New Wave Outpost Forum

Whether it be lead, rhythm or bass, what are those legendary riffs that still catch your ear and continue to captivate?

The jingly, searching guitar lick that fades in to start "Jenny 867-5309" sounds as good as the day it was released. The solo in "New Year's Day" still grabs my ear. Also the Byrds-like mini solo that builds to a crescendo in "A Million Miles Away" from The Plimsouls still takes me to another place.

I know there's tons more...



<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

My youngest son noted that "our music" seemed to have way more cool riffs than what they have today. [8D]

In fairness, I think I like most of my favorite new wave because of the riffs, so this list could be huge. Some selected:

The Bongos - Numbers with Wings
The Cars - Good Times Roll
The Chameleons - Up the Down Escalator
The Church - Metropolis
Gang of Four - What We All Want
The Jam - Man in the Corner Shop
Joy Division - Transmission
New Order - Ceremony
The Plimsouls - Zero Hour (all their songs I guess)
The Pretenders - Kid
Simple Minds - Someone Somewhere...
The Smiths - What Difference...
Television - Marquee Moon
The Untouchables - What's Gone Wrong
Wire - Mannequin
Wire Train - Chamber of Hellos
20/20 - Yellow Pills

And possibly my favorite of all, before new wave, Bowie's Rebel Rebel. As fresh as the day it was released.

Good lists. I'd add more by U2 (Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Electric Co., many more) the Police (Roxanne, Message in a Bottle) and Stray Cats (Stray Cat Strut for example). I'll think of more.

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[quote][i]Originally posted by scramjet[/i]
<br>Good lists. I'd add more by U2 (Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Electric Co., many more) the Police (Roxanne, Message in a Bottle)
[/quote]
I was actually going to mention some U2 and Police but didn't want to damage my cachet. [:o)]

The Only One Of You - Urban Verbs

Tones On Tail - Go!
PiL - Public Image
Gang Of Four - Natural's Not In It
Echo & The Bunnymen - Rescue
The Stranglers - Peaches
Simple Minds - Changeling
Big Country - Fields Of Fire
New Order - Age Of Consent

and pretty much anything Johnny Marr did with The Smiths

Wow, hard to choose...

The guitar in "One Thing Leads To Another"
The riff that opens "Her Head's Revolving" by The Three O'Clock (also the best ending of a rock 'n' roll song ever!)
The riffs in "In A Big Country" and "Wonderland" by Big Country
The riff in "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" by U2
The drums that end "Come A Long Way" by Simple Minds as the song fades out.

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

The Cars Candy-O (love the solo)
Oingo Boingo Nothing to Fear
English Beat Save it for Later
Echo and the Bunnymen Killing Moon
The Smiths How Soon is Now
New Order Age of Consent
Duran Duran Girls on Film
Elvis Costello I Dont Want to Chelsea
Adam and the Ants Prince Charming
Barbie and the Kens Just a Gigolo (amazing solo)
B-52s Strobe Light
Bauhaus Bela Lugosi's Dead
Billy Idol White Wedding
The Cult Wildflower
The Cure Push
Devo Girl U Want
Go Gos This Town
Greg Kihn Band Breakup Song
Haircut 100 Favorite Shirts
INXS The One Thing
The Knack My Sharona
Love and Rockets When the Minutes Drag
The Pretenders Back on the Chain Gang
The Pretenders Tattooed Love Boys
The Psychedelic Furs All of this or Nothing
The Romantics What I Like About You
Romeo Void Never Say Never
Siouxsie and the Banshees Hong King Garden
The Smiths Big Mouth Strikes Again
Talking Heads Psycho Killer
Translator Everywhere that I'm not
XTC Ball and Chain

Systematics - International Voltage:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvZGCrtOt24

The Passions - I'm in love with a german film star

whip it - devo
Rock Lobster - B52s

"You just pick a chord, go twang, and you've got music." ~ Sid Vicious

Not sure how I missed this thread. I'll just mention songs that haven't been mentioned already, one song per artist. If I were to list them all, there'd be a lot of overlap with Frau and oldnewwaver.

Altered Images - I Could Be Happy (dance mix)
Candy - Whatever Happened to Fun
Cars - Touch and Go
Church - Unguarded Moment
Close Lobsters - Just Too Bloody Stupid
Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
Divinyls - Boys in Town
A Flock of Seagulls - Space Age Love Song
Hunters & Collectors - Talking to a Stranger
Joy Division - Shadowplay
Killing Joke - Eighties
Let's Active - Every Word Means No
March Violets - Walk into the Sun
Midnight Oil - Best of both Worlds
Pylon - Dub
R.E.M. - So. Central Rain
Vapors - Turning Japanese
X - Blue Spark

[quote][i]Originally posted by wherewereuin82[/i]

Echo & The Bunnymen - Rescue
[/quote]
You know that great opening lick on "Rescue" is not even Echo and the Bunnymen. It was producer Ian Broudie who played it and added it onto the song all on his own. Supposedly when The Bunnymen heard it they hated it and went berserk, but the record company kept it.

I play guitar and these are just a few of the great guitar riffs of the New Wave that I love to bash out:

"Lips Like Sugar" - Echo And The Bunnymen
"Whistling In The Dark" - Easterhouse
"Somesay" - Wah
"Kiss Me Deadly" - Gen X
"I Watch The Cars" - Robyn Hitchcock
"Across My Heart" - Blue In Heaven
"In Shreds" - The Chameleons
"Ballerina Out Of Control" - The Ocean Blue
"Rip It Up" - Orange Juice
"2 X 4" - The Fall
"Space Age Love Song" - Flock Of Seagullls

And tons of Cult -- they really were the Kings Of Guitar Riffs back then.

"Spiritwalker"
"Hollow Man"
"Nirvana"
"Moya"
"Love Removal Machine"
"Horse Nation"
"Go West"
"Electric Ocean"
"Ghost Dance"

Shockingly no one mentioned:

APB Shoot You Down