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

Bonzai said:
I can't remember if it's both or one or the other. I imagine he'll play some New Order stuff as well. How was he when you saw him?
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Looks like both with an opening New Order set. He’s great. Their Joy Division sets are amazing. New Order sets are okay. I saw New Order in January and their sets were great while I found their Joy Division songs to be okay. Hooky does them better imo.  

 
otb_lifer said:
"Love Vigilantes" is my favorite New Order track, hands down. 

think a few more of their repertoire absolutely merit inclusion on any list of this ilk ... gotta go at least 4 deep in a top 100.  

meh.  
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I know it was written as a Joy Division song but Ceremony is brilliant

 
Uruk-Hai said:
That's fine. Your list, your rules. 

But you're still talking out of both sides of your mouth. As @Osaurus posted a bit ago, some of your arguments seem to be retconning from a 2020 perspective and others are "in the moment".  I can tell you with 100% certainty that Prince's songs off of 1999 and Purple Rain were played on the alt/new wave station in Washington, DC.

In any case, fun thread. Thanks for the effort.

I've slowly been building my "Top 2,020 Songs Of The 1970s" list for a thread here. At least I won't have to defend whether I'm breaking some basic rule, since inclusion is based on fact (the song was released in the '70s). I'll get hammered on my exclusions, but that won't surprise me based on this board's demographic.
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I 1st heard Prince’s Head on WLYN/WFNX “new wave “ in the Boston area

 
As another talking point, it’s seems like there was an overlap of “new wave” and “MTV era,” and people with videos got clumped into both. I remember ZZ Top as a band that some places considered new wave when Eliminator came out. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
As another talking point, it’s seems like there was an overlap of “new wave” and “MTV era,” and people with videos got clumped into both. I remember ZZ Top as a band that some places considered new wave when Eliminator came out. 
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I bet Billy Gibbons got a chuckle out of that.

 
Anarchy99 said:
I guess we will have to see what gets considered as new wave. Huey Lewis? Cyndi Lauper? Robert Palmer? Bryan Adams? The Outfield? Journey? The Alarm? Billy Joel? Early John Cougar? The Go-Go’s? The Knack? Scandal? Tom Petty? No The Fixx songs yet?
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Stand or Fall better be in this list or I am declaring the whole thing null and void. ;)  

 
timschochet said:
37. “Blue Monday” New Order (1982, from Brotherhood) 

https://youtu.be/FYH8DsU2WCk

Throughout the 1980s as a young man in mr 20s, I attended dance clubs. It wasn’t really my thing but I went with friends to meet girls, or with girls we already knew because they already wanted to go, or with my girlfriend, etc. I am mentioning this because all during that decade I always noticed that when “Blue Monday” was put on, the dance floor always became immediately filled. Always. And the song only seemed to increase in popularity as the 80s went on. The other thing I clearly remember was that nobody ever knew the name of the song or the artist. Every time it came on, I always heard the same conversation “Oh I LOVE this song- what’s the name of it again?” Invariably I heard it called the “How does it feel” song. 
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Per Wiki the release date was 1983. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Monday_(New_Order_song)

Yeah, clicking on the link I do remember hearing it in the clubs/bars I went to, but I never knew the name because, quite frankly I didn't particularly care for it. I didn't think it was that good compared to other synth dance music of 82/83, particularly producer Patrick Cowley's work, such as Die Hard Lover by Loverde, Right on Target by Paul Parker, and Do You Wanna Funk by Sylvester. 

 
36. “Call Me” Blondie (1980, from American Gigolo)

https://youtu.be/StKVS0eI85I

As someone already mentioned, this song was produced by Giorgio Moroder, famed “King of Disco”, so it definitely has that vibe to it. But it is also pure Deborah Harry and Blondie and simply a great song. And it rocks. 

 
Huge fan of joy divison and early new order. As opposed to other JD fans at the time, I dug their move into synth world...but beating the horse, thought they went too soft, pop and relatively indistinguishable after a few records.

Ceremony, age of consent, temptation....all my faves. Figured blue Monday would be a top ten.

