This song could change the mood of every party and school dance. We would excitedly run to the dance floor, jump around, sing with huge smiles. It was the best. All these years later it still makes me happy.
It’s NOT just a fun song. It’s an animal rights song inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono who were fans of this song too. Fred Schneider the lead singer was traumatized as a child at a beach party where crabs were being boiled.
Younger people nowadays have no idea how influential this song was back in the late 1970’s early 1980’s! When this song was played everyone would run onto the dance floor and have a blast with this song!
I'm of that era and no, this song was not influential. I cannot think of any artist influenced by this song. It was terrible when I heard it in 1979. It's terrible now. And I like the B-52s. They released some good songs after this mess.
Rock Lobster was the absolute JAM! Everyone could get on the floor and dance, or flop around, and absolutely NO-ONE cared. That was the entire point. This was such a bop-your-head song and SOOOOO WEIRD that there was nothing that anyone could do on the dance floor that was out of character. It was a tune where everyone was truly equal. You could dance, you could bop, you could jam, you could even mosh to this tune. It always made you break a sweat and then some....This was the tune where nerds with two left feet actually ruled the dance floor... and found their coolness.
Exactly - I remember school dances, when the song slowed way down in the middle, "down...down...down" all of us teenagers would kneel down or lay down on the dance floor, only to pop back up when the tempo kicked in again. Good, fun, sweet innocent memories!
Just so you guys know, this was NOT some fringe weirdo song, this was mainstream and on the radio almost every day over and over. It was played all the time back then. It's popularity was a 10. I remember as a teenager at nightclubs - when this song came on EVERYONE rushed to the dance floor!! you have no idea how catchy this song was for us and how much fun it was to my generation to listen to and dance to. As for going on your playlist, play it over and over about 6-10 times and I am sure you will put it on your playlist.
I remember hearing this for this first time at a friends house-- the friend who had the cool brother who did drugs and had piranhas, in about 1985 and thinking "Am I being naughty?" It was so good but also definitely so wrong.
Rock Lobster closed down the bars as 2am. The drunken dancers would sing along and fall to the dance floor kicking and yelling "down, down" then screaming Rock Lobster along to the music. It made you laugh hysterically, tired you out, and ended a night on this hype note. Every wallflower in the club came out for this one. It makes me happy every time I hear it.
HAHAHAHAHA!! I come back, here, occasionally, just to LAUGH MY HEAD OFF!! Jay was just NOT READY for ROCK LOBSTER!! I STILL LOVE ROCK LOBSTER and the CHILD-LIKE FUN!! The dance floors were HUGELY PACKED!! Ahhhh....great memories!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
You should listen to it again. This is a song where the first time you listen you are thinking WTF?! But each time you hear it, you get more and more into the groove. The song was the B-52s first hit.
Yesssssssss... this band was soooo much fun.. and played every house party I went to back then.. because it was just fun and silly and everyone let loose and got crazy!!! 😂
Exactly! Rock Lobster was a song that instantly packed the dance floor. I've seen so many reactions like this where this song left people totally confused. JayVee TV's vid was maybe the best I've seen - he just had fun and went with it. They are such a fun band - but you've got to embrace the weirdness!
Ok. I'm a 38 year old black man and i LOVE this song lol. I was actually just in the mood to hear it and came across this video. Y'all are tripping lol. You need more B-52's for real 😂
Don't feel no kinda way, man. I was an 11-year-old black kid growing up in the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago, to be exact_) when this song dropped and it was HE-YUGE!!! Coming from the party capital of the world, I can tell you one thing about the B-52s and that is THEY KNOW HOW TO PARTY!! This song, most likely their biggest hit, epitomizes that.
I'm a 58 yrs old black man and remember when this song came out in 1978. I was 12 yrs old and in middle school and black friend of mine named Wade hipped me to this song and I have been a fan of the B52s every since. This was a huge jam...
This WAS a huge song. John Lennon loved this song so much it inspired him to record double fantasy. The women were singing like yoko here and he loved it.
Watching reactions like this makes you realise how utterly staid and boring music has got - this is sheer unbridled joy, innovation, self-expression and insanity and FUN FUN FUN. What pop music used to be all about. In fact, the more you listen to this song, it gets better and better, a joyous, inventive masterpiece of a song and proof that punk was just the catalyst for guys like this to express themselves and re-invent everything. The youthful exuberance and performance commitment that's visible here is timeless.
@@happyolddude It's more creative than anything in the last 20 years. Quite easily. There's no contest. At least they're having fun unlike modern artists who take themselves so seriously and expect us to take them seriously when they are utterly soulless and boring.
You have to understand that this song was a reaction to the corporate rock music of the 1970s (this song came out in 1978). One of the things that makes the B-52's so great is how they made music that was utterly unlike anything anybody had ever heard before or has ever heard since. Don't try to make sense of this song. It wasn't made for you to make sense of it. It was made for you to just listen and have fun with something that is different from anything you've ever heard before or will ever hear again. And in that vein, listen to that whole album. It's absolute genius.
And ad nauseum! lol! As my12 year old self, this was one of the first songs I put on my mix tape, and I played it til the tape unwound! lol But that was ok, cuz I just grabbed my number 2 pencil, and carefully wound the tape back into the cassette, put it back in, pushed play, and proceeded to rock out again! 😂🤣🤣🦞🎼🎵🎶
Absolutely perfect reaction. "WTF?!?" and hysterical laughing and -- most of all -- bouncing along to the beat. It's like you were there. It was a huge hit.
This song is such a masterpiece it brought John Lennon out of hiatus. Not joking. The first few times I heard it I didn't like it. But after your brain starts to unravel all that's going on you actually crave it. Give it a few more tries. 🔥😎
Put on your noseguard!!! This song was basically a public service warning us of various beach-party hazards: The dangers of lost earlobes, non-matching towels, faulty air hoses resulting in in trouble and/or bubble, giant clams, boys in bikinis, stingrays, manta rays, both dog AND cat fish, narwhals, and essentially ANY AND ALL CRUSTACEANS. Also, kids, always remember: Watch out for that piranha!!!
My friend's older brother managed them back in their college days and is still married to Cindy Wilson (green dress). Imagine being 9 years old, laying on the trampoline in my friend's back yard and a van pulls up and all these weird, fabulous people get out. This song is one you should never try to "get." Just dance and smile.
A great memory. My favourite memory of this song is hearing it for the first time as a twenty year old on an Australian youth radio station called 2JJ and instantly becoming a fan. It ticked every box for me and still does.
Wow incredible I see them live in 1978 at The Electric Ballroom Camden lock London, I absolutely love them best band ever, Fred what a character and those girls wow your friends older brother is a lucky guy, big up the B52s for me one of the wackiest original bands ever
The B-52’s were and still are one of the best new wave bands to come out of the 70’s/80’s. Private Idaho, 52 Girls, Channel Z, so many great songs from them. Another oddly great band is SPARKS - Eaten by the Monster of Love.
"The B-52’s were and still are one of the best new wave bands to come out of the 70’s/80’s"... from America. America did not produce a lot of great New Wave, Britain had bee for some time and it was more mainstream there.
There's no bass guitar here. The guitarist put bass string for the top 2 strings on his guitar. This originally came about because when they were in high school in Athens, GA, he used to borrow the drummer's guitar, break the strings, and then replace them with what he could find ... it created a unique guitar playing sound that is the signature sound for the early B52s.
@@knowhere60 I stand corrected. The very definitive bass line was played on keyboards by Kate Pierson on the 1979 studio album version of the song. They're absolutely is a bass line.
It takes a minute or two to get into them. I’m an old rocker that had a hard time coming over to the B-52s. My younger girlfriend made me go to a concert for her birthday with her. The energy is astronomical. It changed the way it looked in life, I’m still an old rocker but with a new groove
This is what the late 70's and 80's was about. Having fun, dancing, enjoying experimental music and celebrating all things unique. It definitely closed down the bars, clubs or took you through "last call" at the underground clubs that stayed open to morning. I loved Private Idaho, Planet Claire too. Just a fabulous band.
"Rock lobster" was their break out song. This song was HUGE!!! You have to see it played at a dance club to appreciate it. It's quirky dance song right up there with "Time Warp" and "YMCA". It's pure fun. Loosely based on a trip to the beach. Tanning butter is how Brits say suntan lotion.
Huge??? I guess when you consider they hadn't had a hit before that then maybe. It only got to #56 on Billboard as opposed to Love Shack and Roam which both got to #3. Even Deadbeat Club #30 and Good Stuff #28 did better than it. Rather than calling it huge, I would just say that Rock Lobster had a cult following, more so than their other songs.
