The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 486

Number 486

B-52's

"Love Shack"

(1989)
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Genre:Pop Rock

Doctors dont lie .. do they?

I thought I would write about how the " crowbarred" rating system works as a few people have been enquiring how the songs are rated and ranked. Well, as you can imagine, yes, it is complex and probably more so than it should be, but i knew this would come under scrutiny one day. What I did one seedy day, was list about 5000 songs that were suitable [ I shit you not] all to be culled down to 1000. This was all mathematically done on excel spreadsheet with each song rated on 13 separate characteristics. For example: rated on, "How many units sold", "Impact on society", Longevity", "Revenue in $$", & so forth, and silly [but important] things like "Catchiness", "Recognition" and even to "Is your foot tapping?" [there is reason for the last one, which eventually I will explain]

Once the year 2005 had finish, It took me 6 months to finalise the 1000 songs, collate in order and start to put into print [so to speak] July 27th 2006. I started with the controversial entry by Helen Reddy expecting the song to be voted off within weeks. Its still there. I am hoping by the time I near the Number 1 song of all time [definitively speaking in hope] I will have a better voting system, either to keep the song or not, but also, whether it should be higher or lower in the countdown. So bear me with me while I learn javascript, etc. If anyone can come up with something as a [better] voting system ... I am all ears!

At the end of the day, I don't want this countdown just to be my personal view on a choice of 1000 songs. I want this to be a peoples choice, so one day I can email Rolling Stone Magazine and say ..... "Here is a list of the [" Definitive 1000 Songs of all Time 1955 to 2005"] as voted by the people of the entire planet. Now, go, ....... fragging print it!"

You know we're hip

Many observers were prepared to write off the B-52's after the release of Bouncing Off the Satellites. Granted, the album was completed in the wake of Ricky Wilson's death, but the group appeared bereft of new musical ideas and were sounding rather stale. In other words, the last thing anyone expected was a first-class return to form, which is what they got with Cosmic Thing. Working with producers Don Was and Nile Rodgers, the B-52's updated their sound with shiny new surfaces and deep, funky grooves -- it was the same basic pattern as before, only refurbished and contemporized. Just as importantly, they had their best set of songs since at least Wild Planet, possibly since their debut. "Cosmic Thing" and "Channel Z" were great up-tempo rockers; "Roam" had a groovy beat blessed with a great Cindy Wilson vocal; and "Deadbeat Club" was one of their rare successful reflective numbers. Then there was "Love Shack," an irresistible dance number with delightfully silly lyrics and hooks as big as a whale that unbelievably gave the group a long-awaited Top Ten hit. The thing is, Cosmic Thing would already have been considered a triumphant return without its commercial success. The big sales were just the icing on the cake. ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]

Origins of B-52s

Legends

The B-52's originated as a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The band's name comes from a particular beehive hairdo resembling the nose cone of the airplane of the same name. During their early years, wigs of that style were often worn by the band's female singers Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. The correct name for the band has long been "The B-52's", but in 2008 they dropped the apostrophe, with their official website and Funplex album and single covers reading "The B-52s". However, the file tags on the digital releases of both of these retain the apostrophe. Both spellings could now be considered correct. ~ [Source:Wikipedia]

For Helen Reddy see Number 1000

Does Rolling Stone have an opinion on B-52s?

No wonder the best songs on the new LP – produced by Nile Rogers and Don Was – are the ones that most proudly declare silliness as a central part of identity. In "Deadbeat Club," the band members find a sense of belonging through mutual laziness. In "Roam," they present restlessness as a kind of mission unto itself. Unsurprisingly, the music on these tracks is also the most convincing. As the B-52's have proven in the past, their most consistently exciting songs are not their wildest but their ballads with a backbeat – songs where Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson really get to show how broad their emotional range can be. In "Roam" their voices intertwine like fine braids. Better still is their plaintive reading of "Dry County," aided by a soulful melody and a twist in lyrics that move the song from extolling the joys of summer heat to a complaint about desires that can't be quenched. ~ [Source:RS 1989]
Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '486th Song of all Time' was "How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths. The Smiths have not appeared in The Definitive 1000.
Other songs with reference to B-52s [found nothing]

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number 243 the Album ranked at (We chose another)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 75.9 out of 108

Love Shack B 52's
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