I was obsessed with Roam back then. Once, I called up my local radio station, exuberantly requesting it. The station ended up using my call-in request as the intro for the song! Nothing like that had happened to me before or since. Such good times, I'll never forget hearing my own voice on the radio. 😊
Great story! I have a similar one where my local radio station KROQ wanted the listeners to submit 3 songs to be played. One of the songs I requested was Give me back my man by the B-52's. The DJ called me and played my reaction over the radio. Just a simple "WOW!" cuz that was my reaction upon getting the call from the station. Good times.
Their voices also are so similar to each other that they create a kind of modulation effect together, which is really unique and usually only happens when one and the same voice is being doubled on a recording 🙂
This song represents one of my milestones...sitting on a bus travelling from ATL to Ft. Benning, GA, to begin infantry basic training in January 1990. Roam came on and it just hit me, made me feel free and grown-up, adventurous and brave. I have never forgotten that moment of transition.
Amen to both of you. Left Aug 23 1990 for Ft Knox Armor training. These songs remind me of the carefree spring of my senior year before I left for the Army.
Cosmic Thing is an album that in my opinion is as close to perfection as any album ever. The B-52s are almost their own unique musical genre. Both Roam and Deadbeat Club can still bring a tear to my eye when I listen to them, the harmonies are just so beautiful. And, both Cindy and Kate sing notes so pure and steadfast, there is no hiding behind vibrato, either you hit the note and hold it... or you don't. Continuing to sing like that must be hard as they age, I've noticed a lot of aging singers try to bury bad pitch with vibrato. Not these girls.
@@ronnsnow2859 oh yeah he was the lead guitar he took over for Ricky he did great.... I know that b-52s just the girls and Fred have been doing shows here and there , but without Keith. They're all getting older like all of us. 🙂
The harmony on Roam is outstanding, always loved the B-52s "party music" but Roam came from a different place, it's so hopeful and about live your life to the fullest, definitely can see how this album was about keep going even when tragedy is happening in your life. Great interview professor, it's funny how many of these artists say "exactly " or " funny you should mention that"when you say what the song is about or the feeling it brings, great analysis.
The B 52's were one of those bands that had an uncanny way of making you bob your head or tap your foot wether you liked them or not. They definitely had their place in American music that eventually caught on world wide. Super cool interview professor. As always, clear, concise and informative. Great job as usual.
I’m old enough to have been fortunate enough to see the B-52s perform live. A favorite concert memory along with the Ramones, Blondie and the Go-Gos. I was the perfect (college) age for 80s music and it remains the soundtrack to my life. Love to the B-52s. ❤❤❤
I agree, the whole vibe of Cosmic Thing is tinged with melancholy - it's hopeful and joyous but it knows an era is ending. "Topaz" and "Follow Your Bliss" are literally like the 'closing credits' music of the 1980s. Just so beautiful.
"deadbeat club' is basically a memory of a bubble in time in every group of friends lives. Maybe you didn't exactly do the things Kate and Cindy described but it encapsulates the whole vibe of experience Thing is, we never realize it til we're apart from it.
I'm 61 and grew up with the B-52s as my party band...just incredible music. Thanks Professor for having Cindy on, and if she ever reads these comments, THANK YOU Cindy and the rest of the band for almost 50 years of joy and fun and incredible songs. You all are loved more than you will ever know.
The B52s had ( and have) such a profound effect on my life. Both Deadbeat Club and Roam bring me to tears of joy EVERY single time I listen to them. So much LOVE for this band!!!
"Deadbeat Club" makes me nostalgic for something I never had, which is a heck of a trick. I've come back to "Roam" and "Deadbeat Club" over and over in the last year. Actually, I heard the band a few years ago in Philly (my first B52's concert!) and going in I wondered if Cindy and Kate would still have those perfect harmonies, and...oh....my...god... they were superb. They lift each other's voices. During the pandemic, as I taught online, I'd warm up my classes with music videos. And students vibed real hard with "Rock Lobster" and scratched their heads bemusedly at "Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland." I explain that this is a band that's about having fun, and the students go with it.
Hey, My name is Jesse D. Martin. Roam is my favorite B52 song also. I got to see them do it on Earth Day in Central Park. I was going through a bad time in my life. Heavy drug addiction, bad relationship. I took a walk to clear my head. Walked from the east village to Central Park. In that moment hearing that song, my life changed. I still get emotional when I hear it. Thank you for doing this.. 28 years clean and sober, married and still playing music. Peace and Love Jesse.
Congrats Jesse. I tried being a bike messenger for a while in the city. But eventually switched to walking messenger for weird shaped or big packages. So I spent a lot of time walking the city. And having this band on my "Sony Walkman" helped a lot. Congrats again.
