[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Private Idaho” – The B-52s
(Words/music: Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson, and Ricky Wilson, available on Wild Planet, Warner Brothers 1980)

The B-52s are a party band, and any effort to prove otherwise denies their basic essence.  Even “Private Idaho” and its jagged riff come packaged with a driving dance beat and bubbly vocals.  No matter what, it’s this identity as a party band that flows through all of their songs.  Even their name’s military connotation pales in comparison to the hairstyles of the same name.  No matter what, the party vibe comes first.

That said, they’re more than a three minute stop on a wedding DJ’s playlist.  “Private Idaho” in particular doesn’t have the same abandon one might expect in a dance party song.  Like many of their early songs, “Private Idaho” uses a surf rock lick as its main riff, but unlike a song like “Rock Lobster,” this one feels rougher.  The tone sounds darker and the edges seem more jagged and pronounced, and with the pounding drums leading the charge, the riff sneaks its way into the mix at times.  Lyrically, the song touches on paranoia and isolation – atypical subjects for a dance party, but the B-52s manage to toe the line skillfully between foreboding and forgetting.  The chorus of overlapping voices, especially Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson’s wordless moans, feels closed in yet never entirely claustrophobic.  No matter how dark the song gets lyrically or sonically, it still sounds like a band having fun.  Whether it’s the stampeding drum fills, Fred Schneider’s distinctive annunciation, or the ladies’ intermingling voices, the song never loses that initial sense of fun.  If it’s necessary to retreat to the underground, the B-52s advocate bringing the party down with us.  I imagine it being a party where the B-52s follow “Life During Wartime” rather than the electric slide.

More on artist: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm