song. Combo Bowling alley, arcade and pool hall. My buddy put this on the juke box and we waited for this to come on. I’m standing there like..WTF??? Next thing I know I was ensconced. Kate and Fred had such different voices. Perfect!!
In my opinion, the wonderful music here COMPLAMENTS the message. I think the B-52's were making a statement about how people were losing a grip on reality with broadcast cable TV, which at the time of this song was budding with all types of new channels. They wanted folks listening to the song to get more in touch with reality, the real world. We didn't. We let Channel Z morph to websites and then to cell phones and now we have "smart" phone zombies. Some still remember these inspirations and are very much aware of what the B52's were talking about. Gonna put up my antenna....free, free, free. :)
I entirely agree! Surge or onslaught of television channels are raking too much attention and gradually controlling our lives once we get hooked! We better get out of it to experience real world real life our real selves, instead of anchoring our daily lives already from what television is feeding us with!
From the faaaantastic album Cosmic Thing! Every song in this album is truly beautiful...embedded or "openly hidden" from their lyrics are issues needed to be addressed....so timeless are the songs they'rec messengered and twitted onto our societies today
1989, i was in my car when this song came on my radio. They immediately went to the next song so i thought i missed information about the name of the band. i pulled over into a grocery store and found a pay phone. That station didnt normally play that kind of music, but john pete, the DJay was a rebel and a friend of mine, he often changed the play list. Yea John! i instantly loved this one!! i still do!
A mate asked me if I wanted to go and see the B52's in the late 80's and reluctantly I said OK !!! Best thing if ever done one of the most memorable night's of my life and still listening to them !!
Their unique style adds to the greatness of this band. The B 52's are one of the greats. Their music is loved by fans and and other musicians alike. Thank you for such great music.
this is possibly the best song ever recorded . the multi-frame aspect really helps with ptsd . i love this song and i have loved the entire cd since it came to me so many years ago .... love you , ricky , my brother ....
I remember when this came out when I was a teenager. It did not do so well in the charts as it did not even make Billboard's "Hot 100" and it was the first single off of "Cosmic Thing." Then they put out "Love Shack" and it peaked at #3 and turned the album around. It did not hurt they also had "Roam" on this album which also peaked at the Hot 100 at #3. It turned out to be the two biggest hits the band ever had. This was still a great song for them at the time. Deadbeat club also made the Hot 100 - at #30 off this album. They only charted in the top 100 one more time after this album, with the Title track "Good Stuff" peaking at #28 two years later. Note: Pointed out to me "Meet the Flintstones" also charted in the Top 100 under the name "The BC-52s."
I was working at Sam Goody's as a teenager and I thought Channel Z was a hidden gem, not the album's 1st release. You're correct though, the store didn't get interested in them til' Love Shack.
I hate to mention this...but "Meet the Flintstones" also made the Top 40 -- for one week. (Technically, it was the "BC-52s" so you are still right in a sense.)
@@johnculhane2278 Great catch, I did not know they changed their name temporarily for that song due to the title and the topic! I will add it to the above, thanks!
Great band, heard this on the radio a few days ago. It's still playing in my head. Forgot how good this music was takes me back to my sister jamming out to B 52's . These guys and early REM what a great scene. Love ya sis!!
First heard this song in 1990 as a culturally impoverished Irish waif. Didn't realise Love Shack, Z and Roam were the same band...... I know duh but I'd only heard snippets in passing as I was but a babe. Imagine my delight when a friend bought me Cosmic Thing. Brilliant band and my first loves X
A somewhat complicated song to duplicate well outside the studio and requires pinpiont timing and key. A tune on par with the excellence of Loveshack and Roam. The quirky scat styled singing of Fred Shnieder would crash & burn with any other band, but fits like a glove with Cindy & Kate. An underated but esential piece-Fred.
Your sensing the B52's excellent syncopation, timing and really, simply their communal talent, to be correctly revealed in Planet Z. Another fine example of their intra galactic excursions? Listen up, all readers!..."StrobeLight" from the seminal Wild Planet lp. The whacked-out quintet's certainly under-recognized efforts!
