The B-52's- Dance This Mess Around' (REACTION//DISCUSSION)

[@markspooner1224]

A desperate girl asking Why don't you dance with me? I'm not no Limburger (stinky cheese). Cindy's vocal is party/funny but heartbreaking. Wonderful track.

[@jameshannagan4256]

We always thought she said little bad girl.

[@markspooner1224]

@@jameshannagan4256 That works.

[@jenniferkilzer5080]

Wow, the Limburger bit harkens back to vintage comedy! I loved it when I first heard it, and do today. "Just a Limburger!" I guess it's a generational thing.

[@BlackDogEddie]

I love how the phrasing turns from "limburger" to "limber girl"

[@kloatlanta]

Met Kate in 1990…she said a “Limburger” is a missed note.

[@ap8eioul1]

Give me back my man.. My fav b52s tune... Desperate and heartbreaking

[@bobschenkel7921]

How often do you hear the word "Limburger" in a song? Not very often would be my guess. Good ol' B-52's, gotta love their quirky style.

[@damonwiggins4035]

The B-52's did for music what Dadaism did for art. Such a fun band. Also fun to watch. Wild Planet and Whammy are strong albums too.

[@knowhere60]

I was just going to comment that this is a Dadaist song...but you beat me to it, Kudos!

[@damonwiggins4035]

@@knowhere60 great minds!

[@bjwnashe5589]

Cindy Wilson (vocals, dancing) and her brother Ricky Wilson (guitar) were the heart and soul of the B-52s. Seeing them play live way back then, I was impressed by the way in which Cindy, really set the tone for the party. Beehive hairdo, wild vocals, knew all the dance moves. Great performer.

[@EdwardGregoryNYC]

Another great track for Cindy is "Give Me Back My Man."

[@Chicken_Wing91]

Rest in Paradise Ricky Wilson

[@TheProgCorner]

I love their early stuff - the first two albums plus the Mesopotamia EP were great!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Ricky Wilson, lead guitar, passed away, I think after the 3rd album. Keith does a good job on guitar, but Ricky was special, unique.

[@altaclipper]

This song and "52 Girls" were my favorites from this album. Which I bought when it was released. I can't resist a song that features a toy piano.

[@berniemojzes2989]

if you have a thing for toy piano, check out Eliza Rickman's debut album. Here's a good example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5TUfmSDetp9fKM

[@SAM-dg3vd]

Yep :). Though Deadbeat Club and Private Idaho are awesome too

[@Lwize]

Cindy was so adorable.

[@mcolford]

They had such a refreshing innocence back then too... if you enjoy this debut album, you gotta keep going to their second album, Wild Planet.

[@thegardenfix]

This is why I subscribe to you. You hit the great, rarely played songs from albums I love, that other reaction channels don't touch. It's always just the popular songs with them. I mean, who else has done this entire album?

[@JustJP]

Ty RL :)

[@daz4756]

To me The B-52's weren't just a fun/Party Band they were ahead of their time Art Rock, totally original & in Kate & Cindy they had 2 of the best (unsung) female vocalists in Rock, ranging from demented cheerleader squealing. to beautiful soaring above the clouds harmonies & Stunning powerhouse Singing/screaming, the track 'Give Me Back My Man' encapsulates this to perfection, one of the best songs of the Eighties. Sidenote, John Lennon was a big Fan of this Debut album, spotted their greatness straight away.

[@jameshannagan4256]

I love Hero Worship the vocals are fantastic and its a real banger.

[@samajax]

I second this. They were the fun folks, but also subversives. Imagine a late 70s small town/big college Georgia, and being punk enough to be gay, dress in thrift store clothes, and head on out. Their confidant, Jeremy Ayers (cowriter of 52 Girls- Gardening at Night) was a Warhol "superstar"- Silva Thin, so in 1977 Athens, it must have been a sight. When folks say party band, I say yes, but they were so much more.

[@louisbrown65]

I am a lifelong b52s fan. Have all of their albums. Bought them when they first came out. Saw them a few nights ago at the Chicago theater. They still sound the same! Cindy and Kate hit all those notes. It was amazing. One of my faves is summer of love as it was (I believe) their first song without Ricky. RIP

[@rosskennedy8356]

First B52 song I heard late at night on the peel show in London. Totally mesmerized with Cindy Wilson’s voice.

