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

timschochet said:
82. “The Metro” Berlin (1982, from Pleasure Victim)

https://youtu.be/cNVLRPSEVaE

That tremendous keyboard riff. The synthesized, simulated hand clapping that lets you know this is a classic early 80s New Wave song. And Teri Nunn. This was their best effort (though a special shout out has to go to “Sex...I’m A” from the same album.) Later in the decade they sold out for Top Gun. 

Berlin played at my high school graduation night party: 1983 at Disneyland. They performed at Tom Sawyer Island where the Fantasmic show now is. 
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my favorite song from them.   :thumbup:

 
Glad to see Berlin no higher in the list than 82. Not really a fan, but I saw them last year and Terri Nunn seemed high as a kite.   I actually do like No More Words, but Sex (I’m a...) is a turrible song. 

 
Love “The Metro” - would have had it much higher on my own personal list.

 
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Don Hutson said:
It's nice to see Devo get the credit lately that they have deserved for so long. 
 
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Agreed - a highly underrated band that many just associate as just being gimmicky.

One of my favorite music trivia items is that Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Chrissie Hynde all attended Kent State in 1970 at the time of the tragedy there. 

 
timschochet said:
82. “The Metro” Berlin (1982, from Pleasure Victim)

https://youtu.be/cNVLRPSEVaE

That tremendous keyboard riff. The synthesized, simulated hand clapping that lets you know this is a classic early 80s New Wave song. And Teri Nunn. This was their best effort (though a special shout out has to go to “Sex...I’m A” from the same album.) Later in the decade they sold out for Top Gun. 

Berlin played at my high school graduation night party: 1983 at Disneyland. They performed at Tom Sawyer Island where the Fantasmic show now is. 
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I played the above YouTube clip but it was not as I remembered the song or the video. Turns out you have an extended version (which runs 6:39) which IMO is not as good as what played on MTV (that runs 3:57)

Here is the original official video release:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La241HzIX2U

 
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timschochet said:
82. “The Metro” Berlin (1982, from Pleasure Victim)

https://youtu.be/cNVLRPSEVaE

That tremendous keyboard riff. The synthesized, simulated hand clapping that lets you know this is a classic early 80s New Wave song. And Teri Nunn. This was their best effort (though a special shout out has to go to “Sex...I’m A” from the same album.) Later in the decade they sold out for Top Gun. 

Berlin played at my high school graduation night party: 1983 at Disneyland. They performed at Tom Sawyer Island where the Fantasmic show now is. 
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What happened to 83? Come on man, I’m on the edge of my seat here.

 
zamboni said:
Agreed - a highly underrated band that many just associate as just being gimmicky.

One of my favorite music trivia items is that Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Chrissie Hynde all attended Kent State in 1970 at the time of the tragedy there. 
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And it's partially Devo's fault for being considered gimmicky.  They completely embraced their shtick of being awkward geeks who bullied the jocks/preps for being intellectual inferiors.  I love their shtick but most people probably thought it was just plain weird.  A lot of their early songs could have been radio hits if they had toned their image down and made the songs less strange.  Here is their cover of Secret Agent Man that they filmed in 1974.  It was in their movie The Truth About De-Evolution that was mostly filmed in 1976.  Mark Mothersbaugh looks and sounds like Les Craypool.  It's crazy to think it was done in '74.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQjwUyne3kQ

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Squeeze always seemed more "adult" than many of the other New Wave acts. I don't mean to disparage the other artists by saying that, just I thought that Squeeze was plowing a different field than a lot of the others. I'm guessing there's another act that should have multiple entries coming up that I felt the same about.
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would that be the duo that sobs when they're scared?

:popcorn:

 
otb_lifer said:
would that be the duo that sobs when they're scared?

:popcorn:
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No, sir. I'm gonna shut up about it because I'm interested in what Tim does here.

On another note, it's funny how time changes the meaning of a musical genre. It ossifies over time. For instance, Stray Cats were absolutely lumped (from a radio-play standpoint) in with artists like Human League and Devo back in the day. So were Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Though, Petty got a little play on the dying, rotting remains of AOR. 

 
Uruk-Hai said:
No, sir. I'm gonna shut up about it because I'm interested in what Tim does here.