RJ Smith UNDERNETH THE STROBE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! I remember, in fact I still have that album, ON VYNIL no less, along with Whammy and Cosmic Thing.
WOW! Hadn't heard or even thought of this song in YEARS, a forgotten gem! Just found it and I instantly remembered it as soon as it started playing. Amazing how long forgotten songs can still have an effect on you once you rediscover them.
I know the B52s is famous, but yet, they're soooo UNDERRATED! They were brilliant as a band, as song writers and as entertainers. Channel Z can lift one's soul and send you to space with a smile stuck on your face, even though the lyrics worry me, lol!!
B52's sound and style is very difficult to imitate, which partly explains why they have stood the test of time. Incredible recording and touring output since they first got together in the late 1970's, and their hits never sound outdated.
These are my favs: Love shack Channel Z Dry county Follow your bliss Roam Topaz Bad influence Breezing Good stuff Revolution earth Vision of a kiss The world's green laughter
This was actually the first single from "Cosmic Thing" - didn't burn up any pop charts (that would happen momentarily with a different tune), but it did reestablish these guys. I distinctly recall the reactions from me and my friends - basically it was "Wow, these guys kick major ass - GREAT dance tune!" I mean, they were supposed to have broken up after the death of Cindy's brother a few years earlier. This record shouldn't exist. But hell, why not create the best New Wave album in the decade? After all, they had helped to invent the style. "Cosmic Thing" was a culmination, not a comeback.
We take everything too seriously in 2019, music especially. The B-52s were fun and helped us to have fun along with them. Not everything has to have deeper meaning or conform to the standards imposed by companies and trendsetters.
Kate and Cindy have some of the best harmonies in pop music. One of my fave albums full stop.
And the dancing! Love it.
Cosmic Thing was simply put, one of the greatest albums released in music history. It doesn't get the respect it deserves. A masterpiece.
It was a great comeback, love the first two albums, Ricky's guitar playing couldn't be reproduced but it's an album that you could make a single out of any song on it.
Yes. Remember hearing it for the first time playing in a record store. 1989.
Yep totally agree used to listen to to this album almost every day while in then West Germany while in the Army 1988-1991. Oh what great memories.
Alot creatives love that too they changed a bit the world ♥╣[-_-]╠♥ huggs from Germany around the world …ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
AGREED!
Most unlikely-looking prophets. This song is eternal.
You said it. I checked out the lyrics to this brilliant song. They reflect the state of the world today 2024 frightening. We should have listened to them.
the two girl just smoked this one ! Their voices just are magic together !
dave lesney complete distinct from each other and everyone else. and they understand how to make harmony sound right. they don't sing with each other, they sing against, leaning their voices against each other like two 2×4s making an A frame.
The harmonies between them are amazing. No other group sounds like them. They are truly unique and that is really something when you consider how alike everything coming out now is.
@@jstearns66 thats why I despise it when anyone sings their songs. The ladies in cover bands can never nail it.
They were ahead of their time. Watching the news--any commercial network--mania is all that seems to be promoted rather than discussion. B-52s' "Songs for a Future Generation" could have been about online dating if it had come out later...
@@josephscott6388 I have no idea what you said but it sounds great.
This album is so fresh. The sound of actual guitar, bass and drums makes it timeless.
My favorite song from the Cosmic Thing album. It really showcases just how awesome Kate and Cindy's voices are and how perfect they harmonize together.
Absolutely!
These guys could sing the phone book and still make it sound cool. Talk about extroverted charisma.
Damn, songs like this makes you realize just how damn good they are.
It's amazing that humans could do something like this.
KEEP CALM and PLAY SOCCER IN YOUR PAJAMAS IKR love them!!
The B-52s are unfortunately very underrated....shameful!
Michael Northrup Oh I know that's waz up..Mike right on ...✌💜😂🐉
Agreed! Have you seen that old black and white LIVE from The Capitol Theater?
Frakkin' Aural Bliss BABY! Hadta SHARE THIS! ua-cam.com/video/bVXfkG7q_0s/v-deo.html
"Good 'ol boys... tellin' lies... 'bout time... I got wise..."
