Definition
A genre and cultural movement of the late 1970s and 1980s that blended punk rock's energy and attitude with synthesizers, electronic production, and pop sensibilities, resulting in dance-oriented, quirky, and often experimental music. New wave artists rejected both mainstream rock and punk's purist ideology in favor of art school aesthetics and accessibility.
Example Usage
Blondie and Talking Heads defined new wave by combining punk attitude with synth-pop hooks and art-school credibility.
Origin
Emerged from the punk and post-punk scenes in New York and London in the mid-to-late 1970s; bands like Blondie, Devo, and Talking Heads distinguished themselves from straight punk by embracing electronic instrumentation.
Fun Fact
New wave achieved massive commercial success in the 1980s (Duran Duran, The Human League, Depeche Mode), proving that experimental electronic music could dominate mainstream radio and MTV—a shocking development at the time.
Related Terms
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