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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: KevShmev on February 12, 2020, 09:37:07 AM
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_wave_music
I read a blurb about Echo and the Bunnymen the other day, and was like, hmmm, I forgot about that band. I remember the minor hit Lips Like Sugar, a solid tune, and then checked out their 1984 classic The Killing Moon, which was very nice, and then ended up buying the album it is from, Ocean Rain, which sounded pretty good after one listen.
Anyway, talk about all things New Wave in this thread. :hat
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In my teens and early 20s, I was primarily into what was then defined as "hard rock" and/or "heavy metal." But my two main developing "sub-interests" where I liked a few bands here and there, often because of friends who were more heavily into those genres/subgenres were new wave and thrash.
I recognize that, as with many genres and subgenres, we could spend the entire thread arguing about what does or does not qualify as "new wave." Personally, I don't really care to have that debate (although it's Kev's thread, and if he intended that, then by all means have at it) and bash people's band choices, unless they are WAY outside the accepted boundaries of what could fit. I enjoyed quite a few new wave bands. But there are only a small number that I actively followed and bought their albums:
-Depeche Mode: Perhaps the "kings" of new wave? They were HUGE when I was in high school. And simultaneously, somewhat underground except for those in the know. In the U.S.--at least my corner of it--it seemed like they were one of the first to come out of and embrace both the punk roots and pop influence and gain a massive underground following that grew and grew until they were too large to ignore. My best friend at the time was REALLY into them, so I was familiar with songs here and there from their early stuff. But what really got me into them was Music for the Masses. I believe that was my first purchase, and then I went back and got the back catalog. I thought 101 was fantastic as well. Great performance, and really functioned well as a nice hits package that dove nicely into the back catalog. Violator was pretty good as well (really nice driving album for a lot of road trips up and down I-95). But I lost interest after that.
-Siouxsie & the Banshees: LOVED this group. I remember seeing them live at the Greek Theater in Berkeley in 1987, with Andy Sommers and Julian Cope opening, and was blown away by her and her band. Oddly, Through the Looking Glass was and is my favorite album from them. I say "oddly" because, for those who don't know, it is a covers album. But if you didn't know the songs (and there is a good chance one may not, since they are mostly pretty obscure. But what a great job! Tinderbox is also a really great, fun album. Cities in Dust is a great original from them during that era. Oddly, before Peepshow came out in--what was it, '89?--other than Cities in Dust, I think that in the U.S., they were best known for their covers of the Beatles' Dear Prudence and Helter Skelter. Anyway, fantastic band.
-U2: They round out my "top 3." I guess nowadays, it is easier to just count them as a "pop" band, since that is where they evolved to. But early U2 was considered by most to be "new wave" for sure. I didn't really get into them heavily until Joshua Tree. Perfect album as far as I'm concerned. One of the best all time from anybody. The back catalog is really good as well. But after that, they were hit and miss, and I basically stopped following them in the mid-'90s.
-Honorable mention to Cory Hart, if he counts as new wave. Boy in the Box was a great album.
Others I enjoyed, but did not follow as closely include Blondie, Devo, and Talking Heads. But there was a lot of good music in this genre.
Taking the conversation off on a bit of a related tangent: By the early '00s, I had mostly all but forgotten about new wave. But right in that timeframe, I discovered this at-the-time somewhat-obscure goth metal band from Italy called Lacuna Coil, upon a recommendation from a guy on the Y&T/Dave Meniketti forums. What immediately struck me about the album Comalies was how it took goth/new wave synthesizers and vocal stylings and paired them with modern metal. That sound was right up my alley at the time, and I loved it. I remember mentioning to Samsara at one point in time that I loved how they sounded like a melding of '80s new wave with modern metal, and he VIGOROUSLY shot down the mere suggestion that there was anything "new wave" about them. :lol But I still hold to that. I clearly hear that influence, and it's no secret that the band was influenced heavily by bands like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and the Chili Peppers, so they definitely have that punk/pop, new wave melding stable of bands in their influences, and I hear that come through in their style.
