Retrospace's 150 Greatest New Wave Songs of the 1980's

In the late 70’s/early 80’s music experienced big changes all at once. Disco was dead, classic AOR was on its way out, punk was finished, and a concentration on image (i.e. music videos) all but washed out the non-photogenic soft rockers like Christopher Cross. Funk was also went bye-bye, along with it went the heavy-duty soul music of the Isley Brothers and Al Green variety.

Catchy top 40 pop never goes out of style, so that remained relatively unchanged. Rap music replaced the void left by funk (and even disco). Heavy metal bands like Def Leppard and Judas Priest found their heyday in the early 80’s. Another big change came with New Wave which combined the ashes of punk and disco to create something new entirely. The punk aspect was evident in their “alternative” style, readily apparent in new wave groups like Siouxsie and the Banshees who once shared venues with The Sex Pistols. The disco element was also readily apparent in their tendency to glam it up and make tunes you could dance to; and they also weren’t opposed to a heavy use of synthesizers– New Order and Depeche Mode being perfect examples.

I’ll spare you any further history lessons and get on with The Retrospace list of Great New Wave Songs. In making the list, there was only one guideline: I can only use 1-2 songs per band. This is to encourage a little variety, and make the list a bit more interesting. Also note: these are not in a particular order.


1. Metro - Berlin
2. Melt with You – Modern English
3. Save It for Later – English Beat
4. Cancer – Joe Jackson
5. Destination Unknown – Missing Persons
6. Just Like Heaven – The Cure
7. In Between Days – The Cure
8. All of My Heart – ABC
9. There’s a World Outside – Psychedelic Furs
10. This Is the Day – The The
11. Dogs of Lust – The The
12. The King Is Half Undressed – Jellyfish
13. Bedspring Kiss – Jellyfish
14. Tower of Strength – Mission UK
15. Vienna Calling - Falco
16. Relax – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
17. Two Tribes – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
18. Europa and the Pirate Twins– Thomas Dolby
19. She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult
20. Love Removal Machine – The Cult
21. Metropolis – The Church
22. Under the Milky Way – The Church
23. Timeless Melody – The Las
24. There She Goes – The Las
25. Summer’s Cauldron – XTC
26. Runaways – XTC
27. Down in the Park – Tubeway Army
28. Cars – Gary Newman
29. Daytime Drama – Billy Idol
30. White Wedding – Billy Idol
31. Can’t Be Sure – The Sundays
32. Here’s Where the Story Ends – The Sundays
33. Bedbugs and Ballyhoo – Echo and the Bunnymen
34. Seven Seas – Echo and the Bunnymen
35. Six Months in a Leaky Boat – Split Enz
36. Der Kommissar – After the Fire
37. Master and Servant – Depeche Mode
38. Shake the Disease - Depeche Mode
39. The Chauffeur – Duran Duran
40. Planet Earth – Duran Duran
41. Vanishing Point – New Order
42. Everything’s Gone Green – New Order
43. How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths
44. Last of the Famous International Playboys – The Smiths
45. Darkness- The Human League
46. Fascination – The Human League
47. Desire – Gene Loves Jezebel
48. Heartache – Gene Loves Jezebel
49. Mexican Radio – Wall of Voodoo
50. Ring of Fire – Wall of Voodoo
51. Peek-a-Boo – Siouxsie and the Banshees
52. Inside Out - Mighty Lemon Drops
53. Out of My Head – Mighty Lemon Drops
54. No Stars – Figures on a Beach
55. Faron Young – Prefab Sprout
56. Working Girl – The Members
57. Christine – House of Love
58. It’s My Life – Talk, Talk
59. Summer of Love – B-52’s
60. Legal Tender – B-52’s
61. Litany – Guadalcanal Diary
62. Ship of Fools – World Party
63. Michael Caine – Madness
64. House of Fun – Madness
65. Celtic Soul Brother – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
66. Come on Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners
