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The 100 Greatest “New Wave” songs 1. Everybody Wants to Rule the World-Tears for Fears (1 Viewer)

93. “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” Wham! (1984, from Make It Big) 

https://youtu.be/pIgZ7gMze7A

Choose Life! 

Question: what exactly is Andrew Ridgeley’s contribution to this group, anyhow? In the video he’s holding a guitar but doesn’t appear to be playing it. He mouths backup vocals but apparently the recording is actually George backing up his own lead. 

Anyhow: jitterbug! 

 
timschochet said:
93. “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” Wham! (1984, from Make It Big) 

https://youtu.be/pIgZ7gMze7A

Choose Life! 

Question: what exactly is Andrew Ridgeley’s contribution to this group, anyhow? In the video he’s holding a guitar but doesn’t appear to be playing it. He mouths backup vocals but apparently the recording is actually George backing up his own lead. 

Anyhow: jitterbug! 
Click to expand...


I have no idea if they are new wave, but Wham! was awesome. Great song. And since you are including them, I assume we will see some more Wham! later in the countdown.

 
whoknew said:
I have no idea if they are new wave, but Wham! was awesome. Great song. And since you are including them, I assume we will see some more Wham! later in the countdown.
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Not a fan of Wake Me Up, but they did have several really good tunes.

As for Ridgeley, he's just a very poor man's John Oates. He did tap one of the Bananaramas for awhile, so there's that.

 
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timschochet said:
93. “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” Wham! (1984, from Make It Big) 

https://youtu.be/pIgZ7gMze7A

Choose Life! 

Question: what exactly is Andrew Ridgeley’s contribution to this group, anyhow? In the video he’s holding a guitar but doesn’t appear to be playing it. He mouths backup vocals but apparently the recording is actually George backing up his own lead. 

Anyhow: jitterbug! 
Click to expand...
... aaaaaaaaaand YAHTZEE!!!!

welp, that didn't take long  :clap:

 wik?

 
Andy Dufresne said:
You just have to admire that they took approximately two chords and six words and created a hit out of it.

Kind of like Flock of Seagulls did with I Ran.
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I will not hear of Flock of Seagulls being denigrated by comparisons with that garbage.

I just put on Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) to soothe my rage.

 
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whoknew said:
I have no idea if they are new wave, but Wham! was awesome. Great song. And since you are including them, I assume we will see some more Wham! later in the countdown.
Click to expand...
Oddly, I have less issue with them being considered new wave than I did with Dead or Alive.

 
100. Girls on Film - Duran Duran 👍
  99. People are People - Depeche Mode 👍
  98. Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins 👍
  97. Words - Missing Persons 👍
  96. Making Plans for Nigel - XTC :thumbdown: (breaking ranks with most here, I think this does qualify as New Wave but I also hate it)
  95. I Got You - Split Enz :mellow:  (meh, it's fine I guess)
  94. You Spin Me Round (Like a Record Baby) - Dead or Alive 🤮
  93. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham :angry:

 
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otb_lifer said:
thanks for making my pick for #1 on this list common knowledge, ergo blowing my plans ... i was gonna run a "genre reveal" vlog Saturday morning over Postum n' Pop Tarts.
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Sorry man. I have a "Totally 80s" playlist on Spotify with about 100 songs on it and it came up right as I was responding to Andy's hostile provocations. 

(And I would call most of that playlist "New Wave", but you would probably break it into 17 genres and sub-genres.)

 
Maybe I don't know what new wave music is. Is there a difference between new wave and alternative 80s music?

 
El Floppo said:
["Spin Me Round"] obviously achieved fame and is seemingly always considered and played on classic "new wave' lists and stations.

I hate it. but it goes back to young, record bin thumbing me realizing the sound and genre had become cynical and sell-outy. this was the apex of that for me. interesting to hear rock liking it... which maybe reinforces that the time and place and age when I heard it (over and over and over) informed my reaction more than the song itself.
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Peter Burns agreed with you. By the time "Spin Me Round" came out, new wave was already something of a self-referential behemoth that was very close to running its course. Burns had been on the post-punk/new wave scene from the beginning, and kept off the commercial radar for several years.

