Channel Z

Album: Cosmic Thing (1989)
Charted: 61
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a fictional radio station which is "all static, all day." It's an upbeat song, but the message is serious: mass media glosses over important news by blanketing our consciousness with distraction. And this was before the Internet!
  • This was the first single released from the Cosmic Thing album. "Love Shack" was the most obvious hit, but "Channel Z" was more in line with their previous material, which did very well on college radio and among fans of New Wave.

    "Channel Z" got very little mainstream airplay and was relegated to the Buzz Bin on MTV, but it topped the Modern Rock Tracks chart and sent a signal to their fans that the B-52s were back - their future was uncertain following the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985. When "Love Shack" was released as the next single, it became a huge pop hit, earning the group a legion of new fans.
  • Fred Schneider's lines deal mainly with degradation of the environment, a topic dear to him. He warns of ozone holes, waste dumps and toxic fog.
  • Don Was produced this track. He and Nile Rodgers each produced about half of the album.
  • By the late 1980s, the B-52s had moved away from their early purely party-themed material such as "Rock Lobster" and " Party Out Of Bounds" toward more politically and socially aware commentary with songs like "Channel Z."

    "In interviews we'd always talk about politics; I mean, I'm not gonna talk clothing and hair in interviews," Fred Schneider reflected to Uncut magazine. "I could talk about music all day, but I'll rather talk about what was going on. But they thought of the B-52s as mindless camp, and it's like, 'What are you talking about? You don't even know what camp means. It's not us.'"

Comments: 3

  • 52fan from NetherworldChange Z to Xi and it makes sense today in 2022.
  • Chris from Cape Coral, Flas good as this song is it was wrong to put it out as the first single from Cosmic Thing if i was in charge of Warner bros. I'd say "Let's put Love Shack out first it's got hit all over it."
  • Dane from Lima,ohio, Fl"Static in my attic from Channel Z."This is even more true today.Too much info.One of the better songs on Cosmic Thing.Their best album I think.I saw them live in July '90(yeah 20 years ago)One of the top 3 concerts I've been to.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"They're Playing My Song

The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Thomas Dolby

Thomas DolbySongwriter Interviews

He wrote "She Blinded Me With Science" so he could direct a video about a home for deranged scientists.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.