What is..... Who are..... NEW WAVE?

[DSR]

I've noticed in the recents threads that there were confusions regarding these questions:
What is NEW WAVE?
Who are NEW WAVE?
I would like to know your personal views and opinions about this never ending questions for documentation and reference for those who would like to be clarified. THANKS!!![;)] PEACE![;)]

[:)]An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
DSR

[glokstadt]

This is a loaded question DSR, as everyone has a different definition, and it depends on the year of the band's relese... I think of New Wave as 1979 to 1983, totally debatable, and some throw in 1984, plus all the sub-genres to boot!

Personally, I like what I like, and don't buy or listen to what I do not like; however, I have been turned onto some new bands I didn't even know about, thanks to Grouch and ungarded moment! Thank you! Thank you!

I would love to see other NWO's opinions as well! Marvymarv, Marie3, MikeP, Olliestench, phillyidol, Bliar, et all (please forgive if I didn't mention your handle, I just can't think of more, and I don't want to look at the "Members" list).

Oh, yeah, and i_like_lectric_motors! [:D]

[KYYX4ever]

IMO, New Wave wasn't afraid to experiment.
It covered a diversity of styles, all somewhat forward-sounding and having the spirit of something new and "original". Although my own personal NW definition tends toward the synthy side (NW's reliance on synthesizers, [i]a la[/i] Yaz, Ministry, Cure, Altered Images, Kraftwerk), NW was a good term for the most excellent power pop, dancepop, jangly pop, goth, punk, and New Romantic goodies coming out in the late 70s to around 1983 or 4. By the time 85 came along, times had changed and NW was a different animal by then. The wider spreading use and reliance upon synthesizers by everyone from Madonna to Bruce Springsteen to Van Halen (with unsatisfactory results on that last one--), the spirit of the "unique and different" was diffused and somewhat co-opted.

Much of NW, to me, also undeniably encompassed a certain attitude. A certain spirit, a propensity to dress up and wear makeup, to go their own way, and discard conventions were all there.

And of course, much of NW was a backlash against Classic Rock (altho it wasn't called Classic Rock back then; maybe "arena rock" or "stadium rock"). You had this music that turned away from 12-minute guitar solos, drug-and-alcohol-fueled excess, walls of sound, etc., and go for the short, snappy, quirky stuff. A lot of us can recall back when we first saw the B52s or Devo on [i]Saturday Night Live[/i] and were like "WOW! What was that ? I've gotta hear more of THAT!"

[WolverineSyr]

I totally agree with KYYX.

I also think that your definition of "new wave" may have something to do with age too. I hope this doesn't sound ageist, because that's really not my intention. I think people who came along later had a different view of the genre than people who may have been there at the beginning, and that's all fine. I think it is where the arguements begin though.

If you were a teenager, young adult, etc between 1976 & '78, and experienced punk first hand, I think you may have a more liberal view of what new wave is. For me, the transition from one to the other was seamless. Early new wave sounded almost like punk, power-pop was huge, and everyone was wearing a similar style of clothes (skinny ties, suit jackets, ripped t-shirts, etc.) It seemed like the more synth-based stuff snuck right in & sounded totally at home next to power-pop & uncatgorizable groups.

I think too, you have to understand the musical climate of 1976 - 80. "Album rock" (or what we call Classic rock now,) dominated the radio. It was all my peers listened to & it sucked (those 12 minute guitar solos were coma-inducing to me.) ANYTHING other than AOR was great, and anything that was radically different - like punk/power-pop/new wave, was embraced as "this new thing," "this new genre, or sound." Maybe that's where arguments about Talking Heads, Blondie, and the lot come from. They sure weren't album rock, they weren't really the punk we were used to, so what were they? New Wave.

For those of us who may have been into disco, the more synth-based stuff wasn't so unique, only that it was usually sung by white guys instead of black women. It was familar in a way, but refreshing at the same time.

There's my long-winded attempt at trying to understand the "divide." By 1985, I was on to other things. New Wave was part of the mainstream, it wasn't as exciting for me anymore, and it started to get a more corporate sound compared to the DIY spirit of previous years. I moved back into club music & stayed there for many, many years, until I stumbled across this site.

[beautifulmutant101]

I was one of those that got hip to new wave watching the stellar SNL musical guests of the late 70s (especially Devo and Numan), so when Kajagoogoo, Thompson Twins, Wham!UK and Culture Club were labeled new wave, I wasn't hoodwinked. I know dance-pop when I hear it, no matter how much mascara the band is wearing.

[Ollie Stench]

http://www.tcpunk.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000357.html

[glokstadt]

KYYX4ever (Angie) and WolverineSyr (Steve) make excellent points and explain New Wave very well. I just wanted to add that walking into a record store back then from around 1980 (and maybe starting in 1979) to around 1984, there were entire sections of LPs organized by "Punk" and "New Wave"--now it's all just labled "Rock." (I can't recall if there ever was an "Alternative" section.)