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Siouxsie is great! So are the Talking Heads. I've always had trouble with the definition of New Wave because most bands that would fit into that category would also be considered post-punk or just pop in general.
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I misread the thread title and was so excited to have a new age music thread here. One day...
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I misread the thread title and was so excited to have a new age music thread here. One day...
...I saw Yanni in 1995 at Radio City Music Hall at the height of his popularity due to Live At The Acropolis being played on every PBS station back then.
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On to the subject at hand.
Big new wave fan; Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Blondie, Adam & The Ants, Squeeze, The Pretenders, etc.
Back in the day (my high school years; late 70s/very early 80s), I don't think the term New Wave was used. The term I think is more associated with the keyboard heavy stuff that we first heard in the early MTV days, like Flock of Seagulls, Human League, etc. The bands I listed above we probably thought of as punk, or punk-lite.
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I would say that new wave and metal were the dominant music genres of the 80s. When I started getting into popular music at the start of the decade, some new wave appealed to me. My friend had what I guess you'd call a "mix tape" that had everything from Abacab by Genesis to Kids in America by Kim Wilde. There was also a weird little mock interview with E.T., where every "answer" was a snippet from a song (e.g., Q: "what did you do before coming to Earth?" A: "I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar" from the Human League song). I liked a lot of that stuff. However, as I got more into metal, "new wave" became a four-letter word, and I dismissed much of it out of hand ("If you like that crap, you're not a real METALLER!!!"). However, over the last 20 years or so, I've found that a lot of the stuff that I dismissed isn't too bad.
Duran Duran is definitely a band that needs to be mentioned early in this discussion. Aside from having a lot of very catchy songs, I was surprised by the complexity of some of their playing (John Taylor, in particular). They're never going to be a favorite of mine, but they're really good.
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To the extent they count as “New Wave,” I’m a big fan of Talk Talk, Tears for Fears, and The Blue Nile (as evidenced by my profile pic). Though admittedly I’m less of a fan of the actual, more overt new wave period of Talk Talk.
Along those same lines, Steve Hogarth’s pre-Marillion bands The Europeans and How We Live are really great and have more of a new wave vibe.
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To touch on bosk1's post, I have never really thought of U2 as new wave, but I am guessing they were considered that when they first hit the scene.
I think it does without saying that a lot of bands that were lumped into the new wave category also were lumped into others as well, so it kind be a bit of a gray area. I am a big fan of bands like Tears for Fears, INXS, Talking Heads and XTC, all of whom fell under the new wave banner at one point or another, but you often see each referred to as something else as well. Heck, I believe The Police was considered new wave, if I am not mistaken.
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New wave bands for me were really hit and miss. I'll list some of the ones I liked then and now
The Police
The Talking Heads
The Cars
Blondie
Depeche Mode (more for their output from Violator and later)
Tears for Fears
The Pretenders
Some that I occasionally enjoy
The Cure
The Romantics
Eurythmics
The Fixx
Erasure
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Heck, I believe The Police was considered new wave, if I am not mistaken.
They were originally (by me), by the time of Synchronicity they had moved more into pop...in a good way.
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To touch on bosk1's post, I have never really thought of U2 as new wave, but I am guessing they were considered that when they first hit the scene.
Well, it's a continuum, right? If you have "punk influenced and synth heavy" at one end of the spectrum and "from anywhere in the British Isles" on the other end of the spectrum, being heavy on either end of the spectrum makes you "new wave." It's only where you lack both and fall somewhere in the middle that you aren't. :biggrin:
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To touch on bosk1's post, I have never really thought of U2 as new wave, but I am guessing they were considered that when they first hit the scene.
...Corey Hart..