On another note, it's funny how time changes the meaning of a musical genre. It ossifies over time. For instance, Stray Cats were absolutely lumped (from a radio-play standpoint) in with artists like Human League and Devo back in the day. So were Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Though, Petty got a little play on the dying, rotting remains of AOR. 
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interesting that you bought up Petty ... i do remember "American Girl" getting traction on the early New Wave-esque playlists ... Cheap Trick, as well.  hell, even Miller's "Abracadabra" popped up occasionally, as did the aforementioned J.Geils. 

 
timschochet said:
82. “The Metro” Berlin (1982, from Pleasure Victim)

https://youtu.be/cNVLRPSEVaE

That tremendous keyboard riff. The synthesized, simulated hand clapping that lets you know this is a classic early 80s New Wave song. And Teri Nunn. This was their best effort (though a special shout out has to go to “Sex...I’m A” from the same album.) Later in the decade they sold out for Top Gun. 

Berlin played at my high school graduation night party: 1983 at Disneyland. They performed at Tom Sawyer Island where the Fantasmic show now is. 
Click to expand...
Holy cow. I had zero clue that Alkaline Trio covered this. I always thought it was an original of theirs, lol

 
Uruk-Hai said:
On another note, it's funny how time changes the meaning of a musical genre. It ossifies over time. 
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Very true. It took awhile for Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc. to be lumped into the classic rock genre because they were too "new" and grunge was still a singular, corralled genre. But now that it's been nearly 30 years since those two broke on to the scene, they are now heard right along the Beatles, Stones, etc. on most CR stations.

 
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I mentioned the singer from Bow Wow Wow was my first seeing a mohawk on a girl. Not as wild, but Teri Nunn's two toned hair was also  way ahead of the times.

 
zamboni said:
Very true. It took awhile for Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc. to be corraled into the classic rock genre because they were too "new" and grunge was still a singular, corralled genre. But now that it's been nearly 30 years since those two broke on to the scene, they are now heard right along the Beatles, Stones, etc. on most CR stations.
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Not to mention Metallica and their ilk.

 
squistion said:
The Squeeze's record label felt Another Nail In My Heart was the best track (or the most commercial) from ArgyBargy,as evidenced by the fact that it was the first single release.
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That’s not always the case, as sometimes the record label wants an “appetizer” put there before promoting what they think will be the huge hit.

 
Dr. Octopus said:
That’s not always the case, as sometimes the record label wants an “appetizer” put there before promoting what they think will be the huge hit.
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I would imagine that is rarely done and if so not with a band who had not been successful (Squeeze's first two releases didn't chart in the US) as if the appetizer attracts no interest, then subsequent releases may be ignored as radio stations programmers think they have already seen the best release. And that would be a good way to go broke for a record label wasting time and scare promotional money pushing a release you don't think will be successful.

In that event, that certainly wasn't the case here as Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) was the third single released from ArgyBargy following Another Nail In My Heart and If I Didn't Love You. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_discography

 
Love this review of Argybargy from 2019 

https://counterzine.com/2019/02/07/classic-tape-review-squeezes-argybargy/

 


Squeeze is an interesting band within musical history’s canon in the sense that they seem to be over-hyped or under-hyped at every turn. Early in their career, Squeeze’s songwriting duo of Tilbrook (music) and Difford (lyrics) was propped up by the British press as the heir apparent to Lennon and McCartney. Most of you probably know Squeeze, they’ve overall undoubtedly been a successful band, but that also means knowing that their presence in the social consciousness is not nearly as omnipotent as that of The Beatles. That doesn’t necessarily speak to quality though, so let’s take a look at what is generally considered to be Squeeze’s best album, 1980’s Argybargy.

