New Wave Outpost Forum

Who do you guys think is the first New Waver ever? My vote would go to David Bowie, as influential as he is to all the early New Wave bands. He's always had that different outlook on music and I think that's the whole idea of New Wave. I just pulled his cd out to listen to and realize how awesome these songs are:

Space Oddity
Ziggy Stardust
Ashes To Ashes
Heroes
Starman

No argument from me. "Fame" was a new wave song made before new wave existed.

There were some great old conversations on this very interesting topic, but I'm very glad you've brought it up for a revisit. The debate is always what's new wave versus proto wave. Bowie to me is clearly proto wave and the godfather of it all. But a person does not a wave make and no actual wave was created for at least another 5-7 years...a ripple and an inspiration definately.

I think he got the next "false starts" going with the likes of New York Dolls, Roxy Music, Modern Lovers, the Stooges, and Patti Smith. But these guys seemed more like fringe glam and art rockers. For real new wave, the artists that you would not have any qualms putting into your new wave folder as a lead pipe lock representation of the wave, I'm gonna look to 1976. Blondie's "Blondie" and Split Enz "Mental Notes" were just so distinctly new wave to me, apart from proto-punk or art or glam just by "feel".

Then it seems like new wave almost took a year off for punk in 1977 with the likes of the Clash, Pistols, Buzzcocks, Damned, etc before really starting up. Then 1978 really really felt like a "wave": Blondie's "Parallel Lines", The Cars, Elvis Costello, Police, Stranglers, etc. And then 1979, forget it, it exploded, it was in peoples' consciousness: Gary Numan, Human League, Joy Division, Simple Minds, XTC, Joe Jackson, 20/20 and B-52s.

So then if I figure there was kind of a false start then a real start, it's really Blondie in 1976 that sits inbetween these two, whose music, style, and attitude who personified the ideal. (Split Enz were probably a bit too obscure at that time to count). Yes? No?

I agree with you Blir new wave vs. proto wave issue. There were also artists that didn't start off being a New Wave band but they clearly became New Wave and New Wave pioneers. Blondie would be a prime candidate but I'm going to throw some names out and see what everyone else thinks.

Kraftwerk
The Cars
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Roxy Music (as Blir mentioned)

and how about even:

The Moody Blues

I consider Roxy Music as a proto- new romantic band. Without them, we probably wouldn't be talking today odf bands that came later such as Duran Duran or Spandeau Ballet. Especially Spandeau... has a lot to do with Roxy Music.
And Bowie.... well, he has done it all amd always got it right. He's brilliant.

Mercedes

How about The Sonics
or is that too punk rock???

Listen to "The Witch"

[quote][i]Originally posted by Sean[/i]
<br>
and how about even:

The Moody Blues

[/quote]

I love the Moodies, they were my childhood favorites. Question of Balance is the first album I ever bought. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is a masterpiece, as is In Search Of The Lost Chord and Days Of Future Past.



But New Wave they ain't.

For me.........the first new wave band that I remember was New York Dolls. I never listened to them back then, only remember reading abou them in magazines. I thought the were weird, and I knew I'd never like that kind of music.

Never did I imagine that 30 years later I'd be listening to "that kind of music" most of the time. [;)]

Bob Moog

_________________________________________________
"We are nowhere and it's now"

[quote][i]Originally posted by Mechi[/i]
<br>I consider Roxy Music as a proto- new romantic band. Without them, we probably wouldn't be talking today odf bands that came later such as Duran Duran or Spandeau Ballet. Especially Spandeau... has a lot to do with Roxy Music.
And Bowie.... well, he has done it all amd always got it right. He's brilliant.

Mercedes
[/quote]

And I consider Japan to be the first New Romantic band - EVAR! Roxy Music still has ties to its old Glam and Art Rock. Japan came too late to catch the wave of Glam, but they were definitely the first to have [i]that[/i] exclusive New Romantic sound and look, plus a couple of new things in their sleeves.

Boy - That's a tough question......guess it depends on your definition of new wave, but my pick would be Devo. they fit the general populations criteria of 'New Wave', and were around before Blirs aforementioned Blondie. case closed.

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Tough question indeed! Certainly for "look" you have to go with Bowie who was a dead ringer for a NW artist way way back in 1972!! Glam Rock though still has a lot of holdover blues affectations and Prog-Rock overtones. I'd say Bowie's "Station To Station" album might be the first NW-ish record, the follow-up "Low" seals the deal for Bowie's godfather of NW status.

Early Roxy Music, on the other hand, SOUNDS a heck of a lot like late 70's/Early 80's NW (listen to "Virginia Plain" and tell me that could'nt have come out in 1980).