'Channel Z' got me to buy the album and I did not regret it. Loved the guitar in that track SO much. 'Roam' gives me the dialed-in, perfect 'nostalgia' vibes of a Summer that was close to perfection. What a great album.
Just listened to the album again and never really appreciated this back in the day but thanks to your comment I had another listen, thank you, its a wonderful song with fantastic harmonies.
I love those songs too. "Deadbeat Club" to me has always been about the time in life, when you are in college, maybe you got a easy major, no stress, just friends and happenings, music, and life is magic.
Loved the B52’s from the first time I was exposed to them in college. Cosmic Thing in my opinion was their best work and the harmonies of Cindy and Kate were amazing. Always makes me happy when I hear their music.
ROAM was my travel anthem in 1989!! I was backpacking around Eurpoe, seeking adventure. I rocked out to ROAM and the entire Cosmic Thing album in East Berlin, a week after The Wall came down on a cassette tape in my Sony Walkman hammering pieces from The Wall drinking German beer. I still have my pictures of my time in Belin and travels across Europe.
@@davek5027 Agreed. Everything is different now, but you can throw caution to the wind. Travel is still important to me and instilled in my boys. My youngest son is graduating from college this May. Then he leaves for Europe, backpacking for 2-months before starting work. I travel 100% of the time, hiking the National Parks/Forest across America for the last few years. I figured if the world was ending I'd do what I love :)
I remember the first time hearing Love Shack…. Wow… it was so crazy different from all the music around that time…!!!! Then a cousin of mine came from a trip from USA with a cassette of Cosmic Thing… The first time i hear ROAM i feel like flying… All that crazy album showed me that you can hear different good music… Love this one Professor!!!!
Nice interview, Cindy is rarely in that seat. Always thought of "Love Shack" & "Roam" as The B-52s' _Pee-Wee's Playhouse_ period. Difficult to extricate the two. Those songs bookended the Summers of '89-'90 & "Roam" is how I mark 1990 & Junior High in my memory. Would love to see an interview with Lady Miss Kier on Deee-Lite.
People don't realize, that these guys had real punk cred. Everyone know "Rock Lobster", and over look songs like "52 Girls". A REAL Punk banger! They ranged so many styles - even Surf Guitar like "Work that Skirt" from Bouncing Off the "Satellites". Ricky is WAAAAYY underrated as a guitar player /innovator. Plus- LOVE LOVE LOVE CINDY!!!!
@@johnathandavis3693 yep that was definitely the peak. They still had a lot of quality songs after that but nothing touches the first two. They had a harder, grittier sound.
Loved their album Whammy! It was my first B-52s purchase. I guess I was going through a retro thing. It was them, the Go-Go's, the Bangles, Chris Isaak and others. Cosmic Thing was great. Channel Z was the first song I heard from it. I was hooked when I bought it.
Someone else may have commented on this already, but the beauty and charm of Roam is the lyric play... it's says one thing, gets you thinking a thing but it's really something else. Oh girl... dancing down those dirty trails... hip to hip... rockin though the wilderness... round the world begins with a kiss... without wings... without wheels... skip the airstrip at sunset... ride the arrow to the target... see the great big c... without anything but the love we feel. Around the world begins with a kiss... so go Roam the world of your partners body people! A sex song, and a very clever fun one at that!!
I'm so glad that someone else noticed this! Like many great songs there are many interpretations available, but once I thought about this one I can't un-think it. ;-)
Y'all are too young. An around the world used to mean a total head to toe sexual experience with nothing off limits. The trip begins with a kiss. There were bananas flying through doughnuts in the video.
Thank you, Dean, for noting this. I thought of it after maybe hearing it two times, as I reacted to the other great things about the song. How wonderful that we can know what seems like the obvious to us, and so many people can miss it. Travel? Ha Ha. Unbridled and imaginative intimacy in a special encounter is so much more rewarding. I'd like to know if the Professor actually was oblivious to this.......
Cindy and Kate's harmonies were magical to me. I never heard a sound like it, starting with Rock Lobster. But from Cosmic Thing, Channel Z was always my favorite! The harmonies in that song are mind blowing! Such an excellent band!
I totally, totally agree with Adam !!! Yes , these are clearly two of my most favorite B-52 songs ! There ability to actually move beyond their earlier incarnations and grow musically is ever apparent here. The harmonies and content of these two songs prove that they could make mainstream yet cool lasting music. Thank you "professor" for this groovy and heart felt interview, it was awesome ! Love you all ! ❤
I'm partial to "Mesopotamia" but I wore the Cosmic Thing cassette out! I love that album so much! Every song on it brings back memories of my summer's of going to white rock lake with my sisters and friends!
Way back in those days someone won a MTV contest where the B52s played a show in the winners back yard. I could be looking back with rose colored glasses but I remember it as being the best live performance I’ve ever seen from the B52s. Would really like to see it again.