He's never said this out loud, so far as I'm aware ... but I can't help thinking that "Spin Me Round" might have been a tongue-in-cheek parody record.

 
RedmondLonghorn said:
Sorry man. I have a "Totally 80s" playlist on Spotify with about 100 songs on it and it came up right as I was responding to Andy's hostile provocations. 

(And I would call most of that playlist "New Wave", but you would probably break it into 17 genres and sub-genres.)
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... god forbid if Jason & the Scorchers show up here - they have 11teen genres and subsects all to their lonesome. 

 
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Dr. Octopus said:
Whitney Houston up next?
Click to expand...
🤣

I appreciate all the feedback, even the criticism. ESPECIALLY the criticism. A few points in my defense:

1. There's not a single song on this list that I uniquely decided was a New Wave song. Every tune chosen has appeared numerous times on various  New Wave greatest hits collections, essential New Wave playlists, New Wave radio stations, etc. There really shouldn't be any huge surprises- in ranking sure. In omissions, of course. But in terms of all songs being considered "New Wave songs", I wasn't anticipating too much controversy.

2. As I wrote before, I don't really have too many particular restrictions myself. If some expert is calling this song a New Wave song, that's good enough for me. There are a few I excluded because IMO prior to 1978 and after 1985 seems too early and late to me to qualify. Also if a band is known primarily for another kind of genre, I'm probably not going to include them here just because they made a good New Wave record (there is at least one exception to this rule, however.)

3. Yesterday, @Doug B made a point that got me thinking: in replying to my joke questioning whether or not "Africa" by Toto was a New Wave song, he wrote that it was close except for the AOR vocals. There's been a lot of discussion here about what sort of instrumentation defined a New Wave song, and while I can't answer that, I do want to suggest that, at least to me, it's the style of the vocals as much as anything else. With regard to my last two selections for example (Dead or Alive and Wham!) there is a pop style to their singing that you don't hear on classic rock. I can't describe it better than that, but I think you guys know what I'm talking about. 

 
I'm confused. Is the list going to be the 100 Greatest Songs From The New Wave Era? Do they have to actually be new wave? Just trying to figure out what to expect and if I want to devote any time following it. 

 
timschochet said:
With regard to my last two selections for example (Dead or Alive and Wham!) there is a pop style to their singing that you don't hear on classic rock. I can't describe it better than that, but I think you guys know what I'm talking about. 
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I think I see what you're getting at ... but I feel like George Michael never sang in that style, either. At least not on Make It Big! and after. His delivery was very R&B-influenced.

 
Doug B said:
I think I see what you're getting at ... but I feel like George Michael never sang in that style, either. At least not on Make It Big! and after. His delivery was very R&B-influenced.
Click to expand...
Boy George sounds a little like Smokey too doesn’t he? And would you call Culture Club New Wave? 

 
Anarchy99 said:
I'm confused. Is the list going to be the 100 Greatest Songs From The New Wave Era? Do they have to actually be new wave? Just trying to figure out what to expect and if I want to devote any time following it. 
Click to expand...
They’re supposed to be New Wave songs. 

 
timschochet said:
🤣

I appreciate all the feedback, even the criticism. ESPECIALLY the criticism. A few points in my defense:

1. There's not a single song on this list that I uniquely decided was a New Wave song. Every tune chosen has appeared numerous times on various  New Wave greatest hits collections, essential New Wave playlists, New Wave radio stations, etc. There really shouldn't be any huge surprises- in ranking sure. In omissions, of course. But in terms of all songs being considered "New Wave songs", I wasn't anticipating too much controversy.

2. As I wrote before, I don't really have too many particular restrictions myself. If some expert is calling this song a New Wave song, that's good enough for me. There are a few I excluded because IMO prior to 1978 and after 1985 seems too early and late to me to qualify. Also if a band is known primarily for another kind of genre, I'm probably not going to include them here just because they made a good New Wave record (there is at least one exception to this rule, however.)