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I think at the time they broke (which, as far as I knew, was when the videos from War started showing up on MTV in early 1983), U2 was somewhat regarded as "new wave," but in retrospect, they were really just a rock or pop-rock band. I don't recall the Police being lumped in with the "new wave" crowd as much, and they had a lot of variety in their songs that made broad categorization a bit difficult.
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To touch on bosk1's post, I have never really thought of U2 as new wave, but I am guessing they were considered that when they first hit the scene.
...Corey Hart..
Yeah, well, leave it to the Canadians to muck everything up.
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New wave bands for me were really hit and miss. I'll list some of the ones I liked then and now
The Police
The Talking Heads
The Cars
Blondie
Depeche Mode (more for their output from Violator and later)
Tears for Fears
The Pretenders
Some that I occasionally enjoy
The Cure
The Romantics
Eurythmics
The Fixx
Erasure
There is no "The" in the band name of Talking Heads. :biggrin:
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There is no "The" in the band name of Talking Heads. :biggrin:
That's your take away from my contribution to your thread? Seriously? You want to troll me because I accidentally added the word The to one of the band names? I wish you wouldn't say that.
Yet it's the same as it ever was... I mean, it's not going to make me stay up all night, or turn me into a psycho killer, or cause me to burn down the house, but, sheesh. For just once in a lifetime can we have a thread without all the pedantic concern?
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There is no "The" in the band name of Talking Heads. :biggrin:
That's your take away from my contribution to your thread? Seriously? You want to troll me because I accidentally added the word The to one of the band names? I wish you wouldn't say that.
Yet it's the same as it ever was... I mean, it's not going to make me stay up all night, or turn me into a psycho killer, or cause me to burn down the house, but, sheesh. For just once in a lifetime can we have a thread without all the pedantic concern?
No offense, man, I was just playing around. I should have addressed more of your post, so that is my bad.
I don't dig a lot of the early Talking Heads stuff, as it is a bit too punk for me at times, but Fear of Music is where they really hit their stride, IMO, and then Remain in Light is a beast of a record. The consistency fell off for me after that, but they still had plenty of great moments on Speaking in Tongues and later records.
Violator is still the only full album I have heard by Depeche Mode and I like it, but I have tasted small sample sizes of other albums and nothing has really grabbed me to make me want to check out more.
I tried digging deeper into both The Cure and The Pretenders a while back, but didn't have much luck with either. A few hits and whatnot is all I seem to like by either.
I always thought of Erasure as synth pop, in a similar vein as Pet Shop Boys. They have some tunes I like.
Eurythmics is a band I suspect has a lot more good stuff than I realize, I just haven't heard it yet. Some day...;)
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:lol I thought you'd realize I was joking with all the titles and lyrics of Talking Heads in my response. I probably should have used a green font, buddy. I'll edit my earlier post to make it more obvious.
I agree about Erasure being more synth pop but they come from the same pedigree of Depeche Mode (who I really dig) so the similarities appeal.
On that note, I've always enjoyed Alison Moyet's voice so I probably should have mentioned Yaz too. Still, her solo stuff is way better than Yaz, so maybe I shouldn't have. :)
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Feels like this thread is now on a road to nowhere. :P
I don't think I've ever heard of Yaz.
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Violator is still the only full album I have heard by Depeche Mode and I like it, but I have tasted small sample sizes of other albums and nothing has really grabbed me to make me want to check out more.
I think I've mentioned it before, but it's their later albums that mostly do it for me. Play the Angel, Sounds of the Universe, and Spirit. I like the dark imagery of the music...I guess you could call it more industrial than new wave.
A Pain That I'm Used To (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2iGtRseS7E)
Wrong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFlUCr42qzI)
The Sinner In Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc7Nyzb1FO4)
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I don't think I've ever heard of Yaz.
You haven't?