@@vinnygi I absolutely believe you on that point. I think if you were in the 18 to 25 age range when the song came out, then you're more likely to view the song with a sense of nostalgia. I was in 7th grade at the time, so it didn't resonate with me the same way, but I had a science teacher in her early 20's who loved the song and even gave us extra credit if we could list every animal in the song. When I was in that age range another band, ironically also from Athens, GA, R.E.M. was viewed the same way. If you were in your late teens to mid twenties you got them. If you weren't you probably didn't. I also remember hip hop song It Takes Two by Rob Base being huge at campus parties, but it only got to #36 on the charts. Rock Lobster strikes me as a you had to be there kind of song. As such, I'm not surprised Jay and Amber didn't get it, but it was fun to see their reaction.
If you’ve only listened to “Love Shack”, then you haven’t really gotten the essence of the B-52s….that’s one of their two most mainstream hits…the other being “Roam”. Some of us tried to warn you….this is New Wave but the B-52s took it to a very different, eccentric level! There’s a whole bunch of songs by them that are at least that “weird”, and we love them for it! Keep digging in that rabbit hole!
"Was this a huge song?" This song shifted EVERYTHING, that is not an exaggeration. This song opened the door wide open for punk, new wave, etc. - it broke the old rock-and-roll styles and paradigms and brought in the 80's era which in turn gave us such diverse music including rap/hip-hop. The only other group I can think that had this kind of effect at that same time period would be Blondie and then a little more distant third would be Devo (but Devo benefitted from Blondie and B-52's). This is literally an iconic song in music history, and that is not an understatement at all. One of the seminal, iconic songs that ushered in the new wave of music which diversified everything from rock to disco to punk to hip-hop.
Believe it or not.....this song was playing on all dance clubs in the 80's!!! People would dance like Amber on the dance floor and when the said, "down, down, down " people would go all the way down and lay on the dance floor and they raise up and start jumping when music came up again!!!! Hahaha lol hahaha 😆
Yep! I was in high school. We did the swim and all the craziest dances. Then we’d kneel and all jump up when they sang down. I have this song in my Apple Music library now, and I play it every couple of years.
@@Alix777.Was born August 9 1967 thank u creator. I saw and heard every genre of music from the 60s 70s lived through the 80s and 90s, soon as Bliar got elected things went pear shaped. Still mustn't grruumble had a good life and I don't regret a single second.
Jay's expression is a cross between "I think I have been traumatized" and "I should not make any sudden moves." In answer to your question, it was a huge hit and was just a party song. The minute it started, the dance floor got filled with people just dancing in a silly fashion and have a LOT of fun.
Jay was throwing a bit too disrespect at Fred Schneider though. I mean even if you don't like something, but you say you like music, you should know the value the artist brought and respect that. I mean, Celine Dion makes me physically ill, but I know and admit she can sing and can even (just barely) understand why people like her.
@@kf9346 lol, we're both insulting him. I didn't realize I did it when i posted my comment in mid vid. When I saw their post song reaction, I knew that calling Love Shack pop crap would probably not be received well.
This was a huge song, along with "My Own Private Idaho". It was a dance/party song. You got to see everyone on the dance floor going slowly down to the floor with the lyrics, " down, down, down". Not every song has a deep meaning. Some are just for fun.
B-52s... THE ultimate party band. And yes, we listened to them. A LOT. They are nothing but fun. And on a playlist? Ummm... yeah. You really can't have a proper 80s playlist without them.
They are so much more than “Love Shack”. This song was guaranteed to load the dance floor at all my high school dances on Friday nights after the football game. There was a regular rotation of four bands that would play (all students) and I can still remember the one that *nailed* this song, when others had to use tape.
The confusion on your faces is EVERYTHING!! The B-52's are legendary, they came out of Athens Georgia at about the same time as R.E.M. and were part of the New Wave post punk era. I think they were also art students at UGA so definitely avant garde and out there, but man their early songs were so fun! Definitely a little weird, but so much fun! I remember dancing to Rock Lobster at a youth party in the fellowship hall of my church! We all loved it, and even more so because the chaperones were confused by it (I think they even had the same looks on their faces as you guys! lol)!
@@shyman99 it was recorded in ‘79 I was driving with my mom and brothers in ‘80 the first time I heard it. We were laughing so asses off. Then every dance or New Wave crow party I went to played it for years.
OMG I’m in tears!! 🤣🤣 Jordan’s dead pan “Lobster” was one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen on this channel! 😂😂 And Amber, you’re just ridin it and having a ball 😂
It's just a fun song about being at the beach. The animals you see, the stuff you bring(nose guard/clip, tanning butter). That's what's great about 80's music, artists were allowed to have fun and not every song needed to have some deep meaning.
This is 70s music You 80s song napper lol 1978 released ,,This is why 80s kids think the 80s were the best ,, Alot of the songs they claim are 80s songs ARE ACTUALLY 70s songs
Isn't it refreshing to come across something so weird and different that doesn't sound like ANYTHING else? You don't get that very often. What you have to understand is that through the early and mid-70s, the music charts were completely dominated by stuff like prog rock and then disco...and then by 1976/77, punk rock came along and was sort of like a grenade thrown into the middle of all of that, and completely reset the whole music world. But the punk thing only lasted about a year, if that, and when it imploded, it fragmented into about a dozen completely new sub-genres that weren't there before. Stuff like New Wave, No Wave, Power Pop, Post-Punk, New Romantics, Synth Pop, Hardcore, and so on. People and bands felt totally free to experiment and try completely new and different things, so you got bands like the B-52s (and hundreds of others) that would never have gotten the chance to do their thing only a few years earlier. It was a great time.
It's fun watching them go through the five stages of experiencing the B-52s. 1: What... 2: Wut?! 3: Foot starts tapping 4: Head starts bobbing 5: Dancing and laughing commences
The first time I heard this song it was when they were on SNL 1980. I fell to my knees and worshipped them right then and there. They changed my entire concept of what music is and what it could be. They changed my life!
Some bands in the 80s were weird, for the sake of weird, and it was celebrated. That's what made them a thing. B-52s, Thomas Dolby, DEVO, Weird Al, all fell into this category.
This whole album is GREAT!! There is the “Yellow” album and the “Red” album. Fantastic! The origins of punk fused with new wave. I had THE BEST TIME dancing to these albums! There are so many great songs... “Living in your own Private Idaho” and “These are the Girls of the U.S.AAAAAA!!!! Of course the lyrics are different. They had their own sound, style, and the girls are the best part. Making sounds of what a rock lobster or a manta ray would sound like and the higher the hair, the closer to Jesus! WHY BE NORMAL?????? Everyone has been, and still is, so serious and every song has to have a deep meaning. I wore a space trash bag and a flower pot on my head. (Helpful hint... never put Vaseline in your hair. It won’t wash out, 😬!) Let go and just QUIT THINKING!!!! Thank y’all for sharing this. Amber, you Rock Miss Lobster!!!
This song is the definition of happy and fun .... in 1979 when this album dropped it was a HUGE relief to anybody bored with popular music ... this , the B52s ... gave music its smile back ... dig it
@ScoutReaper-zn1rz thanks for the heads up ! ( I hit that suggestion and it's a no dig lol ) ... here's a suggestion that you might like Colors by the Black Pumas , enjoy
The B-52's were like abstract expressionistic art. Pure fun. Not sexualized or emotionally manipulative for money. Both of you found the meaning with your laughter and appreciation for the killer music. It's sad we've been brainwashed to the point of feeling this is somehow "wrong". The music industry will not allow this any more.
"The music industry will not allow this any more." It's all about who is willing to pay for x and publish y. If a producer thinks something will sell, they will push it - but generally no one is even trying to make this kind of music. B-52's were pretty maverick in their own time of great variety, so it's a bit hard to put all this on the much more conservative times that we live in.
I think this was the most fun I've ever had watching one of these Rob Squad reactions. Amber delighted, laughing, and having a good time. While Jay... just looks so *lost* at times. 😂 The B52's were a very popular New Wave band in the late 70's through the 80's - and yes, they got a lot of airplay on the radio - including this song. 😉 Great reaction!
As a 15 year old coming off the disco era (and before new wave), their sound hit us like a sledgehammer. I initially had a similar reaction, like these guys are OUT THERE, but like many, it turned out to be a favorite song and group for the era.