[@Jillyconjem]

So great to see someone react to this tune. Thank you! This, “Strobe Light”, and “Private Idaho” are my absolute favorite B52s tunes. I had the pleasure of seeing them 1980-ish in the gym at the University of Delaware. Fun doesn’t begin to describe them. Their first two albums are amazing, as you’re seeing. They will always be a favorite band of mine. 💜 Thank you!

[@jeffmartin1026]

Yep, you get it - the B-52s are just fun. Some of the very few concerts where everyone is dancing along.

[@andkat]

This album was a staple at high school parties. Fun fun fun.

[@dipsydoodle7988]

This was such an excellent review. You really get them and trust me, not everyone does. Let me tell ya..back in the day, I did all 28 dances at their concerts. I cannot begin to describe how much fun this frigging song was to just let loose to. Also, your comment about dancing on a constantly shifting Rubik's cube is the best description of The B-52's I've ever heard. laughed my butt off at how hilarious and profound that was. 🤣🤣

[@b0tterman]

I was 13 in NYC. Got into the Pyramid Club in the East Village to see them. I was amazed the place served me drinks, no questions asked. B62s were amazing.

[@B52Trad]

Don't forget Cindy also shouts out "Tin Roof Rusted" in "Love Shack".

[@burmajones803]

Greatest party album ever. I got no room in my life for anyone who can't let themselves go enough to enjoy the B-52's.

[@ryanfgrantjr3009]

Amazing to find this video. This has been my all time favorite song by the B52's for 35 years, never heard anything like it. I still log on to YT to hear it all the time.

[@joedokes9753]

It totally makes my day watching a younger generation listen to the B-52's and always come out of it with a smile on their face. Brilliant.

[@dennismason3740]

In the early days of song response in YT I recommended Dance This Mess Around to many music lovers. I gave up long ago and now here it is.

[@annewoodard6803]

It was so much fun dancing to the B52’s in College. I saw them on the first, second and third album tours. SO MUCH FUN. 😁❤️

[@colibri1]

Some of the dances listed they just made up (the Shy Tuna, the Escalator); others were actually real dances at one time or another (the Dirty Dog, the Camel Walk). Along with "Rock Lobster," this 1978-79 song is maybe the best lyrical representation on the album of the fact that this band (and a lot of other underground-ish/avant-garde/trendy bands in the late seventies) was consciously reviving sounds of the pre-hippie sixties, a sound the band would maintain through their next two albums.. The sixties focus is also where the bouffant hairdos come from and the clothes. The song references Wilson Pickett's 1966 cover of Chris Kenner's 1962 "Land of a Thousand Dances" (the "sixteen dances") and Chan Romero's 1959 "Hippy Hippy Shake" (the title of which they actually say; a song best known via the Beatles' 1963 cover), plus arguably the Supremes' 1965 "Stop in the Name of Love" (with the "Stop!" command) and the Beatles' 1963 "She Loves You" (with all the "yeah-yeah-yeah"s at the end). They even threw in a reference to a 1960s cooking product, Shake 'n' Bake for chicken, with their "Shake! Bake!" line.

[@bobholtzmann]

It's a little hard to hear, but Fred Schneider is playing a couple of notes on a toy piano at the beginning. Fred plays several different kinds of toy pianos on posted B-52s concert videos, including a toy piano inside a Disney children's book.

[@David-iv6je]

He's playing it throughout. Left channel.

[@frankmarsh1159]

He used to play live. This is the earliest and best version on KZbin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH-bmYlqdt6BqdU

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Don't forget the walky-talky in Planet Claire.

[@manualboyca]

I haven’t heard this album in SO long…and I forgot how great it is! Thanks, Justin!

[@B52Trad]

You should hear Cindy on "Ain't it a Shame" on their "Bouncing off the Satellites" album. A country/southern flavor of another heartbreak, "Our love is like a fuse burned out". Cindy at her best. Absolutely love it.

[@frankiebowie6174]

The opening of this one in particular shows the B 52’s songwriting technique- making it up as they went along until they found the groove and the lyrics and the song itself.

[@pauljensen9678]

Never will forget them performing this track on SNL with Fred banging on a toy piano. They got about 3 quarters through the song when the network cut away to commercials.

[@JohnSmith-qj6bj]

That was the very 1st time I had ever heard or seen them,and I was hooked❤

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Do the Aqua Velva, yeah yeah yeah yeah. I love this song album band

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

Hey, hey, hey, now, I really want to jump out of this bed and dance with a nurse! The only problem is my dance moves couldn't be worse! Screw the Man, I grab an I.V. stand, while the nurses around me twerk! I circle the ward, shaking backward and forward. And a new step is born. It's called 'The Critical Care Jerk'! Pardon this silly so-called poem, with the help of meds and The B-52's, it didn't take any work. Peace to all.

