One of the enduring appeals of the B52’s is that really strong punk-like underpinning behind vocals and harmonies that seem ripped straight out of a B-movie sci-fi-fi soundtrack, and it’s really on full display with those early live performances. They got slicker and more “cute” as time went on, and it did them no favors in my opinion.
Violent Femmes, I’ve avoided them since I detest “Blister In The Sun,” and it was unavoidable on alt rock radio here for what seemed like years. But, I’ll give them a listen, never really tried anything else from them because of that one single.
I know what you mean with Blister in the Sun.
But you do like “American Music”?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgeUwLz_J9E
And as it turns out the Lead for the Femmes is a born again Christian.
Back in the day, the early/mid 1980’s, I worked for a freight delivery company and occasionally some of the boxes “Broke open” I happened to collect a few “Cut outs” that were on their way to the local radio stations.
The Talking Heads “Stop Making Sense” album just blew me away.
Just one example;
Talking Heads - Slippery People (from “Stop Making Sense”)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFS2oz-i3Ik