This was a huge song. For decades. You have to appreciate Absurdist humour and a punk attitude towards "normal music". They were having fun, and I think that breakdown guitar groove is world class... Check out "Planet Claire" if you haven't already.
It’s actually a serious song underneath. This an animal rights song inspired by Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Fred Schneider was traumatized as a child at the beach after he saw crabs boiled.
@@jittmet7766 Yeah, I agree. I had been thinking that for first listens, the audio-only would be preferred to people who don't "get" the B-53's style and artsy performance vibe. It can be a lot to take in at once. Too much flavour!
John Lennon’s reaction when he first heard Rock Lobster ““I was at a dance club one night in Bermuda,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in an interview recorded three days before his death in 1980. “Upstairs, they were playing disco, and downstairs I suddenly heard ‘Rock Lobster’ by the B-52’s for the first time. Do you know it? It sounds just like Yoko’s music”. He said that’s what got him playing music again after a 5 year break.
YES, THANK YOU for bringing that hope, because I was going to tell them about John Lennon's reaction to it. He also said that when he got home he went and told YOKO that she was ahead of the times because she was doing those screaming and weird vocalizations like the girls in the B-52s, LONG before they did it. He felt that maybe NOW Yoko's music would finally be accepted because ROCK LOBSTER was a hit then.
The difference is that the B-52s were talented, had good voice, and wrote lyrics along with the screams. Whereas, some say Yoko might’ve been the devil reincarnated. I will say she was def talentless
I’ve heard this song many times and love its weirdness and I always thought John Lennon would probably like it. I had never heard that story. Thanks for sharing it. I’m a hardcore Lennon fan and still, even after 42 years, can’t come to grips with his murder. 😢
Some art exists for the sake of art itself. The B-52's are influential in rock, pop, and new wave music because they amalgamated the sounds, movies, and music that they grew up with. Imagine a bunch of artistically-inclined kids from Georgia that grew up on sci-fi, and horror movies, plus surf rock. When they got older they were born too late to contribute to the sounds they grew up with. But when they tried to recreate it then it ended up being a wonderful mash up of everything all at the same time. You don't have to like it, but deconstruct everything they did in that song. Musically, storytelling, and harmonies. There was no band before or after that was able to capture the frenetic energy of a cheap budget surf/ sci-fi/ horror movie in musical form. It was a party tune for sure that helped break out of the disco trends that dominated the '70s. Their other songs stand apart from the mainstream. They have no contemporaries that freely moved between genres, sometimes in the middle of a song. Compare Roam, to Love Shack, to Private Idaho, to Rock Lobster. They have their own unique sound, and no band compares.
You've written one of the more insightful overviews of what motivated this group to become what they are/were, while in the meantime pointing out how uniquely they set themselves apart from other musicians of that time period. Thank you for penning a most interesting analysis!
Every. High. School. Dance. And when the “down, down, down” part starts everybody would slowly lower to the floor and then slowing rise again when the guitar starts. Good times.
We used to party our butts off to this song in the 80’s! This song is solely done for the purpose of dancing to it. There is no hidden meaning or agenda. All B-52 music is just fun. Just move!
This song was great at parties….every one was jumping to the music…..and then would fall to the floor during the bridge when he says going down……they are considered the new wave version of surf rock……with a fifties twist….it was so different than what was on the radio at the time
This song is fire; yes this is on plenty of playlists. It’s a high energy new wave song. No need to try to over examine it; it’s just an opportunity to dance your ass off. This song was very well received.
When I was in high school, this was a school dance jam. When he sings “Down, down!”, we all lay down on the floor until the music kicked in again. Such fun. It’s good for you to expand your musical experience, even if you don’t dig it. The music from 79-82 was exciting and different thanks to New Wave, and the B-52s were campy contemporary funsters.
I remember that in the high school dances.... everyone lay on their backs and rapidly pounding the floor with their feet -- made the room rumble and shake like an earthquake.
First song I ever danced to at my first school dance in grade 6. I was like WHAT IS THIS?! I was hooked form there on and explored many version of subculture dance scenes and The B-52s have always been in my music collection.
I loved watching your guys brains implode with this... I was crying with laughter watching Amber lose her mind and Jay go from confused to scared back to confused and then total bemusement... awesome reaction... 👌
@@kf9346 me too :) lovely family and best reactions hands down... love the fact they mainly listen to proper music and not just the crowd pleasers and click bait... although... Amber and Rob if you read this... would love to see you react to the HU band- wolf totem... you want a song to get the blood and adrenaline pumping that's the one! Or Wardruna... Helvegen... ancient sounds that echo through the ages to move and stir up the pagan in us all... beautiful.
You may not have realized it but Amber you emulated every single kid who danced to this song back in the day when you started your descending movement as the song went into the ''down down'' bit. Seriously, there'd be an entire dancefloor of us all wibble-wobbling our way to the ground in anticipation of the reprise.
It’s a fun song meant to party and dance to, no more, no less. It was inspired by a nightclub in Atlanta that played slideshows instead of lights. I appreciate creativity, this song is full of it, which is the opposite of reacting-the B52s put themselves out there-especially in the early days. Rock Lobster was released in 1978, 11 years before Love Shack.
OMG I’ve never laughed so hard at a reaction!!! Yes this was on the radio… often! My autistic son also loved the B-52s and they were nice enough to invite him backstage when he was @6yrs old. Let him sit off stage during the show, Fred gave him one of his Hawaiian shirts, and they all signed a stuffed red lobster he had. And Keith gave him the guitar pick he used to play Rock Lobster that night. We still have everything.
The B-52s are a legendary party band from Athens, GA. Rock Lobster is on their first album that was released in 1979. My older brother bought me their first 2 albums when I was in middle school and I about wore those records out!! Such fun, silly dance music. I still love them, 45 years later.
Jay’s face made me SMILE to the point of cheeks are now hurting !!!! And Amber’s sweet laughter ….. ❤️❤️ You two always do my heart good. Thanks for your hard work and dedication !!! With much love from Mississippi
This song actually came out in 1978! And it still holds up! Yes, it is time to take a walk into the Alternative New Wave sounds of the late 70's and early 80's! DISCO was still ruling the airwaves, but New Wave was on the way to kill it. Now you need some DEVO!
This song came out in the late 70s and it was HUGE. This video clip was shot during their Australian Tour in 1980. I remember seeing it being broadcast live on a TV show called countdown. I was actually at a party at the time and the whole room just went bonkers! B-52 are about celebrating your own unique individualness and letting your freak flag fly and not caring about what others may think of you.
The fact that your reactions are all over the place is priceless!! Yes, we played this. Yes, we partied to this. And yes, it was very popular in an underground sort of way. The party went full tilt when this record played. It was often used to changed.the dynamic of a party and completely obliterate any bad vibes. The fact that Jay came in on Lobster and Amber burst into uncontrollable laughter is the perfect reaction to this classic song. I had to watch the expression on your faces 3 times because it was that great !!!
I loved their expressions in this reaction too. They could make like 10 new thumbnails for their videos from their faces in the video. If Jay and Amber want to experience this song the "right" way, get the girls in the living room, turn up the stereo and start dancing. The lyrics are goofy but it's also a masterpiece of dynamics. Crescendos, swells and changes. All while being danceable throughout.
I haven’t laughed so hard at a reaction ever! Seeing Amber laughing so hard she was crying was priceless. And the confused look on both your faces… More B-52’s please! “Strobe Light” and “Private Idaho” are a lot of fun. And that’s what the B-52’s were all about - FUN!
This was the funniest reaction video I've ever seen, and I've seen hundreds of them. Between the completely confused look on Jay's face, and Amber losing her Sh&t laughing, I was cracking up! Thank you both so much for what you do. You bring a smile to my face, 3 times every single day!
I'm probably gona unsub. They interrupt the songs way too much so that they can't even get a real feel for the whole package. Save the critique for the end of the song. Seriously.
@@Derideo I like that they stop and comment. If i want to listen to the song, I just listen to the song. I am here for their reaction. I stopped another reaction duo because all they did was bob their heads and go "ok."
Their musical orchestration and guitar chords are so simplistic, yet their music is SO good!....then throw in 2 of the most unique sounding female vocalists in Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, and you got a band whose music is still poppin' 45 years later!
"What is this..." THAT is exactly what we said in '78 when it came out, and THAT'S why we loved it and them. B52's were fun, soooo different, funky, weird, rock, surfy, go-go'y, anti and fun and we just loved dancing! It was a crazy trip! We danced to them at JH and HS dances. Ha! And Cindy and Kate....they were known for their harmonies that were so beautiful and yells etc...! Fred...was just crazy fun Fred! Ha! Love watching your guys reaction to music I grew up on and have the albums for!
