Something new wave, something blue: how synth and post-punk came to be the musical backdrop for adolescent melancholy

In the last quarter of the 20th century, the strength of punk-rock’s influence began to wither away. The caustic demeanor embodied by the genre’s forefront lead singers left something to be desired among American and English audiences. As technological advancements in sound recording and radio formats expanded musical capabilities for artists, a new genre emerged. The novel tone of this genre was fresh and modern. It was unlike anything ever heard before. For years, American and English punk-rock musicians borrowed musical motifs from one another. No more: a hip and more palatable version of punk-rock had arrived. It was called “new wave.” 

The emergence of new wave paved the way for modern synth-pop to become the status quo. New wave’s distinctive traits — self-conscious and perceptive lyrics, experimentation with electronic melodies, and jittery nervousness — helped highlight the slow demise of rock’s (and especially progressive rock’s) musical reign. How new wave groups approached their portrayal of the genre varied vastly. Some groups, like Talking Heads, used minimalist arrangements and cross-cultural references. Others, like DEVO and Eurythmics, decided to use their platform in order to create avant-garde, impossible-to-unpack messages. Siouxsie and The Banshees emerged from the Bromley Contingent, a notorious group of Sex Pistols groupies, and continued to have a biting sound. Duran Duran, Soft Cell, and Depeche Mode stylized themselves in flamboyant ways as they embarked on crafting hyper-sexual art interlaced with underlying dark and ominous themes. 

Cultural resistance was immediate. Entertainment industries incentivized to provide “safe” musical commodities were hesitant to incorporate the strange sounds of new wave into their artistic repertoire. Moreover, the general public was unfamiliar with new wave after acclimating to the general sameness of 1960s and 1970s mainstream music. Since synth-based tracks were conventionally played at discotheques, new wave’s grotesque coupling of synth rhythms with biting social commentary and international music was jarring to listeners. A new wave group’s success was tangential to the group’s willingness to operate with a musical sound that was universally palatable and radio-friendly. Groups like The Cars, The Police, and Elvis Costello were wildly successful in breaking into the mainstream as a result of their simple arrangements. 

John Hughes, landmark filmmaker of six of America’s most beloved coming-of-age films from 1984 to 1987, was revolutionary in his introduction of new wave to a mainstream audience. Hughes greatly enjoyed new wave music, and consistently incorporated the genre’s greatest gems in his “Brat Pack” films. Pretty In Pink (1986) was named after a song by the Psychedelic Furs that appeared on the film’s platinum-selling soundtrack. In Sixteen Candles (1984), Molly Ringwald’s character Sam Baker has “The Rave-Ups” (a new wave band) scrawled across her 3-ring binder. In the film, Sam is an unpopular high school sophomore, and is frustrated when her parents forget about her 16th birthday. The apogée of Hughes’ choice in music is his decision to play the Simple Minds track “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” at the end of The Breakfast Club (1985). The Breakfast Club depicts five teenagers  — a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal — confined to high school detention on a Saturday morning. As the day passes, the teenagers open up to each other and realize they face similar problems despite their differences. Hughes included the aforementioned new wave songs in his films to soundtrack the lives of his awkward, unpopular, anxiety-prone, and unquestionably human movie characters.

Long after the reign of Hughes and his like, new wave has continually resurfaced in popular culture. In the 21st century, there is a general theme to these appearances. New wave, overall, continues to be used in negative contexts within film, television, and books. Characters who enjoy new wave music tend to be teenagers, social outcasts, and only interact with other characters who enjoy new wave. 

Donnie Darko (2001) is one of the first prominent examples in this millennium of new wave listeners being represented as misfits. The film is a sci-fi phenomenon, a beloved narrative that chronicles a world-weary Reagan-era teenager as he navigates a parallel universe after he is killed in a freak accident. Jake Gyllenhaal’s tortured teenage soul bicycles solemnly to “The Killing Moon” by Echo & the Bunnymen. He falls in love under the guise of “Head Over Heels” by Tears for Fears, “Under the Milky Way” by the Church, and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division. He despairs over his fate to the tune of “Mad World” by Tears For Fears. 

