New Wave Rock

New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many popular music styles of the era, including power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and more specific forms of punk rock that were less abrasive. It may also be viewed as a more accessible counterpart of post-punk.

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. In the early 1980s, virtually every new pop/rock act – and particularly those that employed synthesizers – were tagged as "new wave". Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself philosophy, the artists 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 in the late 1970s and the early 1980s with numerous major artists 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 mid-1980s, new wave declined with the emergence 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 artists.

Characteristics

New wave music encompassed a wide variety of styles that shared a quirky, lighthearted, and humorous tone that were very popular in the late 1970s and 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 new wave artists were British. These artists 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 artists important for their success.

The majority of American, male, new wave acts of the late 1970s were from Caucasian, middle-class backgrounds. Scholar Theo Cateforis said these acts intentionally presented these exaggerated, nerdy tendencies associated with their "whiteness" to criticize it and to reflect their identity. 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.

Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself artistic philosophy, the artists 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, new wave acts embraced a crossover of 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. Second British Invasion acts were influenced by funk and disco.

History

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''. According to music journalist Parke Puterbaugh, the term “does not so much describe a single style as it draws a line in time, distinguishing what came before from what has come after.” 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 artists 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 artists 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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