@@stuartdollar9912 yes a great song!!!! I had all their early LPs but then my mom got rid of them when I came back to collect my stuff. :( I need to replace those classics! Loved the Whammy album too! Far too many great songs on so many of their albums
This was just an extremely fun experimental band of the 80's who were stupid popular.. and made everyone have a really great time at dances and parties!!! I adore them.. and my fave of theirs was Mesopotamia! It's weird too.. but all of their music was weird.. and just made you want to go to a party or the beach and have a great day! 🤩🥳😂😁
Another little fact: John Lennon heard this song in a club in the Bahamas and hearing the women's voices told him the world was ready for Yoko. He came out of retirement and he and Yoko recorded Double Fantasy, his last album.
"Why is my head bopping?" That, my friend, is the POWER of Rock Lobster.
YES !!
It is the power of Rock Lobster!
yes it was and is still on my Playlist 😂❤
Nope, that's pure B-52's party magic !
❤💯
This song could change the mood of every party and school dance. We would excitedly run to the dance floor, jump around, sing with huge smiles. It was the best. All these years later it still makes me happy.
Two songs gave me this reaction. Rock Lobster and Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Yes!!!
th-cam.com/video/Gc8fFfh-nGs/w-d-xo.html
“Down! Down! Down!!”
This is a throw back for me get the lyrics.
Guys. This was HUGE through the early 80’s. NO dance party was without THIS SONG! You just have to go with it. It’s just fun.
It’s a late 70’s song as was their epic first album. 🤷♂️
It’s NOT just a fun song. It’s an animal rights song inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono who were fans of this song too. Fred Schneider the lead singer was traumatized as a child at a beach party where crabs were being boiled.
@@drwalker6517 Yes, but it hit in the 80's and we listened to it at parties through all of the 80's.
Loved it then, love it now!
Hilarious!
Dick Dale as well as ? Mark & the Mysteries influences
@@drwalker6517 they're known generally as an 80s band
imagine a room full of young people jumping and bopping to this insane song having the time of their lives. yes it was very popular.
This song dropped in the summer of 79 and when we got back to school, it's all everyone was talking about
Younger people nowadays have no idea how influential this song was back in the late 1970’s early 1980’s! When this song was played everyone would run onto the dance floor and have a blast with this song!
If your party was at 10 and you wanted it to go to 11, put on Rock Lobster!!
@@Mediawatcher2023so what, they having a listen..
Don’t get salty because they have a different take on the song…
I'm in my 30s and this song would play on Halloween party CDs. I only knew the love shack from the radio
I'm of that era and no, this song was not influential. I cannot think of any artist influenced by this song. It was terrible when I heard it in 1979. It's terrible now. And I like the B-52s. They released some good songs after this mess.
💯
Rock Lobster was the absolute JAM! Everyone could get on the floor and dance, or flop around, and absolutely NO-ONE cared. That was the entire point. This was such a bop-your-head song and SOOOOO WEIRD that there was nothing that anyone could do on the dance floor that was out of character. It was a tune where everyone was truly equal. You could dance, you could bop, you could jam, you could even mosh to this tune. It always made you break a sweat and then some....This was the tune where nerds with two left feet actually ruled the dance floor... and found their coolness.
This!! 100%!!
Wow, well put. Spot on.
Not was, IS!
Spot on!
Exactly - I remember school dances, when the song slowed way down in the middle, "down...down...down" all of us teenagers would kneel down or lay down on the dance floor, only to pop back up when the tempo kicked in again. Good, fun, sweet innocent memories!
Just so you guys know, this was NOT some fringe weirdo song, this was mainstream and on the radio almost every day over and over. It was played all the time back then. It's popularity was a 10. I remember as a teenager at nightclubs - when this song came on EVERYONE rushed to the dance floor!! you have no idea how catchy this song was for us and how much fun it was to my generation to listen to and dance to. As for going on your playlist, play it over and over about 6-10 times and I am sure you will put it on your playlist.
I agree!
I remember hearing this for this first time at a friends house-- the friend who had the cool brother who did drugs and had piranhas, in about 1985 and thinking "Am I being naughty?" It was so good but also definitely so wrong.
I am addicted to this song. It is just fun! like many of the B-52's songs. This one is a classic!
Yup, played on Radio One over here in the UK. Was in the charts, they're classics.
It's an absolute classic, but they need to give it another go.
I'm an old metal head and this is one of my favourite songs of all time.
Same!
Heavy Metal for life, but I love this song 😂
Rock Lobster closed down the bars as 2am. The drunken dancers would sing along and fall to the dance floor kicking and yelling "down, down" then screaming Rock Lobster along to the music. It made you laugh hysterically, tired you out, and ended a night on this hype note. Every wallflower in the club came out for this one. It makes me happy every time I hear it.
It's like a Warhol painting; don't try to find some deep inner-meaning, just accept its beauty.
Warhol?
@@soloparaplaystation6624 Andy Warhol.
lol
Exactly!!
The song is called Rock Lobster. Were they expecting a love song? B-52s were a party band. All fun. A lot of energy.
She completely gets it! "screw what everyone thinks, lets have fun!"
HAHAHAHAHA!! I come back, here, occasionally, just to LAUGH MY HEAD OFF!! Jay was just NOT READY for ROCK LOBSTER!! I STILL LOVE ROCK LOBSTER and the CHILD-LIKE FUN!! The dance floors were HUGELY PACKED!! Ahhhh....great memories!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
You should listen to it again. This is a song where the first time you listen you are thinking WTF?! But each time you hear it, you get more and more into the groove. The song was the B-52s first hit.
Had so much fun in the clubs in the 80s. The energy went through the roof. You could feel the dancefloor swaying. Great times for partying.
Absolutely correct. Simple yet deep. Rock lobster!
They were like 19
The more you listen to the B-52’s, the more you will love the B-52’s.
Agreed!
Ditto! The greatest party band!
This was the funnest song at every high school dance. This song is legendary. This was the best dance band of the 80s by a mile.
Yes indeed. And every wedding reeption.
Yeah we loved it. Why do we have to he normal.? If New Wave music is too strange go listen to Doris day then.
Yesssssssss... this band was soooo much fun.. and played every house party I went to back then.. because it was just fun and silly and everyone let loose and got crazy!!! 😂
Exactly! Rock Lobster was a song that instantly packed the dance floor. I've seen so many reactions like this where this song left people totally confused. JayVee TV's vid was maybe the best I've seen - he just had fun and went with it. They are such a fun band - but you've got to embrace the weirdness!
@@jefferylaufman8213 I love this band AND Doris Day. No need to demean women...
Ok. I'm a 38 year old black man and i LOVE this song lol. I was actually just in the mood to hear it and came across this video. Y'all are tripping lol. You need more B-52's for real 😂
Doesn't it show how music and genres can and do cross race/ethnicity and bring folks together? Good is good, regardless.
@@SinCityVillain yeah cultural differences between ethnicities become mostly irrelevant when it comes to music
Don't feel no kinda way, man. I was an 11-year-old black kid growing up in the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago, to be exact_) when this song dropped and it was HE-YUGE!!! Coming from the party capital of the world, I can tell you one thing about the B-52s and that is THEY KNOW HOW TO PARTY!! This song, most likely their biggest hit, epitomizes that.
I'm a 58 yrs old black man and remember when this song came out in 1978. I was 12 yrs old and in middle school and black friend of mine named Wade hipped me to this song and I have been a fan of the B52s every since. This was a huge jam...
This WAS a huge song. John Lennon loved this song so much it inspired him to record double fantasy. The women were singing like yoko here and he loved it.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not... but either way... I love it!
@@Sunfleuria not sarcastic at all. That is a true story. And Rick lobster is an amazing song.
Yep, and after hearing it, he told Yoko she was ahead of her time.
He heard it and said to yoko ‘they understand you now’ !😊
Better than anything Yoko has ever done
If you MISSED the 80's you can never know the power of this song
And the 70s when it came out
and the flower
Watching reactions like this makes you realise how utterly staid and boring music has got - this is sheer unbridled joy, innovation, self-expression and insanity and FUN FUN FUN. What pop music used to be all about. In fact, the more you listen to this song, it gets better and better, a joyous, inventive masterpiece of a song and proof that punk was just the catalyst for guys like this to express themselves and re-invent everything. The youthful exuberance and performance commitment that's visible here is timeless.
Thank God I missed the 80's is all I can say! This is pure tripe!