67. Hit – Sugarcubes
68. Birthday – Sugarcubes
69. Here Comes Your Man – The Pixies
70. Veloria – The Pixies
71. I Ran – A Flock of Seagulls
72. I Wanna Be Adored – Stone Roses
73. She Bangs the Drums – Stone Roses
74. Mirror People – Love and Rockets
75. Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man – Love and Rockets
76. One Thing – INXS
77. Johnson’s Airplane – INXS
78. Missionary Man – Eurythmics
79. Beethoven (I Love to Listen to) – Eurythmics
80. Mad World – Tears for Fears
81. Pale Shelter – Tears for Fears
82. Tainted Love – Soft Cell
83. Sex Dwarf – Soft Cell
84. Back on the Chain Gang – The Pretenders
85. Talk of the Town – The Pretenders
86. Overkill – Men at Work
87. Kings of the Wild Frontier – Adam Ant
88. Dog Eat Dog - Adam Ant
89. Wouldn’t It Be Good – Nik Kershaw
90. Genius of Love – Tom Tom Club
91. Don’t Wanna Know - Husker Du
92. Put Your Hands on Me – Sinead O’Connor
93. Jerusalem – Sinead O’Connor
94. Don’t Let’s Start – They Might Be Giants
95. Sun Always Shines on TV – A-ha
96. Really Saying Something – Bananarama
97. Dreaming – Blondie
98. One Way or Another – Blondie
99. Come Out to Play – UB40
100. Chains of Love – Erasure
101. What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy) – Information Society
102. Just Like Honey – The Jesus and Mary Chain
103. Spirits in the Material World – the Police
104. On Any Other Day – The Police
105. Gardening at Night – REM
106. So, Central Rain -REM
107. Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds
108. Kids in America – Kim Wilde
109. Eye of Fatima – Camper Van Beethoven
110. Don’t Tell Me – Blancmange
111. Do You Wanna Hold Me – Bow Wow Wow
112. W.O.R.K. – Bow Wow Wow
113. Let Me Go – Heaven 17
114. Just Another Day – Oingo Boingo
115. Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo
116. Our Lips Are Sealed – Fun Boy Three
117. Ghost Town – The Specials
118. Good Thing - Fine Young Cannibals
119. Johnny Come Home - Fine Young Cannibals
120. Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
121. Taste the Pain - Red Hot Chili Peppers
122. Crash - The Primitives
123. Every Day Is Like Sunday - Morrissey
124. Suedehead - Morrissey
125. Cuts You Up - Peter Murphy 
126. Anything, Anything- Dramarama
127. Suburbia - Pet Shop Boys
128. Head Over Heels - The Go-Go's
129. We Got the Beat- The Go-Go's
130. Peek-a-Boo - Devo
131. Up All Night - Boomtown Rats
132. Mr. Pharmacist - The Fall
133. A Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls
134. Small Town Boy - Bronxi Beat
135. Making the Body Search - Wire
136. Born in Xixax- Nina Hagen
137. Strange Town- The Jam
138. Lessons in Love - Level 42
139. Something About You - Level 42
140. It's My Life - Talk Talk
141. Tenderness - General Public
142. Love Plus One - Haircut 100
143. Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) - Icicle Works
144. Rush - Big Audio Dynamite II
145. Don't Go - Yaz
146. Repo Man - Iggy Pop
147. No One Is to Blame - Howard Jones
148. Birth, School, Work, Death - Godfathers
149. Kiss and Tell - Brian Ferry
150. Headhunter - Front 242

I realize many of you haven't heard a lot of the songs on this list. I hope it will inspire you to seek them out. I've also made a playlist for you to listen to a few of the perhaps lesser known entries on the list.

Note (1): I realize there's going to be some songs on this list that you wouldn't classify as new wave; unfortunately, that's the danger in making genre lists. If the Pixies and Husker Du are new wave, then why not include some Sonic Youth? It's like this: If an umpire makes the strikezone too large, it pisses off the batter, and if he makes it too small, the pitcher gets mad.  Moral to the story: you can't please everybody, so just do the best you can.

Note (2): There are few songs that dip into 1990 (recorded in '89 but in '90) such as "Timeless Melody"; and also a few recorded in 1979, but released in 1980.

