new wave as a gateway drug....

[bpdp3]

I've been a fan of rockabilly since my teen years, and was listening to Gene Vincent today and thinking how it all started. It began reading about this new band in England called the Stray Cats (as a new wave nut I always wanted to know about some new band in England).
I got an import copy of their debut (the US version would be out a couple years later) and I loved it. It introduced me to this new style of new music. I began soaking up rockabilly artists old and new.

My point is that it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been pre-disposed to new wave.

New wave got me into reggae/dub/ska. It got me into minimalist/electronic music. It got me into jazz (I started with Lounge Lizards and James Chance, now I'm quite fluent in the jazz of the 40's-60's era). It got me into 'world' music (you were more likely to hear a middle-eastern sounding song on a new wave record than on a Journey record). I'm sure there's lots of other examples.

New wave really opened my eyes and ears to many other musics that I don't think I would've appreciated as a pure 'rock'/Van Halen fan, as was the case with most of my friends.

What was your experience? Do you agree? Am I nuts?

[Frau_Blucher]

Without question. Spot-on.

[Otters Walk Among Us]

I don't think you are nuts, but I will disagree with you. I think you are giving new wave too much credit and not enough to yourself. I think you were inevitably going to grow up and be a music fan, and new wave just happened to come first.

Differe

[KYYX4ever]

I would say that both bpdp3 and Otters are right...it is true that if you appreciate music, then you're bound to disover all kinds of groovy new genres no matter what your starting point is.

But I think what bpdp3 was trying to say was that New Wave tr

[Otters Walk Among Us]

I agree that new wave was the starting point for most of us, and that it serves as an excellent gateway since it is fairly inclusive. My main disagreement with bpdp3 was with his assertion that it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been predisposed to n

[waukena]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Otters Walk Among Us[/i]
<br>Am I making sense? I know what I mean in my head, and it is different from his

[nowhere girl]

New wave introduced me to new genres of music, but I also was open-minded about new kinds of music. X and Social Distortion had some influences from rockabilly, which led me to discover some other cool bands and classic artists like Johnny Cash and Patsy

[bpdp3]

Wow, some interesting thoughts.

I very much understand the point Otters and others are making, and you might be right. I am a music freak and probably would've stumbled across this stuff eventually. But I think new wave brought it on quicker.
Rock