@@happyolddude It's more creative than anything in the last 20 years. Quite easily. There's no contest. At least they're having fun unlike modern artists who take themselves so seriously and expect us to take them seriously when they are utterly soulless and boring.
You have to understand that this song was a reaction to the corporate rock music of the 1970s (this song came out in 1978). One of the things that makes the B-52's so great is how they made music that was utterly unlike anything anybody had ever heard before or has ever heard since. Don't try to make sense of this song. It wasn't made for you to make sense of it. It was made for you to just listen and have fun with something that is different from anything you've ever heard before or will ever hear again. And in that vein, listen to that whole album. It's absolute genius.
I'M ROLLING IN LAUGHTER HERE. J's facial expressions and Amber's exuberance, I love it.
Your BEST reaction, honest and straightforward.
Yes, I would guess I had very similar facial reactions the first time I heard it.
One of the most fun live bands ever. Did we listen to it? Yes, we did.
And ad nauseum! lol! As my12 year old self, this was one of the first songs I put on my mix tape, and I played it til the tape unwound! lol But that was ok, cuz I just grabbed my number 2 pencil, and carefully wound the tape back into the cassette, put it back in, pushed play, and proceeded to rock out again! 😂🤣🤣🦞🎼🎵🎶
First band we took our 3 kids to see live!
Absolutely perfect reaction. "WTF?!?" and hysterical laughing and -- most of all -- bouncing along to the beat. It's like you were there. It was a huge hit.
It sure was it came out in 1978 DO YOU remember that ?
@@theodoreritola7641 That's a personal question! LOL. Yes, I do remember it.
This song is such a masterpiece it brought John Lennon out of hiatus. Not joking. The first few times I heard it I didn't like it. But after your brain starts to unravel all that's going on you actually crave it. Give it a few more tries. 🔥😎
My life was sent on its course by this song. I shit you not.
He said the female vocalization reminded him of Yoko and the song was the only reason he came back to music.
I agree with you Pamela, in my younger years I didn't like this song, but now I love it!!! 💃can't stop dancing along, hahaha!
Doesn't make sense, it's very energetic 🤩
Amber, you are hilarious! ROCK LOBSTER!!
Put on your noseguard!!!
This song was basically a public service warning us of various beach-party hazards:
The dangers of lost earlobes, non-matching towels, faulty air hoses resulting in in trouble and/or bubble, giant clams, boys in bikinis, stingrays, manta rays, both dog AND cat fish, narwhals, and essentially ANY AND ALL CRUSTACEANS.
Also, kids, always remember:
Watch out for that piranha!!!
And the dangers of forgetting your tanning butter!
😂😂
Beautifully worded.
One of the best songs of all time. Utterly original and entertaining. Simply awesome.
This is one of my three "desert island" songs. One of the best songs of all time...indeed!
It has been voted at about 150th of the best songs of all time.
The whole album is fantastic.
The first B-52's album was pure genius. Every song is brilliant. They were so ahead of their time.
I did my housework to the album
I would iron to ..52 girls...
HOLLA DAT!
Knock you in the head….
Kick you in the bed….
Hot Lava!
It's so so good. Hot Lava, Hero Worship, Dance this mess around, Planet Claire ... zomg!
My friend's older brother managed them back in their college days and is still married to Cindy Wilson (green dress). Imagine being 9 years old, laying on the trampoline in my friend's back yard and a van pulls up and all these weird, fabulous people get out. This song is one you should never try to "get." Just dance and smile.
That sounds like a fun memory. 🙂
A great memory. My favourite memory of this song is hearing it for the first time as a twenty year old on an Australian youth radio station called 2JJ and instantly becoming a fan. It ticked every box for me and still does.
Its Tubular!
Wow incredible I see them live in 1978 at The Electric Ballroom Camden lock London, I absolutely love them best band ever, Fred what a character and those girls wow your friends older brother is a lucky guy, big up the B52s for me one of the wackiest original bands ever
Wow. What a great story and memory.
This album is pure perfection! One of my favorites of all time.
The B-52’s were and still are one of the best new wave bands to come out of the 70’s/80’s. Private Idaho, 52 Girls, Channel Z, so many great songs from them. Another oddly great band is SPARKS - Eaten by the Monster of Love.
"The B-52’s were and still are one of the best new wave bands to come out of the 70’s/80’s"... from America. America did not produce a lot of great New Wave, Britain had bee for some time and it was more mainstream there.
Sparks!! This town ain’t big enough for the two of us
And The Deadbeat Club :)
@@kf9346
I think Britain had more of the New Wave
& U.S. had more of the Punk.
I'd add "Dance This Mess Around" & "Wig".
100% correct. The instrumentation is fire. Don't overlook that surf style guitar and wicked bass🔥
…and the drums, and the vocals. The band is tight the whole way through. Love that smoke alarm solo at 6:03. 🪨🦞
The bassline is all secret agent movie soundtrack.
And the music reminds me most of the ' 'Munsters Theme'
There's no bass guitar here. The guitarist put bass string for the top 2 strings on his guitar. This originally came about because when they were in high school in Athens, GA, he used to borrow the drummer's guitar, break the strings, and then replace them with what he could find ... it created a unique guitar playing sound that is the signature sound for the early B52s.
@@knowhere60 I stand corrected. The very definitive bass line was played on keyboards by Kate Pierson on the 1979 studio album version of the song. They're absolutely is a bass line.
This was a HUGE SONG. it’s still on my playlist.
Mine too
Yep mine too!
Mine too.
It takes a minute or two to get into them. I’m an old rocker that had a hard time coming over to the B-52s. My younger girlfriend made me go to a concert for her birthday with her. The energy is astronomical. It changed the way it looked in life, I’m still an old rocker but with a new groove
This is what the late 70's and 80's was about. Having fun, dancing, enjoying experimental music and celebrating all things unique. It definitely closed down the bars, clubs or took you through "last call" at the underground clubs that stayed open to morning. I loved Private Idaho, Planet Claire too. Just a fabulous band.
Private Idaho would be a great follow up next time they do the B-52s.
The drugs were a lot different then. This was for April Fool's
YESSSSSS 🙌🏻I sure do, it’s a great dance song. My favorite from B-52’s lol y’all are silly
I dig Dance this Mess Around❤️, Quiche Lorraine💚, Downtown💛, and Follow Your Bliss🖤 the most.
"Rock lobster" was their break out song. This song was HUGE!!! You have to see it played at a dance club to appreciate it. It's quirky dance song right up there with "Time Warp" and "YMCA". It's pure fun. Loosely based on a trip to the beach. Tanning butter is how Brits say suntan lotion.
Huge??? I guess when you consider they hadn't had a hit before that then maybe. It only got to #56 on Billboard as opposed to Love Shack and Roam which both got to #3. Even Deadbeat Club #30 and Good Stuff #28 did better than it. Rather than calling it huge, I would just say that Rock Lobster had a cult following, more so than their other songs.
@@ronnix23 huge =/= popular in the moment. It’s about significance and durability, which Rock Lobster has in spades.
@@ronnix23 If you were at any club or college bar at that time, it was THE song.
Except they are from Athens, Georgia USA. Maybe tanning butter is a southern term, as well.
@@vinnygi I absolutely believe you on that point. I think if you were in the 18 to 25 age range when the song came out, then you're more likely to view the song with a sense of nostalgia. I was in 7th grade at the time, so it didn't resonate with me the same way, but I had a science teacher in her early 20's who loved the song and even gave us extra credit if we could list every animal in the song. When I was in that age range another band, ironically also from Athens, GA, R.E.M. was viewed the same way. If you were in your late teens to mid twenties you got them. If you weren't you probably didn't. I also remember hip hop song It Takes Two by Rob Base being huge at campus parties, but it only got to #36 on the charts. Rock Lobster strikes me as a you had to be there kind of song. As such, I'm not surprised Jay and Amber didn't get it, but it was fun to see their reaction.
If you’ve only listened to “Love Shack”, then you haven’t really gotten the essence of the B-52s….that’s one of their two most mainstream hits…the other being “Roam”.
Some of us tried to warn you….this is New Wave but the B-52s took it to a very different, eccentric level!
There’s a whole bunch of songs by them that are at least that “weird”, and we love them for it!
Keep digging in that rabbit hole!
Exactly. Good song, but their early stuff is the best.
The true essence of New Wave is summed up in one song.
Weird Al's "Dare To Be Stupid".