[@cynthianavarro4316]

What you say? I'm just askin'! Fun, fun, fun! Lovely memories of crazy dancing to the B52's. Other great tunes: Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can, Mesopotamia, Give Me Back My Man!

[@MichaelYoder-e8g]

the B52s always filled the dance floor back in the day. This is one of my faves

[@barrysmith6325]

One of the best concerts I ever went to was B-52's at the Hofstra gym, of all places. 1981. And the RAMONES opened for them!!! Talk about a strange mix of fans in one place! What a blast!

[@mattstagger]

Kate Pierson often overshadowed Cindy Wilson because she is also brilliant, but if you like Cindy's contribution you ought to listen to a song called "Ain't it a Shame". It is one where Cindy really shines and is a bit more sentimental sounding then a lot of what you may have heard from them, and was not one of their better known songs, but it is great all the same.

[@dipsydoodle7988]

Incredible song with the always incredible vocals courtesy of Cindy.

[@SomeOldGuy51]

Saw them along with Berlin and OMD in September 2019 and they are still a fantastic party band! This was the first song from them I ever heard back in 1978 on an alternative FM station, and was hooked from the start. Thank you Justin for continuing to review some of my all time faves... love your reactions.

[@JustJP]

Thank you for watching :)

[@kevincinnamontoast3669]

I saw them with the Ramones at the Philly zoo.

[@BaldJean]

"Limburger" is a cheese well known for having a very strong smell due to a bacterium called "brevibacterium linens".

[@davidchaplain6748]

I'm so excited that the next song is Rock Lobster. IT IS THE #1 PARTY SONG OF ALL TIME!!!!! I dare you to NOT move during Rock Lobster!!! You cannot!!!

[@frugalseverin2282]

When you get to the song 'Downtown' I hope you give a listen to the original by Petula Clark. She had lots of charting songs back in the '60s.

[@jameshannagan4256]

Every time you put this song on at a party or when it came on in a club just about everyone got up and danced their asses off on the floor I can not think of better testament to a song being great.

[@krisdoggett483]

Love it. They're just a fun band to listen to. So quirky and unique. Perfect party music along with some DEVO.

[@jameshannagan4256]

This has always been one of my favorite simple old fashioned rock and roll record never failed to get people up and dancing at a party.

[@eximusic]

My absolute favorite song by the B52s. I first heard it shopping for clothes with lots of zippers in a punk clothing boutique. Cindy Wilson's vocals on this are killer. When she starts screaming she sounds like a punk Aretha Franklin. And the surf/Ventures guitar lines are genius.

[@thebrysmith3]

JP! They just announced a farewell tour. Check it out! Looks like the closest they're getting to Florida is Atlanta.

[@WitchyStitches.]

I once heard them called “The best Party Band in the World”. I think you understand why! WHO WOULDN’T want to be at an old school house party with them playing?!

[@JustJP]

Totally agree Witchy!

[@dgooz]

Their best song EVER!!!!!

[@stevensprunger3422]

Damn that’s such a fun song I haven’t heard that such a long time thank you for bringing it up it made me so happy

[@courtneywallace871]

There’s just something kinda blech about someone who doesn’t like The B52’s.

[@midcenturymoldy]

The B-52’s appeared on an episode of SNL hosted by Teri Garr. Like, the following Monday she was on the Tonight Show telling Johnny Carson how weird this band was singing about limburger. I was soooo disappointed because I loved Teri Garr and I loved the B-52s.

[@kevind4850]

Loved this song and album when it came out - was so refreshing compared with the uninspired tripe that was popular on-air and in clubs in the late 70s. Add together the purposely brainless lyrics, the throwback beats, plus the wildly exaggerated performances, and the result was a bitingly sarcastic commentary on the smarmy lyrics and harmonies that dominated the music being shoveled out during the late 70s and early 80s. The 52s did it their own way, and their songs are still a lot of fun today.

[@jameshannagan4256]

I guess you were not listening to Pink Floyd, Yes or Rush in the 70s.

[@kevind4850]

@@jameshannagan4256 In 1979 when the _B52s_ album came out, none of those were putting out anything I would have possibly described as cutting edge - fine for fans, and they were all still getting plenty of airplay.