 
I discovered a show new order did in NYC in 81 on YouTube recently (in a Ukrainian club in my current hood)...where they still had the post punk swagger and we're just integrating the synths. worth a watch for fans. Link

 
35. “Come On Eileen” Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1982, from Too-Rye-Ay)

https://youtu.be/ASwge9wc-eI

Arguably regarded as the most famous one hit wonder song ever (though not the best- see my other thread on this) this tune took the world by storm in 1982. It’s use of fiddle and Celtic sounding themes was a revelation for the top 40, though bands like The Boomtown Rats, Pogues, and even Thin Lizzy had been doing the same thing for years. And English folk had been around going all the way back to Donovan and Fairport Convention. Even so, somehow it was this catchy song that finally broke through. 

 
timschochet said:
35. “Come On Eileen” Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1982, from Too-Rye-Ay)

https://youtu.be/ASwge9wc-eI

Arguably regarded as the most famous one hit wonder song ever (though not the best- see my other thread on this) this tune took the world by storm in 1982. It’s use of fiddle and Celtic sounding themes was a revelation for the top 40, though bands like The Boomtown Rats, Pogues, and even Thin Lizzy had been doing the same thing for years. And English folk had been around going all the way back to Donovan and Fairport Convention. Even so, somehow it was this catchy song that finally broke through. 
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One of those songs I loved until roughly puberty...has been on my most hated list for a while.

 
timschochet said:
37. “Blue Monday” New Order (1982, from Brotherhood) 

https://youtu.be/FYH8DsU2WCk

Throughout the 1980s as a young man in mr 20s, I attended dance clubs. It wasn’t really my thing but I went with friends to meet girls, or with girls we already knew because they already wanted to go, or with my girlfriend, etc. I am mentioning this because all during that decade I always noticed that when “Blue Monday” was put on, the dance floor always became immediately filled. Always. And the song only seemed to increase in popularity as the 80s went on. The other thing I clearly remember was that nobody ever knew the name of the song or the artist. Every time it came on, I always heard the same conversation “Oh I LOVE this song- what’s the name of it again?” Invariably I heard it called the “How does it feel” song. 

I want to add one more thing here: this will be the only New Order song on this list; I like a few of their other hits but couldn’t find room for them. My favorite song by them is a deep cut off of Low-Life called “Love Vigilantes”. No idea if this is a well known song by them; personally, I never heard it on the radio. But it’s a brilliant poignant tune about a man at war who longs to return to his family and finally does, only to discover that he’s dead. 
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quintessential New Wave...would be in my top 10.

 
timschochet said:
35. “Come On Eileen” Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1982, from Too-Rye-Ay)

https://youtu.be/ASwge9wc-eI

Arguably regarded as the most famous one hit wonder song ever (though not the best- see my other thread on this) this tune took the world by storm in 1982. It’s use of fiddle and Celtic sounding themes was a revelation for the top 40, though bands like The Boomtown Rats, Pogues, and even Thin Lizzy had been doing the same thing for years. And English folk had been around going all the way back to Donovan and Fairport Convention. Even so, somehow it was this catchy song that finally broke through. 
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Who would have thought that this song would inspire an early 00's website of the same name?  

 
timschochet said:
38. “And She Was” Talking Heads (1985, from Little Creatures) 

https://youtu.be/cl3B_FTDKD0

Another one of the great videos of the era, this one heavily influenced by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame. The song is about a woman on LSD imagining herself floating above a junkyard, but a lot of women over the years have seen it as a message of empowerment, and Byrne has said he’s fine with that interpretation. However one views it, it’s great music. 
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One of the alltime great 80s bands...really wish I could have seen them in concert at their peak.  This is probably my third favorite song of theirs.

 
timschochet said:
35. “Come On Eileen” Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1982, from Too-Rye-Ay)

https://youtu.be/ASwge9wc-eI

Arguably regarded as the most famous one hit wonder song ever (though not the best- see my other thread on this) this tune took the world by storm in 1982. It’s use of fiddle and Celtic sounding themes was a revelation for the top 40, though bands like The Boomtown Rats, Pogues, and even Thin Lizzy had been doing the same thing for years. And English folk had been around going all the way back to Donovan and Fairport Convention. Even so, somehow it was this catchy song that finally broke through. 
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Tim checkout their homage to Irish literature , Dance Stance . Should’ve been a hit over here but it’s pretty much unknown. Came out in ‘79

https://youtu.be/K9Les-Hnh-E

   The angry delivery of the lyrics reflect the punk sensibility of the time, although the style of the music is more the soul/Northern soul style from which the band's name is derived (the name is a reference to drug-fuelled dancing in the all-nighters which were a feature of the Northern soul scene)  
 The song references a range of Irish playwrights and writers including Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan, Seán O'Casey, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Eugene O'Neill, Edna O’Brien and Laurence Sterne  [\i]

 
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timschochet said:
42. “You Might Think” (The Cars, 1984, from Heartbeat City) 

https://youtu.be/3dOx510kyOs

I would have to rank this as probably the best video of the New Wave era, arguably the best video of all time. The song itself is joyously fun, timelessly catchy and feel good. And oh how I miss Ric Ocasek. 
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Huge fan of the Cars entire portfolio.   Deserving RnR HOF members.

For me, this song in particular would probably rank around #5 of theirs.

Also, chick in the video is hot.

