Party Out Of Bounds

Album: Wild Planet (1980)
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Songfacts®:

  • Along with songs like "Love Shack" and "Rock Lobster," "Party out of Bounds" captures the irreverent, fun spirit that the B-52s are known for. The song opens with Fred Schneider yelling "surprise!" and bandmate Kate Pierson yelling "par-tay!"

    The party quickly falls apart, and the remainder of the song finds Schneider, Pierson, and fellow B-52 Cindy Wilson giving tips on how to properly throw a party and what dangers to look out for. A few of their party tips: Parcheesi, charades, and a scavenger hunt.
  • The last line in the first verse is "house-a-tosis." This is a play on halitosis: bad breath.
  • Fred Schneider hosted a Sirius Satellite Radio show called Party Out of Bounds that ended in 2008. Rodger Lyle Brown also used the name for his 1991 book Party Out of Bounds: The B-52's, R.E.M. and the Kids Who Rocked Athens, Ga.

    "Party out of Bounds" is the opening track on Wild Planet, the B-52s' second album. The band released three studio versions of the song. In addition to the original, there was another mix made for the B-side of the "Private Idaho" single. Yet another was made for the Party Mix! EP released in 1981. The song got progressively longer with each mix. The original clocks in at 3:21, the second at 4:32, and the last at 5:21.

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