If there are any glaring omissions, please put it in a comment. I like to hear suggestions - especially ones I'm not familiar with or have long forgotten. I enjoy discovering songs that have slipped under the radar all these years.

Beatles Covers #4: Paul Muriat and Life Before IMDb and Wikipedia

Remember the song "Love Is Blue"? A beautiful song, and a number one hit for Paul Mauriat in 1967. For me it was a source of pain and frustration for the first ten years of my marriage. You see, my wife and I could hum the tune, but couldn't for the life of us remember the song's name. Sure, I could've gone to the library or asked every person I knew till someone recognized it, but it wasn't that important. Just something that would periodically piss me off.

Can you even imagine a scenario like this happening today? Now I'd simply type in Google: "instrumental hits of the 1960's" and I'd listen to a few free sound clips and BINGO, question answered in less than five minutes.  Or, if the song came on the radio, hold my iPhone up to it and it will identify the tune instantly.

Even better, I can, within a few minutes, learn everything there is to know about the song through Wikipedia, blogs, fan sites, etc. On Pandora I can listen to a selection of songs that are scientifically calculated to be similar.

I mean, crap, is it even possible to just be bugged by not knowing something anymore? When was the last time you said, "I don't know" and just left it? When was the last time you saw an actor in a movie, but just couldn't recall his name and did NOT look it up on IMDb?

I think the fact that there's no "not knowing" anymore really sunk in for me when I was talking with a friend about The Incredible Hulk TV show.  In the show's intro, David Banner's wife is shown in a burning car. I wondered if this woman was somebody famous.  Within 30 seconds I was told by my friend at the computer that it was Lara Parker from Dark Shadows.... and that her husband played Tommy Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life! Damn. This is just ridiculous.

What does all this have to do with Beatle's cover songs? Precious little.  I thought about all this when I was listening to Mauriat's Blooming Hits today.  I'd planned on writing about "Penny Lane" but got distracted by this thought. Don't blame me - blame my ADD.

It's a pretty blah piece of muzak.  The only thing exciting about this recording is its album cover.  This spooky chick has always caught my attention since I was a little kid.  I wonder who she is. Man, that's going to bug me. How long do you think it will take me to find out?

Damn! I just spent ten minutes looking and turned up empty!  I guess there are a few things still obscure enough to keep someone stumped.

Retrospace Book Club #3: Horrible Book Titles

Glad you could join us for the November 2009 Oprah Retrospace Book Club meeting. This month we are looking at some of the worst titles in book history. If any additional titles come to mind, please leave them in the comments. I'd love to hear them.

It's happening in your neighborhood..... right now!

Retrospace at the Movies: Originality is for Suckers

I love it when Hollywood tries to call it a "re-imagining" rather than what it really is - a remake. Don't pretend you're being original when you're not! And when I heard that they are actually planning a "reimagining" of Sanford & Son, I knew it was time to rant about it on Retrospace. Don't believe me? Click here. What's next - a big screen adaptation of The Golden Girls? It's going to happen.

I've already gone into great detail about Hollywood's checkered past trying to remake TV shows. It's not been pretty. I mean, damn, would it kill you to try and be a tad original? In just this past year, audiences have been treated to one reimagining after another: The Taking of Pelham 123, Sorority Row, Halloween II, Friday the 13th, Land of the Lost, Fame, and The Last House on the Left. The preceding few years were no better with recycled movies like Invasion, Poseidon, The Honeymooners, The Wicker Man, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Prom Night, April Fools Day, Planet of the Apes, Psycho, Death Race, The Fog, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, The Hills Have Eyes, Alfie, Ocean's 11, The Amityville Horror, The Omen, Godzilla, King Kong, Dawn of the Dead, etc., etc., etc....

Plus, a lot of the movies flooding the theaters don't fall into the remake category, but still aren't based on an original idea - i.e. GI Joe, Harry Potter and the Transformers movies.

Look. I have no problem with once and a while "reimagining" an older movie - a lot of remakes are truly wonderful. But, Jesus Harold Christ on Rubber Crutches, enough is enough!!

