Mesopotamia is considered a departure in style for the B-52's, with Byrne and the band adding additional instruments, vocal overdubs, horns, synthesizers and layered percussion.

[4] Drummer Keith Strickland later stated that living together in a house in upstate New York did not aid the writing process at this time: "The honeymoon was over.

Wilson observed that the band's manager, Gary Kurfirst, "was talking about our next album, and I mentioned that it might not be a dance record, and he was so shocked by that idea.

[6] Kurfirst suggested that David Byrne of Talking Heads would be a good choice for the album's producer, due to his previous musical experience and history of touring with the B-52's.

[9][3] For the EP, Byrne incorporated several elements from his work with Talking Heads, including horn sections, synthesizers and worldbeat influences.

[7] Pierson further stated that Island Records' Chris Blackwell did not want "Mesopotamia" included on the EP, despite the fact that it was the titular track and a completed piece: "I still think it's one of our best songs.

[1] In the UK, the EP was marketed as a mini-album, due to three songs—"Loveland, "Cake" and "Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can"—mistakenly appearing as rough extended remixes derived from demo tapes.

[4] The title track garnered the band a following in the Detroit area, after an African-American radio station began playing the song.

[10] Vocalist Fred Schneider later credited Detroit DJ the Electrifying Mojo for making the song a crossover hit, but recalled that the B-52's were being actively discouraged from appealing to an African-American audience by Kurfirst, despite the band's love of soul music.

[6] Pierson later recalled getting into a verbal altercation with Kurfirst after he dissuaded them from accepting an invitation to appear on New York African-American radio station WBLS to promote the album, on the grounds that it would be "confusing" for their audience.

[6] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice praised the EP, calling it "a 'party' record that never invokes that pooped word," and deeming Byrne "the secret ingredient".

[16] Conversely, Trouser Press felt the EP was where the band got "serious, with dire results", and while some tracks traded "élan for slickness", others appeared to be "selfconscious parodies of the old, carefree B-52's.

Another change in 1982 was the keyboard setup, with Kate Pierson no longer standing behind a bass synth perched atop a Farfisa compact organ.