Louder: The Superbly Original, Gloriously Weird B-52’s Say Farewell to the Road

August 12, 2022

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

Part of why Louder is arriving on the later side this afternoon is I spent a bit too long rummaging through shoe boxes of cassettes over here to find my copy of the B-52’s “Cosmic Thing.” (Sadly, I couldn’t; eBay, here I come.) I remember the tape well: it started out a sort of azure, but I wore it to what the Gap would call “light wash,” flipping it over and over in my off-brand Walkman on the bus to middle school every day. I knew my two favorite bands — the B’s and R.E.M. — were both from Athens, Ga. I understood they were different. But without the internet, I had no idea that my worldview was being shaped by a handful of the most beloved and innovative queer voices in ’80s and ’90s rock. (But I’m so glad it was.) We celebrated the band’s 1979 debut a few years ago; this week, as the B-52’s prepare for their final tour, Rob Tannenbaum spoke with the group about its early days and some of its most poignant moments, and Keith Strickland broke down what was so innovative about Ricky Wilson’s guitar playing. (That’s a bonus track for the real heads.)

Also this week: Jon Pareles named Sylvan Esso’s new album a Critic’s Pick; Wesley Morris took a loving look back at the career of Olivia Newton-John; Jon Caramanica hosted a conversation about new hardcore bands on Popcast; Kalia Richardson spoke to the musicians at the center of the (Critic’s Pick!) documentary “Mija”; and we also lost the great Lamont Dozier and the great Bill Pitman.

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The Superbly Original, Gloriously Weird B-52’s Say Farewell to the Road

Forty-three years after their first album, the band that brought the world “Rock Lobster” and “Love Shack” is starting a tour for the last time.

By Rob Tannenbaum

THE CRITICS & POPCAST

Brian Karlsson

Critic’s Pick

Sylvan Esso’s New Album of Electro-pop Challenges All Expectations

The duo’s fourth LP, “No Rules Sandy,” revels in constantly shifting sounds that are “surreal but free.”

By Jon Pareles

Emman Montalvan

The Playlist

M.I.A. Takes Aim at Fame, and 7 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Nicki Minaj, Gayle, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others.

By Jon Caramanica and Lindsay Zoladz

Joe Traver//Reuters

A Renaissance in American Hardcore Music

A look at the recent burst of bands and how the scene operates as music, ethic and feeling.

FEATURES

A Music Career Is a Risky Bet. In ‘Mija,’ the Stakes Are Even Higher.

A new documentary follows Doris Anahi Muñoz, the daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants, as she balances the needs of her family with artistic dreams.

By Kalia Richardson

Prentiss, 15 and Feeling Deeply

The dream-pop singer and songwriter from Jackson, Miss., tries out a range of sounds and speaks from the heart on his upcoming debut album, “Crescent.”

By Jon Caramanica

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Olivia Newton-John, Pop Singer and ‘Grease’ Star, Dies at 73

She amassed No. 1 hits, chart-topping albums and four records that sold more than two million copies each. More than anything else, she was likable, even beloved.

By Jim Farber

via Everett Collection

An Appraisal

Olivia Newton-John: That Headband Was a Crown

When the singer smudged her classy image, she “unlocked something new that shot her to the top of pop’s Olympus,” our critic writes: “The vestal vamp.”

By Wesley Morris

Lamont Dozier, Writer of Numerous Motown Hits, Dies at 81

With the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, Mr. Dozier wrote dozens of singles that reached the pop or R&B charts, including “You Can’t Hurry Love,” by the Supremes.

By Gavin Edwards

Bill Pitman, Revered Studio Guitarist, Is Dead at 102

As a versatile member of the loose association of musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, he was heard on many of the biggest pop and rock hits of the 1960s and ’70s.

By Robert D. McFadden

Judith Durham, Singer of ‘Georgy Girl’ and Other Hits, Dies at 79

A classically trained soprano, she became a chart-topping pop star in the 1960s with the folk-based Australian quartet the Seekers.

By Alex Williams

Mary Ellin Barrett, Daughter and Defender of Irving Berlin, Dies at 95

When the great American songwriter’s character came under attack after his death, Ms. Barrett sought to correct the record with a candid but tender memoir.

By Alex Traub

NEWS

The Charts

Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Dominates the Album and Singles Charts

The pop star’s seventh album debuts at No. 1 with the second-biggest opening week of the year, while her song “Break My Soul” climbs to the top of the Hot 100.

By Ben Sisario

Trump Hires #BillionDollarLawyer

As top allies of Donald J. Trump are called to testify in Atlanta, he has hired a high-profile local attorney best known for representing rappers.

By Danny Hakim and Richard Fausset

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The Composer Who Turns Hayao Miyazaki’s Humane Touch Into Music

Joe Hisaishi’s scores have helped make Studio Ghibli films indelible. But in concert, the works stand on their own. That’s because “it’s about emotion,” he says.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

Critic’s Pick

Review: Finding a Collective Groove in Church and in House Dance

In “Lifted: A Gospel House Musical,” the choreographer Rennie Harris tells a tale of redemption and healing loosely inspired by “Oliver Twist.”

By Gia Kourlas

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Review: An Adaptation That Needs Tailoring

The new Elton John-Shaina Taub musical, based on the popular film about a fashion-world ingénue and her demanding boss, isn’t yet ready-to-wear.

By Alexis Soloski

THE MAGAZINE

Photo illustration by Itchi. Source photograph: Courtesy of the estate of Elizabeth Eaton Converse.

The Art of Disappearance

Some might hear the music of Connie Converse, who drove off without a trace in 1974, as a haunting record of depression. But what about the liberation?

By Hanif Abdurraqib

REAL ESTATE

Exclusive

A Gothic Rock Cottage Fit for a Bat Out of Hell

Jim Steinman spent years transforming his Connecticut house into a kind of rock ‘n’ roll museum. Now his friends are trying to sell it — with his belongings intact.

By Joyce Cohen