"Was this a huge song?" This song shifted EVERYTHING, that is not an exaggeration. This song opened the door wide open for punk, new wave, etc. - it broke the old rock-and-roll styles and paradigms and brought in the 80's era which in turn gave us such diverse music including rap/hip-hop. The only other group I can think that had this kind of effect at that same time period would be Blondie and then a little more distant third would be Devo (but Devo benefitted from Blondie and B-52's). This is literally an iconic song in music history, and that is not an understatement at all. One of the seminal, iconic songs that ushered in the new wave of music which diversified everything from rock to disco to punk to hip-hop.
The looks on your faces was priceless. This was a huge hit in the 80’s.
LOLOLOLOL!!!!
Did you 4 get the 70s when Rock Lobster came out lol in 1978
Dont 4 get it came out in 1978 Its 70s
Believe it or not.....this song was playing on all dance clubs in the 80's!!! People would dance like Amber on the dance floor and when the said, "down, down, down " people would go all the way down and lay on the dance floor and they raise up and start jumping when music came up again!!!! Hahaha lol hahaha 😆
Wish I was born in 1960.
Yep! I was in high school. We did the swim and all the craziest dances. Then we’d kneel and all jump up when they sang down. I have this song in my Apple Music library now, and I play it every couple of years.
@@Alix777.Was born August 9 1967 thank u creator. I saw and heard every genre of music from the 60s 70s lived through the 80s and 90s, soon as Bliar got elected things went pear shaped. Still mustn't grruumble had a good life and I don't regret a single second.
yes yes yes
Jay's expression is a cross between "I think I have been traumatized" and "I should not make any sudden moves."
In answer to your question, it was a huge hit and was just a party song. The minute it started, the dance floor got filled with people just dancing in a silly fashion and have a LOT of fun.
Jay was throwing a bit too disrespect at Fred Schneider though. I mean even if you don't like something, but you say you like music, you should know the value the artist brought and respect that. I mean, Celine Dion makes me physically ill, but I know and admit she can sing and can even (just barely) understand why people like her.
@@kf9346 lol, we're both insulting him. I didn't realize I did it when i posted my comment in mid vid. When I saw their post song reaction, I knew that calling Love Shack pop crap would probably not be received well.
One of the most UNDER RATED bands of all time.
This was a huge song, along with "My Own Private Idaho". It was a dance/party song. You got to see everyone on the dance floor going slowly down to the floor with the lyrics, " down, down, down". Not every song has a deep meaning. Some are just for fun.
The sing title is just, Private Idaho.
Another of their 70s songs ,,
B-52s... THE ultimate party band. And yes, we listened to them. A LOT. They are nothing but fun. And on a playlist? Ummm... yeah. You really can't have a proper 80s playlist without them.
I agree 100% 🙂
They are so much more than “Love Shack”. This song was guaranteed to load the dance floor at all my high school dances on Friday nights after the football game. There was a regular rotation of four bands that would play (all students) and I can still remember the one that *nailed* this song, when others had to use tape.
Also, first time I had ever heard of a narwhal as a kid
OR THE 70s This was from 1978 ,,,
Or the 70s This came out in 1978 So this is a 70s Play and party list
The confusion on your faces is EVERYTHING!! The B-52's are legendary, they came out of Athens Georgia at about the same time as R.E.M. and were part of the New Wave post punk era. I think they were also art students at UGA so definitely avant garde and out there, but man their early songs were so fun! Definitely a little weird, but so much fun! I remember dancing to Rock Lobster at a youth party in the fellowship hall of my church! We all loved it, and even more so because the chaperones were confused by it (I think they even had the same looks on their faces as you guys! lol)!
One year later, how many times have you listened to this song again? 45 years later, it’s still being played.
Has it really been that long???
I never heard it on the radio in the 70s and I've never heard it on the radio since then. It is not a good song.
@@shyman99 it was recorded in ‘79 I was driving with my mom and brothers in ‘80 the first time I heard it. We were laughing so asses off. Then every dance or New Wave crow party I went to played it for years.
OMG I’m in tears!! 🤣🤣 Jordan’s dead pan “Lobster” was one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen on this channel! 😂😂 And Amber, you’re just ridin it and having a ball 😂
THIS‼️🤣🤣🤣🤣
It was perfect that the video did that tiny pause that sometimes happens riiight when J said "Lobster" lmao, couldn't have been better!
It's just a fun song about being at the beach. The animals you see, the stuff you bring(nose guard/clip, tanning butter). That's what's great about 80's music, artists were allowed to have fun and not every song needed to have some deep meaning.
The ‘80’s: You never knew what you were gonna get, but it was sure fun.
This is 70s music You 80s song napper lol 1978 released ,,This is why 80s kids think the 80s were the best ,, Alot of the songs they claim are 80s songs ARE ACTUALLY 70s songs
Isn't it refreshing to come across something so weird and different that doesn't sound like ANYTHING else? You don't get that very often. What you have to understand is that through the early and mid-70s, the music charts were completely dominated by stuff like prog rock and then disco...and then by 1976/77, punk rock came along and was sort of like a grenade thrown into the middle of all of that, and completely reset the whole music world. But the punk thing only lasted about a year, if that, and when it imploded, it fragmented into about a dozen completely new sub-genres that weren't there before. Stuff like New Wave, No Wave, Power Pop, Post-Punk, New Romantics, Synth Pop, Hardcore, and so on. People and bands felt totally free to experiment and try completely new and different things, so you got bands like the B-52s (and hundreds of others) that would never have gotten the chance to do their thing only a few years earlier. It was a great time.
Yep it all started in the 70s
These guys went to the beach. They saw what they thought was a rock in the water. It wasn't. It was a Lobster. Here we are.
Also: He was in a jam.
He’s in a giant clam! 😲
It's fun watching them go through the five stages of experiencing the B-52s.
1: What...
2: Wut?!
3: Foot starts tapping
4: Head starts bobbing
5: Dancing and laughing commences
The first time I heard this song it was when they were on SNL 1980. I fell to my knees and worshipped them right then and there. They changed my entire concept of what music is and what it could be. They changed my life!
Some bands in the 80s were weird, for the sake of weird, and it was celebrated. That's what made them a thing. B-52s, Thomas Dolby, DEVO, Weird Al, all fell into this category.
Next stop is the song "Fish Heads"
Also my favourite - They Might Be Giants
No Dude. They were NOT "weird for the sake of being weird." This is just how they expressed THEIR art.
Oh yeah I’m waiting for DEVO ‘Whip it!’
@@bodynhand and their art was expressing weirdness, so yes, whatever you say pal
This whole album is GREAT!! There is the “Yellow” album and the “Red” album. Fantastic! The origins of punk fused with new wave. I had THE BEST TIME dancing to these albums! There are so many great songs... “Living in your own Private Idaho” and “These are the Girls of the U.S.AAAAAA!!!! Of course the lyrics are different. They had their own sound, style, and the girls are the best part. Making sounds of what a rock lobster or a manta ray would sound like and the higher the hair, the closer to Jesus! WHY BE NORMAL?????? Everyone has been, and still is, so serious and every song has to have a deep meaning. I wore a space trash bag and a flower pot on my head. (Helpful hint... never put Vaseline in your hair. It won’t wash out, 😬!) Let go and just QUIT THINKING!!!! Thank y’all for sharing this. Amber, you Rock Miss Lobster!!!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this reaction. Amber, you’re the best!
This song is the definition of happy and fun .... in 1979 when this album dropped it was a HUGE relief to anybody bored with popular music ... this , the B52s ... gave music its smile back ... dig it
I dig it. But can you dig this? Slay-52s Raining Lobsters (search TH-cam for this gem)
@ScoutReaper-zn1rz thanks for the heads up !
( I hit that suggestion and it's a no dig lol ) ... here's a suggestion that you might like Colors by the Black Pumas , enjoy
These 2 would disrespect Eric Von Zipper's Ratz and the black widow bikers .....totally Classless !
Yep, just having fun. You don't have to be serious all the time.
The B-52's were like abstract expressionistic art. Pure fun. Not sexualized or emotionally manipulative for money. Both of you found the meaning with your laughter and appreciation for the killer music. It's sad we've been brainwashed to the point of feeling this is somehow "wrong". The music industry will not allow this any more.
Yes!!!! After the over-earnestness of 70s singer/songwriters, bands like this were a breath of fresh air. Just pure fun!!!
I think there is a lot of surf music influence in this song.
"The music industry will not allow this any more."
It's all about who is willing to pay for x and publish y.
If a producer thinks something will sell, they will push it - but generally no one is even trying to make this kind of music.
