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new wave
new wave, category ofpopular music spanning the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Taking its name from the FrenchNew Wave cinema of the late 1950s, this catchall classification was defined in opposition topunk (which was generally more raw, rough edged, and political) and to mainstream “corporate”rock (which many new wave upstarts consideredcomplacent and creatively stagnant). The basic principle behind new wave was the same as that of punk—anyone can start a band—but new wave artists, influenced by the lighter side of 1960s pop music and 1950s fashion, were more commercially viable than their abrasive counterparts.
New wave musicencompassed a wide variety of styles, which often shared a quirkyinsouciance and sense of humour. In theUnited States this broad spectrum includedthe B-52s, leading lights of an emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia, whose hybrid dance music mixedgirl group harmonies with vocal experimentation such as that ofYoko Ono;Blondie, with its sex-symbol vocalistDeborah Harry; thedisingenuous tunefulness ofJonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers;the Go-Go’s, whose debut album,Beauty and the Beat, reached number one in 1982;the Cars, who found immediate Top 40 success with “Just What I Needed”; and an artier avant-garde that includedDevo andTalking Heads.
In Britain new wave was led by clever singer-songwriters such aspub rock veteransNick Lowe,Graham Parker, andElvis Costello;Squeeze andXTC, whose songs were sophisticated and infectious;ska revivalists such asMadness and theSpecials; genre-hoppingJoe Jackson; synthesizer bands such asHuman League, Heaven 17, andA Flock of Seagulls; and the so-calledNew Romantics, including the cosmetics-wearingDuran Duran,Adam and the Ants, andCulture Club. As the mid-1980s approached, the line separating new wave from thecorporate mainstream blurred, especially for bands such asthe Pretenders (fronted by former rock journalistChrissie Hynde), thePolice, andU2, who became hugely popular. Although punk was pronounced dead (though it later would inspiregrunge andalternative), the music and fashion sensibilities of new wave continued to influence pop music through the 1990s.
