New Wave

[hekawi]

i've been on a bit of a New Wave kick lately (don't worry it'll pass )
fun to listen to in small bursts...kinda hard to define though....something like: polished-up post punk quirky borderline techno synth driven alt-pop from the late 70's early 80's. lotsa one hit wonders, and a handful of acts that had a few years of fame. me being me, i like the more guitar oriented bands (example-the Cars) best.

my favorite New Wave hit:



anybody else here like the old New Wave stuff?

[Skully]

That's a curious collection to represent New Wave.

[imsilly]

I pretty much think of New Wave as things like Talking Heads, Richard Hell and Television. Basically CBGBs bands that didn't sound exactly like the Ramones. I know it was originally a term used by frustrated journalists, artists and publists trying to get themselves out of a pigeon-hole. Seems like it was out of the frying pan and into the fire for most of them. I think the term New Wave only exists because people got sick of being called punks. The stuff that came later is just straight out bandwagoning pop.

[dB]

Yeah, sure, it reminds me of my teen years. Not so much of a musical inspiration, just reminds me of good times.

[robb3566]

I really like early Joe Jackson. I recently got 'Beat Crazy' off Itunes.

[Fearnot]

Without getting too long-winded here, most of what folks call 'new wave' is really power pop... and that predates (and includes some) punk rock. As for the one-hit-wonder status of a lot of those bands, that says as much about the music biz and radio at the time as it does the bands... a lot of them made great second and third albums that got no airplay at all. Go figger.

[Muddslide]

I like a lot of New Wave music. Some of the more obscure bands (Inflatable Boy Clams, Suburban Lawns, Voice Farm) did a lot of great stuff, but I think most people think of New Wave, they think of one-hit wonders that were on the radio and MTV back in the day.

Thing is, if you investigate a little further, some of those "One-Hit Wonder" bands had a lot of great stuff they released.

For example:

THE VAPORS--we all know "Turning Japanese" but in actuality, The Vapors released two of the finest examples of New Wavey pop punk albums ever.

WALL OF VOODOO--yeah, everyone here has probably heard the great "Mexican Radio" but most likely never gave the band anothr thought. As a matter of fact, the first two Wall of Voodoo albums (the ones with Stan Ridgway) are very cool, vey unique albums that merit deeper listening.

TRIO--that's right, the band that brought us "Da Da Da (I Don't Love You, You Don't Love Me.") Whodathunk that they actually had quite a number f great songs..."Sunday You Need Love," "Broken Hearts For You and Me," "Anna," "Out In The Streets" and more. Great band, sadly remembered almost solely for their one big "novelty" hit.

I'll also back up bands like Adam and the Ants (Kings of the Wild Frontier is a killer album, though they did go on to be schlocky beyond forgiveness), Men At Work (and, for that matter, even Men Without Hats--they were a lot more than the rather dismal "Safety Dance.") Even the masters of silly hair A Flock Of Seagulls uncorked some memorable tunes beyond "I Ran."

And don't even get me started on Devo. IMO, one of the most important bands of the 70s and early 80s. They too went on to be watered down and schlocky, but their first four albums (and especially their first two) are excellent. The first two (before they became more reliant on synths) rock pretty hard.

The Cars are another fine example. As are The B-52s (particularly up through the Whammy album.)

One of the most fun bands of all time, to me, are Britain's Tenpole Tudor. Largely forgotten now (aside from those who might remember "Wunderbar" and "Swords of 1000 Men") they were an incredibly tight, fun band that I never tire of listening to.

I don't really get into a New Wave jones all that often, but when I do, there is a ton of music that falls under that umbrella that is really excellent and often still very fresh sounding.

[BritishBluesBoy]

Originally Posted by Skully

That's a curious collection to represent New Wave.

Zackly what I was a thinkin'

[elihu]

Where are all the ties? Heck, Joe is the only one even wearing a tie. Now here's some proper ties...with a scarf as a bonus.

[hekawi]

thanks for the post Muddslide, i'll check out some of the examples you cited. Tenpole Tudor looks particularly interesting...i'll investigate further.

Skully & British Blues Boy, sorry for the curious inclusion of two "old timers" who briefly jumped on the New Wave bandwagon. point well taken and i have removed them from my original post.

