Editing New wave music (section)

==Characteristics==
New wave music encompassed a wide variety of styles that shared a quirky, lighthearted, and humorous tone<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - new wave">{{cite encyclopedia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308234710/https://www.britannica.com/art/new-wave-music |title=new wave |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/new-wave-music |archive-date=8 March 2022}}</ref> that were popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s.<ref name="ste" /> New wave includes several [[pop music|<!-- Per AllMusic source on new wave: "It is a catch-all term, collecting a variety of pop-oriented musics that weren't part of the mainstream, yet were melodic, catchy, idiosyncratic and quirky." -->pop]]-oriented styles from this time period.<ref name="ste" /> Common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style in music videos and fashion.<ref name="allmusic.com" />  According to [[Simon Reynolds]], new wave music had a twitchy, agitated feel. New wave musicians often played choppy rhythm guitars with fast tempos; keyboards, and stop-start song structures and melodies are common. Reynolds noted new-wave vocalists sound high-pitched, geeky, and suburban.<ref name=Reynolds160>[[Simon Reynolds|Reynolds, Simon]] ''Rip It Up and Start Again PostPunk 1978–1984'' p.160</ref>

As new wave originated in Britain, many of the first new wave artists were British.<ref name="Anglomania: The Second British Invasion"/> These bands became popular in America, in part, because of channels like MTV, which would play British new wave music videos because most American hit records did not have music videos to play. British videos, according to head of S-Curve Records and music producer [[Steve Greenberg (record producer)|Steve Greenberg]], "were easy to come by since they'd been a staple of UK pop music TV programs like ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' since the mid-70s."<ref name="From Comiskey Park To ‘Thriller’">{{cite web |last1=Greenberg |first1=Steve |title=From Comiskey Park To 'Thriller' (How The Pop Music Audience Was Torn Apart, And Then Put Back Together) |url=https://s-curverecords.com/?stevesblog=from-comiskey-park-to-thriller |website=S-Curve Records |publisher=S-Curve Records. |access-date=18 March 2022 |quote=Why did MTV choose to play videos of songs that weren’t on the radio, rather than concentrating on the biggest pop hits? Quite simply, music videos for most of the American hit records of the day did not exist. Desperate to fill a round-the-clock schedule with videos, MTV’s initial playlists were chock full of clips by British new wave acts unfamiliar to American radio audiences. British videos were easy to come by since they’d been a staple of UK pop music TV programs like "Top of the Pops" since the mid-70s.}}</ref> This rise in technology made the visual style of new wave musicians important for their success.

A nervous, nerdy persona was a common characteristic of new wave fans, and acts such as [[Talking Heads]], [[Devo]], and [[Elvis Costello]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-MVrM3zKrHQC&pg=PA75|page=75|title=Are We Not New Wave?: Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s|author=Theo Cateforis|publisher=University of Michigan Press|date= 7 June 2011|isbn=978-0472034703}}</ref> This took the forms of robotic dancing, jittery high-pitched vocals, and clothing fashions that hid the body such as suits and big glasses.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-MVrM3zKrHQC&pg=PA84|page=84|title=Are We Not New Wave?: Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s|author=Theo Cateforis|publisher=University of Michigan Press|date= 7 June 2011|isbn=978-0472034703}}</ref> This seemed radical to audiences accustomed to post-counterculture genres such as [[Disco|disco dancing]] and macho "[[cock rock]]" that emphasized a "hang loose" philosophy, open sexuality, and sexual bravado.{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=71–94}}

[[File:Blondie1977.jpg|thumb|[[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], 1977. L–R: Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri.]]

New wave may be seen as an attempt to reconcile "the energy and rebellious attitude of punk" with traditional forms of pop songwriting, as seen in the [[rockabilly]] riffs and classic craftsmanship of [[Elvis Costello]] and the 1960s [[Mod (subculture)|mod]] influences of [[the Jam]].<ref name="QA Theo Cateforis" /><ref name="UKNewWave" /> [[Paul Weller]], who called new wave "the pop music of the Seventies",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reed|first1=John|title=Paul Weller: My Ever Changing Moods|date=1996|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=9780857120496|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGwARtGyc4kC&pg=PT113|quote=In half a year, the Jam sound had evolved considerably - and for that alone, the LP was an achievement. Weller once spoke of the album as their attempt to "cross over" into new wave - "the pop music of the Seventies," as he called it. They were patently keen to progress beyond the punk mould of ''In the City'', as evidenced by the melodic rush of Paul's slower, more contemplative songs and the cover photo by legendary Sixties photographer Gered Mankowitz.}}</ref> explained to Chas de Whalley in 1977:

{{blockquote|text=It's just pop music and that's why I like it. It's all about hooks and guitar riffs. That's what the new wave is all about. It's not heavy and negative like all that [[Iggy Pop|Iggy]] and New York stuff. The new wave is today's pop music for today's kids, it's as simple as that. And you can count the bands that do it well and are going to last on one hand. [[Sex Pistols|The Pistols]], [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]], [[The Clash]], [[Ramones|The Ramones]] – and The Jam.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Record Collector]]|title=When you're young|last=de Whalley|first=Chas|date=17 October 2007|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/when-youre-young}}</ref>}}

Although new wave shares punk's [[do-it-yourself]] artistic philosophy, the musicians were more influenced by the light strains of 1960s pop while opposed to mainstream [[corporate rock|"corporate" rock]], which they considered creatively stagnant, and the generally abrasive and political bents of punk rock.<ref name="britann"/> In the early 1980s, particularly in the United States, notable new wave acts embraced a [[crossover (music)|crossover]] of pop and rock music with African and African-American styles. [[Adam and the Ants]] and [[Bow Wow Wow]], both acts with ties to former [[Sex Pistols]] manager [[Malcolm McLaren]], used [[Burundi]]-style drumming.{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=185–201}} Talking Heads' album ''[[Remain in Light]]'' was marketed and positively reviewed as a breakthrough melding of new wave and African styles, although drummer [[Chris Frantz]] said he found out about this supposed African influence after the fact.{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=203–211}} As the decade continued, new wave elements would be adopted by African-American musicians such as [[Grace Jones]], [[Janet Jackson]], and [[Prince (musician)|Prince]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berlatsky |first=Noah |title=New Wave is Defined By Whiteness |url=https://www.splicetoday.com/music/new-wave-is-defined-by-whiteness |access-date=3 May 2023 |website=Splice Today |date=11 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref> who in particular used new wave influences to lay the groundwork for the [[Minneapolis sound]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Michael |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/310962465 |title=Popular music in America : the beat goes on |date=2009 |publisher=Schirmer Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-50530-3 |edition=3rd |location=Boston |oclc=310962465}}</ref>