2. “Planet Claire” – The B-52’s: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Planet Claire” – The B-52’s

(From the album The B-52’s)

1979

The B-52’s had found some success with their debut single “Rock Lobster”, a song that did an incredible job of highlighting what the band was all about while still being musically interesting and engaging. However, “Rock Lobster” is also a difficult song to try and follow up. If you choose a song that is too similar then you may pigeonhole your band as a one-trick, novelty act; if you choose something too different you may alienate listeners who discovered you because they liked the sound of “Rock Lobster”. So, for the second single, The B-52’s chose “Planet Claire”. “Planet Claire” ended up not being the hit that “Rock Lobster” was in most of the world but it still was a great choice to be the follow-up single. Instead of relying on a warped surf rock riff the way that “Rock Lobster” did, “Planet Claire” lifted the riff from Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn” and merged it with cheesy 1950’s sci-fi synths to create something that was obviously the work of the same band that made “Rock Lobster” but wasn’t simply a rewrite. If there was any doubt left about this being The B-52’s after that Ricky Wilson’s guitar attack has the same unique tone and there is no missing the unique vocal style of Fred Schneider. “Planet Claire” proved that The B-52’s were no one-trick pony and that their unusual sound was elastic enough to make room for various ideas, many of which could be heard on their excellent debut album. In truth, the long intro to “Planet Claire” made it less than an ideal choice as a single if the band wanted another massive hit, but as a statement of purpose that The B-52’s were a real creative force and should not be written off as a one-hit novelty act (even though novelty was what they were rooted in) then “Planet Claire” was a perfect choice and is one of my personal favorite songs from The B-52’s.

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1. “Rock Lobster” – The B-52’s: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “Rock Lobster” – The B-52’s

(From the album The B-52’s)

1978

In the world of alternative music there are many bands that have a unique or unusual sound or style, but there may not be any group as unique or unusual as The B-52’s. Formed in the college town of Athens, Georgia in 1976, The B-52’s would combine the neon glow of new wave with the edginess of post-punk, touches of synthpop, surf rock, classic pop and funk, and then filter it all through bad 1950’s science fiction, trashy pop culture references, dance crazes, a thrift shop aesthetic, and whatever other nonsense popped into their heads. The B-52’s music was energetic, fun, edgy, hook-filled, often downright stupid, and all the better for it. The origins of The B-52’s began when friends and musicians Ricky Wilson and Keith Strickland decided to form a band with some like-minded friends that included Ricky’s little sister Cindy and two transplants from New Jersey, Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson. The B-52’s began to play parties and small clubs in Athens, honing their live performance and building a local reputation. The band gained enough popularity to record a debut single for DB Records, the post-punk meets surf rock meets campy pastiche of “Rock Lobster”. “Rock Lobster” became an underground success and soon The B-52’s were invited to play in trendy New York City venues like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City. This attention earned the band more notice from record labels and the band signed with Island Records to record their debut album. For that self-titled release the group rerecorded “Rock Lobster” and released this new version as the lead single from the album. The song eventually became a worldwide success going to #1 in Canada, #3 in Australia, #37 in the UK, and even to #56 in the much more musically conservative USA. “Rock Lobster” also serves as the band’s trademark song and features all the traits the band became known for including Ricky Wilson’s edgy and unique guitar style drawing on both post-punk and surf rock, the twin harmonies of Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider’s carnival barker sing/speak, strange, humorous, innuendo-laden lyrics, and killer hooks to draw in listeners in spite of all the quirkiness. The B-52’s would have bigger hits than “Rock Lobster” but no song would better define them that their amazing debut single, which perfectly walks the line between novelty act and genius musical fusion. 

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7. “Human” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Human” – The Human League

(From the album Crash)

