Look, it's like this: New Wave was cooler than cool Alternative Pop/Rock music from 1977-86. Anyone that sounded different or cutting edge or nothing like REO Speedwagon pretty much fell under the New Wave category.

MTV played a great role in making New Wave popular too in the early 80's, which was probably why the genre had staying power. But by the mid-80's the genre kinda fizzled because:

a) A lot of those groups became popular and mainstream.
b) They split up and sold out to the corporate machine.
c) They fell out of favor with audiences who preferred other genres, like Hair Metal.

The same can be said about Post-Punk too.

A lot of the New Wave groups might've appeared different from each other from the outset. But there was a deeper thread that kinda tied a lot of the New Wave bands together that you may or may not have noticed: their use of minor keys and chords. Some still incorporated the major scales in their music, but not as much as the use of minor ones.

For example: "Dance With Me" by Lords of the New Church had great use of the minor scale.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...4-hJbDWlD4

sextonseven said:

I'm too fucking lazy to write a thesis. But I will say that both those great Aussie bands would qualify as New Wave due to their use of synths, alternative approach to their sound, and their overall wackiness. (listen to INXS first album as proof).
[Edited 5/21/07 12:41pm]

blackguitaristz said:

The call letters look familiar but I don't remember them specifically.
If they were a music station with a signal that could be pulled in The Valley during that time period, I definitely hit it (at least once).


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Any New Wave list that doesn't include Yaz or Squeeze are not New Wave lists imo.

The Motels - SHOCK

THE MOTELS

The Motels - Little Robbers

I even like Christian new wave (when it's good)

does this count? damn, they were amazing

NWF said:

And don't forget New Zealand's big contribution, Split Enz!

To me, New Wave is more of a time-defining term than necessarily a specific genre, as it encompasses so much that was going on. It also happens to be just about my favorite source of music, if synth-funk is included. Although the synthesizer was experimented with and utilized in the early 70s (and 60s, perhaps), it came of age and really saw innovations in the late 70s-early 80s. Perhaps one of the reasons I like it so much is for the images it conjures in my mind. My favorite movies generally depict the challenge to retain humanity in future dystopias, and those eerie synths provide a perfect backdrop for me. As such, I find a lot of New Wave to be incredibly visual, which is only complimented by the innovative videos produced by such artists as Eurythmics, David Bowie and others.

A few KROQ-style one-offs...

Never Say Never - Romeo Void
New Toy - Lena Lovich
People Who Died - Jim Carroll
The Hungry Wolf - X
I Predict - Sparks
She Talks In Stereo - Gary Myrick & The Figures
Living On The Ceiling - Blancmange
Major Tom (Coming Home) - Peter Schilling
Love My Way - Psychedelic Furs


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

AlexdeParis said:

Of course, how can we forget those wonderful Finn Brothers?

abigail05 said:

Yes it does, and yes they were. I can't even think of another band that sounds like them (nope, not even Adam and the Ants.)

theAudience said:

I consider X to be more of a punk band.

sextonseven said:

That'd be my take also but KROQ had them on their playlist alongside the more "traditional" New Wave material.
Maybe it was during the Post-Punk/New Wave transition.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Maybe they played X because they were local?

...and I don't care what y'all say, I'm filing Wham! under "New Wave".

theAudience said:

So KROQ wasn't an all-around alternative station in the early 80s? WLIR in NY didn't care what was new wave or punk, just as long as it was too left of center for the album oriented rock stations.

sextonseven said:

Ah yes, I remember WLIR. I can't believe that it's gone now. I remember how they really did a good job with promoting a great New Wave band called APB.

NWF said:

Yeah, they used to play "Shoot You Down".

sextonseven said:

Ultimately that's what they were.

It's that they were introduced to me as the "New Wave" station.
Hence my initially confusion.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431