Hey! You in the skinny tie and mismatched socks! Think you know something about New Wave? No, that Godard movie you watched in class doesn’t count. Sorry, neither does that copy of Blank Wave Arcade. Maybe the new new wave has finally broken against the rocks, but listening to these songs which feature the damn term right in the lyrics will give you a leg (legwarmer?) up the next time the trend cycle hits 1980. Or not.
The Adverts ‘One Chord Wonders’ / ‘Safety in Numbers’ Two of several Adverts songs taking aim at the herd mentality of (post) punk bandwagon hoppers. ‘Safety’ asks, ‘What are you going to do with your new wave?’ while ‘Wonders’ posits a punk band who conclude, ‘We must be new wave / They’ll like us next year,’ when no one attends their show.
Descendents ‘Tonyage’ / ‘Sour Grapes’ ‘Hey you, new wave! Come over here! You’re the prettiest thing I’ve seen all year!’ So starts ‘Sour Grapes’ by the Descendents, another band with their share of songs knocking the scene and its poseurs. ‘Tonyage’ says, ‘I’m a new waver / My girlfriend’s a surfer / I’m no more a trendy than you are,’ to all the people who were busy spitting on Darby Crash before punk became cool.
Billy Joel ‘It’s Still Rock ‘N’ Roll to Me’ Hey, what pointless list about new wave would be complete without a cameo by Billy Joel? Hmm, we don’t want to know. ‘Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyway / It’s still rock ‘n’ roll to me,’ Billy says. He also drops the phrase ‘cool punk,’ and if there’s ever a surer sign that your subculture is on the skids than being a Billy Joel reference, we don’t want to know that, either.
Bob Marley ‘Punky Reggae Party’ Man, did the punky reggae party ever actually happen? Marley sings about the ‘new wave, new craze’ before listing a bill for the eponymous party that includes the Damned, the Jam and the Clash. Bob could spark one and freestyle with Joe Strummer, while Captain Sensible hangs out back stage with Dr. Feelgood. Very Bizarro World.
The Suicide Commandos ‘Complicated Fun’ ‘The new wave is the old wave ’cause we know it all by heart.’ Truer words could not be spoken about the recent new wave revival, in which even imaginary ’80s stereotypes came to the fore (come on, people really didn’t use the vocoder that much 20 years ago.) It’s also appropriate that this song received second life by its inclusion in a Target TV spot, because now that it’s been co-opted by the Man, the RIAA can sue you when you download it.