History of New Wave Music: Then and Now
New wave music is a well-known category of rock music. It was mainly popular in the 1970s to the early 1980s. The genre was tied to the punk rock music of the 1970s
A remarkable difference of new wave music is that it moved away from the conventional rock and roll rhythms and blues to come up with pop music. The newly developed pop music was an incorporation of experimental music, electronic, disco and mod. New wave was seen to have close ties with punk rock but it later changed and became a standalone distinct genre. As a result of becoming a distinct genre, new wave music engendered fusions and subgenres which included gothic rock, college rock, and synthpop.
“New wave is different from other genres that are tied to the first-wave punk.”
New wave is different from other genres that are tied to the first-wave punk. New wave music has similar characteristics to pop music even though it has maintained the original ethos of punk rock sound. It however displays characteristics that are complex both in lyrics and music. New wave has common characteristics with other genres such as diversity, electronic productions, making use of synthesizers, and significance of styling among others. New wave is certainly a definitive genre of the early 1980s. The genre has enjoyed a huge following from all walks of life and it has continued to evolve more in the contemporary ages so as to benefit even more people. If you do not love the genre today, it will evolve in a way that you will love tomorrow. New wave artists are believed to be so attached to their music that they do not even think of setting up a band. New wave music is said to have borrowed its names from the French New Wave cinema that was shown in the 1950s.
There were many styles that new wave music worked with. Most of the styles were a major sense of humor and insouciance.
The broad spectrum of new wave music was part of the larger B-52 in the United States and was also incorporated in an upcoming music prospect in Athens, Georgia. The B-52 had a dance group that mixed vocal testing like the one of Yoko Ono and harmonies from the girl group. Other harmonies included were the vocals of Deborah Harry, Modern Lovers and Jonathan Richman tunes, and the talking heads and Devo’s avant-grades.
“It was agreed that punk be replaced by new wave.”
New wave catch-all nature has been a major source of controversy and confusion. It had originally been produced under the name punk in the United States. Since the new was seen as delivering little to no sales at all, it was agreed that punk be replaced by new wave. New wave music was however absorbed in the United Kingdom than it was absorbed in the United States. Punk began as a major phenomenon in London as compared to its reception in the United States. Punk was of little or no influence in the United States when it started gaining mileage. It was just a common theme in most of the rock clubs and various discos. After punk paved way for new wave music, the genre was considered as a major cultural event in Britain as well as London.
In order to make it more famous and acceptable across the world, the British music press pioneered a campaign that would see to it that New wave music was promoted. Some of the post-punk acts included the eclipsing of Elastica by Britpop. Moreover, there was Metric, Brainiac, No Doubt, and Six Finger Satellite. In the 1990 decade, trance and Euro disco dance were mainly influenced by some European and British new wave acts which were relatively heavy dance sounds.
In the 2000 decade, there were several acts that emerged which dwelt more on diversity of new wave as well as post-punk mechanisms. Some of the acts of the millennium decade included Interpol, the Bravery, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the Strokes. Strokes have won several accolades and nominations as well and they have continued to produce new songs which are adored by their fans. Strokes won the ASCAP College Vanguard Award.
During the presentation of the award, Strokes were hailed for their debut album, Is This It, after it achieved critical and substantial acclaim in the world over and the U.S. ASCAP said it was proud of the songwriting prowess displayed by the young group.
New wave genre has thus grown in strides and will evolve even more in the coming days.