1986

The years following the mild disappointment of the Hysteria album proved to be difficult as well. Singer Phil Oakey had a successful solo collaboration with disco/dance music legend Giorgio Moroder and the song “Together In Electric Dreams”. This success outside of the group led to even greater tension within the Human League and over the next year or so both Adrian Wright, who had been with Human League from almost the beginning, and Jo Callis, who was a key musician and songwriter on both the Dare and Hysteria albums, left the band. The band also lost manager Bob Last and had to scrap the start of their next album when producer Colin Thurston, who had previously worked with Duran Duran, walked off the project. Virgin Records was concerned about the direction things were going with The Human League and so when the hitmaking American R&B production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis expressed an interest in working with The Human League Virgin jumped at the chance to make this happen. Jam and Lewis had broken into the music scene as associates of Prince and were key members of the band The Time. They had made a name for themselves as producers and hitmakers by working with Janet Jackson among others. While the pairing of The Human League with Jam and Lewis does seem a bit of an odd fit in some ways both parties had experience and success bringing dance-based music into the mainstream and both groups were open to the idea of working together. While the members of The Human League got along well with Jam and Lewis on a personal level the two groups did not see eye to eye creatively and the recording sessions were difficult. Jam and Lewis had a certain sound that they wanted to achieve with the record and band was not in agreement with their vision. This division was exacerbated by the fact that Jam and Lewis rejected many of the band’s songs in favor of songs they had written that better matched their vision for the record. Ultimately, the band walked out of the sessions and the Crash album had to be cobbled together from the work that had been done. Crash proved to be a mixed bag that lacked a cohesive vision. In the end, six of the ten songs on Crash were written by the Human League and four were written by Jam and Lewis and/or associates of theirs. The marriage is an awkward one as The Human League aren’t at their best aping American dance and R&B trends like they do on most of the self-penned songs here, while the Jam and Lewis material sounds like cover versions of weak Janet Jackson B-sides. The one exception is the lead single “Human”. While written by Jam and Lewis, “Human” feels like it was made for The Human League rather than being forced on to them. Indeed, “Human” feels like a softer, more mature sequel to “Don’t You Want Me” and became The Human League’s second American #1, while peaking at #8 back home in the UK. The other singles from Crash flopped though and the album received lukewarm critical reviews at best. In 1990 The Human League released the album Romantic? which sold poorly and felt out of step with both American alt rock and the British Madchester scene of the time. Virgin soon dropped the band. After signing a new deal, the group returned in 1995 and released Octopus which managed to score two Top 10 hits in the UK and have some minor American chart success with “Tell Me When”. Since then two more albums have been released and the band continues to successfully tour.

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6. “The Lebanon” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “The Lebanon” – The Human League

(From the album Hysteria)

1984

The Human League had followed up the massive success of Dare by releasing non-album singles and an EP but 1984 saw the band finally release Hysteria, the true follow-up album to Dare. Hysteria had been recorded under great pressure and difficult conditions, including two different producers walking out on the project (including longtime band collaborator Martin Rushkent). Ultimately Hysteria was finished and lead single “The Lebanon” was released. Both the album and single received mixed reviews, although “The Lebanon” did still chart at #11 in the UK (it peaked at #64 in the US, a massive disappointment after the success of both “Don’t You Want Me” and “(Keep Feeling) Fascination”). On one hand, The Human League deserve credit for trying to keep expanding their sound. This can be heard on “The Lebanon” which tackles the political issues of the Middle East and merges them to an instrumental track that blends chiming U2-esque guitars to their synthpop sound. On the other hand, the new direction of Human League’s music on Hysteria downplays what made them unique and successful in the first place and creates a sound that is somewhat bland and faceless at times. Furthermore, the decision to choose “The Lebanon” as the lead single is somewhat baffling as well. While “The Lebanon” is one of the better songs on Hysteria, its title is clunky and offputting and the lyrical content is pretty uninspiring as far as political songs go (and likely didn’t resonate much with their newfound American audience either). The Human League would release two more singles from Hysteria, but neither “Life On Your Own” nor “Louise” did as well as “The Lebanon” did in either the UK or the US and Hysteria, which had peaked at #3 on the UK album chart, never went higher. The Human League had tried to expand their sound and the experiment had not quite succeeded, even while still bringing the band a degree of success in their native UK.

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5. “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

5. “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” – The Human League

(From the EP Fascination!)

