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| LA's SSQ--did they borrow those suits from Devo? |
If there’s one thing that any artist hates, its when someone tries to label his or her work. Most artists of any note feel that labels pigeonhole their work into categories that, while they might be convenient for the uninitiated, are often misleading or downright wrong.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than in music. When was the last time you heard an artist or band say, “Yeah, we’re pretty much your basic emo group”? or “All we play is doom metal, nothing else”? Never, obviously, because musical artists always resist being easily categorized and hope that their sound transcends boundaries.
The problem is, labels ARE convenient, and CAN be accurate. Praying Mantis, Savage, and Bronz really ARE bands that play “New Wave of British Heavy Metal”—they’re not punk, they’re not blues, they’re not jazz.
But labels can also be vague, and perhaps no label in modern rock music is more vague than NEW WAVE. What, exactly, IS new wave?? It initially meant punk, which is why acts as disparate as the Clash, the Dead Boys, and Devo were initially considered “new wave”. Part of this stems from the fact that record labels, radio stations, and even bands themselves started using new wave to distinguish their music from punk, which (particularly in the U.S.) initially had strongly negative connotations associated with it. Seymour Stein of Sire Records was one of the famous proponents of this “new wave vs. punk” dichotomy, and starting in the early 70’s new wave started referring to bands that were less rough edged, political, and amateurish and who retained some element of pop marketability. Ironically, “new wave” began to refer to the SECOND WAVE of bands that surged upward in the wake of the FIRST WAVE of punk bands; these bands often intentionally softened their sound and/or look so as to not be lumped in with their punk compatriots.
But still, what IS (or was; its widely considered that new wave died sometime around 1985 or so, though it has been resuscitated a couple of times since) new wave? Do the bands typically subsumed under this label have anything in common sonically or otherwise? According to Allmusic, New Wavers “approached pop music with the sardonic attitude and tense, aggressive energy of punk”. Wikipedia states that “music that followed the anarchic garage band ethos of the Sex Pistols was distinguished as ‘punk’, while music that tended toward experimentation, lyrical complexity, or more polished production, came to be categorized as ‘New Wave’”. The Wikipedia entry for New Wave goes on to state that “The New Wave sound of this era represented a break from the smooth-oriented blues and rock & roll sounds of late 1960s to mid 1970s rock music . . . the music had a twitchy, agitated feel to it . . . choppy rhythm guitars with fast tempos. Keyboards were common as were stop-and-start song structures and melodies . . . New Wave vocalists sounded high-pitched, geeky and suburban.”
I would agree with all of these definitions and descriptions, but one problem that comes out is that this is a pretty huge category; indeed, the Wikipedia definition concedes that by this broad definition, powerpop, mod/ska revival, post-punk, synth pop, New Romantic, and dance music all fit with varying degrees of success under the new wave banner.
The first new wave bands often WERE part of the “new wave”—specifically, they were the bands like Television, Blondie, and the Talking Heads, who while sharing the passion of their CBGB’s brethren were decidedly NOT playing short, fast, sloppy music; instead they were crafting songs with angular rhythms and quirky structures and time signatures in songs like “Foxhole” and “Psycho Killer” that clearly fits the Wikipedia definition above. Later in the 70’s, Elvis Costello was also making new wave music in songs like “Pump It Up” and “Radio Radio”, as were the Cars, with “Just What I Needed” and “Let’s Go”. The Knack were clearly a powerpop band but “My Sharona” often gets lumped into the new wave category. Tommy Tutone similarly approached new wave from the powerpop side, and their song “867-5309” was a huge hit too. “Goodbye To You” by Scandal and “Jukebox (Don’t Put Another Dime)” by the Flirts, and “I Got You” by Split Enz are other examples of songs and bands who a few years earlier would have been considered powerpop and were now considered new wave. Other bands that started in more in the punk fold made songs now considered new wave classics---I’m thinking specifically of the B-52s with hits like “Rock Lobster” , the Go-Go’s (“Our Lips Are Sealed”, “Vacation”, etc.), and Devo’s more synth driven songs (“Whip It”, “Jocko Homo”, “That’s Good”, “Beautiful World”).
I have to say, these are often the new wave songs I look back on with the most fondness. I was a teenager in the late 70’s/early 80’s and this was a period where I was really starting to explore music on my own. “Rock Lobster” and “Whip It” were HUGELY popular in my junior high, as were “My Sharona” and “867-5309”.
As the 80’s progressed, new wave became huge in both America and England. While there was certainly a large number of bands in America lumped in (fairly, willingly or otherwise) to the new wave category, in England new wave became almost a cottage industry. A glut of bands formed and in the wake of the success of MTV these bands were immensely successful in marketing their image as well as their sound, and for awhile it seemed like every English kid with a funny haircut, a weird band name, and a synthesizer could get a video on MTV And sell a million albums. Some bands achieved some lasting success—Boy George and Culture Club made music that was influenced by Roxy Music and American soul; “Church of the Poisoned Mind” is still a song I like a lot. Similarly, Duran Duran became an international phenomenon, as did Spandau Ballet and the Eurythmics. Modern English had a HUGE hit with “I Melt With You” (though I actually like “Ink and Paper”, their much less successful follow-up single, much better).
