What is the worst new wave band?

Or your least favorite?


BTW, my choice is Laurie Anderson. And Taco, but "Oh Superman" would make "Puttin' On The Ritz" sound good.

I still say Taco.  :P Blech.

Taco

I don't know anything about Taco but I do know 'The Mobiles' who did a really creepy song called 'Drowning in Berlin'. Very wierd.

I like alot of new wave stuff. So I really can't answer the question.

Going to have to go with Taco on this one.  Besides being a weird song, seeing him in the video used to creep me out when I was younger.  Always thought he looked like a zombie.

I picked Other: Dexys Midnight Runners (I'm not sure if they count........but I can't stand Come on Eileen......sorry to anyone who likes it......)

I like alot of new wave stuff. So I really can't answer the question.
Ditto for me, so I chose other.

taco. but i would have voted the B-52s, only for the song 'rock lobster'. a roommate of mine once tortured me with that darned song...

Ditto for me, so I chose other.


Me too.

Taco who???  LOL ;D

They win for worst new wave artist

What is the worst new wave band?

Or your least favorite?


BTW, my choice is Laurie Anderson. And Taco, but "Oh Superman" would make "Puttin' On The Ritz" sound good.



Laurie Anderson is not a "New Wave" artist.  Her popularity coincided with the rise of New Wave, and her style has things in common with New Wave.  Anderson is a performance artist, electroacoustic music composer, violinist, vocalist, songwriter, and essayist.  "O Superman" may be a work you have misunderstood.

Gwen wrote
Going to have to go with Taco on this one.  Besides being a weird song, seeing him in the video used to creep me out when I was younger.  Always thought he looked like a zombie.
See, everybody's picking on TACO again!  It never ends!
BTW, I always thought he looked like Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror.
:D

For worst New Wave artist, I'm going to have to go with Trio, as in "Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha."
::)

I went with the B-52's. I can tolerate the other artists to a degree, but I can't listen to a B-52's song for even a second. They are just such a novelty act in my mind it makes me cringe. Thats just me...

Rio

Other, all of the above and below with the exception of the Go-Gos.

I went with the B-52's. I can tolerate the other artists to a degree, but I can't listen to a B-52's song for even a second. They are just such a novelty act in my mind it makes me cringe. Thats just me...

Rio

I can understand that! They are pretty obnoxious, and Fred Schneider is a creepy dude.  I still like their early stuff, but the huge hits from the late '80s always bugged me.  Another heinous song was Kate Pierson & R.E.M., "Shiny Happy People" (retch retch retch)!

I cannot stand, Laurie Anderson :P

I voted for Wham although I never really thought of them as New Wave.

I went with the B-52's. I can tolerate the other artists to a degree, but I can't listen to a B-52's song for even a second. They are just such a novelty act in my mind it makes me cringe. Thats just me...

Rio


Not just you, it's me too.  Their songs make me cringe.  Taco, yes, is a pretty creepy looking guy, but I can listen to their music. Can't say that about the B-52's.

I cannot stand, Laurie Anderson :P


Again, she's not a "New Wave" artist, and shouldn't have been on that poll!

Laurie Anderson doesn’t belong on the list, for the reasons already mentioned by Maxwell.

As to being worst, the Go-Go’s and B-52’s were very talented, and their music very influential, like them or not it would be difficult to label them as bad, and certainly not “worst”.

Definitely would be hard pressed to call PIL new wave either, as I’m sure Johnny Lydon would give those who categorized them as such a good lashing.

Taco was just a goof, one-hit wonder, and the song was a synthed-up cover of an Irving Berlin tune, so I don’t see that being “new wave”. Just a bad tune altogether.

I guess that leaves me with Wham, and I hate, and still cannot stand “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”. George Michael should be horse whipped for that monstrosity of tones (but he might actually enjoy that). Wham gets my vote.

What is "new wave" exactly?

Though Duran Duran & Depeche Mode have different styles, but both are in the category.

What is "new wave" exactly?

Though Duran Duran & Depeche Mode have different styles, but both are in the category.

I don’t necessarily agree….
I think unfortunately anything after punk rock of the mid to late 70’s to ’82 or so is lumped in as “new wave”. 
For the most part a lot of bands that were called new wave were all over the map in terms of musical influence and style, but they all had a new way to approach their music. New wave was a fresh sound that was missing from AR & Top 40 music in the 70’s and somewhat less aggressive and more artful than punk. They also embraced the emergence of new electronic instruments, and the options electronic media brought with it. (It would be a big mistake to place any and all bands that used a synthesizer as “new wave” however, as the use of it was gaining popularity at the time, it did not necessarily define the genre.)