B-52's were pretty maverick in their own time of great variety, so it's a bit hard to put all this on the much more conservative times that we live in.
@@mnomadvfx Don’t blame conservatives for the crap that passes for some music today!🤣
LET IT BE KNOWN!!!!!
I think this was the most fun I've ever had watching one of these Rob Squad reactions. Amber delighted, laughing, and having a good time. While Jay... just looks so *lost* at times. 😂
The B52's were a very popular New Wave band in the late 70's through the 80's - and yes, they got a lot of airplay on the radio - including this song. 😉
Great reaction!
Amber at one point screaming with laughter. Time to watch the reaction to groove is in the heart and genius of love and maybe wordy Rappinghood.
Check out "Its a wig!"
I said I wouldnt listen to agai either....but Its freakin great!
We didn't get them on the Air a lot in the my area. A Friend of mine introduced me to them , after he had spent some time in NYC. Hooked.
@@bosscogg - Yes! 'Wig' is great! 😀 And also 'Legal Tender' 😊
As a 15 year old coming off the disco era (and before new wave), their sound hit us like a sledgehammer. I initially had a similar reaction, like these guys are OUT THERE, but like many, it turned out to be a favorite song and group for the era.
TBF, disco was still around the same era. '70s into the early '80s. But, new wave /punk started to take over during that same time frame.
Yes, it was a HUGE song! We weren't looking for meaning at the time. We were looking for joy. This song is pure joy.
This was a huge song. For decades. You have to appreciate Absurdist humour and a punk attitude towards "normal music". They were having fun, and I think that breakdown guitar groove is world class... Check out "Planet Claire" if you haven't already.
I’m sure they haven’t, or they wouldn’t be so confounded by this, haha!
It’s actually a serious song underneath. This an animal rights song inspired by Yoko Ono and John Lennon. Fred Schneider was traumatized as a child at the beach after he saw crabs boiled.
@@dorothyparker8433 I love that story! So cool that John finally heard them and found that groove again.
Musically this was a brilliant track as were their other tracks. The Squaddies above are being misled by all the costumes and antics.
@@jittmet7766 Yeah, I agree. I had been thinking that for first listens, the audio-only would be preferred to people who don't "get" the B-53's style and artsy performance vibe. It can be a lot to take in at once. Too much flavour!
You guys always make me smile. This here has me rolling on the floor laughing ! You didn't have To put this out , but you did . THANK YOU!
They are STUNNED! Just like everybody else was when they first heard ROCK LOBSTER! AAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
John Lennon’s reaction when he first heard Rock Lobster ““I was at a dance club one night in Bermuda,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in an interview recorded three days before his death in 1980. “Upstairs, they were playing disco, and downstairs I suddenly heard ‘Rock Lobster’ by the B-52’s for the first time. Do you know it? It sounds just like Yoko’s music”. He said that’s what got him playing music again after a 5 year break.
YES, THANK YOU for bringing that hope, because I was going to tell them about John Lennon's reaction to it. He also said that when he got home he went and told YOKO that she was ahead of the times because she was doing those screaming and weird vocalizations like the girls in the B-52s, LONG before they did it. He felt that maybe NOW Yoko's music would finally be accepted because ROCK LOBSTER was a hit then.
The difference is that the B-52s were talented, had good voice, and wrote lyrics along with the screams. Whereas, some say Yoko might’ve been the devil reincarnated. I will say she was def talentless
Kate and Cindy do do the same ululation- thang Yoko occasionally did -- so I completely get what John meant. 😎
I’ve heard this song many times and love its weirdness and I always thought John Lennon would probably like it. I had never heard that story. Thanks for sharing it. I’m a hardcore Lennon fan and still, even after 42 years, can’t come to grips with his murder. 😢
So he had nothing good to say about the song?
"He says "Rock...Rock..." Jay says "...Lobster" with a look of bewilderment and disgust. I love it! MORE B-52s!
J's reaction! :D
🤣👍🏻😂👍🏻🤣
🤣🤣🤣
OMG!!!! AMBER'S REACTION IS KILLING ME!!! ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE CRACKED UP!!!!!😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝
ROLLING ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW!!!!
Have FUN, everything doesn't have to mean something deep. This song was every song on my playlist.
Some art exists for the sake of art itself. The B-52's are influential in rock, pop, and new wave music because they amalgamated the sounds, movies, and music that they grew up with. Imagine a bunch of artistically-inclined kids from Georgia that grew up on sci-fi, and horror movies, plus surf rock. When they got older they were born too late to contribute to the sounds they grew up with. But when they tried to recreate it then it ended up being a wonderful mash up of everything all at the same time. You don't have to like it, but deconstruct everything they did in that song. Musically, storytelling, and harmonies. There was no band before or after that was able to capture the frenetic energy of a cheap budget surf/ sci-fi/ horror movie in musical form. It was a party tune for sure that helped break out of the disco trends that dominated the '70s. Their other songs stand apart from the mainstream. They have no contemporaries that freely moved between genres, sometimes in the middle of a song. Compare Roam, to Love Shack, to Private Idaho, to Rock Lobster. They have their own unique sound, and no band compares.
What would they do with Planet Claire?
You've written one of the more insightful overviews of what motivated this group to become what they are/were, while in the meantime pointing out how uniquely they set themselves apart from other musicians of that time period. Thank you for penning a most interesting analysis!
Beautifully said!
@@vapoet I still love, love, love Planet Claire1
You described them perfectly.
Every. High. School. Dance. And when the “down, down, down” part starts everybody would slowly lower to the floor and then slowing rise again when the guitar starts. Good times.
Class of '84 here and I attest to the valitity of this statement.
I spent the whole of my 20's in the 80's. We did the same thing at the clubs. Yes, great times.
We used to party our butts off to this song in the 80’s! This song is solely done for the purpose of dancing to it. There is no hidden meaning or agenda. All B-52 music is just fun. Just move!
Can confirm.
The 70s to It came out in 1978
It was released in 1978 SO THAT MAKES IT 70s ROB SQUAD
And in the LATE 70s lol
This was one of the best reaction videos I've ever seen. You guys had me rolling on the floor! 😂😂😂. Love me some B-52s!!
This song was great at parties….every one was jumping to the music…..and then would fall to the floor during the bridge when he says going down……they are considered the new wave version of surf rock……with a fifties twist….it was so different than what was on the radio at the time
This song is fire; yes this is on plenty of playlists. It’s a high energy new wave song. No need to try to over examine it; it’s just an opportunity to dance your ass off. This song was very well received.
When I was in high school, this was a school dance jam. When he sings “Down, down!”, we all lay down on the floor until the music kicked in again. Such fun. It’s good for you to expand your musical experience, even if you don’t dig it. The music from 79-82 was exciting and different thanks to New Wave, and the B-52s were campy contemporary funsters.
Yea!!! I’m from New Zealand and I’m telling you it was a global hit!!
I remember that in the high school dances.... everyone lay on their backs and rapidly pounding the floor with their feet -- made the room rumble and shake like an earthquake.
Laying on the floor: it's unsanitary!
First song I ever danced to at my first school dance in grade 6. I was like WHAT IS THIS?! I was hooked form there on and explored many version of subculture dance scenes and The B-52s have always been in my music collection.
@@technomikelyons Nothing like being on a dancefloor with strangers where everyone does the same thing for a minute or two!
The B 52's are one of my all time favorite bands. Rob Squad Reaction was priceless.🤣
I loved watching your guys brains implode with this... I was crying with laughter watching Amber lose her mind and Jay go from confused to scared back to confused and then total bemusement... awesome reaction... 👌
I was a little disappointed to be honest. I thought for sure Amber would love it.
@@kf9346 yeah but a least the reactions are honest and not trying to please the subs by loving everything!
@@Jimbridge74 I agree. That's why I watch them.
@@kf9346 me too :) lovely family and best reactions hands down... love the fact they mainly listen to proper music and not just the crowd pleasers and click bait... although... Amber and Rob if you read this... would love to see you react to the HU band- wolf totem... you want a song to get the blood and adrenaline pumping that's the one! Or Wardruna... Helvegen... ancient sounds that echo through the ages to move and stir up the pagan in us all... beautiful.
I'm crying now! Soooo cool Memories!
The B-52’s are an iconic band! I absolutely love Rock Lobster! It’s a fun song and taken with a grain of salt. Not supposed to make sense.
It’s planned insanity, fun, dancing and just because you can! Innocent days compared to today..
