B-52's - Rock Lobster

"Rock Lobster" is a novelty song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of The B-52s. It was produced in two versions, one by DB Records released in 1978, and a longer version, which was part of the band's 1979 self-titled debut album, released by Warner Bros.The song became one of their signature tunes, and it helped launch the band's success.

"Rock Lobster" was the band's first single to appear on Billboard's Hot 100, where it reached #56. A major hit in Canada, the single went all the way to #1 in the RPM national singles chart. Its follow-up was "Private Idaho," in October, 1980, which reached #74 in the U.S.

The album version of "Rock Lobster" (released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records) lasts about seven minutes and includes nonsensical lyrics about a beach party and excited rants about real or imagined marine animals ("There goes a dog-fish, chased by a cat-fish, in flew a sea robin, watch out for that piranha, there goes a narwhal, here comes a big polly-wog!"), accompanied by absurd, fictional noises attributed to them (provided by Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, with Pierson providing the higher-pitched noises and Wilson the lower-pitched ones); the chorus consists of the words "Rock Lobster!" repeated over and over on top of a keyboard line.

"Rock Lobster" is written in the key of C harmonic minor and is in common time. Instruments used in the music include a baritone-tuned surf-style Mosrite electric guitar, a Farfisa, Vox or Gibson organ, and drums. Kate Pierson played the song's bass line on keyboards.

The song was well-received overall, and was the band's first single to appear on Billboard's Hot 100, where it reached #56. In Canada, released on the Warner Bros. label, the single became a huge hit, eventually going on to reach #1 in the RPM-compiled national chart on May 24, 1980. It has appeared at #146 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the song "incredibly infectious" and "memorable".
In spring 1980, John Lennon, whose post-Beatles music career had been on hiatus for nearly five years while he helped raise his son Sean, was prompted to record again after hearing "Rock Lobster"; according to Lennon, "it sounds just like Ono's music, so I said to meself [sic], 'It's time to get out the old axe and wake the wife up!'" His return to the studio led to the release of Double Fantasy.

The song appears in the Family Guy episode "The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire", and (as "Rock Monster") in The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie.

The song was used to score the love-making scene from the movie Knocked Up when the characters Ben and Alison mate and end up reproducing.

(extract from Wikipedia 2011)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Television
• Radio & Films
• Rock N Roll
• 1950's
• 1960's
• 1970's
• 1980's
• 1990's
• australian archive
• australian documentary

[franklyhot09]

i like the dog in the top right hand corner

[MrNicholas132]

if this is a novelty song, what B=52's song isn't?

[kev12364]

What is a Rock Lobster ?

[donrivers88]

In the summer of 1980, at my holiday house, this was all you could get on the radio

again and again and again.....Yeah it was a good song back then, up again dark side of the moon........Check out 2:56 on...

60's rock in the 80's , that was/is the B52's....

So it was right up my alley as the americans would say...

[donrivers88]

Watch me twice please, pay special attention to the guitar solos after he says "Lets Rock"

Listen to it 3 times and you will be forced by your brain and mojo

to buy it, or at least stick it on your click list thin gamy ....in all web browsers these days..

[donrivers88]

They also had SRS surround, and SRS WOW,

These are also included in my car stereo system.....

With these, you have no need to buy any remastered CD

on the Planet....the SRS does it for you, but combine both

SHIT........NIRVANA

[donrivers88]

With my Toshibas, I never had to plug in earphones to listen to music...

My 17" Toshiba laptops of the past hit you like a geto blaster in the face,

and even contained 2 subwoofers....It was a true multimedia machine..

Pity it had to have a microsoft operating system, so sad, so many problems and troubles.

[donrivers88]

The biggest handicap Apple 17" computers have

is its very low volume..

It is the same with their iPods and IPads..

[donrivers88]

SORRY IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND MY COMMENTS

IN THIS AREA OF U TUBE

BUT AS I GREW U-TUBE GREW ALSO INTO A WORLD STAGE,

AND I HAVE CONTROL OF SOME OF IT NOW,

I THINK I HAVE THE RIGHT TO PISS WHEREVER I FUCKING WELL PLEASE.

WHICH MEANS ALL OVER U-TUBE AND ELSEWHERE AS THOSE THAT THINK ME A GOD OR A PRODIGY OR A MEDIUM OR WHATER WILL BE PAID AND FORCED TO FOLLOW EVERY WORD I SAY

SO IF I DECIDE TO SHIT ON UTUBE OR YAHOO, ITS UP TO THEM TO CLEAN IT UP

OR ABSORBE THE PANORAMIC WISDOM OF MY WORDS.

[donrivers88]

YOU SEE IF THE WORLD KNEW THE TRUTH

ABOUT

WHO 'JACK THE RIPPER' WAS

HOW THE FUCK IS HOLLYWOOD GOING TO MAKE A PENNY OUT OF IIN THE FUTURE HEY?

NO, THEY AND , TO BE HONEST, GAINEY AND THE OTHER COP WHO EXPOSED THE TRUTH, ARE HAPPY TO PLAY ALONG AS IT SELLS MORE AND MORE OF THEIR BOOKS

IF THE CASE IS CLOSED,

PEOPLE WOULD FORGET AND NO MORE BOOKS OR MOVIES OR

DOCUMENTARIES COULD BE MADE

JUST UNDERSTAND, GAINEY FOUND THE TRUE JACK THE RIPPER

I have 95% confidence in their statistics

[donrivers88]

STRONG IRISH LEANINGS, AND KEPT AN EYE ON FOR ANY FENIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE BOMBINGS OF LONDON.

HIS PARENTS WERE IRISH, AND HE WAS A KNOWN AMERICAN FENIAN.

YET THIS DOSSEI HAS TOTALLY DISAPPEARED FROM THE MI5, SPECIAL BRANCH LIBRARY/COLLECTION FOR NO APPARENT REASON..AT ALL

YET HEAR ME KNOW SEE THE DOCO, THE FIRST BRITISH ONE.

THIS MAN IS JACK THE RIPPER BY NO DOUBT DUE TO LOCATION AND CIRCUMSTANCE ALONE LET ALONE HIS REMARKABLE HATRED FOR WOMEN, IN THE EXREME.

JOHNY DEPP IS A LIER

[donrivers88]

HOLLYWOOD LIES TO YOU ABOUT WHO THE TRUE JACK THE RIPPER WAS...

HIS NAME WAS DR FRANCIS TUMBLETY..AN AMERICAN QUACK, WHO WAS AT ONE TIME WELL KNOWN TO POLICE IN SPECIAL BRANCH DUE TO HIS STRONG I

.A SENIOR IRISH BRANCH DETECTIVE FOLLOWED HIM BACK TO NEW YORK........

WHERE HE PROMPTLY DISAPPEARED FROM PUBLIC LIFE FOREVER.

THEY HAD LITTLE CHANCE OF CONVICTING A BILLIONAIRE OF THEIR DAY,

SO THEY LET THE MATTER DROP NOW THAT HE WOULD NOT TRY COMING BACK

TO BRITAIN EVER AGAIN, AS EVER LIKELY.....