New wave is the best....or is it ?

[KYYX4ever]

Nothing rocks me like new wave music. Well duh, we're all fans. We love these tunes. We profess our love for it all over the place. (well, I do anyway).
But how much of it is nostalgic yearnings? Versus how much of it is true ? I mean, do you think new wave is the best music in the universe ? I listen to mostly new wave (we had a poll on this percentage-wise sometime ago), but of course I also listen to other stuff. I lean heavily toward electro, electrochill/-clash/whatever, acid jazz, house, stuff like that. I love it all. I was jamming out to Goldfrapp last night, putting "Strict Machine" on repeat. But then, it was time for Gary Numan and there was no turning back. [b]That's[/b] what really got my medulla oblongotta rockin'. New wave resonates with me like no other type of music.

What I'm getting at with my random musings is....does new wave rock your world the most ? is it really the "best music out there"? Or is it just a "certain time, certain place" sort of mood for you, perhaps relegated to nostalgic periods of your day (or life) ?

Discuss.

[shovelbum]

For me it's the best! I'm sure it has to do with early indoctrination at an impressionable age combined with nostalgia. I can listen to a lot of different types of music, and have artists from other genres that I love passionately, but for me I always go back to new wave for "comfort food".

I also find myself wondering if I reject formula pre-packaged music (Timberlake, Aguilera, etc) because I learned to do so through my New Wave upbringing, or if I got my New Wave upbringing because I always rejected formula "music". So what is New Wave for me: the Chicken, or the Egg?????? [;)]

"Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal." ~Robert Heinlein

[club80]

For me it's punk, ska, post-punk, new wave, etc. It's more the music than nostalgia. The music attempted to erase a particularly uninventive period in music where arena rock and, later, disco ruled the roost. It was the third revolution in music (after the invention of rock 'n' roll in the '50's and then the British invasion turned psychedelic movement of the '60's). Music was stale. Punk turned post-punk turned new wave and the music was again inventive and intelligent and meaningful.
Just one man's opinion.
I do think that a fourth revolution has to be coming. Music is, as shovelbum said, pre-packaged. No passion. Very reminiscent of the mid-70's.




We didn't sell a lot of records, but somehow we left an impression.
-Johnny Ramone-

[phillyidol]

Good subject. A lot of it is nostalgia with me but the music is the best. As far as the music, I never went along with what others did. This was true with music also. I just couldn't listen to their crap. I loved everything about new wave. The music was great. But along with the music went the great dance clubs, the great clothes, and all the great open minded people. The kids today don't get that with this rap crap.

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[popreactor]

Not much a nostalgia trip, but a goldmine full of hidden treasures.


<a href="http://www.burningflameblog.blogspot.com"
Burning Flame Blog[/b]</a>

[WoodlandParkPunk]

I think the music was fun and not to be taken seriously. I also believe that it reminds us all of a time in our lives that was easy and responsibility-free. We had no kids, mortgages, real jobs and no real worries. New wave was just the soundtrack to our lives during that time.

"You just pick a chord, go twang, and you've got music." ~ Sid Vicious

[Frau_Blucher]

Maybe back then it was more about just fun, but today, I'm discovering a ton more great music and diving deeper into catalogs that I merely thought I knew. The nostalgia component is really small for me (I think...I suppose this could be a conceit). I'm trying to gobble up as much good music of any kind as I can find. Some of its new and some old. It just seems that there was more consistently great and inventive music back then than anything that came after. For me, it's mostly what we'd call post-punk but there's great early synthpop, very early industrial, power pop, etc too. There's tons of current indie stuff to like, but it just doesn't stand up to deep scrutiny IMHO - I just can't see anyone building an intense passion around the somewhat thin scene of today or the 90s or even late 80s. I thoroughly enjoy visiting all those other musical neighborhoods and don't scoff at them at all, but I live in the late 70s/early 80s new wave 'cause it really resonates to my ears as being the best.

[eight6]

Not so much of a nostalgic thing with me...more of a discovery/rediscovery thing.