Waaaay too prophetic, that line.
This whole song is prophetc.
" Smoke stacks, plutocrats, disinformation, market crash, space junk, bullshit. "
" I want the world to change for me. "
It is scary the predicament we were facing when this came out in 1989.
Kate and Cindy's vocal harmony is always on point! And I always loved Ricky's guitar work , a 52:s fan from the eighties!
This was 1989. Ricky was gone in 1985.
Keith's*
I love the girl's vocals too. Possibly the best example of the whole Cosmic Thing Album 😊❤
i bet i've listened to their first album a thousand times since 1979
It's not Ricky's guitar work. His playing, early on at least, tended to be far more minimalist yet flavorful and with its own voice. I can't even think of a single guitar solo he did except for the last track off Mesopotamia, "Nip It in the Bud." But I've not listened to the 1982 - 1986 releases much.
I do know that some guitar work got more complicated as time got on, but I'm not sure which songs from Bouncing Off The Satellites are actually him on guitar.
This whole album "Cosmic Thing" was great! Every song is fantastic.
"Follow your Bliss", Superb album.
Cosmic thing a masterpiece!!
Agreed.
Agree!
Every song in Good Stuff is a hit too. Hate to say it, but B52s are underrated. Not many bands can put out albums where every song is a top quality hit.
2022 and still loving this album. It came out when I was 12 and my best friends and I saw them on SNL and we were hooked!! Me as Fred and my two good female friends were the girls and we would sing these songs as loudly as possible. We sounded good!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Yep I wore this album OUT when I was that age 🤘😸
You "Guyz" MUST BE OLDE!
You mean they Hadn't INVENTED CDs Yet?
Curious...
😂
P.S. LUV the Álbum too! ❤
Another fine example of why the mid 80s to mid 90s was the greatest ever era for music.
Or Their music.
There’s a reason this album went 4 times platinum.
This whole album is greatness. God bless the B-52's and Nile Rodgers.
YES!!!! You had me with the inclusion of Nile Rodgers :)
Don't forget Don Was, he and Nile Rodgers produced Cosmic Thing.
Wow
The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have cumulatively sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide.
@@thefacelessmen2101 i also love Nile Rodgers and Don Was as well and this was the album that made me even aware of them to be honest. as for this video shit i'm gonna be 42 this year and i don't think i've seen this video since i was in my fucking teens to be honest.
it's been that long and i forgot there even was a video for this cause the only ones they ever show on tv are Roam and Love Shack
Dont forget Kate with Iggy singing Candy.
The B52's were already legendary when this album came out. Afterwards, they were gods. This is their greatest album, in my humblest opinion. I played that CD until it stopped working. One day, it just stopped in the middle of "June Bug" and the screen said "you've played your limit."
To me, without question, this is the best ever B-52's song. It's not even close -- and this is not being dismissive of their other work...it's just that this song is THAT good.
My favourite by a looooooong way
The B-52s are one of only a handful of bands (They Might Be Giants also come to mind) where my favorite song of theirs is "the one I listened to last."
SO GOOD
awesome jam&video
I love Kate Pierson's exotic vocal line throughout this song.....what she's singing here, it ain't easy.
wygakyl she's modulating back and forth from minor and major while everything else is staying minor. and working in some chromatic descending scales. if it was a trumpet doing it it would be jazz.
These guys and gals are proffesional all the way!
wygakyl Kate Pierson and Michael Stipe (REM) “Happy Shiny People” is a must listen 🎶🎶🎶👍
I still remember when I heard Martha Quinn say "and now a world premiere from the B-52's..".I instantly loved this song and when Cosmic Thing came out I bought the cassette... I must have listened to it for over a year straight"...i still do from time to time but Channel Z still sparks the excitement of the band!
CINDY had of some of the Greatest lyrics & Vocal interpretations on this album.
I ADORE Cindy. I always will!
one of the most underrated bands of all time
My band did a spot on cover of this in the late 80's and I could cry thinking about how much fun that was.
Song released Sept '89
Quick version of it
I've been a hard-core fan of the B-52's since the late 70's. xoxoxoxo to all of them
I discovered them in the late 80's during my first year of high school. I've loved them ever since!