Yeah! That was around the time I became a huge B-52’s nut. It was 1998, the VH1 Big Backyard BBQ. m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-emzk9bJJJXY.html
"Deadbeat Club" does have that nostalgic feeling to it, hard to describe really. One of my favorite songs by them would have to be "Legal Tender" on the Whammy album.
The guitar tone in Roam is hands down one of my favorites of all time. Especially that flanger effect. Love Shack used to play all the time on a 50s diner jukebox when I was a kid in the 90s. So I assumed they were a sixties band until I found it on an 80s compilation.
What a fitting closer to that period. They had evolved to include a bit less synth, foreshadowing the modern rock that was to come. I was still listening to pop radio at that time, even though it had been pretty much taken over by R&B. With the B-52s and great acts from Britain like Depeche Mode, the '80s weren't quite ready to call it a day. I love Channel Z easily as much as Roam or Love Shack.
In my town there was a radio station that was changing formats and during the transition they played Love Shack on a loop for 3 days straight. As an exercise I also used the song in pro-tools to create a modified long play version. I've never listed to the song all the way through since. I have no more tolerance for it (but it is a fun song).
That was just a lazy way to transition. The station was still required to have a licensed person in charge of the broadcast the whole time. Locally my favorite transition was when the Quake (KQAK) moved to its Live105 identity, but the crossover was tended by one of the few DJ's who was carried over, Big Rick Stuart. He put on a non-stop Brian Eno playlist that ran for several days! Back then there was no way to hear lots of songs by an artist without knowing someone who had the albums (no RU-vid) so that was very interesting.
When I put this CD into my stereo and blasted the title track, it was as if they took the best of their early music style and integrated a modern feel with it. This is an album that I listen to front to back, start to finish. While I love all of the tracks on this album in their own way, the title track is the bridge that connects the early B52s to the B52s of today. LOVE IT!
Oh wow! What a great interview. Love the B52s so much. Such a big part of my high school memories with my friends, who are still my dear friends. I have a distinct memory from about 1990, driving to our first B52s concert at Starplex in Dallas and hearing Devil in My Car on the way down. Hearing B52s always warms my heart and takes me back to those times.
we were dancing or screaming to be heard talking over either the red or yellow album blaring in the background at every party i ever went to in college back in the 80’s. good times! cheers!
I have so much love for this group. So much creativity in the music. The concerts are always for the fans and I'm glad that they always dig deep and pull different songs out of the vault.
This is my favorite B-52s song! Amazing vocals. As an aside: I went to college at UGA in Athens, GA in the 90s, so I have a special place in my heart for the local bans of the time, particularly the B-52s and REM.
This came out when my youngest was 3 and Professor the song makes me smile , for a great song , and a great memory , thank you for all your work helping me to remember that which needs to stay remembered. Have a great day ( 2024 )
I always considered 1989 more part of the 90's music. B52's, Faith No More, Living Colour, REM, Stone Roses, Pixies, The Cure, The Church, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.
I was lucky enough to see B-52s live, Ive been to a LOT of shows, but this was by far the most fun I have EVER had- was lawn seating, we danced more than I have EVER danced- so much joy- it was amazing
You just can't beat those mid 70s musicians, no matter what! It seems like all the bands were turning out great material that year! in 1976, at an INCREDIBLE rate!
I love The b-52's since their first album. In fact, I was a 10-year-old boy, and I still enjoyed their songs. It's true that Cosmic Thing is a great album from start to finish. I love Kate and Cindy's voices on Roam. Long live the b-52's.
Yeah, “Roam” is there peak of genius (as far as combining their sound and style with corporate rock and pop roots). Same with deadbeat club, ugh they really hit some strides with their style in these two songs. So glad your two favorite songs were those two, because I still have those two on my regular mega mixes.
My dad played Cosmic Thing in the car when he picked me up from preschool. I remember that Deadbeat Club was my favorite B-52s song when I was four years old!
I remember being in a Highschool band in the early 80's. I always liked the B52's... because they were such a great, quirky party dance band. One day our piano player(who was much more versed in musical theory than we were at the time) was explaining how brilliant their music was....because they were constantly using different modes....(that's why their harmonies are so haunting at times) Something.... at the time..... was not even aware was a thing.
Roam is my favorite song of all time, has been since I was little. When I was about 7 I was watching VH1 waiting for me and my grandma to leave for my doctor appointment. Roam came on just before we were supposed to leave. I refused to leave until the song was done. We missed the bus and I was late for my doctor appointment which got me grounded. I never regretted my decision.
Can't argue with the Prof's concensus here. Roam and Deadbeat Club are also my absolute faves from their catalogue (honourable mention to Give Me Back My Man and 52 Girls!). Cindy and Kate's vocal harmonies are just pure beauty in their otherworldliness.