Talking about Argybargy in sequence definitely doesn’t mean saving the best for last. As was (and still is in many instances) commonplace for mainstream-aiming pop albums, this album is front-loaded with pop gold, particularly in the first two tracks, arguably the two best of the band’s entire career. “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)” is about as perfect as any British pop song has ever been, and an excellent example as to why, to an extent, such hype was warranted. Your standard pop tune is often structured with the chorus receiving the lion’s share of the attention: the verses and bridges need to get you there and not suck along the way. Ultimately though, it’s the chorus you’re there for. What Squeeze, at their best, do so well, is make everything count. Tilbrook’s feel for structure is obviously important to this, but it’s really Difford’s lyrics that drive this point home. The greatest trick Difford, and Squeeze, ever played was demonstrating that you can be clever without being pretentious and fun without being silly. At a cursory listen, it can be very easy to dismiss Squeeze as just another bouncy new wave group, but the answers as to why so many are smitten by them can be found in the verse lyrics to “Pulling Mussels”. Difford is able to painted detailed, novelesque pictures with observational humor, within the limited confines of traditional pop form, like exceedingly few others. Verses such as “Squinting faces at the sky / A Harold Robbins paperback / Surfers drop their boards and dry / And everybody wants a hat” and “Shrinking in the sea so cold / Topless ladies look away / A he-man in a sudden shower / Shelters from the rain”, this efficient, vivid, playful language, married with Tilbrook’s tight, focused, digestible songwriting, make Squeeze what they are: pop music for everyone. “Pulling Mussels” is easily the smartest song ever written about people trying to get ####ed at the beach on holiday, a peerless gem of high-brow horniness, and Squeeze at the absolute peak of their powers.

Lead single “Another Nail In My Heart” is nearly as good, with its happy, upbeat, hook-laden form masking lyrics about the end of a relationship, the music putting on a cheerful facade for the hurt within. These two tracks alone make Squeeze worship make sense, and if the entire album was at this level, it’d be one of the best pop albums of all-time.

But it’s not quite there.
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Dr. Octopus said:
That’s not always the case, as sometimes the record label wants an “appetizer” put there before promoting what they think will be the huge hit.
Click to expand...
Very true.  When R.E.M. released Out of Time in 1991, Losing My Religion was released as the first single even though Shiny Happy People was pegged as the likely big hit from it, and then the former turned out to be their biggest hit ever. 

On the flip side, Def Leppard's Hysteria was obviously a monster album, but its first single, Women, kind of flopped.  The potential hits were intentionally held back as singles for a bit. 

 
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otb_lifer said:
"ok, otb, then what is New Wave?"

Human Leeg and Berlin, that's what  :coffee:

gotta agree about "Fascination" by HL ... as insidiously horrid as "Love Shack" or "Shiny" (Hayzze Fantaysi) - were they all on DOPE??!?

this. 

and this. 
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But don't you get it?! They were feeling fascination, passion burning, love so strong.

 
The Metro is one of my all time favorites.

Masquerade is right on par with it.

Tell Me Why, Pictures of You, and the incredible Like Flames also get heavy listening rotation from me.

(Is that too much spot lighting? Sorry if so, but I'm not sure any of those would rank above The Metro).

There are several YouTube videos of their Live performance at the "1983 US Festival" worth viewing too.

 
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82. “Who Can It Be Now?” Men at Work (1981, from Business as Usual)

https://youtu.be/SECVGN4Bsgg

I think this song about paranoia was almost everybody’s introduction to these boys from Australia. Whether it be this genre of music or classic rock, I’ve always had a thing for songs that used saxophone as a lead instrument. Could be why I’ve always liked Springsteen a lot as well. Adds something distinctive to the melody. 

 
timschochet said:
82. “Who Can It Be Now?” Men at Work (1981, from Business as Usual)

https://youtu.be/SECVGN4Bsgg

I think this song about paranoia was almost everybody’s introduction to these boys from Australia. Whether it be this genre of music or classic rock, I’ve always had a thing for songs that used saxophone as a lead instrument. Could be why I’ve always liked Springsteen a lot as well. Adds something distinctive to the melody. 
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Another MTV classic

 
not a fan of these Ozzies at all, but they definitely fit here in New Waveville ... glad to see them not any further up (though one more may rear an ugly, wandering eye plagued head).

 
Overkill has to be one of my favorites. Seeing Colin Hay in Clearwater May 1st. Really dig his solo stuff and loved him on an episode of Scrubs 

 
timschochet said:
82. “Who Can It Be Now?” Men at Work (1981, from Business as Usual)

https://youtu.be/SECVGN4Bsgg

I think this song about paranoia was almost everybody’s introduction to these boys from Australia. Whether it be this genre of music or classic rock, I’ve always had a thing for songs that used saxophone as a lead instrument. Could be why I’ve always liked Springsteen a lot as well. Adds something distinctive to the melody. 
Click to expand...
This tune (and the vid) will always be one of my great pleasures as a consumer. For some oddass reason, i remember it simlarly to hearing James Taylor's "Fire & Rain" for the first time a decade before. Nothing earthshaking, all of the elements familiar, but a manner of presentation & a general gestalt to it which changed how i listened to music. Prolly hadda b there....

 
otb_lifer said:
interesting that you bought up Petty ... i do remember "American Girl" getting traction on the early New Wave-esque playlists ... Cheap Trick as well.  hell, even Miller's "Abracadabra" popped up occasionally, as did the aforementioned J.Geils. 
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I’m glad you brought this up. 