[@jonsey156]

So enjoying these B52s tracks with you Dude , if I remember the playlist correctly we have their magnum opus "Rock Lobster" coming up next - can't wait !! I will always love Cindy and Kate.

[@JustJP]

Ty Rob :)

[@VoroninHop]

This album was huuuuuuuge when I was at school, and 'Rock Lobster' and 'Planet Claire' could instantly fill a dancefloor in 10 seconds flat. But this was always my favourite track. I love the sparing simplicity of the rhythm but unusual key changes & instrumentation, and Cindy's vocal is amazing. PS. the 'Camel Walk' is the dance The Bangles do in 'Walk Like An Egyptian', the 'Dirty Dog' was a move popular in the 1950s & 60s originating from line dancing, the 'hippy hippy forward hippy hippyshake' is a nod to The Beatles (even though that was actually a cover version).

[@matto9734]

That whole LP is just eternal bliss!!! Thanx 4 doing this, it´s so long ago I was hitted by them ;-)

[@musicdroog7666]

Recommending Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson duet with the song "Candy"

[@user-vv9it9ye4g]

"What U say?" "I'm just askin'"

[@jaybird4093]

Great reaction, JP. I like the Rubik’s Cube analogy. Catchy song that I like more as it goes along. I haven’t heard it for quite a few decades!

[@kratino]

Check out the live video so you can see who is singing what. Kate sings the "Everybody goes to parties" and sings the names of the dances.

[@jfergs.3302]

A great track this, and one of my faves on the LP. Driving tempo, super 50's guitar 'twang', and not to mention the vocalists badinage. Sadly, re those 16 dances, I wouldn't attempt any. Unfortunately my terpsichorean talents are sadly lacking...

[@JustJP]

🕺

[@bobschenkel7921]

BTW, Limburger is a stinky cheese, popular in the early twentieth century, less so now. Reference The Three Stooges, they use Limburger Cheese in several of their shorts movies, as a bad smell indicator.

[@michaelpennington7800]

Always uplifting 💛 ✨️

[@JustJP]

Definitely!

[@blitztim6416]

Some lyrics at the beginning borrowed from The Supreme's song 'Stop, In The Name Of Love'. Limburger is a type of cheese know to be stinky.

[@TheNeonRabbit]

I don't think people who aren't old as hell can really appreciate how fresh this was. Rock and roll had become SO Fucking boring, corporate and played by models with jazz degrees from Berkley. The B52's popped up and said "Hey, wasn't this supposed to be... FUN?"

[@MisterWondrous]

Legend is those Georgian ladies steal entire honey-baked hams, in those hair monuments. Can't believe I've never been to Athens, or that I've never seen them. Everything from there is cool. Day trip.

[@anneridge9800]

Not sure where to put this, but (live video) of Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes!

[@GeoffCB]

Limburger cheese is smelly. I've never seen (or smelled) it, but there were often references to it in The Three Stooges and Looney Tunes cartoons when I was growing up.

[@miniflem1]

Great song, great record.

[@markr.devereux3385]

one of best from B-52s

[@seanharwood974]

Best track on that album

[@simply_psi]

Just got to say I love the Mick Ronson T, classy stuff well done.

[@jayburdification]

“I’m not no Limburger” means she doesn’t smell but it’s really just there to rhyme with “limber girl.” Kind of like when the girl from Suburban Lawns sang, “I’m a janitor. Oh my genitals!” 😂

[@jfergs.3302]

Or when Adam Ant sang 'who taught you to torture, who taught ya'.... great line 🙂

[@kloatlanta]

Met Kate in 1990, Athens filming video for deadbeat club. She said limbuger referred to playing the wrong note.

[@dantean]

My favorite of theirs.

[@burmajones803]

Try the band Southern Culture on the Skids, Walk Like a Camel. It's also a reference to the Camel Walk (obv). Another great party band. If you want to try something else by them, go with Soul City off the same album, Dirt Track Date.

[@aaronjohannsen5326]

Cindy's localization makes this song. She doesn't say hibby-shake, says hibby-shayc. Doesn't say do the Dirty Dog but do'da dur-dy-dawg. I.possible to recreate in text unless you're simultaneously listening. Vocals scream...coolness!

[@JustJP]

Love it! Ty Aaron

[@iainweller452]

Great band, fab album, cool song 😎🎶

[@EdwardGregoryNYC]

Another great example of minimalism in their instrumentation.

