Styles and subgenres
The new wave sound of the late 1970s represented a break from the smooth-oriented blues and rock & roll sounds of late 1960s to mid-1970s rock music. According to music journalist Simon Reynolds, the music had a twitchy, agitated feel to it. New wave musicians often played choppy rhythm guitars with fast tempos. Keyboards were common as were stop-and-start song structures and melodies. Reynolds noted that new wave vocalists sounded high-pitched, geeky and suburban.[16] Theo Cateforis, an assistant professor of music history and cultures at Syracuse University, noted that 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 or spastic dancing, jittery high-pitched vocals, and clothing fashions such as suits and big glasses that hid the body.
Elvis Costello, in Massey Hall, Toronto, April 1979
This seemed radical to audiences accustomed to post-counterculture forms such as disco dancing and macho "cock rock" which emphasized a "let it hang loose" philosophy, open sexuality and sexual bravado.[52] Cateforis also noted that the majority of American male new wave acts of the late 1970s were from Caucasian middle-class backgrounds, and theorized that these acts intentionally presented these exaggerated nerdy tendencies associated with their "whiteness" either to criticize it or to reflect who they were.[53]
The British pub rock scene of the mid-1970s was the source of several new wave acts such as Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Eddie and the Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood;[54]
Singer-songwriters who were "angry" and "intelligent" and who "approached pop music with the sardonic attitude and tense, aggressive energy of punk" such as Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, and Graham Parker were also part of the new wave music scene.[55]
The idea of rock music as a serious art form started in the late 1960s and was the dominant view of the genre at the time of new wave's arrival. New wave looked back or borrowed in various ways from the years just prior to this occurrence. One way this was done was by taking an ironic look at consumer and pop culture of the 1950s and early 1960s. The B-52's became most noted for a kitsch and camp presentation with their bouffant wigs, beach party and sci-fi movie references. Other groups that referenced the pre-progressive rock era were The Go-Go's, Blondie and Devo.[56] [57]
The Jam in concert in Newcastle during their Trans-global Unity tour in March 1982.
Power pop continued the guitar-based, singles-oriented British invasion sound of the mid-1960s into the 1970s and the present day. Although the name "power pop" had been around before punk (it is believed to be coined by Pete Townshend in 1967) it became widely associated with new wave when Bomp and Trouser Press magazines (respectively in March and April 1978) wrote cover stories touting power pop as a sound that could continue new wave's directness without the negativity associated with punk. Cheap Trick, The Romantics, The Records, Shoes, The Motors,[19] The Only Ones, The Plimsouls, the dB's, The Beat, The Vapors, 20/20 and Squeeze were groups that found success playing this style. The Jam was the prime example of the mod sensibility of British power pop. By the end of 1979 a backlash had developed against power pop in general, particularly in regards to the Los Angeles scene. The skinny ties worn by a lot of LA power pop groups, epitomized by The Knack, became symbolic of the supposed lack of authenticity of the genre.[18][58] Power pop's association with the genre has largely been forgotten.[59]
A revival of ska music led by The Specials, Madness and the The Beat/English Beat added humor and a strong dance beat to new wave.[3]
The term "post-punk" was coined to describe groups such as Public Image Ltd, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Gang of Four, Wire, The Fall, Magazine, and The Cure, which were initially considered part of new wave but were more ambitious, serious and challenging, as well as darker and less pop-oriented. Some of these groups would later adopt synths.[60][61] Although distinct, punk, new wave, and post-punk all shared common ground: an energetic reaction to what they perceived as the overproduced, uninspired popular music of the 1970s.[62]
The New Romantic scene had developed in the London nightclubs Billy's and The Blitz and was associated with bands such as Duran Duran, Japan, Ultravox, Visage, Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Soft Cell, Spandau Ballet, ABC and Culture Club.[63] They adopted their visual and musical style from David Bowie and Roxy Music.[64]
Kraftwerk were acclaimed for their groundbreaking use of synthesizers. Their 1975 pop single "Autobahn" reached number 11 in the United Kingdom. In 1978, Gary Numan saw a synthesizer left by another music act and started playing around with it. By 1979 his band Tubeway Army had three albums and two singles in the British Top 20 and a No. 10 U.S. single. Numan's admitted amateurism and deliberate lack of emotion was a sea change from the masculine and professional image that professional synth players had in an era when elaborate, lengthy solos were the norm. His open desire to be a pop star broke from punk orthodoxy. The decreasing price and ease of use of the instrument led acts to follow in Kraftwerk and Numan's footsteps. While Tubeway Army also utilized conventional rock instruments, several acts that followed used only synthesizers. Synthpop (or "technopop" as it was described by the U.S. press,[65]) filled a void left by disco,[23] and grew into a broad genre that included groups such as The Human League, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, a-ha, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Yazoo,[66] Ultravox,[67] Kajagoogoo,[68] and the Thompson Twins.[67][69][70][71]
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.[72] The Talking Heads album Remain in Light was marketed and positivity reviewed as a breakthrough melding of new wave and African styles, although drummer Chris Frantz has said that he found out about this supposed African influence after the fact.[73] The 1981 U.S. number 1 single "Rapture" by Blondie was an homage to rap music. The song name-checked rap artists and Fab 5 Freddie appeared in the video for the song.[74] Second British Invasion acts were influenced by funk and disco.[75]
The genre produced numerous one-hit wonders.[28]
Time for maths:
