Posted By Pia Sooney on Mar 1, 38 comments. As mentioned on the New Wave Music page , the term is hard to pin down and covers a wide range of artists from the period spanning the late 70s and on into the 80s. It came to mean music that was slightly out of the mainstream, a post-punk, pre-alternative music that was edgier and with more attitude. Below are some of the most popular New Wave hits of the 80s listed alphabetically by artist. This list of 80s new wave songs includes some songs from the late 70s they have to be really special to be included and is by no means all inclusive. We will be adding more of the best new wave songs regularly. Author: Pia Sooney. Just a little obsessed with all things 80s, Pia still has her Swatch, her cassette tape collection, and her Converse Chucks.
Top 10 Best '80s and '90s New Wave Songs
1. "Rock Lobster" by The B-52's
New wave is a broad music genre that encompasses numerous pop -oriented styles from the late s and the s. Common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style featured in music videos and fashion. New wave peaked commercially in the late s and the early s with numerous major artists and an abundance of one-hit wonders. After MTV was launched in , the network promoted new wave acts heavily on the channel, which gave the genre a boost in popularity. New wave encompasses numerous pop -oriented styles from the late s and the s. New wave musicians often played choppy rhythm guitars with fast tempos, and keyboards were common, as were stop-start song structures and melodies. Reynolds noted that new wave vocalists sounded high-pitched, geeky and suburban. Although new wave shared punk's DIY philosophy, the artists were more influenced by the lighter strains of s pop while opposed to mainstream "corporate" rock , which they considered creatively stagnant, and the generally abrasive and political bents of punk rock. The majority of American male new wave acts of the late s were from Caucasian middle-class backgrounds. This took the forms of robotic dancing, jittery high-pitched vocals and clothing fashions such as suits and big glasses that hid the body.
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DJ Funktual is a youtube artist and big fan of popular culture and music. He's been an online writer for several years. New wave is a genre of rock music with ties to s punk rock that became popular in the late s and the early s. Its greatest classics were released in the '80s, but the genre has existed for nearly 40 years. Until it became a truly distinct genre, new wave music was similar to punk rock. It subsequently engendered subgenres and fusions, including synth-pop. Although new wave incorporates much of the original punk rock sound and ethos, it exhibits more complexity in both its songwriting and its lyrics. Here's an in-depth list of the greatest new wave songs of all time! It was a surf record made by weirdos from Georgia.
Background: 'New Wave' evolved from 'Punk' in the late '70s being less anti-social and more radio and MTV friendly, hitting it's high in '83 and faded around ' Note- These songs are not necessarily the artists all-time greatest, but their best of the 'New Wave' sound. Criteria: These songs were chosen for their musical quality, originality, and popularity in the "New Wave" era of approx.