[@sicko_the_ew]

I think the dances are all from some other planet, so you're meant to just make them up. It's a planet where the girls have proper hairstyles. LOVE the B52's. True originals, so in a sense you could call them progressive. ("In spirit" if nothing else.) Apart from Fred, I think they can all sing whatever they like in any traditional way, but they play with sound instead. *Play* music. Sometimes that's better than "performing" it or "executing" it - all serious-like. Maybe it's by habituation that this has happened, but all their carefully chosen off notes are every bit as beautiful as something more obedient, strung together in some canonical fashion can be. It's fun, and that's beautiful.

[@sicko_the_ew]

Oh all right!! Not really hairstyles, just Wigs. ;-)

[@kevincinnamontoast3669]

Wigs! How dare you!

[@sicko_the_ew]

@@kevincinnamontoast3669 :D

[@MichaelYoder1961]

A fave! thanks!

[@SAM-dg3vd]

the little musical box is a child's toy piano :)

[@jeremyb5640]

Fun track but as much as I love the B-52s this one isn't my favourite on the album. The next track 'Rock Lobster', however, is an absolute classic!

[@bensteckler6698]

Just one question...What are the OTHER Eight Dances?

[@californiahummus]

Can't wait for the review of LAVA and the unrelenting guitar - so good.

[@johnandrews3151]

B-52's/53 Miles West Of Venus studio version

[@dennismason3740]

Bouncing Off the Satellites and Mesopotamia are very excellent albums.

[@VEETEEARR]

Yeah, more B52's. They are so much fun with such a unique sound.

[@cat-o-matic]

I think I'm gonna do the Hippie Hippie Shake. 🥳

[@peteriuliano5846]

brilliante

[@lepuke6854]

So good. B52's = Fun

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

The dances Cindy mentions are real go-go dances from the 60s. The Camel Walk, the Dirty Dog. The ones Fred lists are complete fabrications.

[@christopherrussell343]

People today look back on them and say, well, they were a very gay band. Which is absolutely true: all the members of the band were either lesbian or gay and just wanted to have fun. But no, the notable exception of Cindy, the star of this song, who nails it once again with the desperately, dangerously unhinged scream of hetero heartbreak. This girl has got it bad, clearly! Oozes head-over-heels obsessed hetero teen girl angst. Then, in Chapter Two of this song, her two friends, Fred and Kate, show up, drag her off to a party, and insist, rather forcefully (especially by Fred) that she have a good time. They do exactly what she needed them to, distract her from the Wendy Torrance direction her isolation obsessing over her feelings. She needs to just dance it out, scream it out, let it all out if you want but Cindy do not talk about it anymore because Kate and Fred will hear none of it: Cindy is going to be fine.

[@andyshan]

Love it.

[@a.k.1740]

Not my favorite song from the album but still very good and fits in very well with the other tracks on this debut album. Musically "Hero Worship" is a bit identical but I much prefer "Dance This Mess Around" which has much more identity !

[@paulpuerling9504]

Nice shirt

[@JustJP]

Ty!

[@HippoYnYrEira]

I'm trying to think of an equivalent sound or song in my collection and after 6 mins I thought "Fantastic Sensation" by Doll by Doll from their Doll by Doll LP. Probably not on Spotify but that shouldn't put you off. All their records were good but not in the B52s style. They bucked all the trends between 1979-1983. Better to start off from the beginning with Butcher Boy. Jackie Leven was a Talent. This? Oh I don't know.I really don't know. Cartoon Rock?

[@sicko_the_ew]

Sorry, nothing to do with the B 52's, just letting you know *Doug Rappoport* has posted some music again (it happens quite rarely). kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHvPf5ZuZpWMf7s Guitar music. It's intended as an equipment demo, but it's good enough to just listen to for itself.

[@palantir135]

Secrets of the beehive by David Sylvian 😇

[@JustJP]

Perfect album :D

[@martinallen3876]

🥰

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

The phrase describing bands as unique is SO overused and misappropriated… but in the case of the B-52’s it fits like Cinderellas slipper when Prince Charming rocks up at the front door ! 😃 Anyone trying to put a label on their name has given themselves the task of Sisyphus cis nothing fits them …except that they are magical and completely danceable to … nuff said ! Inappropriate comment alert !!.. Kate Pierson.. yes please !! Great musician, great singer and harmonist AND damn fine into the bargain ! Please don’t set the hounds on me , I’m just an old guy in love with an unattainable beauty 😆 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@triciasomogyi5431]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍

[@deepermind4884]

Dancing on a constantly rotating Rubik's cube........mmmmkay 🤔