My family had a difficult time in the late 80s after our father passed away. One of my sisters bought this tape and it was always in the car. It was one of the very few things we all liked and the only thing we would sing in front of each other. I play the b-52s videos for my daughter now and she applauds at the end of all of them.
First time I heard Roam was at work back in 2004, I was like wth!?!? Who the hell is this?, I LOVE IT!, Then it was addicting and I couldn't stop playing it on repeat! Now in 2022 I'm still addicted to this song and listening to it over and over!!! One of the greatest songs every written EVER! Thank you guys for this beautiful song!
I have fond memories of driving around in a baby blue Ford LTD blaring the B52's cassette. (I got me a car that's as big as a whale) Channel Z was my favorite at the time. But Roam and Deadbeat Club were so much fun to sing and harmonize to.
Thank you for posting this interview. It put my mind back to a time when I had no responsibilites other than school and hangin out and "growing up" (whatver that was supposed to be). I can't believe it was so long ago. It had me thinking about all the people I don't see anymore and that I still remember their phone numbers and got the old feeling like calling wanting to see what's up and if they have time to hang. Sometimes traveling back in my mind trough music, I can remember how it felt to be Meade at 18 and it's bitter sweet and familiar feeling and so long gone. This was really an awesome video. Seriously.
Funny how Roam charted the same as Love Shack but most people dont even remember Roam ..I personally think the better song on the album is Channel Z ..which I did hear on the radio a lot..but that was on KROQ here in LA.
I was a guest of the B's when then opened for the Who in Florida in '82...years later I was the best man at their roadie/stage manager Tom Smith's wedding....the wedding took place at the Fort Hamilton Army base in Brooklyn NY, when the DJ played a B52 song (which he was requested NOT to play) Cindy grabbed my arm, and we left for a bit to stroll the base. She was always the quietest member of the band (Kate was the loudest!)....
@@tinamichelsnelson1563 Thanks! The morning of the Who show, Kissamiee Florida was filled with young Who fans...I remember as we shared breakfast at the hotel that morning (me and the B52's and crew), people were buzzing about the show, talking about the Who and of course the B's, what was so funny was none of them recognized the band without their wigs..etc...
I have enjoyed the "Bs" since seeing them in Norfolk VA. In a small venue in the very early 80's. I absolutely love the, or all, the changes in music. But Channel "z" is one of my favorites in the later times. However, I've played all their music for years as I have raised my 6 kids. Each one has a varied favorite from all the years.
I've always interpreted "Roam" as a sexual invitation. Roam...without wings, without wheels; the trip begins with a kiss; rockin hip to hip; ride the arrow to the target; go ahead and roam. Most of the lyrics can be interpreted as sexual metaphors, as an invitation to explore someone's body. Maybe it was the time and place and company (age 21, college, new girlfriend) that led me to this conclusion. Anyway, it's always been my favorite B-52s song. 🙂🤘
Right on. I just posted the same thing (didn't spot your comment). It's very clever... interpretation is with the ear of the beholder, but I'm certain its a fun sex song 'hiding' right in front of people.
Ya there late 70s and early 80s music was the most innovative ! But there changing sound in the mid to late 80 s was smart and refreshing also ! Girl from Ipanema goes to Greenland was brilliant !
I love the B52's. Their music was fun new wave with great tunes. The end of the 80s was the last era of consistently great music. The early 90s is when the quality of music went considerably downhill and never recovered. For me, 1991 was the revolutionary most destructive year in music history.
I was shouting Amen after all the things you said about Roam! I wondered if anyone felt the way I do about it. I could geek out with you about for a while, my man. Deadbeat Club, same. That nostalgia and looking back feeling that says “it was all for good.”
I could not pick my favourite 10 B52 songs. Maybe 20. Deadbeat Club? Every time I hear the song it's a bittersweet reminder of when I was young and hanging out with good friends. B52 music makes me want to jump in my car and go... and not come back.
I recently discovered their earlier shows on RU-vid and Cindy Wilson singing and dancing to bring back my man 11/7/80 is awsome. I put that performance up with Stevie Nicks singing “age of seventeen” on the 1982 HBO special that you can also find on RU-vid.
I worn my copy of Cosmic Thing back in High School, but my favorite B-52's song will always be My Private Idaho, with Give Me Back My Man coming in second and Roam rounding out the top 3.
😂I remember one particular morning as a new nurse going to work and blasting that song with the windows of the car down here in January, really glad😅l was going to have a cool song stuck in my head all day while I worked.
By listening to the interview one can appreciate the talent, the perseverance and as people like Mrs. Wilson have come forward, they have enchanted everyone with their songs and with their job well done, thank you for giving us the opportunity to know this in such detail , a warm greeting from Chile South America