[Skully]

Jeez, you didn't need to remove them. Here I am coming back to the thread and I have nothing to do with the stick I was going to use to poke the old fogey.

THE VAPORS--we all know "Turning Japanese" but in actuality, The Vapors released two of the finest examples of New Wavey pop punk albums ever.

WALL OF VOODOO--yeah, everyone here has probably heard the great "Mexican Radio" but most likely never gave the band anothr thought. As a matter of fact, the first two Wall of Voodoo albums (the ones with Stan Ridgway) are very cool, vey unique albums that merit deeper listening.

TRIO--that's right, the band that brought us "Da Da Da (I Don't Love You, You Don't Love Me.") Whodathunk that they actually had quite a number f great songs..."Sunday You Need Love," "Broken Hearts For You and Me," "Anna," "Out In The Streets" and more. Great band, sadly remembered almost solely for their one big "novelty" hit.

I'll also back up bands like Adam and the Ants (Kings of the Wild Frontier is a killer album, though they did go on to be schlocky beyond forgiveness), Men At Work (and, for that matter, even Men Without Hats--they were a lot more than the rather dismal "Safety Dance.") Even the masters of silly hair A Flock Of Seagulls uncorked some memorable tunes beyond "I Ran."

Each on of the bands you mentioned are amongst my early '80s favorites (save for Adam & the Ants). I think Men Without Hats had a lot of good stuff on their first two albums including "Safety Dance." Flock of Seagulls first album is very good, and its two follow-ups have some really good songs, as well. Those interested should know that one can buy The Vapors first albums as a CD twofer ("Vaporized"). I really like Wall of Voodoo's first two albums (as well as Stan Ridgway's solo work), but I actually prefer their work with replacement lead singer Andy Prieboy, who was also a much better live performer than Ridgway.

The Cars are another fine example. As are The B-52s (particularly up through the Whammy album.)

I think that in many ways The Cars define the new wave aesthetic, along with Devo.

Hey! Don't forget about The Human League ("Dare" and the follow-up EP "Fascination"), the leading practicioners of Martian Motown.

[kickstartkiss]

i love new wave.one of my favourate genres.the guitar tone is to die for IMO.

posted a bunch of video's but can't be bothered embarissing myself.

[EasyEB]

can't have this discussion w/o these greats...

[hekawi]

Originally Posted by Skully

I think that in many ways The Cars define the new wave aesthetic, along with Devo.

always thought this shoulda been a hit...great album track:



DEVO was a wacky band



gotta smile at their cover of the Stones "Satisfaction" (and check out the modded telecaster in the vid):

[EasyEB]

Originally Posted by hekawi

always thought this shoulda been a hit...great album track:

and the soundtrack to the greatest topless scene in a movie ever!

[Brad Pittiful]

love all the bands mentioned here...heres a few more obscure bands

the shoes

the headboys

department S

payola$

[JCBurke59]

Well, whatever you want to call it, a lot of the stuff mentioned already gets heavy rotation constantly at my place. I'm a big Joe Jackson Band fan from way back (seen him/them live over 20 times) and a couple of others worth mentioning:

The Plimsouls
Graham Parker
The Feelies
The Modern Lovers
Television
The Jam
Ian Dury and the Blockheads (and a lot of other artists on Stiff Records)

Great stuff. Oh, has Elvis Costello (and the Attractions) been mentioned yet?

BTW - Stan Ridgeway did some very cool solo stuff worth checking out.

[Skully]

The Plimsouls

I'm a huge' 'souls fan, although I wouldn't really consider them New Wave. That said they did more or less emerge from a power pop revival scene in L.A. Same with Graham Parker. He was more pub rock, if you had to label. Then again, songs such as "Discovering Japan" do have a certain New Wave-ish quality.

[hekawi]

Originally Posted by Brad Pittiful

love all the bands mentioned here...heres a few more obscure bands

the shoes

the headboys

department S

payola$

ah, the Shoes! really dug them. good band. thanks for reminding me:

[Skully]

ah, the Shoes! really dug them. good band. thanks for reminding me:

I have most if not all of the Shoes albums on CD, but I was never really able to get into to them. To me, they were too much on the fey side of the power pop genre.