Sound of the "NEW WAVE"

Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Lotus Eaters, China Crisis...so on and so forth, what have we got? no other than the sound of the New Wave!! Yebaaaaahhh. This is the genre that I would definitely vote for as the coolest of all genres of music that I am listening to.

During the late 70's and early 1980's this genre emerged alongside punk rock until it was classified as an independent one due to the incorporation with experimental, disco, electronic sounds and 1960's pop music. It became clear that the music following punk could be divided, more or less, into two categories: post-punk and new wave. The difference is that post-punk was arty, difficult, and challenging while new wave was pop music, pure and simple as it is. There was a lot of stylistic diversity in the new wave; it meant pop, synth rock, pop-reggae, mainstream rock and ska. 

Even if we are so far way ahead of the 80's and I was not even born yet when some of these songs came out, I could say that its influence still stays on me. I often finds myself still dancing to the groove of  The Go-Go's Head Over Heels and Friday I'm in Love by The Cure. One thing that can differentiate New Wave to any other genre is that the mild and relaxing sounds that this is producing to the ears of its listener.. an eargasm as some people say. This has a touch of Pop Music which everybody can relate to but was produced and written by bands that we all know can definitely write good songs and with a depth.

Though New Wave is seen now as one of the definitive genres of the era of 1980's it has never truly ceased. There have been several rebirth of this genre since the 1990s. The revivals in the 1990s and early 2000s were small, but became popular by 2004. This became evident especially to all those indie acts right now, not only in the International scene but also here in the Philippines. 

Let me give you some of my favorite songs from this genre:

1. German Girl - The Lotus Eaters

2. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division

3. More to Loose - Seona Dancing

4. Wishful Thinking - China Crisis

5. First Picture of You - The Lotus Eaters

6. Be Near Me - ABC

7. Friday I'm in Love - The Cure

8. The Light that never Goes Out - The Smiths

9. The Ghost in You - Psychedelic Furs

10.  Crash - The Primitives