Abstract
This chapter functions as an introduction to the B-52s, laying out a rationale and argument for why they are important and what makes their music and their story special. These five unique individuals formed a collective that functioned like an anarchic commune, and their intense collaboration produced a group unlike any other. The B-52s could harmonize like the girl groups and shout like the avant-garde. They had one of the most original guitarists of this generation, and through their music and style, the B-52s exploded conventional notions of gender and sexuality. That they could be so disruptive, while making music that sold in the millions, is a testament to their genius. The chapter also lays out theoretical groundwork for topics that will be covered throughout the book and prepares the reader for what will come in subsequent chapters.
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Notes
- 1.
Echazabal, “Change is Good.”
- 2.
Azerrad, Liner notes, R2 78357.” Azerrad also mentions artists influenced by B-52s, including Bjork, Deee-Lite, Beat Happening, Chicks on Speed, Sleater-Kinney, Dave Grohl and “literally thousands of other bands.”
- 3.
Marcus, Real Life Rock, 59.
- 4.
Christgau, Christgau’s Record Guide, 54.
- 5.
Considine, “The B-52s,” 56.
- 6.
Dibbell, “Women and Punk,” 286.
- 7.
By comparison, Me’Shell Ndegecello, Selena, and Laura Nyro, all received their own chapters, about a half-dozen pages each. The use of the word “unintelligible” is confusing, as the line is not only clearly enunciated, but is delivered with enough force to knock over a small houseplant.
- 8.
The latter two were songwriting teams/factions in Husker Du and the Go-Betweens, respectively, and despite their bands being far less commercially successful than the B-52s, have seen their styles compared and contrasted in biographies about their bands.
- 9.
In a 2022 interview, Keith Strickland said of her voice, “Cindy’s voice can be beautiful, but it has a primal quality at the same time. I used to tell Ricky she reminds me of John Lennon.”
- 10.
Matthew Murphy in conversation with authors, May 28, 2019.
- 11.
Alexander, “Black People Cooler,” 50.
- 12.
Lloyd, “B-52s,” 37.
- 13.
The B-52s’ United Fans Organization (UFO) Issue #10.
- 14.
Tannenbaum, “The B-52s Say Farewell,” AR-14. The article still added an apostrophe to the band’s name.
- 15.
Ghansah, “Watching the Stars,” https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a44891/missy-elliott-june-2017-elle-cover-story/.
- 16.
“Afrofuturism,” Dictionary.com, accessed October 10, 2019, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/afrofuturism.
- 17.
Gross, “Sun Ra.”
- 18.
Moody, “The radical jazz activist.”
- 19.
Szwed, Space Is the Place, 140.
- 20.
Womack, Afrofuturism, 58.
- 21.
Youngquist, A Pure Solar World, 140.
- 22.
Turner, “Betwixt and Between,” 98–99.
- 23.
Ibid.
- 24.
Greenblatt, “The B-52s: The Stories.”
- 25.
There is a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/LogoDeface/, dedicated to the missing apostrophe.
- 26.
Isler, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” 24.
- 27.
Schoemer, “Beehives and Ballyhoo,” 43.
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Creney, S., Herron, B.A. (2023). Neon. In: The Story of the B-52s. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22570-3_1
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