''Funplex'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

(eighth overall) by

The B-52s 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, p ...

, recorded during 2006 and 2007. The album was released on March 25, 2008, by

Astralwerks Records Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featu ...

. It was the first album of new material the group had released since '' Good Stuff'' in 1992, although the band did record two new songs for their 1998

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation''.

Single releases

The first single from the album was released digitally on January 29, 2008, and is the title track, "

Funplex ''Funplex'' is the seventh studio album (eighth overall) by The B-52s, recorded during 2006 and 2007. The album was released on March 25, 2008, by Astralwerks Records. It was the first album of new material the group had released since ''Good ...

". A music video was filmed in West Hollywood on March 1, 2008, and featured a cameo appearance by

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

, who had previously appeared in the video for "

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 ...

". ''Funplex'' debuted at number 11 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling about 30,000 copies in its first week. The second single from the album was "

Juliet of the Spirits ''Juliet of the Spirits'' ( it, Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the vi ...

Alternate versions

The CD, packed in the

Digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

format, was released in three, front cover color variants of the lettering in the album title and the band's shadows: the original (shown above) in gray, multi-colored, and hot pink. In the colored versions, the coloring covers the band's instruments while the band members themselves, along with the band's logotype, retain their original rendering throughout all versions. Exclusive, limited-edition autographed copies were offered by

Newbury Comics Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...

and FYE, as well during the Funplex 2008 tour, and a special limited-edition double-disc set of ''Funplex'' was available only at

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

stores in the US. The bonus disc features five live tracks recorded at the band's November 16, 2007, concert at the Roxy in Los Angeles. Two additional live tracks from that same concert were available exclusively on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by the B-52s; music by

Keith Strickland Julian Keith Strickland (born October 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and one of the founding members of The B-52s. He was born in Athens, Georgia. Originally the band's drummer, Stricklan ...

; and lyrics and vocal melodies by

Kate Pierson Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948) is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52's. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the B-52s, she has performed alongside Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneid ...

, Fred Schneider, and

Cindy Wilson Cynthia Leigh Wilson (born February 28, 1957) is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52's. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during ...

.Album liner notes #"Pump" – 4:53 #"Hot Corner" – 3:24 #"Ultraviolet" – 4:25 #"

" – 4:22 #"

" – 4:07 #"Eyes Wide Open" – 5:35 #"Love in the Year 3000" – 4:14 #"Deviant Ingredient" – 4:50 #"Too Much to Think About" – 3:47 #"Dancing Now" – 4:02 #"Keep This Party Going" – 4:31 iTunes-exclusive deluxe version bonus tracks #

Private Idaho "Private Idaho" is a single released by The B-52's from their 1980 album ''Wild Planet''. Composition The B-52's are from Athens, Georgia, and never played a concert in Idaho until September 13, 2011, when they played at Eagle River Pavilion in ...

" (Live at the Roxy) – 4:00 #"

Planet Claire "Planet Claire" is the second single released by The B-52's from their self-titled debut album. Based on Duane Eddy's 1959 version of the Peter Gunn theme song, the single was their second to chart anywhere, at no. 43 in Australia and no. 24 on ...

" (Live at the Roxy) – 5:28 Target-exclusive bonus CD: ''Live at the Roxy in L.A.'' #"

Party Out of Bounds "Party Out of Bounds" is the title of a 1980 song by The B-52's, from their album ''Wild Planet''. Featured with the other dancefloor-bound tracks from the album, the song peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1980 ...

" – 3:45 #" Channel Z" – 5:26 #"

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 ...

" – 5:13 #"Strobe Light" – 4:38 #"

Rock Lobster "Rock Lobster" is a song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of the B-52's. It was twice recorded and released as a single, first by DB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the following year for the b ...

" – 5:33

Personnel

The B-52s * Fred Schneider – vocals, cowbell (track 6) *

– vocals *

– guitars, keyboards, programming, bass (tracks 1-2 & 11) Additional musicians *

Tracy Wormworth Tracy Ann Wormworth (born December 15, 1958) is an American bass guitarist. Wormworth is a member of the B-52s. She has recorded and toured with the band since the Cosmic Tour of 1990. She played on their sixth studio album, 1992's ''Good Stuff ...

– bass (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 11) *

Zachary Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contrib ...

– drums (tracks 1, 3, 5, & 8-9) * Sterling Campbell – drums (tracks 2, 6-7 & 10-11) *Steve Osbourne – organ (tracks 1 & 3), bass & timpani (track 9) *Pete Davis – keyboards, synth programming (tracks 2, 4, 6-8 & 10-11) drum programming (tracks 4 & 7) *Dave McCracken – programming (tracks 5 & 9) *Damian Taylor – effects programming (tracks 1, 3, 5, & 8-9) *Sharon Adl-Doost – intro vocal (track 1) Production *Producer:

Steve Osborne Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...

*Engineers: Dan Austin, Rick Morris, Pete Davis, Keith Strickland, Kris Sampson *Mixing: Steve Osborne *Mastering:

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

Artwork *Art direction and design: Jeri Heiden & John Heiden *Photography: Joseph Cultice *Hair: Gerard Kelly *Make-up: Kristofer Buckle *Stylist: Robert Molnar

Chart performance

Album

Singles

References

{{Authority control The B-52's albums 2008 albums Albums produced by Steve Osborne Astralwerks albums