[empyrean]

This is just my opinion.

Who are new wave?

At least in our school during my high school days, people who didnt comb their hair, wore make up and lipstick ( in honor maybe of Robert Smith), wore creepers shoes and trench coat, gelled their hair bangs like a cobra ( imitating Cool Carla of Identity Crisis), of course, listens to NW music.

What are new wave?

New wave is not your everyday music. Its very hard to define this term. Their music is not different from other styles,(cause they also use brass instruments, as in Close To Me by The Cure or James), but they do it in a very stylish way. It will stand above the rest when you hear it coz its very different. Most of these bands are British and it makes you proud when you are into this genre. New Wave are neither pop nor disco but they also fit in to these categories. Undefinable, for me at least.

Death is a beginning of a new life. If you believe in reincarnation.

[manekineko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by glokstadt[/i]
<br>Bliar[/quote]

"Bliar"[:D][;)]

What's next, MyBliarwin? [:D]

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[beautifulmutant101]

I don't think they started calling it "alternative" till around 1990 or so, I guess because the genre had so many offshoots by then, many of which defied easy categorization. You couldn't really call Big Black or Sonic Youth "punk" or "new wave."

[manekineko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by KYYX4ever[/i]
<br>IMO, New Wave wasn't afraid to experiment.
It covered a diversity of styles, all somewhat forward-sounding and having the spirit of something new and "original". Although my own personal NW definition tends toward the synthy side (NW's reliance on synthesizers, [i]a la[/i] Yaz, Ministry, Cure, Altered Images, Kraftwerk), NW was a good term for the most excellent power pop, dancepop, jangly pop, goth, punk, and New Romantic goodies coming out in the late 70s to around 1983 or 4. By the time 85 came along, times had changed and NW was a different animal by then. The wider spreading use and reliance upon synthesizers by everyone from Madonna to Bruce Springsteen to Van Halen (with unsatisfactory results on that last one--), the spirit of the "unique and different" was diffused and somewhat co-opted.

Much of NW, to me, also undeniably encompassed a certain attitude. A certain spirit, a propensity to dress up and wear makeup, to go their own way, and discard conventions were all there.

And of course, much of NW was a backlash against Classic Rock (altho it wasn't called Classic Rock back then; maybe "arena rock" or "stadium rock"). You had this music that turned away from 12-minute guitar solos, drug-and-alcohol-fueled excess, walls of sound, etc., and go for the short, snappy, quirky stuff. A lot of us can recall back when we first saw the B52s or Devo on [i]Saturday Night Live[/i] and were like "WOW! What was that ? I've gotta hear more of THAT!"

[/quote]

I agree about NW being experimental and fresh, both going forward to the use of futuristic synthesizers AND also going backward to draw from older forms of rock and roll like rockabilly, to create quick, snappy power pop and punk. Album-oriented rock had become so bloated, self-important, and over-produced, that it was indeed refreshing to return to the fast-driving 3 minute pop song with a hook that really grabs you. I use a broad definition of new wave, basically to include anything that was a backlash against the boring arena rock of the day.

And I agree that the definition of NW changed as the 1980's progressed. It became more about the fashions and the trademark synthesizer sound, and it permeated the decade so much that mainstream artists jumped on the bandwagon.

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[manekineko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by WolverineSyr[/i]
<br>I totally agree with KYYX.

I also think that your definition of "new wave" may have something to do with age too. I hope this doesn't sound ageist, because that's really not my intention. I think people who came along later had a different view of the genre than people who may have been there at the beginning, and that's all fine. I think it is where the arguements begin though.

If you were a teenager, young adult, etc between 1976 & '78, and experienced punk first hand, I think you may have a more liberal view of what new wave is. For me, the transition from one to the other was seamless. Early new wave sounded almost like punk, power-pop was huge, and everyone was wearing a similar style of clothes (skinny ties, suit jackets, ripped t-shirts, etc.) It seemed like the more synth-based stuff snuck right in & sounded totally at home next to power-pop & uncatgorizable groups.

I think too, you have to understand the musical climate of 1976 - 80. "Album rock" (or what we call Classic rock now,) dominated the radio. It was all my peers listened to & it sucked (those 12 minute guitar solos were coma-inducing to me.) ANYTHING other than AOR was great, and anything that was radically different - like punk/power-pop/new wave, was embraced as "this new thing," "this new genre, or sound." Maybe that's where arguments about Talking Heads, Blondie, and the lot come from. They sure weren't album rock, they weren't really the punk we were used to, so what were they? New Wave.