While I never even remotely considered “American Girl” or “Abracadabra” for this list (or Greg Kihn either, to be honest), I did strongly consider Cheap Trick. In fact, the original version of my top 100 had the Cheap Trick trio: “Surrender”, “I Want You to Want Me” (live version), and “Dream Police”- all in the top 50 btw- then I removed them. Then I put them back in. Finally I removed them for good. 

They’re all power pop songs. And power pop is part of New Wave. The lead guitarist looked kind of New Wave, if that matters. Yet they’re not exactly New Wave. 

What’s done is done. I did waver on this for a long time though. 

 
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zamboni said:
Agreed - a highly underrated band that many just associate as just being gimmicky.

One of my favorite music trivia items is that Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Chrissie Hynde all attended Kent State in 1970 at the time of the tragedy there. 
Click to expand...
Another bit of trivia I always thought was weird was Devo's collaboration with Neil Young (who was a big fan of Devo from their early days) 

http://www.openculture.com/2019/07/when-devo-and-neil-young-jammed-together.html

 
timschochet said:
Speaking of J Geils, in recent years I have become a rather big fan of Peter Wolf’s solo output. I became exposed to it due to Apple Music and has put out a lot of songs I like very much. 
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Ratumba. 

What's the name of that chick with the long hair?

                                                                         Peter Wolf into to Musta Got Lost

J Geils intro to Musta Got Lost by Wolf

 
timschochet said:
I’m glad you brought this up. 

While I never even remotely considered “American Girl” or “Abracadabra” for this list (or Greg Kihn either, to be honest), I did strongly consider Cheap Trick. In fact, the original version of my top 100 had the Cheap Trick trio: “Surrender”, “I Want You to Want Me” (live version), and “Dream Police”- all in the top 50 btw- then I removed them. Then I put them back in. Finally I removed them for good. 

They’re all power pop songs. And power pop is part of New Wave. The lead guitarist looked kind of New Wave, if that matters. Yet they’re not exactly New Wave. 

What’s done is done. I did waver on this for a long time though. 
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i hear ya, but power pop, in and of itself, was not part of this gig.  i already saw Hoard mention the Rasps and Badfinger, and we can toss some Big Star in there as well. 

matter of fact, i've posted my favorite song from '79 up on this bored at least a dozen times in various threads ... to me, it was the perfect ending to a decade rife with some great great groups of the Power Pop genre ... i really hope i don't see it here (HINT: i always lament how it was swallowed up by the tsunami that was "My Sharona" in that summer of '79 ... the band's name rhymes with 'Cram ByKoffskee', and i'll leave it at that).

and, just to be clear, the Cheap Trick/Petty/Miller weren't on personal New Wave playlists, but those of mags, fanzines, radio stations, etc.

keep on chuggin' 

 
peaces said:
zamboni said:
Agreed - a highly underrated band that many just associate as just being gimmicky.

One of my favorite music trivia items is that Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, and Chrissie Hynde all attended Kent State in 1970 at the time of the tragedy there. 
Click to expand...
Another bit of trivia I always thought was weird was Devo's collaboration with Neil Young (who was a big fan of Devo from their early days) 

http://www.openculture.com/2019/07/when-devo-and-neil-young-jammed-together.html
Click to expand...
I remember seeing Devo on some random video show in the 70s. I think it was Jocko homo, or maybe their cover of satisfaction. Bob Marley video was on the same show...first time I'd seen/heard actual non claptoned reggae. 

But Devo resonated big time. The weirdness felt too weird for me, but their songs rocked out too...almost punk.

Uncontrollable Urge still sounds current, and most of Duty Now for the Future does too..still in regular rotation for me- and I'm a pretty big anti-nostalgia guy.

Whip it and many of the songs in Tim's List-  I heard too many times then and then over the years. While I recognize that they were iconic and good songs, like a lot of classic rock, I just don't care about hearing most of it again. When these lists and drafts happen I'm always happy to see the more obscure tunes (at least to me).

But those first couple Devo albums...still current...still happy to hear.

 
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