Both Bowie and Roxy Music went on to dissapointing 80's careers IMHO, with Bowie trying to duplicate "Let's Dance" over and over again and Roxy Music making corporate make-out music.

BTW: Roxy Music have reformed with Brian Eno now back in the lineup. Fingers crossed.

Bowie is in a league of his own, almost uncategorizable but he did show flashes of being a new waver for sure, if not a proto-new waver. My vote also goes to Blondie for the the first true new wavers because when they released their self-titled first album in 1976, it was the year of punk...sex pistols, clash, ramones, etc and new wave hadn't been invented yet. Blondie's first album WAS new wave and not punk, songs like "rip her to shreds" and "x-offender" are totally new wave in sound to me. Ironically, as punk faded, blondie's second album was more punk and agrressive than their first.

[quote][i]Originally posted by ghosty[/i]
<br>Tough question indeed! Certainly for "look" you have to go with Bowie who was a dead ringer for a NW artist way way back in 1972!! Glam Rock though still has a lot of holdover blues affectations and Prog-Rock overtones. I'd say Bowie's "Station To Station" album might be the first NW-ish record, the follow-up "Low" seals the deal for Bowie's godfather of NW status.

Early Roxy Music, on the other hand, SOUNDS a heck of a lot like late 70's/Early 80's NW (listen to "Virginia Plain" and tell me that could'nt have come out in 1980).

Both Bowie and Roxy Music went on to dissapointing 80's careers IMHO, with Bowie trying to duplicate "Let's Dance" over and over again and Roxy Music making corporate make-out music.

BTW: Roxy Music have reformed with Brian Eno now back in the lineup. Fingers crossed.


[/quote]

What about The Velvet Underground and The Sparks brothers? They're more inadvertently New Wave than most listeners give them credit for.

"Roxy Music making corporate make-out music"? Their ballads go back into the 70s with their third album and Ferry's solo works. They practically re-worked the love ballad from other genres and placed it in a Rock band ([i]Siren[/i]? That's 1975, not 1985). Bryan Ferry's solo career is hardly what one would term as "disappointing". He's probably one of the few artists who came out of a popular band relatively unscathed in regards to the quality of his work. [i]The Bride Stripped Bare[/i], [i]Boys And Girls[/i], [i]Bete Noire[/i], [i]Mamouna[/i]... disappointing? Wow. That is the first time I've heard a music listener say that. Also, Bowie had similar make-out songs in his 70s albums (namely: "The Prettiest Star", "Be My Wife", "Sorrow", "Wild Is The Wind"). After [i]Scary Monsters[/i] and [i]Let's Dance[/i], though, his work does diminish in quality. We're not talking Air Supply, Bread, or REO Speedwagon here[:D] THAT's the real corporate make-out musak.

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by ghosty[/i]
<br>Tough question indeed! Certainly for "look" you have to go with Bowie who was a dead ringer for a NW artist way way back in 1972!! Glam Rock though still has a lot of holdover blues affectations and Prog-Rock overtones. I'd say Bowie's "Station To Station" album might be the first NW-ish record, the follow-up "Low" seals the deal for Bowie's godfather of NW status.

Early Roxy Music, on the other hand, SOUNDS a heck of a lot like late 70's/Early 80's NW (listen to "Virginia Plain" and tell me that could'nt have come out in 1980).

Both Bowie and Roxy Music went on to dissapointing 80's careers IMHO, with Bowie trying to duplicate "Let's Dance" over and over again and Roxy Music making corporate make-out music.

BTW: Roxy Music have reformed with Brian Eno now back in the lineup. Fingers crossed.


[/quote]

What about The Velvet Underground and The Sparks brothers? They're more inadvertently New Wave than most listeners give them credit for.

"Roxy Music making corporate make-out music"? Their ballads go back into the 70s with their third album and Ferry's solo works. They practically re-worked the love ballad from other genres and placed it in a Rock band ([i]Siren[/i]? That's 1975, not 1985). Bryan Ferry's solo career is hardly what one would term as "disappointing". He's probably one of the few artists who came out of a popular band relatively unscathed in regards to the quality of his work. [i]The Bride Stripped Bare[/i], [i]Boys And Girls[/i], [i]Bete Noire[/i], [i]Mamouna[/i]... disappointing? Wow. That is the first time I've heard a music listener say that. Also, Bowie had similar make-out songs in his 70s albums (namely: "The Prettiest Star", "Be My Wife", "Sorrow", "Wild Is The Wind"). After [i]Scary Monsters[/i] and [i]Let's Dance[/i], though, his work does diminish in quality. We're not talking Air Supply, Bread, or REO Speedwagon here[:D] THAT's the real corporate make-out musak.
[/quote]


Uh.....you misquoted me. I said nothing about Bryan Ferry solo. Read it again. Thanks.[;)]