(https://baseballhall.org/sites/default/files/styles/fullscreen_image_popup/public/islandora_images/Yastremski%20Carl%2087-2005_Bat_NBL%20Boutelle.jpg?itok=4GiRw9uC)
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:lol
Tears For Fears
XTC
REM
The Fixx
U2
Simple Minds
The Cars
The Alarm
Duran Duran
The Knack
Level 42
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DM = Black Celebration
I love that album. Even more than Violator.
And Yaz is pretty amazing too. Upstairs at Eric's is one of the essential building blocks of the whole movement. (EDIT - Alison Moyet's solo material is pretty amazing as well....her voice is HAWT.)
For what it's worth, I can't get through a conversation about English alt music from the 80s without mentioning the AMAZING Love and Rockets, which arose from the ashes of Bauhaus. Not sure if it qualifies as "new wave" or not, but it was in the underground movement that was related to it. The first four L&R albums are mainstays in my collection and I'm really sad that they are not still active. Although I guess they tried to do a reunion tour with Peter Murphy a few years ago that ended in disaster??
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Oh, and BTW....I had NO IDEA until about a year ago that Yaz was known as "Yazoo" in the rest of the world. They were only "Yaz" in North America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazoo_(band)
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I love DD and DM. Both bands are still going! I hate the singer of talking heads, the way his voice wobbles...ugh. The singles of the other bands are cool, I love 80's music.
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I think I've mentioned it before, but it's their later albums that mostly do it for me. Play the Angel, Sounds of the Universe, and Spirit. I like the dark imagery of the music...I guess you could call it more industrial than new wave.
A Pain That I'm Used To (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2iGtRseS7E)
Wrong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFlUCr42qzI)
The Sinner In Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc7Nyzb1FO4)
I will check those out. :tup :tup
:lol
Tears For Fears
XTC
REM
The Fixx
U2
Simple Minds
The Cars
The Alarm
Duran Duran
The Knack
Level 42
I can't say I've ever heard anything by The Knack aside from My Sherona.
I remember the name, but I am drawing a blank of remembering anything by The Alarm.
And Yaz is pretty amazing too. Upstairs at Eric's is one of the essential building blocks of the whole movement.
Hmmm, I'll have to seek out that one.
I love DD and DM. Both bands are still going! I hate the singer of talking heads, the way his voice wobbles...ugh. The singles of the other bands are cool, I love 80's music.
David Bryne's voice is not for everyone, but I have always liked it. I grew up loving all of the Talking Heads' hits of the 80's, so it was easy to like a lot of the rest once I dug a little deeper.
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Not long and we have mentioned every 80s pop act as possibly new wave. :D
Level 42 for instance is a lot, but really not new wave in any form.
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I misread the thread title and was so excited to have a new age music thread here. One day...
...I saw Yanni in 1995 at Radio City Music Hall at the height of his popularity due to Live At The Acropolis
I dated a girl who was oddly obsessed with Yanni. Had a poster of him in her bedroom and everything. Every time I saw it I giggled a little bit and she would get offended. The relationship didn’t last long. That is all. Carry on.
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I was never a big New Wave fan, but I am falling in love more and more with a lot of 80s music. Of the stuff that I really enjoy listening to, I guess The Police and Tears For Fears could be considered New Wave. Maybe the early Talk Talk? I don't know.
One album I find particularly under appreciated is The Age Of Plastic by The Buggles though. That album is just beautifully weird and awesome.
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Not long and we have mentioned every 80s pop act as possibly new wave. :D
Level 42 for instance is a lot, but really not new wave in any form.
While I agree they are moreJazz based, they were lumped into that genre.
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Not long and we have mentioned every 80s pop act as possibly new wave. :D
Level 42 for instance is a lot, but really not new wave in any form.
While I agree they are moreJazz based, they were lumped into that genre.
You'd be hard-pressed to find many songs that made the top 10 on the pop charts here in the 80's that had a bass line as great as the one in Something About You. :hat
One album I find particularly under appreciated is The Age Of Plastic by The Buggles though. That album is just beautifully weird and awesome.
