Breaking news, from Planet Claire

What's cosmic, owns a lime-green dog, and sported a tall beehive decades before Wino lit the crack pipe?

The B-52s, duh! Today the cosmic quartet- Keith, Fred, Kate, and Cindy- release Funplex, their first record of the 21st century. "It's loud, sexy rock and roll, with the beat pumped up to hot pink," says guitarist Keith Strickland on the band's website.

I just bought the CD, and, in the words of my father- an elitist new waver, still- it's bumpin' and is full of good tunes (To listen to two new songs and some wedding-reception classics you might recognize, check out the B-52s MySpace page.).

Lucky for us, they invade Allston on April 24 when their Funplex Tour 2008 stops at the Paradise. Tickets aren't cheap, but they put on a pretty stellar performance. Just ask my parents-- for their anniversary, I bought them tickets to the B-52s show at the Pavillion a few years ago. Hm, maybe that's not a selling point...

Anyways, it's not just music for your parents (unless, like mine, yours are of the new wave generation), so ch-ch-ch-check it out!