In the late 70s, early 80s, a new music genre called New Wave started to emerge. It’s known as a very broad music category that encompassed numerous pop-oriented styles.
This style was initially representative of all the music that came after punk rock but later it evolved into something more specific. Even though it shares Punk DIY (Do it yourself) mentality, these two genres are actually very different. Some characteristics of New Wave are its quirky insouciance and humor that featured their music, style, and music videos. It’s also characteristic the use of electronic sounds produced by the synthesizers, the fast tempos, lyrically and melodically complexity, and an overall more professional work. New Wave eventually started to dissociate from Punk by the increase in musicality (knowledge and experience with music) and becoming more appealing to the general public.
The band Duran Duran is a prime example of the impact that New Wave made in the world of music. They started out in 1978 in Birmingham. Not only did their music captivate the public’s eye but also their style, sensuality, art, and elegance. That shows just how much is involved in a performance, it’s not just the music but how you interpret it and show it to the audience. New Wave also brought and inspired the artists to write the song’s lyrics more freely, this caused Duran Duranto produce the song “Girls on Film”, which was later heavily censored in many countries. This band also made a huge impact by introducing a new style or rather sub-category called New Romantic. This new style is a part of New Wave and was a concept that revolutionized the culture and value that was given to pop music back then, it brought back Romanticism.
When we talk about giving an out-of-pocket performance the first name that comes to mind is the actor and musician David Bowie. He’s considered one of the most famous and innovative artists of all time, being his prime years the 70s-80s. He released the album “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” in 1980. This album was one of his biggest hits and was what brought him back to the world stage. It’s filled with new-wave elements being the most noticeable ones the lyrics and music videos. While it isn’t completely explicit, there is a lot of social criticism and mature topics behind this album. As usual, his music videos were very impactful and required large budgets.
This musical genre, although not accepted by the USA in the beginning, soon started to rise in the music industry worldwide. It was thought that it wasn’t going to last but thanks to the media it eventually established itself as a new and unorthodox music style. It became so mainstream to the point where many Hollywood movie soundtracks became highly influenced by it. New Wave died out after the mid-80s but as an aftermath, new styles such as Indie and Alternative Rockwere born. New Wave was crucial in shaping this music era that we live in right now.
Sources:
Comentarios