Editing Cosmic Thing (section)

==Background==
{{quote box|quote=I wanted to keep some connection with what Ricky had done... He was a very key ingredient in our sound, and I just didn't want that to disappear. I knew that once we started playing live, there'd be older material to play, and if we got somebody else, I'd have to be there giving them a lot of hints, like the tunings and everything. So I figured I'd just do it myself. I knew enough that I thought I could do it. Well, I was hoping I could do it. |source=—Keith Strickland; ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, 1990<ref name="Azerrad"/>|width=20rem|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}

Following guitarist [[Ricky Wilson (guitarist)|Ricky Wilson]]'s death and the band's short promotional campaign for their 1986 album ''[[Bouncing Off the Satellites]]'', the band was uncertain about their future together.<ref name="Harris">{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/kate-pierson-of-the-b-52s-1798228355 |last=Harris |first=Will |title=Kate Pierson of The B-52s |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=November 1, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2023}}</ref> The album had been the band's most expensive to produce, and their foregoing of a tour to promote it resulted in the band seeing little revenue, which led to them experiencing great financial difficulties.<ref name="Azerrad">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-b-52s-mission-accomplished-231021/ |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Azerrad |title=The B-52's: Mission Accomplished |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=March 22, 1990 |access-date=January 30, 2023}}</ref>

In 1988, prompted by drummer/guitarist [[Keith Strickland]], the band began to convene and write new songs.<ref name="Hart">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8518005/the-b-52s-cosmic-thing-album |last=Hart |first=Ron |title=The B-52's 'Cosmic Thing' at 30: How the Band Overcame Loss and Found Catharsis at the 'Love Shack' |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=June 28, 2019 |access-date=July 5, 2019}}</ref> Singer [[Kate Pierson]] described this as a healing process for herself and the band after Wilson's death three years prior.<ref name="Harris"/> Much of the album was written in [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]] and surrounding areas in upstate [[New York (state)|New York]], a place to which Strickland and Pierson had both relocated during the group's hiatus, and all four members felt a proximity to nature in these places that was not found in their previous home of [[New York City]].<ref name="Hart"/> The band spent approximately a year writing the songs.<ref name="OralHistory">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/love-shacks-rock-lobsters-and-nude-parties-the-b-52s-in-their-own-words-627925/ |last=Grow |first=Kory |title=Love Shacks, Rock Lobsters and Nude Parties: The B-52's in Their Own Words |date=June 1, 2018 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=January 27, 2023}}</ref> Strickland stated, "We spent a lot of time just talking, and we needed that. We were our own support group after Ricky's passing, which was a very traumatic thing for all of us and, in particular, for [[Cindy Wilson|Cindy [Wilson]]]."<ref name="OralHistory"/>

The band rented a rehearsal space in the [[Wall Street]] area of Manhattan, in which they worked four days a week.<ref name="OralHistory"/> At this time, the band also left their longtime manager, [[Gary Kurfirst]], and left longtime label [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]] for [[Reprise Records|Reprise]].<ref name="Azerrad"/>