New Wave Outpost Forum

I'm planning on giving my 19 year-old friend a New Wave mix CD. He likes your very typical slew of "Take On Me," "Puttin' On the Ritz," and "Safety Dance," so I figured that I should continue with the trend of pop-oriented, radio station-friendly New Wave tracks. Ahem:

OMD - Enola Gay
Human League -Don't You Want Me
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Spandau Ballet - Gold
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
Naked Eyes - Always Something There To Remind Me
Kajagoogoo - Too Shy
Berlin - The Metro
Baltimora - Tarzan Boy
Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
When In Rome - The Promise
Yaz - Situation
A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran
Tears For Fears - Mad World
Duran Duran - New Moon On Monday
a-ha - The Sun Always Shines On TV

As you can see, I put in only one song by any particular artist.

I am very open to suggestion here, guys, and I'd appreciate some help. If you think that another song by the same artist is better suited for what I have in mind (like "Shout" in lieu of "Mad World" by Tears For Fears), please suggest away. Also, I probably have a couple of slots left over, so I am very open to your opinions.

Por favor?

Another route might be to challenge him with stuff he doesn't expect new wave to be. If he sees this, you might not change his attitude on new wave from what it already is. Have you thought about great new wave classics that are known to us but not necessarily the general public? It certainly can't be totally esoteric stuff but rather something that was at least quasi popular, with great hooks, or something else that makes it eye opening. I'm thinking things like:

Joy Division - Transmission (heh!)
B-Movie - Nowhere Girl
The Nerves - Hanging on the Telephone
Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
Elvis Costello - This Years Girl
20/20 - Yellow Pills
A Certain Ratio - All Night Party
Buzzcocks - Something Goes Wrong Again
The Clash - Clampdown
Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him?
The Records - Starry Eyes
Human Sexual Response - Pound
Magazine - Sweetheart Contract
The Plimsouls - Now
Teardrop Explodes - Reward
The Church - Unguarded Moment
Gang of Four - What We All Want
The Bongos - The Bulrushes
The Jam - That's Entertainment

...or whatever suits your tastes to say "hey, THIS is what it's all about." Depends on how much your friends likes challenges.

I doubt my friend wants challenges.

As for your list, I admittedly don't know many of these. I, too, am a n00b to this cuh-ray-zee thing dubbed New Wave, and I've got over 20 years of catching up to do. That is why I feel that my friend should get New Wave Lite--because it appeals to the shallowest of senses right off the bat. Hell, he doesn't even know I'm making this mix CD for him, so I want it to be something that could be easily accessible.

You get what I mean?

Heaven 17, Let Me Go
Peter Schilling, A Differnt World
Lessons In Love, Level 42
Too Shy, Kajagoogoo
Talk Talk, Talk Talk
I Eat Cannibals, Total Coelo
Love Plus One, Haircut 100
Destination UNknown, Missing Persons
Life In A Northern Town, Dream Academy
I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Boys Don't Cry
Rip It Up, Orange Juice
It Must Be Love, Madness
Perfect Way, Scritti Polittti
Shoot You Down, APB
What Do All The People Know, The Monroes.

[quote][i]Originally posted by TheMunDial[/i]
<br>I doubt my friend wants challenges.

As for your list, I admittedly don't know many of these. I, too, am a n00b to this cuh-ray-zee thing dubbed New Wave, and I've got over 20 years of catching up to do. That is why I feel that my friend should get New Wave Lite--because it appeals to the shallowest of senses right off the bat. Hell, he doesn't even know I'm making this mix CD for him, so I want it to be something that could be easily accessible.

You get what I mean?
[/quote]
I do, but there's gotta be songs out there that can do what you want but without resorting to Too Shy, Tainted Love, and I Ran. Not trying to be argumentative, but what's the value in that? Tell me if I'm being too militant! [:)]

Oh Blir, stop being such a New Wave high brow snob![:p][;)][:D]

Lots of good suggestions here:
http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7688

---------------------------
"Photography with a Vision"
http://www.cooganphoto.com

...or of course The Top 500 List:

http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6278

Lots of palatable, catchy mainstream stuff that isn't necessarily such a caricature.

But I still find this count-weighted ranking a bit more palatable, if only in that it moves Talk Talk down a couple of notches:

http://www.nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6431

I thank you all very much for your suggestions, but I think that I've finalized my pickings. Ahem.

OMD - Enola Gay
Human League -Don't You Want Me
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Spandau Ballet - Gold
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
Naked Eyes - Always Something There To Remind Me
Kajagoogoo - Too Shy
Berlin - The Metro
Baltimora - Tarzan Boy
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
Animotion - Obsession
Yaz - Situation
When In Rome - The Promise
Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again
The Cure - Close To Me
Tears For Fears - Mad World
Duran Duran - New Moon On Monday
a-ha - The Sun Always Shines On TV