coloradojohn (A Mile High and then some, Cherry Creek, Denver)
Posted: Apr 08, 2013 - 22:12
Still easily by far one of the best beginnings of any song to come along...love all the ZINGERS Fred throws in this one...and the wickedly perfect guitar work! I still get the chills at all the same parts. How cool is that?! Truly, a rock-solid one for the Ages!
B-52's at the old Armadillo in Austin a really long time ago - funniest and most fun concert EVER. There is no second place.
RickyBobby (Oxford Mills, Ontario - We have a Wal-Mart you know)
Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 16:41
Never heard this on headphones. A lot nicer than speakers. And takes me back to the 80's. A place wehre I should really not go back to if I know what's good for me....
Doesn't really work for me. It's like a sub-standard version of Peter Gunn theme
I truly feel sorry for you. This song is pure fun, as the B-52's are in general. Simply look at it in that light. This band doesn't take itself too serious. You shouldn't either.
From AMG: One of the great album openers of the new wave era, "Planet Claire" tells the listener almost everything they need to know about the B-52's in its two-and-a-half minute instrumental intro: space sounds blend into a jumpy, speeded-up version of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" theme mixed with sounds that could have been lifted from one of Joe Meek's "Telstar" follow-ups, followed by a lengthy wordless vocal and organ section that recalls the theme from Star Trek. The group's blend of kicky pop culture references, a mix and match aesthetic and an appreciation of the then-forgotten heroes of pop music past is perfectly introduced, and that's even before Fred Schneider speeds in with his surreal depiction of life on the titular planet. ("No one ever dies there/no one has a head," one of many great silly throwaway lines on this album.) And then, less than two minutes later, the whole thing is neatly wrapped up with the dead-stop precision of a razor slicing a master tape. It's all rather brilliant, and a perfect start to one of the defining albums of the American new wave.
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