But bands with prolonged success were rare, and the early 80’s became more renowned for throwaway novelty songs and one hit wonders than perhaps any other rock era. Kajagoogoo (“Too Shy”), Soft Cell (“Tainted Love”), Bow Wow Wow (“I Want Candy”), the Thompson Twins (“Love On Your Side”), Men Without Hats (“Safety Dance”), Haircut 100 (“Love Plus One”), Blancmange (“Living on the Ceiling”)—the list could literally go on and on and on and on.
I have to admit, there are definitely some one hit wonder songs from this era that I still love, such as the Flying Lizards’ cover of “Money (That’s What I Want)”; “Life In a Northern Town” by the Dream Academy, “Heart and Soul” by T’Pau, “Kiss Me” by Stephen “Tintin” Duffy, “Living on Video” by Trans X, “Spaceage Love Song” and “Wishing” by Flock of Seagulls (arguably the ultimate ridiculous haircut band of all time), “The One Thing” by INXS, “Nowhere Girl” by B-Movie, “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant, “See Those Eyes” and “I Could Be Happy” by Altered Images, “Pass the Dutchie” by Musical Youth, and “Love is the Law” by the Suburbs, along with most of the “first wave new wave” songs mentioned above remain some of my favorite songs to this day. To me, these songs are catchy and fun and I still enjoy listening to them.
In the 80’s, new wave also became a major part of movie soundtracks. Nobody mined new wave for movies more than John Hughes—hell, one of his movies (“Pretty in Pink”) was even NAMED for a new wave song (by the Psychedelic Furs)!! “If You Leave” by OMD and “Round, Round” by Belouis Some are two of my favorites off the soundtrack of this film, and I still like “I Go Crazy” by Flesh For Lulu off the “Some Kind of Wonderful” soundtrack. I’m not sure if “Inside Out” by the Mighty Lemon Drops was ever featured in a film, but it sure sounds like it should have been—its catchy as hell and if you like poppy, upbeat 80’s new wave you should check it out.
One of my current favorite new wave songs from a soundtrack is “Time To Win” by Gary Myrick, which was on the soundtrack for the Nicholas Cage movie “Valley Girl”. Myrick was an unusual figure in new wave—he started in Austin Texas in the same scene that yielded Stevie Ray Vaughn but in the late 70’s he relocated to LA and formed his band the Figures. Myrick’s music is unusual, pulling from new wave, hard rock, bar band rock, and blues. His unique voice and unusual song structures made him almost like an American version of the Police (minus the Caribbean influences). In addition to “Time To Win”, which is my absolute favorite song of his, I also have “Living Disaster”, “No Crisis”, “Here Come the Guns”, “My” Girl”, “Tattoed On My Forehead”, “I’m Not a Number”, and “Ever Since the World Began”, and they all rock with an edgy, new wave influenced hard rock sound unique to the early 80’s.
As punk and new wave hit America, established, pre-punk artists reacted to this new musical revolution. Many stuck their heads in the sand and tried to ignore or even denigrate the new movement, but some artists listened to what this younger generation was saying and playing and incorporated some of these elements into their own work. Often these artists were widely derided, either at the time or later, by rock critics who disliked the way these artists seemed to try to re-establish their hip credibility by glomming onto what was widely perceived as a passing fad. I personally think this is asinine, and yet another reason why I think most rock critics are idiots. In my opinion there’s absolutely nothing wrong with exploring new sounds and trying to add fresh musical perspectives to your work. The Rolling Stones songs “She’s So Cold” off Emotional Rescue and “Tattoo You” and “Hang Fire” off Tattoo You had an edgy, new wave-y sound. Jimmy Buffett’s “I Don’t Know” (from the “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” soundtrack) is a synth driven new wave pop song and I absolutely love it. Olivia Newton-John, best known for her pop singles of the early/mid 70’s and for playing good girl Sandy in “Grease”, released some edgier, new wave-influenced music in the late 70’s—I still love “A Little More Love” off Totally Hot—and some even more synth-heavy music in the 80’s such as “Strange Twist of Fate”. Linda Ronstadt also got endless grief for her forays into new wave, most notably on her Mad Love album, which contained her cover of the Cretones’ “Mad Love”, her three Elvis Costello covers (“Party Girl”, “Girls Talk”, and “Talking In the Dark”), and her cover of Billy Thermal’s “How Do I Make You?”, but I like all of these songs. Lindsey Buckingham was also criticized for his sparser arrangements and quirky songs on Tusk, Fleetwood Mac’s follow-up to their smash hit Rumours, but I absolutely adore the very new wave-y songs on that album, including “Not That Funny”, “I Know I’m Not Wrong” (which seems to presage his later solo work, most notably “Holiday Road” and “Go Insane”). And finally, Billy Joel’s album Glass Houses was also heavily influenced by the modern rock trends, and songs like “You May Be Right” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an Elvis Costello album. “Its Still Rock and Roll To Me” is the best answer to critics on both sides of the punk and new wave debate, with Joel insisting that the new music wasn’t so new after all, just another part of the long history of rebellion and reinvention in rock and roll. And “Sometimes A Fantasy” is still one of my favorite new wave songs of all time—it too incorporates the edgy rhythms and catchy beats of the best new wave.
