This is our 1900th post on this blog, and I can't think of a more appropriate song.
"Dance This Mess Around" was the third single from Athens, Georgia band The B-52's 1979 debut album. Written by the whole band - which at the time was a five-piece - the lead vocals on this song were taken by Cindy Wilson.
So, why did I choose a 1980 live version of this song to lead the post? Because it very quickly became a live performance favorite. You can see just how passionately Cindy Wilson performs the song. It builds slowly and relatively quietly, but builds louder and faster as she expresses heartbreak over having no one to dance with. The rest of the group picks it up and cheers her up, and it works! They don't even get a chance to do all sixteen dances!
There were a few years in the 1990s where Cindy Wilson left the band for awhile (her brother, Ricky, also a band member, had passed away in the mid-1980s). During her time away, the band did NOT perform this song.
But when she came back, they performed the HELL out of this song.
So, here we are, in 2025. Do you think it's still a live favorite, even as there are only three members left (Keith Strickland no longer touring with the band)?
Yes.
The question you SHOULD be asking is if my sister saw them live - but you know the answer.
Cindy Wilson calling herself out for being out of key is utterly charming - but also, the out of key desperation is the POINT of the song.
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