New Wave Music

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". It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many contemporary popular music styles, including synth-pop, alternative dance and post-punk. The main new wave movement coincided with late 1970s punk and continued into the early 1980s.

The common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, angular guitar riffs, jerky rhythms, the use of electronics, and a distinctive visual style in fashion. In the early 1980s, virtually every new pop and rock act – and particularly those that employed synthesizers – were tagged as "new wave" in the United States. Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself philosophy, the musicians were more influenced by the styles of the 1950s along with the lighter strains of 1960s pop and were opposed to the generally abrasive, political bents of punk rock, as well as what was considered to be creatively stagnant " corporate rock".

New wave commercially peaked from the late 1970s into the early 1980s with numerous major musicians and an abundance of one-hit wonders. MTV, which was launched in 1981, heavily promoted new-wave acts, boosting the genre's popularity in the United States. In the UK, new wave faded at the beginning of the 1980s with the emergence of the New Romantic movement. In the US, new wave continued into the mid-1980s but declined with the popularity of the New Romantic, new pop, and new music genres. Since the 1990s, new wave resurged several times with the growing nostalgia for several new-wave-influenced musicians.

Characteristics

New wave music encompassed a wide variety of styles that shared a quirky, lighthearted, and humorous tone that were popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. New wave includes several pop-oriented styles from this time period. Common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style in music videos and fashion. According to Simon Reynolds, new wave music had a twitchy, agitated feel. New wave musicians often played choppy rhythm guitars with fast tempos; keyboards, and stop-start song structures and melodies are common. Reynolds noted new-wave vocalists sound high-pitched, geeky, and suburban. Reynolds, Simon ''Rip It Up and Start Again PostPunk 1978–1984'' p.160

As new wave originated in Britain, many of the first new wave artists were British. These bands became popular in America, in part, because of channels like MTV, which would play British new wave music videos because most American hit records did not have music videos to play. British videos, according to head of S-Curve Records and music producer Steve Greenberg, "were easy to come by since they'd been a staple of UK pop music TV programs like ''Top of the Pops'' since the mid-70s." This rise in technology made the visual style of new wave musicians important for their success.

A nervous, nerdy persona was a common characteristic of new wave fans, and acts such as Talking Heads, Devo, and Elvis Costello. This took the forms of robotic dancing, jittery high-pitched vocals, and clothing fashions that hid the body such as suits and big glasses. This seemed radical to audiences accustomed to post-counterculture genres such as disco dancing and macho " cock rock" that emphasized a "hang loose" philosophy, open sexuality, and sexual bravado.

New wave may be seen as an attempt to reconcile "the energy and rebellious attitude of punk" with traditional forms of pop songwriting, as seen in the rockabilly riffs and classic craftsmanship of Elvis Costello and the 1960s mod influences of the Jam. Paul Weller, who called new wave "the pop music of the Seventies", explained to Chas de Whalley in 1977:

Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself artistic philosophy, the musicians were more influenced by the light strains of 1960s pop while opposed to mainstream "corporate" rock, which they considered creatively stagnant, and the generally abrasive and political bents of punk rock. In the early 1980s, particularly in the United States, notable new wave acts embraced a crossover of pop and rock music with African and African-American styles. Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, both acts with ties to former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, used Burundi-style drumming. Talking Heads' album '' Remain in Light'' was marketed and positively reviewed as a breakthrough melding of new wave and African styles, although drummer Chris Frantz said he found out about this supposed African influence after the fact. As the decade continued, new wave elements would be adopted by African-American musicians such as Grace Jones, Janet Jackson, and Prince, who in particular used new wave influences to lay the groundwork for the Minneapolis sound.

History

Forerunners

The Velvet Underground have also been heralded for their influence on new wave, post-punk and alternative rock. Roxy Music were also influential to the genre as well as the works of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Brian Eno.

Early 1970s

The term "new wave" is regarded as so loose and wide-ranging as to be "virtually meaningless", according to the ''New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock''. It originated as a catch-all for the music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself, in Britain. Scholar Theo Cateforis said that the term was used to commercialize punk groups in the media:

As early as 1973, critics including Nick Kent and Dave Marsh were using the term "new wave" to classify New York–based groups such as the Velvet Underground and New York Dolls. In the US, many of the first new wave groups were the not-so-punk acts associated with CBGB (e.g. Talking Heads, Mink DeVille and Blondie), as well as the proto-punk scene in Ohio, which included Devo, the Electric Eels, Rocket from the Tombs, and Pere Ubu. Some important bands, such as Suicide and the Modern Lovers debuted even earlier. CBGB owner Hilly Kristal, referring to the first show by Television at his club in March 1974, said; "I think of that as the beginning of new wave". Many musicians who would have originally been classified as punk were also termed new wave. A 1977 Phonogram Records compilation album of the same name ('' New Wave'') includes American bands Dead Boys, Ramones, Talking Heads, and the Runaways.Savage, Jon. (1991) ''England's Dreaming'', Faber & Faber

Mid- to late 1970s

Between 1976 and 1977, the terms "new wave" and "punk" were used somewhat interchangeably.
Music historian Vernon Joynson said new wave emerged in the UK in late 1976, when many bands began disassociating themselves from punk. That year, the term gained currency when it appeared in UK punk fanzines such as '' Sniffin' Glue'', and music weeklies such as ''Melody Maker'' and ''New Musical Express''.Gendron, Bernard (2002). ''Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avant-Garde'' (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press), pp. 269–270. In November 1976, Caroline Coon used Malcolm McLaren's term "new wave" to designate music by bands that were not exactly punk but were related to the punk-music scene. The mid-1970s British pub rock scene was the source of many of the most-commercially-successful new wave acts, such as Ian Dury, Nick Lowe

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