In recent years I’ve become a fan of obscure 80’s hits. That is, these were obscure to ME but to some people they were songs they heard on the radio or at high school dances. Cetu Javu was a German synth band that carried on in the vein of early Depeche Mode; I ran across their song “Have in Mind” on YouTube while surfing some other, related videos and I love its lush, early 80’s New Ro/synth band vibe. A while back I also got into another European 80’s band, Fischer Z; I have several of their songs, including “Going Deaf For a Living”, “I Smelt Roses”, and “Red Skies Over Paradise”, and they are all catchy, cerebral synth driven new wave, but my favorite song of theirs is “So Long”, which has a languid bass line and strumming, powerpop-flavored guitars, and John Watts’ distinctive vocals. Its one of my favorite obscure songs.
Another song, this time one I had heard way back in my youth but had never heard again, is “Modern Lovers” by Fay Wray—I remember the weird video for this song being played on some local video show back in the early 80’s then I never heard it again. But a couple years ago I found it on YouTube (though I can’t seem to find it again), a great blast of guitar-driven new wave.
Related to this, I also ran across a video on YouTube of the music video for “All Touch” by the Canadian band Rough Trade being played on the early 80’s SoCal video show MV3. I remember watching this very episode back in the 80’s; seeing it now is like looking through a time travel window into the past. I like the pulsing synths and hard edge to the vocals here.
In fact, Los Angeles, where I grew up, was huge on new wave, and several synth-driven new wave bands out of LA made it quite big nationally, including Animotion (with their one hit “Obsession”), Berlin, and Missing Persons. Berlin’s best known hit was “Sex” but they had several other great songs, including “Masquerade” off their first album Pleasure Victim and “Now Its My Turn” and “Fall” off their second album, Love Life. Singer Teri Nunn had a terrific voice and range and “Now Its My Turn” in particular has a very dark, powerful vibe. For a change of pace, check out “Rumor Of Love”, also off this album; its sung by keyboardist David Diamond. I remember this song because it was on the jukebox (possibly as the B-side to “No More Words”, which was their big hit off this album?) at a candy/ice cream store where I worked in high school and it was one of the only semi-acceptable songs on it (the other two were “I Saw Here Standing There” by the Beatles and “Cat People by David Bowie!) so we played it endlessly.
Missing Persons have received some renewed attention lately, mostly as a result of the fact that people older than 35 realize that most of Lady Gaga’s fashion sense seems to have been lifted entirely from Persons frontwoman Dale Bozzio. Dale and husband/drummer Terry Bozzio met while working on one of Frank Zappa’s collaborative albums in the late 70’s and decided to form a band with also-sometime Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. I like “Walking in LA” and “Mental Hopscotch”, and “Destination Unknown” is a long-running favorite, but as mentioned in a previous post I am currently OBSESSED with “Words”. I truly think this is the PERFECT new wave song—Dale’s chirpy vocals, Terry’s insanely metronomic drumming, and Cucccurullo’s fuzzy, roaring guitar riffs make this song just perfect to me.
One synth band that few outside LA have heard of is SSQ. They formed in the early 80’s and had one minor local hit, “Synthecide”, which is a great blast of early 80’s synth pop (the synths remind me of the song the nerds use to win the big talent contest at the end of “Revenge of the Nerds”). This song was used in a couple different movies in the 80’s so you may recognize it; SSQ also had other songs on a couple other movie soundtracks too, including “Cavegirl, “Hardbodies”, and “Return of the Living Dead”. A couple of these songs/videos are kicking around YouTube and are worth a gander. Lead singer Stacy Swain changed her name to Stacy Q and had a couple very throwaway Madonna-wannabe pop hits in the mid/late 80’s, “Two of Hearts” and “We Connect”.
Starting in the 90’s and continuing into the new century, several bands have attempted to revive some of the lush, synth-heavy sounds of classic 80’s new wave. Some of these bands, such as the Editors , Interpol, and the National, have adopted a sound that is more post-punk, drawn from bands like Joy Division and Gang of Four, than new wave, but others, like Bloc Party and the Killers have adopted some of the more pop elements of new wave.
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