Lost InPa me too!
Add me.
the harmonies in this song are incredible, I mean beach boys-beatles crazy good, phenomenal, i love this band so much
Cosmic thing is such a treasure from my tween years being a quiet and shy tween the b52s was the band that made me feel that being different and being yourself is just alright thank you b52s for being a band that has inspired me to embrace your differences and live life to the fullest
I love this song.just listened to it for the first time in a couple of years. Like all my favourite B-52's songs it builds up, full of energy, beautiful harmonies, and the lyrics. Wake up people the world is reaching the point of fkd with no chance of going back. As I listened I was thinking this should be extinction rebellions anthem. So yeah still brilliant and 30 years later absolutely relevant.
Wish I could hit like more than once!
Killer guitar riff and bass groove, (still) relevant lyrics and one of the greatest vocal arrangements ever in pop music...IMHO, the best song they ever recorded.
I haven't heard this song in a long time. Always makes me happy. Love the harmonies.
Cosmic Thing is an iconic and underrated album. I was obsessed with it as a child. It's in my top 30 greatest albums ever.
Still a banger in 2023!
And 2024
2034
Bought the Album when it was new and in 1989 the Group was touring Europe and then in September 1989 they played Hamburg !! One of the best Concerts I have been to !!
It's always good to hear pop bands play all the instruments. That's why I love this band
This song is SOOOO underrated!!! They literally predicted this era.
Yes I had to read the lyrics. " Getting to much static in my attic from channel z" This means thier minds are full of disinformation from media. This problem has metastasised 35 years later. The physical planet is being corrupted by the corrupt. Same people are corrupting our minds with bullsh*t. They want something to change the state of the world. This was in 1989. The only dilemma is what to do?
Every time i listen to the B52s i got massiv goosbumps. Shivers up and down my spine. The harmonys in there voices, the music. It just make me feel soooo good 🥰
Went to see them 4 times in the 80s. Just a fabulous band. Yes underrated singers and guitarist, but we know they were fantastic to dance to! I'm a B girl forever!!!
Love Shack will always be remembered as the B52's song, but Channel Z is really them at their best. If you're not moving along with it you're not listening to it.
This is my favorite song of the B-52's, & their other stuff is really great, but this song...
Yes, this is easily them at their best. Certainly my favourite.
This is just a ploy to get the ever ignorant public to tune in for the follow up on a more familiar theme. 80s marketing still employed today
Their masterpiece.
Fred , Cindy and Kate pure geniuses. Bounce off each other so well
You forget Keith, basically he started all of this, and Ricky.
Glorious vocal harmony, and killer jams. Superstars then, now, and always!
Didn't realize how badass they were until I saw them perform this live.
I'm almost 60 years old and I feel like this band should be younger than me. Their music is still so fresh today.
i will be 59 next month ... this band filled a hole for me after my brother was killed in the gulf war ... this was one of the cd's that came back in his stuff ... i listened to it every day for almost a year ... loved it then and i love it now . i listen to it every time i have the chance ....
This song is why I spent all my weekly lawn mowing money to buy the Cosmic Thing cd. It was worth it!
2020 and still listening to the B-52s.
I can't listen to the shit music out now, it sucks.
as you should be.....
Yes and yes and still feeling like I'm on Channel Z.................................
Good song back in the 80's and still good in 2020
I so miss the 80's
@@sandrajovic9304 Still valid after all these years, more so even. I wish the "something good" part would happen!
LOVE THIS TUNE WHEN I SAW THEM IN CONCERT THIS WAS THE LAST SONG THEY PLAYED THANK GOD... I WAS YELLING IT ALL NIGHT..I GUESS THEY GOT TIRED OF HEARING IT...LOL B-52s FOREVER..LOVE EM ALL#!💛💜💛💜💯💯🐉
PUFF the magic Dragon I saw them during this tour and they brought the house down with this. One of the most fun concerts ever! loved them since I was a kid.
Wonderful song from the past! One of the best from The B 52's!