A lot of new wave bands did not use syths for their sound (initially) at all i.e., The Knack, The Police, Go-Go’s, The Pretenders, Squeeze, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Jam, XTC, The Cars, etc. These are bands that I think of when I hear the term “new wave”. To me these are pretty much guitar driven good rock/pop music. New wave, as a term was really a misnomer. They were just playing good music, somewhat differently than what we heard before, and that was unfettered by bland music & bands that were playing on the radio at the time.

I think, in the US anyway, the term new wave was also used to describe new bands that had a quirky, off kilter, non commercial or slightly weird feel to it. A lot of these bands weren’t big on Top 40 radio, (maybe would of heard this music on “alternative/progressive” radio before the term was bastardized by Billboard) but had an strong appeal because of that. These bands were “new”, somewhat pop sounding, accessible yes, but very different than punk or typical rock tunes. These bands weren’t pop mainstream here initially and would stay that way until videos and MTV arrived. Once these bands got their due on MTV and in videos, new wave was popular.

Thereafter many new bands showing up on MTV were labeled new wave even though they were not. A lot of new bands (Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Culture Club, Wham, etc.) were arguably probably better described as electronica, syth-pop, pop or just straight ahead rock. The term “new wave” was dead by that time in that it could no longer describe the vast number of musical styles that were emerging from “new wave” music in the early part of the era.

Laurie Anderson doesn’t belong on the list, for the reasons already mentioned by Maxwell.

As to being worst, the Go-Go’s and B-52’s were very talented, and their music very influential, like them or not it would be difficult to label them as bad, and certainly not “worst”.

Definitely would be hard pressed to call PIL new wave either, as I’m sure Johnny Lydon would give those who categorized them as such a good lashing.

Taco was just a goof, one-hit wonder, and the song was a synthed-up cover of an Irving Berlin tune, so I don’t see that being “new wave”. Just a bad tune altogether.

I guess that leaves me with Wham, and I hate, and still cannot stand “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”. George Michael should be horse whipped for that monstrosity of tones (but he might actually enjoy that). Wham gets my vote.

At least when he was with Wham! there was something to laugh at.  George Michael's solo stuff is totally insufferable.  "Faith," "Father Figure," yeeesh!  I hope he stays retired.

A friend of mine was just telling me about some video footage he saw of the Go-Gos backstage doing...things.  Um, nasty things.  I mean, they showed some portions on VH1, but my friend described things I can't even IMPLY in a polite way.  I know they had trouble with coke, booze, and H, but even so, I was taken aback.  This friend of mine kept saying this, this, and this..."and then I just couldn't watch!"  He's not the tall-tale type, but I'm just wondering if anyone else has heard about this footage.  If you have, don't describe it on the board!  Emailing me is fine, but I don't want offend.

I picked Other: Dexys Midnight Runners (I'm not sure if they count........but I can't stand Come on Eileen......sorry to anyone who likes it......)


My choice as well...God I hate that song!

corey hart with Sunglasses at night! Oh god why why why? that was such an annoying song!

Puttin on the Ritz, isn't even an 80s sound, it's like 30s, and hearing it in the 80s wasn't too awful, it was more a novelty song.  If you want bad New Waves group, check out the Plasmatics, I mean it's even hard to just flat say one group was the worst - back then they all kind of rocked to some extent.

Other: ABC -can't stand 'em, never could!
I was in a $2 shop with my ex, who was taking forever to browse around, when "Poison Arrow" came on the stereo. I managed to get my ex out of that shop by singing at quite an audible volume, "Who did that fart? You did! You did!" I'm a dag! :D

My vote is for Taco.

I'm sure I'll get a bashing for this... but I would have to say INXS.

Aside from "Don't Change", I don't like any of their songs.

  Another heinous song was Kate Pierson & R.E.M., "Shiny Happy People" (retch retch retch)!


I agree 100%... that is an awful song.  "Bang & Blame" wasn't much better. 

I know this has been flogged to death, but I never really thought of INXS being "new wave" and definitely not REM.

The Pretenders! I say them because of Chrissy Hynde! She's really obnoxious and stuck up! I'm not a vegetarian and I found her thinking that meat eating should be a crime really offensive! >:( >:( >:(