[/quote]

I totally agree about the definition of new wave being different depending on your age at the time. I was in high school in the late 1970's, so I experienced the whole arena rock scene first hand (~gag [xx(]~). I have a very broad definition of new wave to basically include anything that was a backlash against the excesses of arena rock, which had become a parody of itself with ten minute songs about mythology and medieval crap, self-indulgent masturbatory guitar solos, pretty boys with unbuttoned shirts and long frizzy hair, booze, drugs, and groupies. The punk and pop of Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Blondie, Ramones, The Cars, Rockpile, The Clash, etc., was a breath of fresh air. (OK, I also loved the B-52's, who use synths). During the late 70's into early 80's, the synthesizer-based sound of new wave hadn't really taken off yet, at least not among my peers. It was more guitar-based. So for my age group (I'm 45--I was 20 in 1981), my definition of NW is more broad, not just limited to the synthesizer-type sound.

I think slightly younger people might have a different definition of new wave, because when they were coming of age, the term "new wave" was applied to a more synthesizer-based sound, with quirky fashions and lyrics. By the time the synthesizer-based sound became popular in the early 80's, I was already in my early 20's and was listening to my favorite guitar-based punk and power pop groups. The synthesizer-based NW was played on the commercial radio stations that were marketed to teenagers. They played Adam Ant, Kajagoogoo, Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, etc., and because the station actively marketed to teenagers, it didn't appeal much to people in my early 20's age group. Instead, I listened to community radio, which played NW and punk that appealed to a slightly more mature listener. I think if I had been in high school in the early to mid-80's, I would have been exposed to more synth-based NW. Instead, now I'm backfilling my music collection to include more synth music that I missed or ignored the first time around.

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[birdmadgirl]

[quote][i]Originally posted by manekineko[/i]

I think slightly younger people might have a different definition of new wave, because when they were coming of age, the term "new wave" was applied to a more synthesizer-based sound, with quirky fashions and lyrics. By the time the synthesizer-based sound became popular in the early 80's, I was already in my early 20's and was listening to my favorite guitar-based punk and power pop groups. The synthesizer-based NW was played on the commercial radio stations that were marketed to teenagers. They played Adam Ant, Kajagoogoo, Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, etc., and because the station actively marketed to teenagers, it didn't appeal much to people in my early 20's age group. Instead, I listened to community radio, which played NW and punk that appealed to a slightly more mature listener. I think if I had been in high school in the early to mid-80's, I would have been exposed to more synth-based NW. Instead, now I'm backfilling my music collection to include more synth music that I missed or ignored the first time around.

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[/quote]

Very good point. I was 10 in 1984, and that's the year music made its mark on me. I don't know how to explain it. Music woke something up inside me that year. I will always associate New Wave with synthpop-type music because that's what it was called at the time and that's how I associate it.

Now, I find that I am backtracking and seeking "early New Wave" and the punk music I simply was too young to experience the first time around.

But forever, when I think New Wave, I'll think about Duran Duran and Culture Club and The Cure, etc. The years 1984-1987 or so are what come to mind for me.

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[DSR]

[quote][i]Originally posted by paul simpson[/i]
<br>This is just my opinion.

Who are new wave?

At least in our school during my high school days, people who didnt comb their hair, wore make up and lipstick ( in honor maybe of Robert Smith), wore creepers shoes and trench coat, gelled their hair bangs like a cobra ( imitating Cool Carla of Identity Crisis), of course, listens to NW music.

What are new wave?

New wave is not your everyday music. Its very hard to define this term. Their music is not different from other styles,(cause they also use brass instruments, as in Close To Me by The Cure or James), but they do it in a very stylish way. It will stand above the rest when you hear it coz its very different. Most of these bands are British and it makes you proud when you are into this genre. New Wave are neither pop nor disco but they also fit in to these categories. Undefinable, for me at least.

Death is a beginning of a new life. If you believe in reincarnation.
[/quote]

I hope you'll be responsible on your posting here MAN! Please don't name all the LEGENDARY NEW RADIO STATIONS and NEW WAVE RADIO SHOWS here in MANILA as your source because these is a WORLDWIDE forum and we don't want any misleading facts that would change the views of our CO-MEMBERS here about what FILIPINO thinks about NEW WAVE just what you've done on your thread regarding not considering a NEW WAVE BAND as NEW WAVE because you have a pop compilation(hope it's not pirated) that includes your band list. MIKE SUTTON and I have been promoting the NEW WAVE GENRE that happened in MANILA and we base our post on our experiences and true facts. THANKS KABAYAN![;)]

[:)]An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
DSR

[SwampThing]

My views are pretty close to these:

What is NEW WAVE?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wave_music
Who are NEW WAVE?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ne ... nd_artists

[quote]MIKE SUTTON and I have been promoting the NEW WAVE GENRE that happened in MANILA and we base our post on our experiences and true facts. THANKS KABAYAN!
[/quote] Maybe you guys should fill in the "New Wave in different countries" section of the Wikipedia. Wikipedia is read and written by people from all over the world.

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