The Bubblemen Are Coming! (1988)
The Bubblemen were a pseudonymous side project for Love and Rockets, the alternative trio who scored an unlikely smash hit called “So Alive” in 1989. The band’s three members – David J, Daniel Ash, and Kevin Haskins – dressed up in bumblebee costumes for this endeavor. The same costumes were sometimes seen in Love and Rockets videos, during concerts, and in the between-videos segments of their 1991 VHS release The Haunted Fishtank.
Under the Bubblemen name, the trio released one 12” single called “The Bubblemen Are Coming!” in 1988. For your viewing pleasure, I have embedded a creative YouTube video for the song below.
Without the chuckle-inducing visuals, the recorded track is an enjoyably trippy five minutes of inside-joke silliness, with a slow-building whimsical intro that is omitted from the video edit. This novelty song portrays the title characters as friendly aliens from the planet Girl. The B-side track (alternately known as “Bees” and “B Side”) consists of over three minutes of non-musical buzzing bee sounds – because it’s the B side, get it? Belaboring the joke a bit more, “Bubblemen Rap” is a goofy British-accented hip-hop track, rapped from the point of view of the aliens; “Sorted!” seems to be their favorite word. The Dub Version of the “Bubblemen Rap” removes most of the words and emphasizes the track’s techno-trippy soundscapes. Fans of the Bauhaus family tree will get a kick out of this 12” single. For everyone else, the embedded video above will be all the Bubblemen experience they’ll ever need.
Notes: The single was released as a 7” in the U.K. (Beggars Banquet BUB1), containing only the title track and “Bees”, and it came with a comic book, which the above video utilized. The four audio tracks were added as extra features to the 2003 DVD Sorted! The Best of Love and Rockets (Beggars Banquet BB 021 DVD). The comic book can also be viewed on the DVD.
The Bubblemen “The Bubblemen Are Coming!” (RCA 8335-1-HDCB) 1988
Track Listing:
Side A:
1. The Bubblemen Are Coming!
2. Bees (aka “B Side”)
Side B:
1. Bubblemen Rap (Extended Version)
2. Bubblemen Rap (Dub Version)
Under the Bubblemen name, the trio released one 12” single called “The Bubblemen Are Coming!” in 1988. For your viewing pleasure, I have embedded a creative YouTube video for the song below.
Without the chuckle-inducing visuals, the recorded track is an enjoyably trippy five minutes of inside-joke silliness, with a slow-building whimsical intro that is omitted from the video edit. This novelty song portrays the title characters as friendly aliens from the planet Girl. The B-side track (alternately known as “Bees” and “B Side”) consists of over three minutes of non-musical buzzing bee sounds – because it’s the B side, get it? Belaboring the joke a bit more, “Bubblemen Rap” is a goofy British-accented hip-hop track, rapped from the point of view of the aliens; “Sorted!” seems to be their favorite word. The Dub Version of the “Bubblemen Rap” removes most of the words and emphasizes the track’s techno-trippy soundscapes. Fans of the Bauhaus family tree will get a kick out of this 12” single. For everyone else, the embedded video above will be all the Bubblemen experience they’ll ever need.
Notes: The single was released as a 7” in the U.K. (Beggars Banquet BUB1), containing only the title track and “Bees”, and it came with a comic book, which the above video utilized. The four audio tracks were added as extra features to the 2003 DVD Sorted! The Best of Love and Rockets (Beggars Banquet BB 021 DVD). The comic book can also be viewed on the DVD.
The Bubblemen “The Bubblemen Are Coming!” (RCA 8335-1-HDCB) 1988
Track Listing:
Side A:
1. The Bubblemen Are Coming!
2. Bees (aka “B Side”)
Side B:
1. Bubblemen Rap (Extended Version)
2. Bubblemen Rap (Dub Version)
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