1983

The Human League had to be caught off guard by the huge amount of success that the bound found with the Dare album, which became both one of the biggest hits of the year and a key album in establishing synthpop as a mainstream phenomenon. Suddenly, the pressure was on a group that was primarily made up of the pretty faces and lovely voices that had been left behind when the songwriters had moved on. This new version of The Human League had shocked everyone when they had scored hits but now they had to follow it up. The band tried to lessen expectations somewhat by not quickly following up Dare, releasing a non-album single called “Mirror Man” in 1982 and followed it up with another non-album single titled “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” a few months later in April of 1983. The UK was still largely a singles market and both of these songs went to #2 in the UK, proving The Human League could follow up the success of Dare. The United States however was more album-oriented and so these singles were collected with a B-side to a previous single, an early version of a song that would be released on the Human League’s next album, and a few other odds and ends as the Fascination! EP. Ultimately, “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” became an American hit as well, peaking at #8 on the US charts. The song itself is an interesting blend of sounds and styles because while synth-based and very modern feeling for the time, it also has a definite lo-fi, purposefully cheesy quality about it. The synths have an almost out-of-tune sound, as if they had been programmed and played by amateurs, while much of the song is sung by Phil Oakey in a falsely deep croon that is reminiscent of a bad lounge singer. However, this lo-fi, cheesy vibe perfectly sets up the hook-filled chorus sung by Oakey with Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall. It is an odd song to be a hit but “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” works because of its quirks and eccentricities and even though it comes after the smash success of Dare and its singles it feels like a bridge between the early experimental Human League and the later synthpop hitmaking version of the band. 

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4. “Don’t You Want Me” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

4. “Don’t You Want Me” – The Human League

(From the album Dare)

1981

With three successful singles already released from Dare the decision was made to release a fourth single from the album. That fourth single was a duet between usual lead singer Oakey and backing vocalist Susanne Sulley called “Don’t You Want Me”. Inspired by a photo- story in a teen magazine that Oakey had read, “Don’t You Want Me” was originally written as a solo male vocal. Upon hearing the original recorded version of the song though Oakey decided the story worked better as a duet told from two viewpoints and Sulley was asked to sing a co-lead. The original version of the song also had a much harsher and more dissonant synth line. However, both the record label and producer Martin Rushkent felt the song had hit potential though and so encouraged musicians Jo Callis and Philip Adrian Wright to create a new, more pop-oriented synth part to go with the lyrics. When Oakey heard this new version he despised it and got into a vicious argument with Rushkent. In the end though Oakey lost the argument and the more pop-oriented version of “Don’t You Want Me” ended up on the album (although Oakey was successful in burying the song deep on the album as the last track). Out of this troubled birth though came The Human League’s biggest hit and best-known song as “Don’t You Want Me” became an international smash hit, topping the charts in both the UK and the US. Indeed, the pairing of the almost emotionless, bitter vocals pleading for connection and control with the slick, danceable, almost disposable, synthpop was the perfect formula for the early 80’s when technology and modernity seemed to be eroding traditional sounds and values, and “Don’t You Want Me” helped to establish the tone for the new decade in both music and culture more broadly. It also moved Dare from a successful album into the pantheon of great British releases.

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3. “Love Action” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

3. “Love Action” – The Human League

(From the album Dare)

1981

Singer Philip Oakey had retained the Human League name when founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh exited to form Heaven 17. Oakey also retained the band’s debt and touring obligations and only had ten days to revamp The Human League before they had to hit the road. Ultimately, Oakey and Wright recruited some musicians to play with them and two teenage backing vocalists named Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley, whom Oakey had found dancing in a club only days prior to the tour. This new lineup of The Human League met the band’s touring obligations and avoided lawsuits, although the critics were hard on Oakey and “his dancing girls”. However, still owing their record label large amounts of money, Oakey then took this version of The Human League – himself, Wright, Catherall, Sulley, and guitarist/keyboardists Ian Burden and Jo Callis – into the studio to begin writing and recording new music. This was a relatively inexperienced group of musicians and songwriters who had spent very little time working together, yet this version of The Human League would create one of the defining British albums of the era with 1981’s Dare, a more pop-oriented affair that merged The Human League’s more experimental early synth work with Bowie’s love of art and culture and the New Romantics sense of drama. The first single from Dare, “The Sound Of The Crowd”, would shock everyone when it hit #12 in the UK. This would be followed up by The Human League’s first UK Top 10 when second single “Love Action” would peak all the way up at #3. “Love Action” was a slick, danceable track that combined a robotic synth pulse with a sense of glamor and flair and an undeniable pop hook. “Love Action” also crawled to #37 on the American dance charts. The Human League would score another UK Top 10 hit with their next single “Open Your Heart” as well. None of this success would compare though with the massive success that was about to come.