4:28 wait for it! THERE! Feel it every time! 💃🏄♀️
This song, more important than ever
Still love this one as much as I did when I first heard it 30 years ago. Their best recording. Definitely on my soundtrack for 1989.
This song brings me back to the early 90's and I'm ten going through the south on a family vacation. My Dad playing this and REM non stop. What music!
backing choirs ... damn it, goosebump each and every time ! the B52's fly on musical spaces where no one has ever wandered !
I've loved the B-52s since I first heard them, around 1981 I think. "Rock Lobster" was one of my favs in high school (OK, "Relax" by FGTHW was too.... but I grew up). This was an awesome resurgence album, and this was the best track among many good ones. I have so many favorite B-52 tracks, I can't name this #1, but it's close.
My dad is their number 1 fan. I remember watching their videos (including this one) om VHS when I was a child ❤️
Love the drummer Zachary Alford! He played with David Bowie on the Outside Tour 1995...
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THIS SONG AND THE B 52'S
Lyrically says SO much and the music is, as always...AMAZING!
Let us not forget how instrumental Keith Strickland was to this song. My friend played this album for me on cassette and I was like "eh," until I landed on the B-Side and this song. Topaz too. Cosmic Thing is a most fantastic album. Probably one of the greatest.
got to meet them all before poor Ricky passed. spent time at the hotel they were staying at and they are incredibly funny and so down to earth. I have been a fan since the late 1970's. they are the reason my sister and I had a band. they influenced John Lennon. they are amazing.
Saw them live in the early 90's... Great live or in studio. Awesome band!
I’m jealous!
Did you talk to ricky?
I really don't think they influenced John Lennon since he was in the Beatles in the 1960s. Who the hell you trying to snow? Do you even know what they are singing about? Channel Z?! John Lennon died in 12/1980 the B52s didn't even come together as a band until the late 1977s they were done 1979.
John Lennon may have seen them, but his singing shoes were hung up and he was being a jerk with Yoko by then. I don't even like the Beatles, I just don't like people trying to pull the wool over other peoples eyes.
The B52s were over as a band in 1979? Funny bc they had like TWO huge albums in the late 80s/early 90s
The B-52s are still not in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
They bloody well should be.
CRIMINAL
they should have been since Dirty Back Road
That's ridiculous 😝
That's an honor onto itself. The Rock n Roll Hall of "Fame" is an embarrassment of poor decisions. I would take it as an insult to be selected at this point. You know how else is not in the RnRHoF? The Pixies, INXS, Dick Dale, New York Dolls, Devo..... FUCKING DEVO! (If you don't know, Devo was not a 'one hit wonder', their catalog is _very_ rich and far better than most of the bands in the HoF) And even few times they pulled their head out of their 1970s ass to induct someone that wasn't classic rock, most of those have only happened in the last four years or so (Kraftwerk, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, MC5.... *FUCKING MC5 WAS NOT INDUCTED UNTIL 2024!!* absolute madness). Basically really is just the Rock n Roll Hall of Popularity. Quality of music is not the measuring stick, it is the quantity of radio airplay.
Channel Z always made me feel that I, too, was living on the edge of Aquarius.
Why do I feel like this song is even more relevant today than it was in the 1980s? 🤔
Because the goverment-subsidized news/entertainment complex’s #1 priority is ratings and elections, not ‘truth.’
Think about it like this: we shouldn’t trust the government, right? I agree. Well... the mainstream media IS the government, so why are you trusting the news/entertainment complex? It’s propaganda.
I’m here because I like this song. I like this song because it’s a simplistic celebration of the problems & concerns of modern life. It’s entertaining. Do I “believe” in the cult of climate change? Of course not. Do we have pollution & space junk issues? Of course we do. Should we clean up after ourselves? Absolutely. Can any amount of my money make someone else clean up after themselves if they don’t want to? Nope. So there we are. Might as well dance :)
Because it IS. The Ailes empire has got us in a bubble, man. What they do today makes "Wag The Dog" look like a cartoon. The 80s scandals were KINDERGARTEN compared to the shit that's goin' down right now.
DEVO-lution.
For a very good reason!
yup.