They used to perfom this song back in the day at CBGB's in New York alongside the Ramones and Blondie. It was just about being original and unique
You may not have realized it but Amber you emulated every single kid who danced to this song back in the day when you started your descending movement as the song went into the ''down down'' bit. Seriously, there'd be an entire dancefloor of us all wibble-wobbling our way to the ground in anticipation of the reprise.
It’s a fun song meant to party and dance to, no more, no less. It was inspired by a nightclub in Atlanta that played slideshows instead of lights. I appreciate creativity, this song is full of it, which is the opposite of reacting-the B52s put themselves out there-especially in the early days. Rock Lobster was released in 1978, 11 years before Love Shack.
OMG I’ve never laughed so hard at a reaction!!! Yes this was on the radio… often! My autistic son also loved the B-52s and they were nice enough to invite him backstage when he was @6yrs old. Let him sit off stage during the show, Fred gave him one of his Hawaiian shirts, and they all signed a stuffed red lobster he had. And Keith gave him the guitar pick he used to play Rock Lobster that night. We still have everything.
When Rob did the break and dead panned “lobster” I swear I did a spit take. You guys are the BEST 😂😂😂
My heart... I fell out as Amber cracked up. That was a 100% Real laugh
You had to be there! This song was a song of the punk era. We loved it!
New Wave
The B-52s are a legendary party band from Athens, GA. Rock Lobster is on their first album that was released in 1979. My older brother bought me their first 2 albums when I was in middle school and I about wore those records out!! Such fun, silly dance music. I still love them, 45 years later.
1978.
@@ralphfiligenzi6180 YEPPERS LOL The 70s are NOT The 80s
@@theodoreritola7641 "Rock Lobster" was written by Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) in 1974. Hee! hee! heee!
Actual 1978 The 70s get 2 years of CREDIT LOL
Jay’s face made me SMILE to the point of cheeks are now hurting !!!! And Amber’s sweet laughter ….. ❤️❤️ You two always do my heart good. Thanks for your hard work and dedication !!! With much love from Mississippi
This song actually came out in 1978! And it still holds up! Yes, it is time to take a walk into the Alternative New Wave sounds of the late 70's and early 80's! DISCO was still ruling the airwaves, but New Wave was on the way to kill it. Now you need some DEVO!
OMG yes!!! Devo! I’m seeing them in New York in May! One of my favorite bands ever. Their stuff is on the same level of different maybe even more so.
@@d2d2d28 Are we not men!
@@AndersonDawesWasRight We Are Devo! D-E-V-O!
@@d2d2d28 Whip it, whip it good!!!!
@@ThePeppper - Please, no! Every song but that overplayed and over reacted one! And there are loads of better ones to choose from.
Hahahaha you guys look horrified, dazed and confused. I was laughing so hard 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Seriously, back in the 80's when this song came on everyone hit the dance floor, so much fun!!
This song actually came out in 1978.
Still do! I play this to this day on 80's night and people go nuts!!
@@ralphfiligenzi6180 She was speaking of her experience back in the 80's. Calm down Mr Joy Kill Know It Alll
@@willynilly2545 Yeah I get it, just chill sparky, it's all good, no need to fret.
Tammy in 1978 it started 1st
This song came out in the late 70s and it was HUGE. This video clip was shot during their Australian Tour in 1980. I remember seeing it being broadcast live on a TV show called countdown. I was actually at a party at the time and the whole room just went bonkers!
B-52 are about celebrating your own unique individualness and letting your freak flag fly and not caring about what others may think of you.
Absotootly !😂👍
It was not huge. It wasn't a hit. It was very esoteric.
@@jackasswhiskyandpintobeans9344 Massive hit here in Australia first album was number 3 in the charts! which is huge for something so alternative.
@@Ford_TImelord The B-52's debut album wasn't huge in the states. They were definitely indie.
The fact that your reactions are all over the place is priceless!! Yes, we played this. Yes, we partied to this. And yes, it was very popular in an underground sort of way. The party went full tilt when this record played. It was often used to changed.the dynamic of a party and completely obliterate any bad vibes. The fact that Jay came in on Lobster and Amber burst into uncontrollable laughter is the perfect reaction to this classic song. I had to watch the expression on your faces 3 times because it was that great !!!
I agree
This song would change the dynamic of a party filled with punks, jocks, metalers and so on. Good times
I loved their expressions in this reaction too. They could make like 10 new thumbnails for their videos from their faces in the video. If Jay and Amber want to experience this song the "right" way, get the girls in the living room, turn up the stereo and start dancing. The lyrics are goofy but it's also a masterpiece of dynamics. Crescendos, swells and changes. All while being danceable throughout.
One of my favorite songs of all time. It is a song to make you forget your problems!!!!
I haven’t laughed so hard at a reaction ever! Seeing Amber laughing so hard she was crying was priceless. And the confused look on both your faces…
More B-52’s please! “Strobe Light” and “Private Idaho” are a lot of fun. And that’s what the B-52’s were all about - FUN!
I was crying watching Amber crying.
This was the funniest reaction video I've ever seen, and I've seen hundreds of them. Between the completely confused look on Jay's face, and Amber losing her Sh&t laughing, I was cracking up! Thank you both so much for what you do. You bring a smile to my face, 3 times every single day!
I'm probably gona unsub. They interrupt the songs way too much so that they can't even get a real feel for the whole package. Save the critique for the end of the song. Seriously.
@@Derideo I like that they stop and comment. If i want to listen to the song, I just listen to the song. I am here for their reaction. I stopped another reaction duo because all they did was bob their heads and go "ok."
@@aaradia I agree. We watch them specifically because of their reactions. And they are the best at what they do.
@@Derideo I'm with you...
Guys don't think about it, just let the beat take you. Loved it since it was released and it still puts a smile on my face and makes me want to move🤩
Yep, not everything has to be normal or be coherent. It's a wonderfully fun and silly song and awesome to groove to.
This song is a classic and was a huge hit. You can't deny that it really makes you want to dance in a rock n roll sort of way.
Their musical orchestration and guitar chords are so simplistic, yet their music is SO good!....then throw in 2 of the most unique sounding female vocalists in Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, and you got a band whose music is still poppin' 45 years later!
I'm shocked at y'all's reaction! I only heard this song a few years ago and loved it right away. It's goofy but so good and catchy.
This was their break out hit. When they play live they couldn't leave the building without playing this song.
One of the great New Wave bands of the 1980's. Rock Lobster is one of Billboards top 500 rock songs of ALL TIME... yeah, YEAH!!
"What is this..." THAT is exactly what we said in '78 when it came out, and THAT'S why we loved it and them. B52's were fun, soooo different, funky, weird, rock, surfy, go-go'y, anti and fun and we just loved dancing! It was a crazy trip! We danced to them at JH and HS dances. Ha! And Cindy and Kate....they were known for their harmonies that were so beautiful and yells etc...! Fred...was just crazy fun Fred! Ha! Love watching your guys reaction to music I grew up on and have the albums for!
You read that 80s kids IT CAME OUT IN 1978
The B-52's were a great band from the era. Great band with a lot of just plain fun, enjoyable tunes. I'm also a big fan of Legal Tender.
@@theodoreritola7641 we know, and who cares.......🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
So avante, it took me too long to realize just how out of the box they were!
@@stuartdollar9912 yes a great song!!!! I had all their early LPs but then my mom got rid of them when I came back to collect my stuff. :( I need to replace those classics! Loved the Whammy album too! Far too many great songs on so many of their albums
This was just an extremely fun experimental band of the 80's who were stupid popular.. and made everyone have a really great time at dances and parties!!! I adore them.. and my fave of theirs was Mesopotamia! It's weird too.. but all of their music was weird.. and just made you want to go to a party or the beach and have a great day! 🤩🥳😂😁
They're a fun band and certainly a unique band !
@DiAnna, I love Mesopotamia!!
Their a 70s band
@@theodoreritola7641 Correct! Also a 70's & 80's band!!! Also correct!!! 🤩
80s kid HOW DO YOU FOR GET 78 AND 79 WHEN this came out ?
Another little fact: John Lennon heard this song in a club in the Bahamas and hearing the women's voices told him the world was ready for Yoko. He came out of retirement and he and Yoko recorded Double Fantasy, his last album.
The world is still not ready for Yoko's voice. Dolphins, maybe, but not people.
Now that's funny!
WOW! NEVER KNEW THAT!!
lmfao he wasnt good with that judgement call
@@chrismorgan283 For real. Will anyone ever be ready for Yoko's voice? lol
This song was a massive hit of summer of 1980. On the radio all the time. The song is about hanging on the beach.