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2. “Empire State Human” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Empire State Human” – The Human League

(From the album Reproduction)

1979

The notoriety surrounding the band after the release of “Being Boiled” led to people having divided opinions of The Human League. David Bowie went to see The Human League play and proclaimed that “he had seen the future of pop music”. While pioneering artists like Iggy Pop and Siouxsie & The Banshees invited them to tour with them. On the other hand, John Lydon of PIL (and formerly of The Sex Pistols) and Irish punks The Undertones had less positive things to say about the electronic music of The Human League. The negative attitude also extended to The Human League’s own record label Virgin, who insisted that they make something that used regular instruments and was more commercial. The Human League was already in debt to the label and so agreed to do so on the condition that the song be credited to a pseudonym. The label agreed and the single “I Don’t Depend On You” under the band name The Men. However, when this single flopped Virgin allowed the group to return to their original style and name and The Human League would soon release their debut album Reproduction (with its still unnerving cover art depicting people dancing on a floor over top of a bunch of crying babies). Reproduction would not be a commercial hit but did feature a minor hit with the pummeling, hard-driving synth beats of “Empire State Human” which charted at #62 in the UK. Truthfully, reaching #62 was something of a feat for “Empire State Human” as it has more in common with the proto-industrial and EBM sound of later groups like Front Line Assembly and Nitzer Ebb than it did with the later synthpop version of The Human League. “Empire State Human” had continued to earn The Human League critical notice but little success. The band had also added an artist named Philip Adrian Wright, originally to add a visual component to the band’s somewhat static live shows, but eventually Wright began to play synthesizer as well and joined the group as a playing member. This original lineup of Oakey, Ware, Marsh, and Wright went back into the studio to record their second album Travelogue, which was released in 1980. Travelogue didn’t score The Human League any new hits though and tensions over the band’s direction began to cause friction within the group, especially as Gary Numan had scored a hit with “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and was now seen as the leader and pioneer of the synthesizer scene. Ultimately, The Human League would split, with the two main songwriters and musicians – Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh – leaving to form the band Heaven 17, while singer Philip Oakey and visual artist/keyboardist Philip Adrian Wright would retain The Human League’s name, debt, and touring obligations. When The Human League next appeared it would be with a vastly different lineup and sound. “Empire State Human” and the Reproduction and Travelogue albums would be the end of the first phase of The Human League, a phase that saw great innovation but little success.

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1. “Being Boiled” – The Human League: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “Being Boiled” – The Human League

(From the single “Being Boiled”)

1978

Forming from the ashes of a couple of different earlier groups, the pioneering synth-based group The Human League would emerge on the British underground scene in 1978. Early computer enthusiasts Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh would serve as the band’s musical core, being among the first musicians to write songs completely on synthesizers; following in the wake of German visionaries Kraftwerk but with slightly more melodicism. Working as the synth duo The Dead Daughters Ware and March earned some interest but ultimately were convinced that they needed a vocalist to attract real attention from the record labels. This led to the duo adding a few new members, including vocalist Phil Oakey (who was chosen for his look more than his voice – the fact that he actually could sing being just a happy accident) and, after jettisoning all the new members except Oakey, the group renamed themselves The Human League. The Human League soon signed to a small label called Fast Records. Ultimately it would be Fast Records who would release their debut single, the pioneering synthpop work “Being Boiled”. “Being Boiled”, which walked a tight line between synthpop and proto-industrial music and had an unusual lyric about the gruesome nature of silk production that could be read as anti-communist, anti-capitlaist, or just a rejection of the modern world in general, was unlike anything else being released at the time. “Being Boiled” didn’t become a hit on its initial release, but it did become an influential song among the rising new wave, post-punk, and synthpop artists of the time in the UK’s underground music scene. Ultimately, “Being Boiled” would be re-recorded and this newer version would be included on both the Holiday ‘80 EP and the group’s second album Travelogue. This later version would ultimately crack the UK Top 50 after The Human League found mainstream success later in the 80’s but by that point The Human League had long left behind this sound and most of the members of this version of the band.

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My Apologies – Another Week Off

Hello faithful readers, I promise I will soon be back on track more consistently but I am going to need to take another week long break. This is a busy time of year at my “real” job and I’ve used up my bank of episodes that I was ahead on so now I am doing them live. So, I need a little time to focus on my paying gig and to build back up a bank of episodes. That is my plan over the next few weeks. That said, I THINK I will be back next week. Thanks for your patience and support. It makes doing this project fun and worthwhile. Use this week and to go back and explore some of the other projects I’ve done on the site such as my “alternative” playlists from every year from 1976-2021, the “24 To Fight For” desert island disk project, albums re-imagined, and others.