My very first B-52’s song. Combo Bowling alley, arcade and pool hall. My buddy put this on the juke box and we waited for this to come on. I’m standing there like..WTF???
Next thing I know I was ensconced. Kate and Fred had such different voices. Perfect!!
📻 I ♡ the 80's! Remember this song was the first single from the "Cosmic Thing" album in 1989. Class of '83!
In my opinion, the wonderful music here COMPLAMENTS the message. I think the B-52's were making a statement about how people were losing a grip on reality with broadcast cable TV, which at the time of this song was budding with all types of new channels. They wanted folks listening to the song to get more in touch with reality, the real world. We didn't. We let Channel Z morph to websites and then to cell phones and now we have "smart" phone zombies. Some still remember these inspirations and are very much aware of what the B52's were talking about. Gonna put up my antenna....free, free, free. :)
I entirely agree! Surge or onslaught of television channels are raking too much attention and gradually controlling our lives once we get hooked! We better get out of it to experience real world real life our real selves, instead of anchoring our daily lives already from what television is feeding us with!
From the faaaantastic album Cosmic Thing! Every song in this album is truly beautiful...embedded or "openly hidden" from their lyrics are issues needed to be addressed....so timeless are the songs they'rec messengered and twitted onto our societies today
Compliment by the way
💯💯💯💯
1989, i was in my car when this song came on my radio. They immediately went to the next song so i thought i missed information about the name of the band. i pulled over into a grocery store and found a pay phone. That station didnt normally play that kind of music, but john pete, the DJay was a rebel and a friend of mine, he often changed the play list. Yea John! i instantly loved this one!! i still do!
RIP Ricky Wilson!
A mate asked me if I wanted to go and see the B52's in the late 80's and reluctantly I said OK !!! Best thing if ever done one of the most memorable night's of my life and still listening to them !!
These girl can live on different planets and still sing in sync.
True.
Their unique style adds to the greatness of this band. The B 52's are one of the greats. Their music is loved by fans and and other musicians alike. Thank you for such great music.
"Good ole' boys, tellin lies, about time, I got wise. How appropriate, it's a timeless song. They still tellin' lies and you all still not wise.
They were so thrilling in their unique approach to harmony. Wow.
there should be so much more on the views on this song!!! This is a GREAT song!!
The most original and creative band of the last 40 years...we continue towards Mars!!!!
Sara Lee is one of the giants of bass guitar. Totally underrated! Look her up! She even played with Fripp.
this is possibly the best song ever recorded . the multi-frame aspect really helps with ptsd . i love this song and i have loved the entire cd since it came to me so many years ago .... love you , ricky , my brother ....
i've been a big fan since i first saw them at the Cat Club in NYC in 1980.
This album was the soundtrack for the best years of my life. takes me right back every time I hear any part of it. TY B-52s
I remember when this came out when I was a teenager. It did not do so well in the charts as it did not even make Billboard's "Hot 100" and it was the first single off of "Cosmic Thing." Then they put out "Love Shack" and it peaked at #3 and turned the album around. It did not hurt they also had "Roam" on this album which also peaked at the Hot 100 at #3. It turned out to be the two biggest hits the band ever had. This was still a great song for them at the time. Deadbeat club also made the Hot 100 - at #30 off this album. They only charted in the top 100 one more time after this album, with the Title track "Good Stuff" peaking at #28 two years later. Note: Pointed out to me "Meet the Flintstones" also charted in the Top 100 under the name "The BC-52s."
I was working at Sam Goody's as a teenager and I thought Channel Z was a hidden gem, not the album's 1st release. You're correct though, the store didn't get interested in them til' Love Shack.
This song did make it to number one on Modern Rock/Alternative Billboard chart. Back when this was out, that was the only chart that mattered to me.
I hate to mention this...but "Meet the Flintstones" also made the Top 40 -- for one week. (Technically, it was the "BC-52s" so you are still right in a sense.)
@@johnculhane2278 Great catch, I did not know they changed their name temporarily for that song due to the title and the topic! I will add it to the above, thanks!
