CampFireJack
Member
I already have a feeling that this thread is going to go on for miles and I really hope it does. We all have our favorite bands and artists, so I highly doubt that you will agree exactly with what I list here. That's why I would love it if you chimed in to let me know what your favorite all-time New Wave or New Romantic artists and bands are. I'll get the ball rolling down below, but you should totally add to it.
Before I begin though, I think it might be helpful to define what New Wave and New Romantic are. These names are part of two different music scenes in the 1970s and 1980s, but there's a lot of crossover between the two of them. I actually wasn't aware that New Romantic was a thing until I began delving into what I liked best. I kept looking up New Wave bands and what I found didn't quite hit the nail on the head. But when I began researching New Romantics, yes, that's when I found what I loved most. Some of those groups are simply incredible and so, so good.
I'm going to link to both Wikipedia pages for these music genres, so you can take a look at them for yourself. Then, I'll give you a few definitions that resonate with me. It's quite challenging to accurately define such things, but I'll do my best. Tell me if you agree with me or not. You can offer your own definitions too if you'd like.
New Wave: Okay, so here it is. New Wave isn't just one type of music. It's a bunch of different types that overlap one another. The name stems from the late 70s and early 80s era and encompasses the edges of both rock and pop. You see, when someone creates music, they don't choose a genre and then confine themselves within it. It's actually quite the opposite. The artist first creates the music and then hunts down a genre or genres to fit their music into. And sometimes that's a challenge. So if someone produced a punky rock pop song in 1980, they'd likely call it something along the lines of New Wave. This genre is known as being post-punk. It typically includes electronics, creative visuals, and synthesizers. Some say that New Wave is a combination of power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and other forms of post-punk, but not necessarily confined to those genres I just listed.
If you're like me, in your late 40s, you were introduced to New Wave by MTV. And really, most of what I probably consider New Wave isn't even in the most pure sense. Examples of the more purist New Wave bands/artists are XTC, Gary Numan, and some from the underground late 70s music scene in the UK. What I consider New Wave to be is much more American styled. Bands like Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, and INXS to name a few. Totally A Flock of Seagulls and OMD. So yeah, New Wave is tough to pin down, but I'll tell you this: when I discuss this genre, I'm coming from the American viewpoint of someone who grew up right outside New York City, who listened to WPLJ, Hot 97, Hot 103, Z100, and the rest of those incredible music radio stations. I lived right outside one of the best music markets in the world, so that's what I know. I also know MTV, VH1, and Friday Night Videos. So that's my perspective. I love some New Wave bands and can't stand some others.
New Romantic: There is a lot that's said about New Romantic music, but this is what I think of it - how I can define it. It's sort of like a more gentle New Wave. Forget about that abrupt Punk style that can at times be hard on the ears and think more along the lines of smooth music that's really easy to listen to. Think Spandau Ballet, Boy George, Ultravox, and David Bowie. I like to think of The Church and China Crisis as being New Romantic. You can read up on this genre if you want. I'll tell you that it's all pretty confusing because it seems that people were simply tossing around new genres everywhere back in the early 80s. New Wave competed with New Romantic and Synthpop and so forth. And at the same time these genres were competing, many groups and individual artists belonged to many of them. It was crazy.
Before I begin though, I think it might be helpful to define what New Wave and New Romantic are. These names are part of two different music scenes in the 1970s and 1980s, but there's a lot of crossover between the two of them. I actually wasn't aware that New Romantic was a thing until I began delving into what I liked best. I kept looking up New Wave bands and what I found didn't quite hit the nail on the head. But when I began researching New Romantics, yes, that's when I found what I loved most. Some of those groups are simply incredible and so, so good.
I'm going to link to both Wikipedia pages for these music genres, so you can take a look at them for yourself. Then, I'll give you a few definitions that resonate with me. It's quite challenging to accurately define such things, but I'll do my best. Tell me if you agree with me or not. You can offer your own definitions too if you'd like.
New Wave: Okay, so here it is. New Wave isn't just one type of music. It's a bunch of different types that overlap one another. The name stems from the late 70s and early 80s era and encompasses the edges of both rock and pop. You see, when someone creates music, they don't choose a genre and then confine themselves within it. It's actually quite the opposite. The artist first creates the music and then hunts down a genre or genres to fit their music into. And sometimes that's a challenge. So if someone produced a punky rock pop song in 1980, they'd likely call it something along the lines of New Wave. This genre is known as being post-punk. It typically includes electronics, creative visuals, and synthesizers. Some say that New Wave is a combination of power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and other forms of post-punk, but not necessarily confined to those genres I just listed.
If you're like me, in your late 40s, you were introduced to New Wave by MTV. And really, most of what I probably consider New Wave isn't even in the most pure sense. Examples of the more purist New Wave bands/artists are XTC, Gary Numan, and some from the underground late 70s music scene in the UK. What I consider New Wave to be is much more American styled. Bands like Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, and INXS to name a few. Totally A Flock of Seagulls and OMD. So yeah, New Wave is tough to pin down, but I'll tell you this: when I discuss this genre, I'm coming from the American viewpoint of someone who grew up right outside New York City, who listened to WPLJ, Hot 97, Hot 103, Z100, and the rest of those incredible music radio stations. I lived right outside one of the best music markets in the world, so that's what I know. I also know MTV, VH1, and Friday Night Videos. So that's my perspective. I love some New Wave bands and can't stand some others.
New Romantic: There is a lot that's said about New Romantic music, but this is what I think of it - how I can define it. It's sort of like a more gentle New Wave. Forget about that abrupt Punk style that can at times be hard on the ears and think more along the lines of smooth music that's really easy to listen to. Think Spandau Ballet, Boy George, Ultravox, and David Bowie. I like to think of The Church and China Crisis as being New Romantic. You can read up on this genre if you want. I'll tell you that it's all pretty confusing because it seems that people were simply tossing around new genres everywhere back in the early 80s. New Wave competed with New Romantic and Synthpop and so forth. And at the same time these genres were competing, many groups and individual artists belonged to many of them. It was crazy.
