"Channel Z" is a song by American band

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

from their fifth studio album, ''

Cosmic Thing ''Cosmic Thing'' is the fifth studio album by American new wave band the B-52's, released in 1989. It contains the singles " Love Shack" and " Roam". The success of the album served as a comeback after the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 19 ...

'' (1989). The song was the first single from ''Cosmic Thing'' but did not achieve as much success as the follow-ups "

Love Shack "Love Shack" is a song by American new wave band the B-52's from their fifth studio album, ''Cosmic Thing'' (1989). It was released on June 20, 1989, and was produced by Don Was. The song was a comeback for the band following their decline in p ...

" and "

Roam Real-time optimally adapting mesh (ROAM) is a continuous level of detail algorithm that optimizes terrain meshes. On modern computers, sometimes it is more effective to send a small amount of unneeded polygons to the GPU, rather than burden the C ...

". In 1990, the single was reissued with a new 12-inch mix after these two singles. Multiple renditions of the song were released, including the album version and a 7-inch single edit and remix, as well as a "rock mix" and a "rock dub" which were on a five-track CD single in the United States.

Meaning

Fred Schneider told an interviewer in 2008 that the song was "probably our most straightforward political song up until then... It was about the state of the country

t the time T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

And who knew nearly 20 years later it'd be worse?"

Critical reception

Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as "a fine song that effortlessly updated the classic B-52's sound", adding that "it made for a good single and still stands as one of their better songs of the era."

Chart performance

In the United States, "Channel Z" topped the '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart in August 1989. In Belgium, it reached the top 50, peaking at number 43 on the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...

chart. The song peaked at number 61 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

following the 12-inch release in 1990.

Music video

The song's music video features the B-52's playing on stage in front of an audience, along with clips of them running through a forest. It was shot outside of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

according to the credits of ''The B-52's 1979–1989''.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles The B-52's songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Don Was Songs written by Cindy Wilson Songs written by Fred Schneider Songs written by Kate Pierson Songs written by Keith Strickland