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In the 80s, I kind of felt like I was living in the Twilight Zone. Particularly the episode where everyone thinks people with pig faces are beautiful. Back then, people were wearing asymmetrical everything, giant hair, giant shoulderpads, giant polkadots, and dayglo colors to complement the ultrathick, bushy eyebrows. My mother would try to force these horrible clothes on me in the dressing room, and it was as if they were burning my skin. Why were punkers the only ones who could see how ridiculous it was? I felt so grateful and validated when people finally started making fun of the 80s mainstream fashion and insipid new wave. Thank God they could finally see what I saw.
Recently I have noticed the influence of 80s New Wave seeping into bands like Gram Rabbit and Pop Tart Sprinkle and the Candy Kids. Their music is actually kind of good, which is what makes it so insidious. But I am on to them. They are showing up in public wearing ruffled miniskirts, asymmetrical ponytails and day-glow colors. New Wave is threatening to rear its ugly head again. Sure, electroclash was a little new wave, but it was more of an electronica thing. Dance clubs can have their Cherry Bikini. Electroclash didn't hit the mainstream. But right now I am beginning to feel The Fear. High School Musical and American Idol are covering this crap. A frightening nostalgia looms dangerously. Maybe people have just forgotten how bad it was. And before this goes any further, I think it is my responsibility to remind everyone before it's too late. We can still turn back.
Videos after the jump
How about a little Visage to jog the collective memory? A little Steve Strange with some self-indulgent art school melodrama and just a little whisper of French to remind us of new wave's Eurotrash obsession.
And on the other end of the bipolar spectrum, we have the manic insanity of Katrina and the Waves. When I worked at a record store, they played this song incessantly. In protest, one day I played Hot Rocks for six hours straight. Unfortunately, some employee privileges were taken away that day. Check out Katrina's impressive use of blush, purple eyeshadow, graphic prints and inane repetition in this video.
Men Without Hats hit the New Romantic note in fashion without losing that fantastic endless repetition that was the hallmark of new wave music. Keep an eye out for the dramatic single claps that punctuate this umm, "safe" dance.
Kajagoogoo: Cut-up T-shirt, check. Big haired girl, check. Horrific asymmetrical overly-creative hairdo, check. Endless repetition, check. Bass player swinging his bass side-to-side in time with the music, check. Self-obsessed, overly dramatic lead singer: check, check, check.
...and in case you're not convinced yet, I'll let La Bouche put the final nail in the coffin.
In the world of fashion - Maybe "Anything Goes" was not the best slogan ever.
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Don't trash New Wave! Maybe it's because I was a bit young for that genre and picked it up off my older bro and sis, but I love the music and New Romantic aesthetic and I think bands that try to do it today are terrible, ex. Shiny Toy Guns, The Killers and all that related ilk. 80's musicianship was simply better, too; plenty of great individual musicians came out of New Wave bands (Terry and Warren from Missing Persons, Elliot Easton of The Cars). Maybe this generation watched too much TV instead of devoting more time to their instruments? Or is a certain style always worse the second time around because it's become a parody?
No way! You're not having to put up with this shit yet? New wave was big in Austin a couple of years ago and I keep hopping the shitty 80s fashion will die but it just keeps hanging on.
with the internet you can choose what you want, essentially killing the "fads" of earlier decades.
there will always be a fan and a band for every type of music - i admit many of the recent retro bands are cheesy but if you want a new wave inspired band that does it right, without the cheesy factor... try cutephase.com
It's kind of like war. Unless you were there and had to live through it, you will never understand the horror.
Sure, there were the Pretenders and the Talking Heads, but they never fully bought into the crap. Most of the good "new wave" bands were actually CBGB's arty punk bands that got packaged up and marketed.
I am talking about the repetitious, self-indulgent crap that completely took over the airwaves, and the nightmare fashion that covered the city of LA as if a thousand day-glow paint trucks had exploded downtown.
As a fan of new wave myself I can see what Elise is saying. Yes, there was A LOT of ridiculousness involved. The fashion - well, yes it was scary. Anything neon is dangerous and may cause seizures if exposed too long. When I think of new wave I think Split Enz, Missing Persons, The Sparks, DEVO - I know that Katrina and the Waves are lumped in there somehow but I think there really should be a subcategory for absolute CRAP bands (Animotion, Scritti Politti and the like) Just like with punk, there are CRAP punk bands too...and with grunge rock - I mean, who wants to be associated with the Spin Doctors (no one!)? So you have your good and your bad in every genre.
I enjoyed the article - I like writing that makes you think and gets you riled up. Now I am going to play my B-52's record and spike my hair with DEP.