3. Yesterday, @Doug B made a point that got me thinking: in replying to my joke questioning whether or not "Africa" by Toto was a New Wave song, he wrote that it was close except for the AOR vocals. There's been a lot of discussion here about what sort of instrumentation defined a New Wave song, and while I can't answer that, I do want to suggest that, at least to me, it's the style of the vocals as much as anything else. With regard to my last two selections for example (Dead or Alive and Wham!) there is a pop style to their singing that you don't hear on classic rock. I can't describe it better than that, but I think you guys know what I'm talking about. 
Click to expand...
4.   I can and have always changed the rules at anytime without any notice whatsoever.



Actually, I think you are doing a great job on this so far. 
Appreciate you doing this. 
  :lmao:  at the posts on this page. 
Agree 100% with Longfart on his analysis so far.

 
timschochet said:
Boy George sounds a little like Smokey too doesn’t he? And would you call Culture Club New Wave? 
Click to expand...
Culture Club's output was eclectic. Boy George's act was honed in new wave during live appearances with Bananarama. But then the freedom of fronting his own band led him to step away from new wave surprisingly quickly -- Kissing to Be Clever, their debut, already has a few numbers that throw off new wave pretty conclusively.

In short: I won't argue with Culture Club songs on a new wave countdown. But neither would I use the band as an exemplar of the genre.

 
Doug B said:
I don't know their material before Make It Big! ... but that particular album was a stylistic reaction against new wave. George Michael drew upon old Motown/Isley Brothers (incl an Isleys cover), adult contemporary, current R&B, etc. in writing and arranging material for the album.
Click to expand...
Here you go

 
timschochet said:
1. There's not a single song on this list that I uniquely decided was a New Wave song. Every tune chosen has appeared numerous times on various  New Wave greatest hits collections, essential New Wave playlists, New Wave radio stations, etc. There really shouldn't be any huge surprises- in ranking sure. In omissions, of course. But in terms of all songs being considered "New Wave songs", I wasn't anticipating too much controversy.
Click to expand...
Alan Dershowitz labels this the "Now That's What I Call Public Interest!" defense, used most prominently in his appeals of Travelling Wilburys v. Joy Division

 
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When does the first Prince song appear? He's responsible for at least 1/3 of New Wave. So is Chic, but I know that's a bridge too far for this group.

 
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timschochet said:
🤣

I appreciate all the feedback, even the criticism. ESPECIALLY the criticism. A few points in my defense:

1. There's not a single song on this list that I uniquely decided was a New Wave song. Every tune chosen has appeared numerous times on various  New Wave greatest hits collections, essential New Wave playlists, New Wave radio stations, etc. There really shouldn't be any huge surprises- in ranking sure. In omissions, of course. But in terms of all songs being considered "New Wave songs", I wasn't anticipating too much controversy.

2. As I wrote before, I don't really have too many particular restrictions myself. If some expert is calling this song a New Wave song, that's good enough for me. There are a few I excluded because IMO prior to 1978 and after 1985 seems too early and late to me to qualify. Also if a band is known primarily for another kind of genre, I'm probably not going to include them here just because they made a good New Wave record (there is at least one exception to this rule, however.)

3. Yesterday, @Doug B made a point that got me thinking: in replying to my joke questioning whether or not "Africa" by Toto was a New Wave song, he wrote that it was close except for the AOR vocals. There's been a lot of discussion here about what sort of instrumentation defined a New Wave song, and while I can't answer that, I do want to suggest that, at least to me, it's the style of the vocals as much as anything else. With regard to my last two selections for example (Dead or Alive and Wham!) there is a pop style to their singing that you don't hear on classic rock. I can't describe it better than that, but I think you guys know what I'm talking about. 
Click to expand...
Stop trying to defend yourself. You'll back yourself into ever narrower corners. Stay vague and roll with your list.

 
I think maybe we need to not worry so much about nailing the definition of the genre and just enjoy the ride.

For Wham! I think their debut was new wave adjacent, but the soul/r&b core was already there - things like Club Tropicana, Wham Rap, Young Guns. After that it was straight pop/R&B/soul. They're a guilty pleasure for me, which I could never, ever admit to at the time. A thing like Edge Of Heaven, it's not Jimmi Hendrix or anything, but it's a pretty nice piece of ear candy almost straight out of Motown 20 years later via England.

ETA: George Michael's voice was ridiculous.

 
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