The term " New Wave ".

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by WLL, Jan 16, 2020.

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  1. WLL

    WLL Popery Of Mopery Thread Starter

    You I know, it has come to seem to me that the phrase " New Wave ", when used (especially in the U.S. to refer to a new style of rock music...tended to have THREE meanings, in the U. S., each, perhaps a little stricter:confused:.in order, as preferred:confused:!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  2. TinMachine

    TinMachine Looking for the heart of Saturday night

    Location:
    Trondheim, Norway
    I don't know about the US but in Europe (and in particular the UK and northern Europe) «New Wave» was used in the 80s for everything that came after the initial punk wave (perhaps mostly about bands like Simple Minds, Ultravox, The Chameleons, Cure, New Order etc. etc.). It was later replaced by the more literal term «post-punk».
     
  3. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    It's like the British invasion it's an umbrella term for a lot of different genres.
     
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  4. Stuggy

    Stuggy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    I thought it tended to denote the mainstream music label's attempts to codify and commercialise whatever it could from punk onwards and for a while seemed to be formularised down to synthpop with narrow ties .
    Was quite good in french cinema though wasn't it. & I think was picked up for some usage from that source to describe some elements of late 70s music before it became an advertising term.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2020
  5. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

  6. WLL

    WLL Popery Of Mopery Thread Starter

    ...As far as " NW ' being applied to new movements of art/entertainment product when for styles beyond pop-rock, I had long remembered, perhaps espcially,
    (1) THE way that Jean-Luc Goddard, Francois Truffant. etc., generation of French movie directors.were tagged " New Wave....then, a 60s generaton of science-fiction writer such as Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Samuel R. Delaney had " New Wave " applied to THEM:pineapple:!
     
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  7. Stuggy

    Stuggy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    Yeah think la Nouvelle Vague was one major source for the term when artists with artistic backgrounds were looking for something to call this thing they were part of. But as with most things terms are weakened to the point of fracture by being taken on by mainstream media and then organic individual quirks are ironed out to make things fit formula better and make the term clearer and then more artificial quirks are added as selling points, or so it seems. Like.
     
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  8. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    Punk, in the US, was primarily used for guitar-oriented bands that played simplified, high-energy, fast-tempo music with a lot of attitude, often shouted vocals, a lot of political lyrics, an anti-establishment/outsider/street-punk branding, etc. Basically in the vein of hardcore punk, as well as oi and the like.

    New wave, in the US, was used for bands who were more pop-oriented, who didn't shout, who often employed synthesizers in a simple, melody-oriented way, often as the lead instrument, whose music was often quirky/bouncy/dancey and very catchy/hook-laden (and sometimes there were also world music and even some avant-garde or art pop influences), who often had nerdy or geeky images, who didn't tend to have overtly political lyrics, etc.
     
  9. GubGub

    GubGub Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sussex
    It certainly existed in the UK before the 80s, probably from 77 or 78 onwards to describe bands/artists who had some punk attitude but whose music was more melodic and less aggressive than proper punk. It was a pretty broad church but the likes of Boomtown Rats, Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Ian Dury, The Police, The Motors, The Jags, The Vapours etc would all have been termed New Wave at one time or another.
     
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  10. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    It was a marketing term initially designed to promote new bands (Cars) and established artists who attempted to assimilate (some good, some not) during the times ( Billy joel, Linda Ronstadt, etc)
     
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  11. GlobalObserver

    GlobalObserver Observing The Globe Since 1964

    I can remember when Tom Petty and John Cougar were marketed as New Wave artists.
     
  12. DME1061

    DME1061 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Trenton, NJ
    Just like I remember (around 1977/78) a few record stores filing early ACDC albums in the punk section!
     
  13. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    Regardless of term, it was. great era (when done right): the energy of punk with melody, creativity, musicianship, humor. Punk was a needed escape but a dead end.
     
  14. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    Pere Ubu (well, David Thomas, in particular) had no problem having the term 'new wave' applied their music.
     