 
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timschochet said:
44. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” Simple Minds (1984, from The Breakfast Club) 

https://youtu.be/CdqoNKCCt7A

Obviously an iconic selection. I liked this guy’s voice but the song itself never did much for me. It does work as the opening of the movie very well, though. I had to put it in the top 50 but this is about as high as I could bear. 
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Arguably the most iconic song of the 80s.   I would be hard pressed to not have this song in my top 5..  As overplayed as it has been, it's still the f'ing jam for me if I haven't heard it for a while.

 
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timschochet said:
43. “Hungry Like the Wolf” Duran Duran (1982, from Rio) 

https://youtu.be/oJL-lCzEXgI

Dark in the city, night is a wire. Seen from the subway, Earth is afire. Or something like that. I wrote it from memory so excuse me if I missed a lyric. But what does it even mean? And why is he hungry like THE wolf, rather than A wolf? 
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This song was a lot more listenable when I was 16...obviously iconic, just not a song I want to hear end to end any more.   If I'm at an 80s party it's a must, if I'm rolling down the highway, not so much.   I would probably rank this around #7 for Duran Duran's portfolio.

 
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timschochet said:
50. “Cool Places” Sparks (with Jane Wiedlin) (1983, from In Outer Space) 

https://youtu.be/WNKIba_yZJo

Halfway there! 

Sparks has actually been around a long time as an art rock band (and a big influence on Freddie Mercury). In the early 80s they switched styles and reinvented themselves as New Wave. This collaboration with the adorable Jane was their biggest radio hit. 
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I'm a GoGos fan(seem them live twice) but this song never did it for me(yes, I know it's not gogos)...wouldn't crack my top 100 although it's clearly new wave so I see the appeal.

 
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timschochet said:
53. “In a Big Country” Big Country (1983, from The Crossing) 

https://youtu.be/657TZDHZqj4

As a rule I’m likely to suspicious of any band whose name is basically the same as the only song they’re known for, but not this time. I noticed for the first time this morning that there’s a black dude in the band. I wonder if he has a Scottish accent? That would be awesome...
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belongs on any new wave list.  :hifive:

 
TripItUp said:
belongs on any new wave list.  :hifive:
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Not necessarily my personal favorites but I feel like Don’t You Forget About Me and I Melt With You are the 2 most quintessential New Wave songs.  And Big Country is Top 5

 
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Come On Eileen is a great tune and still reminds me of being 8 years old.  Ah, to be that young again and discovering so much good music. :cool:  

I still can't believe they lost the Grammy to the B-Sharps. 

 
No. 1 this week in 1982, The Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat," which made them the first all-female rock group playing their own instruments to  score a Number One album. 

 
The_Man said:
No. 1 this week in 1982, The Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat," which made them the first all-female rock group playing their own instruments to  score a Number One album. 
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The Go-Go's are one of my favorite bands and have been since the time I was a kid. I loved them as a kid, as a teen, in college, in adulthood.

Criminally underrated trailblazing band. Beauty And The Beat is a masterpiece from its cover to its execution. 

 
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34. “Rock Lobster” The B-52s (1979, from The B-52s) 

https://youtu.be/szhJzX0UgDM

From the opening riff this is one of the most recognizable songs of the era. Heck my 21st Century kids know it (and love it.) Like “Planet Claire” the lyrics are nonsensical. Fred and the gang are out to enjoy life. Might as well join them. 

 
timschochet said:
34. “Rock Lobster” The B-52s (1979, from The B-52s) 

https://youtu.be/szhJzX0UgDM

From the opening riff this is one of the most recognizable songs of the era. Heck my 21st Century kids know it (and love it.) Like “Planet Claire” the lyrics are nonsensical. Fred and the gang are out to enjoy life. Might as well join them. 
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great tune ... nice pick  :thumbup:

genuine artifact of this era/genre, winner all around!

that said, they are on my forever #### list for the gargantuan pile of dead dog Richards that the horrific "Love Shack" is/was/always shall be. 

absolutely nauseating. 

#### them. 

:bye:

 
otb_lifer said:
that said, they are on my forever #### list for the gargantuan pile of dead dog Richards that the horrific "Love Shack" is/was/always shall be.
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The part that actually salvages that song for me is when they break down and one of the women yells out "tinnnnnnn roof. Rusted."

I don't know why, but it saves the song and I can sort of dig how it makes grandma awkwardly dance at family weddings that Fred and Kate certainly are too cool to attend, but if they did, would bring the haute kitsch.   

 
otb_lifer said:
great tune ... nice pick  :thumbup:

genuine artifact of this era/genre, winner all around!

that said, they are on my forever #### list for the gargantuan pile of dead dog Richards that the horrific "Love Shack" is/was/always shall be. 

absolutely nauseating. 

#### them. 

:bye:
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Give them a break. They never made any money until that song. Now they live well. Why not? 

 
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