I don't think I've ever heard anything by the Buggles except Video Killed the Radio Star. What are some other notable songs?
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Similarities and Differences between "New Wave" and "New Romantic"?
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Not long and we have mentioned every 80s pop act as possibly new wave. :D
Level 42 for instance is a lot, but really not new wave in any form.
While I agree they are moreJazz based, they were lumped into that genre.
You'd be hard-pressed to find many songs that made the top 10 on the pop charts here in the 80's that had a bass line as great as the one in Something About You. :hat
One album I find particularly under appreciated is The Age Of Plastic by The Buggles though. That album is just beautifully weird and awesome.
I don't think I've ever heard anything by the Buggles except Video Killed the Radio Star. What are some other notable songs?
I personally like Living In The Plastic Age (awesome groove), Elstree (beautiful melody) and Johnny On The Monorail (great background vocals and a worthy finale), which are all on the album The Age Of Plastic. Video Killed The Radio Star is on that album, too.
In contrast to that, I don't really like their second album, except maybe for I Am A Camera (but Yes recorded the far more superior version of that tune). But their first album is a great listen. As is Drama by Yes of course, which features both members of The Buggles as part of Yes.
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I'll have to check out those Buggles songs, I reckon. ;)
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Similarities and Differences between "New Wave" and "New Romantic"?
Less make-up? :biggrin:
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I don't think we mentioned Madness yet. Our House was infectiously silly. But One Step Beyond! was...well, also infectiously silly, but just a great song in its own right as well.
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I don't think I've ever heard of Yaz.
You haven't?
(https://baseballhall.org/sites/default/files/styles/fullscreen_image_popup/public/islandora_images/Yastremski%20Carl%2087-2005_Bat_NBL%20Boutelle.jpg?itok=4GiRw9uC)
You're the man. Seriously. :)
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For me, a lot of New Wave is of a time, and really only resonates because of the emergence of MTV and seeing the videos over and over (Human League comes to mind).
But for me, The Cars, Duran Duran, and Squeeze have, like all great bands, transcended their humble beginnings. Duran Duran was on "Later... With Jools Holland" not long ago, and turned in an explosive rendition of "Wild Boys"; they were on FIRE. I just saw Squeeze on Friday night, front row, and they were solid as a rock. Two hours, knew every song but two (to be fair, I've HEARD them, but they were from the latest two albums and so can't be called "greats" or "hits" yet) and was clapping along like a jackass for most of it. The thing was, FOR ME, the genre was so tied to video - the visual - and the music so austere, that the musicianship was often lost. The DD example shows them to be a really good BAND, and particularly John Taylor and Simon, very good if not excellent performers at their instrument. Seeing Squeeze, I was blown away by how good Glenn Tillbrook is as a musician. He sang and played lead guitar on every song, and some - Tempted was one, In Quintessence another - it was just him and a guitar playing. At one point, he did this really fast riff across the entire neck, and I was like "I couldn't play that with a year's practice!" and not only did he repeat it flawlessly, he stepped up to the mic and sang the first verse while repeating it. Listening to the simple repetition of something like "Goodbye Girl" or "Take Me I'm Yours", you'd be pleasantly surprised at the musicianship that is behind what we think of as simple and catchy songs.
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I need to dig into Squeeze a little more, so maybe I will check out their recent set lists and tackle the many songs of which I am unfamiliar.
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Simple Minds has some great albums. I really like New Gold Dream and Sparkle In the Rain.
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I don't think we mentioned Madness yet. Our House was infectiously silly. But One Step Beyond! was...well, also infectiously silly, but just a great song in its own right as well.
I freakin love One Step Beyond so much. To this day, I have been known to just randomly shout "HEY YOU!! DON'T WATCH DAT, WATCH DIS!!!" for no other reason than to see if anyone within earshot "gets it". :rollin :rollin