Sex Sells #9: Holy Subliminal Phallus, Batman!

What you see above is a textbook example of vintage phallic innuendo. This woman is about to perform fellatio on that lipstick, no question about it. You simply can't look at this ad and not think "blow job".  I know what Freud says: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." But you don't need to be a psychiatrist to know there's something a little dirty going on between the lines. Is it deliberate psychological manipulation? Probably. But, really, what ad doesn't contain some sort of subliminal message?

The image above is extremely phallic, but it doesn't do a good job at keeping the naughty imagery at the subliminal level. Ideally, your conscious brain perceives an "innocent" image, but your subconscious mind recognizes the symbolism. The subconscious mind then will associate this is a desirable product without your conscious mind ever processing a thought!

Thus a spurious association is made between the product and sex, often without you ever realizing it. This tactic isn't just employed by consumer products, either. Album covers and movie posters (which, in fact, are forms of advertising) are also notorious offenders.

So, peruse my little gallery of vintage phallic innuendo. But don't blame me if you suddenly find yourself wanting products you never thought you'd care for. Blame the subliminal dick.

image source: SA Steve

Mini Skirt Monday #27: A Time Before the Turbulence

In 1971, the National Organization for Women (NOW) picketed in protest against the airlines calling them "sexist and degrading to women" for their use of stewardesses as sex objects. In particular, they focused on the National Airlines with their "Fly Me" slogan.  The NOW protesters demanded men to be portrayed in the advertising too.

Meanwhile, the girl in the infamous "I'm Cheryl. Fly Me" ad, Cheryl Fioravanti, didn't feel the same way. She had been a stewardess for 22 years, and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, her response only fueled the fire of the NOW protesters: "I'm afraid I don't agree with the women's liberation very much. I don't think that household chores should be shared. I like to be in the kitchen and I like to have Gene in charge of paying the bills."

Needless to say, the "groovy age of travel" was coming to an end. The use of sexy stewardesses as a way to sell airline tickets had a few more years left, but the clock was now ticking. NOW had found a target, and by mid-decade it was clear that this sort of thing had run its course.  Like it or not, that's how it went down.

But don't think we lost the sexy stewardess all because of NOW - they may have started the fire, but other factors poured on the gasoline. For example, travelers on airplanes by the mid-1970's weren't just males; women and families started to take up a significant portion of the market. The "I'm Cheryl. Fly Me" marketing approach wasn't going to work too well with career women or moms and dads traveling with kids. The sky was not longer an exclusive gentlemen's club - it was now open to everybody.

Another factor was that a lot of these airlines simply were going bankrupt. They suffered from poor labor relations, intransagent management, and high debt burdens.  The ones remaining had to cut costs at almost every level. Thus, the days of cocktails, swank decor, and Halston designed uniforms became ancient history. 

Add to this mess the increase in hi-jacking and crashes, and it became very obvious, airlines could no longer afford to be mile high Playboy Clubs.  They had to be taken seriously.

Thankfully, the pictures and the ads from the groovy age of travel still remain. So, let's take a look at some images of a time before all this "turbulence". Enjoy!

Pacific Southwest Airlines ticket jackets

Gastroabominations #4: The 1950's - The Meat Decade

image source: Mrs Bluesky

Browse through any cookbook or women's interest magazine from the 1950's and you will get bombarded by meat. Every recipe reads like this: Braise 10 pounds of pork roast with a teaspoon of gelatin, garnish with a sprig of broccolli.... and, presto, you're done! The four food groups of the 50's were: pork, beef, poultry and Spam. 

Fact: Most people on planet Earth have a staple food of either rice, wheat, maize (corn), millet, or tubers (potatoes).

Fact: In the 1950's, the American staple food was bacon.

I'm guessing they thought fruits and vegetables were for Commies, because there was precious little in their recipes. Usually they served simply as ornaments, meant to be looked at but never, NEVER, eaten. Other than meat, it was acceptable to consume large quantities of gelatin (fittingly, an animal by product).

Let's take a brief stroll throught the Meat Decade, shall we?