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  15. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    "New Wave" was indiscriminately applied to any new band that wasn't commercial-pop or pure punk (although punk was on the fringes of New Wave). A lot of the synth-bands came under this banner, or any pop band that had a (non-mini-moog) synth in it (they were still rare at the time). I think it was unfortunate for many bands who just happened to emerge at that time who were labelled "New Wave", because for many in the general public "New Wave" was too closely (and incorrectly) associated with punk, and it took a few years for them to emerge from the shadow of the label. Also recall that any band that was not labelled "New Wave" or "Punk" was labelled "Dinosaur" (thanks, Malcolm McLaren, for feeding the sheep).

    I also recall the term "Power Pop" started to be used at the same time, probably to draw some of the more energetic and melodic bands out from the broader "new wave" umbrella towards more commercial success - Blondie was on example.
     
  16. Roger Thornhill

    Roger Thornhill Senior Member

    Location:
    Ilford, Essex, UK
    I disagree - post-punk is applied to bands like Wire, Magazine, Joy Division, Siouxsie & Banshees, Slits, Gang of Four - you wouldn't call any of those New Wave. Neither would you use post-punk to categorise any of the bands you mention apart from maybe The Cure.
     
  17. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    John Cougar may or may not have been new wave but he rode the wave like a pro
     
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  18. Roger Thornhill

    Roger Thornhill Senior Member

    Location:
    Ilford, Essex, UK
    I have a collection of Zigzag magazines from the 70s and on the cover of the April 1977 it has Over The Top: New Wave from New York.

    The Over The Top (the middle section) has articles on The Hearthbreakers, Cherry Vanilla, Wayne County; and reviews of Ramones Leave Home, Blondie S/T, and Television Marquee Moon.

    So...at that time it would seem that UK = punk, US = New Wave.
     
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  19. Eleventh Earl of Mar

    Eleventh Earl of Mar Somehow got them all this far.

    Location:
    New York
    I define it based on seriousness, even though that isn't correct

    For example, the first wave bands like Ultravox, Wire, PIL, Joy Division, The Cure, early OMD I'd file under post punk - so, around late 70s/very early 80s

    Whereas, you could have artists that showed up earlier than some mentioned like Japan or Devo which definitely are "post punk" but are more associated with "new wave" if that makes any sense

    Finally you have what ended up being synth pop around 1981 with some of the bands above either changing style (Ultravox) or simply switching gears a bit (OMD) or straight up reforming into something else (New Order) to big chart success and then the trickle of newer bands showing up like Talk Talk or Duran Duran, which IMO finally died in the "you gotta check out this album" sort of thing in 1984 where some of the best stuff of that era showed up (Ocean Rain, Power Corruption and Lies, It's My Life)
     
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  20. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    Blondie was quintessentially new wave . They practically invented the term. Power pop was Cheap Trick
     
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  21. GubGub

    GubGub Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sussex
    Not really. Blondie & Television were both thought of as New Wave in the UK. Neither of them fit the UK punk template. Blondie were too melodic and Television's songs were too long and had lengthy guitar solos. Marquee Moon remains probably one of my 10 favourite albums of all time.
     
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  22. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Yep. The Motors, Secret Affair, The Records, The Stukas (who I saw at The Marquee),...
     
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  23. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
  24. Phasecorrect

    Phasecorrect Forum Resident

    Location:
    WI
    New York Scene was too diverse for one label. While everybody in the UK was transfixed by primarily one band: the Pistols
     
  25. Roger Thornhill

    Roger Thornhill Senior Member

    Location:
    Ilford, Essex, UK
    Just to confuse matters further Zigzag 76 from September 1977 has one of Pete Frame's Family Trees titled 'The Influence of the New Wave Nine'

    So who is on it?

    London SS, The 101ers, Johnny Moped, Siouxsie, Sex Pistols, Generation X, Chelsea, Rich Kids, ATV, Damned...

    See how confusing this was at the time?
     
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