The B-52s Give You Permission To ‘Roam’ (If You Want To)
In 1989, The B-52s were already well-established as trailblazers in the Athens, Georgia-based Post Punk scene of the 1980s that produced contemporaries like Pylon and R.E.M. Their unique brand of blending Surf & Jangle Pop with their thrift store chic presentation yielded them a steady cult following and an upward trajectory through 1985.
Sadly though, that same year, founding guitarist Ricky Wilson passed away due to complications from AIDS. The band was understandably crushed. Barely promoting 1986’s Bouncing Off The Satellites LP, the band was effectively on an indefinite hiatus.
By the time 1988 came around, drummer Keith Strickland had convinced the band to get back in the studio and just see how it went. The result was 1989’s Cosmic Thing. An album that became The B-52s’ highest selling ever and rocketed them into the cultural mainstream, thanks to big hits like ‘Love Shack’ & ‘Roam.’
The latter of which feels like a calling card for the entire album. A joyfully optimistic track brimming with catharsis. An excuse to get out there and explore once again, after having been pulled down into the depths of life by the passing of one of their own.
Director Adam Bernstein, even in 1990, had a very recognizable house style that is on full display here. It’s one that could be described as Playfully Industrial. Owing to the late-80s & early-90s’ trope of repurposing 50s & 60s stock footage, Bernstein makes use of chroma key & greenscreen to place The B-52s all around the world.
Much like with his other videos for bands like They Might Be Giants & Jaz-O, Bernstein utilizes hand-drawn animations & symbols over stock footage of clouds and various world & ethnic cultures running behind the live band.
Giant rustling animations frame scenes of Kate Pierson singing alongside vertical slides of different exotic animals. Fred Schneider gives a thumbs up to stock footage of a rock climber. It’s all great, kitschy stuff that plays directly into The B-52s’ wheelhouse.
It’s a genuine celebration of life and the idea of the grand adventure. Getting out of your comfort zone and going outside to see all the different corners of this great big earth. A serious message, spurred on by serious events and filtered through the lens of pure camp.
If ‘Love Shack’ was the band amping things up to 11 to grab your attention, ‘Roam’ is them leveling back out and letting the audience see them at their most earnest. Which is to say still pretty campy.
The B-52s have always been a dynamic band. Adam Bernstein knows this well and is able to perfectly compliment their entire aesthetic by crafting setpieces and ideas that allow their vision of optimistic jet-setting to be fully realized, without drifting into either too much sentimentality or too much camp that the message no longer resonates. Given the circumstances, or perhaps even because of them, ‘Roam’ ends up on the perfect wavelength to reach both fans and newcomers alike.
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