22. May 2021 By Walter Price 0

BROKEN BABY + RECKLING x B52s Private Idaho

Broken Baby + Reckling – Private Idaho is available at Bandcamp.

I’m sure, at the time, societal circumstances played a part when B52s vocalist and an ultra-cool guy we all wanna be, Fred Schneider told the Idaho Statesman, “Idaho is pretty mysterious to all of us. I know it’s a beautiful state, but then I know there’s also a lot of crazy right-wingers and all that stuff. The song’s about all different things. It’s not like a parody of Idaho or anything.” But I assume that the real back story is a mix between John Rechy’s 1963 gay-fiction novel ‘City of Night’ and the thought of a nirvana where people can be themselves. Makes more sense really. But I wasn’t in the room in the late 70s when Georgia’s indie rock heroes wrote the seminal dance-rock classic “Private Idaho”.

Anyhoo, this is now, and the powers of Broken Baby and Reckling have collided and the cosmic outcome is their cover of said hallowed track. Yes, it’s been done before to varying degrees of authenticity and coolness but never, ever has it been done with such reverence for the original. This cover has the original’s outer space-surf-bop in place with B-Baby’s Amber Bollinger and Reckling’s Kelsey Reck(ling) trading the verses Schneider and Kate Pearson originally made New Wave groovy. And there’s certainly a ton of LA summer vibes all entangled in its fresh take. Simply addictive.

And then there’s the beachy green screen video starring Burger King. Why? You know why.

You can see the original B52s version as well as the brand new BB&R reimaging, now at the GTC.