Search results
New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop -oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of punk culture ". [4] . It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock.
Where post-punk was arty, difficult, and challenging, new wave was pop music, pure and simple. It retained the fresh vigor and irreverence of punk music, as well as a fascination with electronics, style, and art.
- Elvis Costello: My Aim is True (1977) Costello’s debut album bridged the gap between the roiling punk energy of the mid-70s and the staid tradition of literate, intimate, popular songwriting that traces from the Gershwins, Berlin and Porter to Buddy Holly and Lennon/McCartney.
- Talking Heads: Remain in Light (1980) For their fourth and finest record, the Talking Heads (along with producer/collaborator/all-around musical badass Brian Eno) trotted out their African influences in full force.
- The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead (1986) If “How Soon Is Now” off The Smiths’ previous album was the starting-pistol shot announcing their intentions to delve into darker territories, then the title track off The Queen Is Dead was rhythmic strafing to the same effect.
- Blondie: Parallel Lines (1978) The wondrous pop, rock and disco songs on Parallel Lines weren’t supposed to exist on one single album. To imagine it is to put “The Loco-Motion,” “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “Staying Alive” on a mixtape and pronounce it a band.
- Elvis Costello, ‘My Aim is True’ Melding the swagger of 1950s rock’n’roll with the raw energy of punk, Elvis Costello’s 1977 debut encapsulates the spirit of new wave.
- Television, ‘Marquee Moon’ (1977) Advertisement. Along with the Ramones and Blondie, Television made their name playing at the New York dive venue CBGB – and from the beginning they stuck out from the crowd they ran in.
- The Cars, ‘The Cars’ (1978) The Cars’ first single ‘Just What I Needed’ name-checked both the Velvet Underground (the lyric “wasting all my time-time” references their song ‘Sister Ray’) and bubblegum outfit Ohio Express – and it’s indicative of the group’s approach as a whole.
- Blondie, ‘Parallel Lines’ (1978) Pre-’Parallel Lines’, Blondie were possibly New York City’s most tuneful punks, embracing everything from doo-woppy French yé-yé and 60s pop to the rhythmic pulse of disco.
- Elvis Costello & The Attractions – This Year’S Model
- Blondie – Parallel Lines
- Duran Duran – Rio
- Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden
- The Killers – Hot Fuss
Elvis Costello was unquestionably part of the punk movement, but where the majority of his peers enthusiastically rejected the past, the Londoner was more than happy to allow his love of Buddy Holly, The Beatles or Elton John to shine through in his music. His 1977 debut album My Aim is True is an incredibly important document, but a year later he ...
If Elvis Costello brought songwriting nous and an innate knack for moulding great melodies into a punk framework, Blondie gave us straight up, undeniable star power. Debbie Harry had model looks, charisma by the bucketload, and a voice full of energy, personality and swagger that was impossible not to be drawn in by. The New York band's third studi...
The 'Second British Invasion' of the early 80s arguably represents the commercial peak for new wave as a genre. It’s at this point where differentiating new wave and pure pop music becomes almost impossible, with every trace of punk rock now eradicated completely from the music. What happened during that time was something of a lightning in a bottl...
In their early days, Mark Hollis’ Talk Talk project were almost dismissed as purely another synth-heavy pop act from The Second British Invasion. Much of this was purely to do with financial restrictions, Hollis unable to afford the full band necessary to create his compositions the way he heard them in his head. 1986’s superb The Colour Of Spring ...
Since the glory days of new wave drifted firmly into the past, there have been more than a few nostalgic callbacks to its 1980s peak: Elastica and Pulp both referenced it here and there in amongst their Britpopanthems, while artists such as LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip and Hurts spent much of the 2000s trying to make danceable art-pop from an indie ba...
May 5, 2020 · After punk came a new wave of bands determined to do things differently, and often sounding very unalike. We round up 10 of the best new wave and post punk albums ever made
100 Greatest New Wave Songs. Background - 'New Wave' evolved from 'Punk' in the late '70s being less anti-social and more radio (and MTV) friendly, hitting it's high in '83 and faded...