In the 80s money was, well let's just say much more difficult to come by, hence my collection of vinyl was carefully chosen. Now I am able to fill in the holes with things I couldn't financially justify back then (at a [i]much[/i] higher cost mind you) and add to the collection with items recommended by others here at NWO and other sites as well.

There is also the thrill of discovery in buying something based solely on an album cover or a snippet I've read about a group somewhere. It keeps the process fresh, almost like I was still in the 80s.



[b]Rest in peace Living In Shadow. Wherever I went, you were there...you completed me.[/b]

[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by eight6[/i]
<br>In the 80s money was, well let's just say much more difficult to come by, hence my collection of vinyl was carefully chosen.[/quote]
Hugely significant and often-overlooked point.

[scramjet]

Yes, there's definitely a nostalgia component for me, but it's fading. I see the new wave era as a unique time when bands could experiment and just be weird and still have a chance of getting airplay. The result was some really unique and creative stuff that just hasn't been matched - and a fair number of failed experiments. I'm still enjoying the old favorites (but not as often) and discovering new treasures that I missed.

<IMG SRC="http://www.geocities.com/cjmratings/stuff/in_action_small.jpg">

[Max Murdoc]

Nostalgic? Yes and I find that new wave is much better than what is being released today. New wave covered a lot of different styles...from the darker synth sounds of Gary Numan to the lightweight pop of New Musik or Henry Badowski. Music today sounds manufactured. Like it was made on an assembly line with different singers.

As for other music I listen to....I'm a sucker for Krautrock and off the cuff stuff like the Tiger Lillies, Ken Nordine, Raymond Scott and the Beau Hunks Quartet. Quite different from new wave but just as interesting for the diversity.

[Ollie Stench]

it really depends on my mood. Sometimes there is nothing within miles of the greatness of Kraftwerk or DEVO or Gary Numan. Other times "Ace Of Spades" by Motorhead is the only thing that will keep me going for another day.

I can't say I favor one genre over another, be it New Wave, punk, blues, etc. Sometimes I am completely blown away by Sade's voice or the subtle harmonica playing in The Cowboy Junkies songs, and other times, sometimes immediately preceding or postceding Sade or The Cowboy Junkies, I'm floored by the sheer power of Black Flag or Black Sabbath.

[djcraig]

I think the emotional range in New Wave music is what sets it apart and continues to make it appealing. Sure, anger and lust were there as they always are. But there were many other subtle and not so subtle tones of displacement, irreverence, kitsch, alienation, loneliness, love, heartbreak, romance, elegance, futurism and downright wackyness.

It seems that popular alternative music now is more one dimensional. Mostly emo or thrash- either Blink 182 clones or Nirvana wannabes. It's less about rebellion and more about being a whiny victim. Things are oh so serious now. The fun spirit of bands like B-52s, Go-Go's and Sparks is completely missing.

BTW While we're on the subject, someone please let My Chemical Romance know how badly they blow.



<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

[bigwavedave]

I have to echo the above comments about going back to find hidden treasures and/or records I couldn't afford in the day. Although I like most types of rock music, new wave snags my ear in a way that makes me want to go back and constantly find "new" old stuff.

Before I discovered this site, the fuel for my new wave enthusiasm was the advent of cd's in the mid-80's; the cd reissue industry got me hooked on re-purchasing eveything I used to own on vinyl. That in turn led to tracking down reissues of related music I may have seen in the record racks back in the day but couldn't afford, or discovered later through sources such as this site - Kissing The Pink, The Sound, and Pylon being recent examples. The variety of bands in the genre allows for a steady stream of new discovery...

[bateman]

Same here. I started collecting records 'cause I got sick of the radio in the 90s. I just wanted to listen to my favorite tune without being interrupted by a stupid radio jockey.
After a while when the big internet thing came on I discovered all those great obscure 80s sites - torchomatic, thefirstcut, you know the names. And I went 'wow!'. So much I missed back then. Can't be just nostalgia the reason for all the cool music that keeps pouring in. I think everybody still feels the energy that flows through it that makes us hoping to discover something 'new'. What also attracts me is that the 80s are over and so there are chances that you can know almost everything interesting through time. And with all the reissues lately I know I can't be on the wrong side! [8D]