The B-52's: Wild Planet (Warner Bros.)

EVEN THE most novel ideas can fall victim to the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt. In 1978, when exuberant dance music was a rare commodity, the B-52's were strange, challenging. In 1980, "dance music" is a part of every promo man's vocabulary and the B-52's are the visible figurehead of a new pop sub-genre. It's a dangerous position to be in, given the temptation to simply recycle the formula that made 'Rock Lobster' the advertising jingle for all those suburban cover-band bars that began to "go new wave" last year.