In 2024 this songs message is even more important. Fabulous song from a fantastic album
B-52's..... Still Droppin the atomic bomb : )
Great band, heard this on the radio a few days ago. It's still playing in my head. Forgot how good this music was takes me back to my sister jamming out to B 52's . These guys and early REM what a great scene. Love ya sis!!
Truly amazing. Wow! Their best track, and that's saying something.
First heard this song in 1990 as a culturally impoverished Irish waif. Didn't realise Love Shack, Z and Roam were the same band...... I know duh but I'd only heard snippets in passing as I was but a babe. Imagine my delight when a friend bought me Cosmic Thing. Brilliant band and my first loves X
2022 and The B52's still essential for my ears!
Cosmic Thing is having its 32 birthday in '21 and still as fresh as it was in '89.
It's a shame that Love Shack is the only airtime this band gets these days. So many hits.
Similar to Abba and Dancing Queen. They has many more better songs
God damn I love the vibes of this band so much.
Saw this on 120 Minutes and the next day my babysitting money vanished into the Sam Goody, like magic.
A somewhat complicated song to duplicate well outside the studio and requires pinpiont timing and key. A tune on par with the excellence of Loveshack and Roam. The quirky scat styled singing of Fred Shnieder would crash & burn with any other band, but fits like a glove with Cindy & Kate. An underated but esential piece-Fred.
Your sensing the B52's excellent syncopation, timing and really, simply their communal talent, to be correctly revealed in Planet Z.
Another fine example of their intra galactic excursions? Listen up, all readers!..."StrobeLight" from the seminal Wild Planet lp.
The whacked-out quintet's certainly under-recognized efforts!
Wow Sam Goody I haven't heard about that store in years! I forgot about that store. Memories! R.I.P. record stores.
RJ Smith UNDERNETH THE STROBE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! I remember, in fact I still have that album, ON VYNIL no less, along with Whammy and Cosmic Thing.
RussX5Z Forget Sam Goody, I miss Tower records.
WOW! Hadn't heard or even thought of this song in YEARS, a forgotten gem! Just found it and I instantly remembered it as soon as it started playing. Amazing how long forgotten songs can still have an effect on you once you rediscover them.
This is magical music. Esquisite. B52s is LIFE
Cozmic thing is one of my FAVORITE albums from the late 80's - early '90s albums EVER!!!!!!
You’re coming in loud & clear.
I know the B52s is famous, but yet, they're soooo UNDERRATED! They were brilliant as a band, as song writers and as entertainers. Channel Z can lift one's soul and send you to space with a smile stuck on your face, even though the lyrics worry me, lol!!
this band could be a big hit in this day and age
B52's sound and style is very difficult to imitate, which partly explains why they have stood the test of time.
Incredible recording and touring output since they first got together in the late 1970's, and their hits never sound outdated.
These are my favs:
Love shack
Channel Z
Dry county
Follow your bliss
Roam
Topaz
Bad influence
Breezing
Good stuff
Revolution earth
Vision of a kiss
The world's green laughter
This was actually the first single from "Cosmic Thing" - didn't burn up any pop charts (that would happen momentarily with a different tune), but it did reestablish these guys. I distinctly recall the reactions from me and my friends - basically it was "Wow, these guys kick major ass - GREAT dance tune!" I mean, they were supposed to have broken up after the death of Cindy's brother a few years earlier. This record shouldn't exist. But hell, why not create the best New Wave album in the decade? After all, they had helped to invent the style. "Cosmic Thing" was a culmination, not a comeback.
Sustainability creates Legend. B52's ability to maintain their uniqueness is what making them a tough act to follow.
does anyone still love this song in 2019. Love the B52s. :)
Always
This is some of the best music ever. If you like real music done well, of course people are still going to love this song in 2019!
Forever !
Word
We take everything too seriously in 2019, music especially. The B-52s were fun and helped us to have fun along with them. Not everything has to have deeper meaning or conform to the standards imposed by companies and trendsetters.
Space Bongs, and where is my umbrella. Fred is amazing, and best party band ever.
Happy birthday to Fred 70 years young
One of the best bands ever! Seen them in a small venue, it was awesome!!!!! Their music is as relevant today as it was when first dropped!