New Wave 80s Free -

Initially dubbed "New Wave" by critics in the late 70s (borrowed from the French Nouvelle Vague film movement), it described bands who had the punk spirit but had actual musical chops and a sense of style. By the time 1980 rolled around, New Wave had evolved into a broad church that included:

If you grew up in the 80s, you remember the moment the guitar solo died. Or rather, it got chopped up, fed through a chorus pedal, and buried under a sequencer. NEW WAVE 80s

The uniform? Black pegged pants. A skinny tie tied so loose it looks like a noose. A jacket that costs more than your rent but looks like it was found in a dumpster. Initially dubbed "New Wave" by critics in the

Let’s be honest: half of New Wave was the aesthetic. It wasn’t macho. It was angular . It was the girl with the asymmetrical haircut reading Nietzsche in the art house cinema. It was the boy wearing more eyeliner than Debbie Harry. The uniform

The cold, metallic sound of the synth was the perfect metaphor for the Reagan/Thatcher era: a glossy surface hiding industrial anxiety.

Modern pop is safe. Modern rock is safe. But put on "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. That song is 45 years old, and it still sounds like it’s peeking through the blinds, suspicious of the outside world.

Emerging in the late 1970s, new wave took the energy of punk and added a melodic, synthesizer-heavy layer . It was a "catch-all" term for a diverse range of sounds: New Wave Music History Archives