Three years later, in the romantic comedy 13 Going On 30 (2004), Mark Ruffalo plays a misfit — Matt Flamhaff — who has an undying love for Talking Heads and Jenna Rink, a cute teenager played by Jennifer Garner. In the film, Jenna holds a 13th birthday party where musical tastes clash. Matt’s more hip classmates switch off “Burning Down The House”— Matt’s anthem of choice — and quickly replace it with “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. In a completely non-verbal exchange, Matt is classified as a social pariah. The only context towards this conclusion offered by the film is Matt’s musical preference, indicated by his Talking Heads shirt and his preference for the self-conscious, experimental songs off of Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues (1983) at just 13 years old.

More recently, media services provider and streaming service Netflix has incorporated new wave tracks into its original television shows. Thirteen Reasons Why (2017-present) ends its first season by playing “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division as the show’s characters hop in a car and drive towards the open road (more like Vallejo). Joy Division plays a large role in the show. A character who attempts suicide in the first season, has a Joy Division poster in their room. The second season opens with “Love Vigilantes” by New Order, a group that rose from the ashes of Joy Division after its frontrunner, Ian Curtis, committed suicide. The show is set in the present, yet the characters of the show identify heavily with new wave groups.

Stranger Things (2016-present), another Netflix original, portrays the supernatural goings-on of Hawkins, Indiana during the Reagan era. The youngsters of Stranger Things — think of the crew in Stand By Me (1986) — mourn the presumably dead body of their friend Will Byers to the tune of “Elegia” by New Order. Episodes begin and end with songs like “Nocturnal Me” by Echo & the Bunnymen or “The Ghost In You” by Psychedelic Furs. It makes more sense that Stranger Things utilizes new wave tracks, given that the show takes place at the same time as the rise of new wave. From Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-present) to Riverdale (2017-present), there is an overabundance of millennial shows out there that include new wave hits in their soundtracks. The list goes on and on. 

References to new wave as a way to identify out-of-place characters is not solely restricted to films. Fictional novels from this millenium make noncommittal references to new wave bands to develop characters. When I was 12, I read what was marketed to my age demographic: young-adult teen novels. I saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) movie in seventh grade and immediately rushed to read the book. The characters traded songs by The Smiths and Blondie, a music taste foreign to the rest of their high school. I thought the main character, Charlie, and his friends were cool, but I was noticing a pattern in how fans of The Smiths were portrayed in books. Also, consider Eleanor & Park (2012), where two teenagers growing up in mid-1980s Omaha fall in love and trade mixtapes curated with tracks by Joy Division, The Smiths, XTC, The Cure, and Elvis Costello. 

Seven years later, at the height of last summer’s malaise, I voraciously tore through books like a madman in my excessive free time. I read Otessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018), in which the WASP-y narrator often goes on long tangents about how superior she is to her “best friend.” Upon finding out her friend listened to Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division in high school, the narrator muses, “It made me a little jealous to think of [my friend] being depressed and dependent on anyone but me.” Cruelly, the narrator wonders whether her friend belonged to a social group of “weirdos” socially crippled in some capacity.

To say the least, it is amusing to see a genre that was once the gross underbelly of American subculture enter the periphery of the average consumer’s subconscious. Occasionally, new wave appears in a positive light. Tycoon luxury brand Gucci offers up new wave mixtapes on its official Spotify account. French dream-girl and fashion designer Jeanne Damas adds “Psycho Killer” to her corporate-sponsored playlists. Post Malone — the man whom today’s teenagers believe discovered Ozzy Osbourne — has been photographed in a “Tainted Love” shirt, the dangerously erotic Soft Cell track. Hell, Lily Rose-Depp sports a Sonic Youth shirt once in a while. 

The legacy of new wave continues to persist. As a result of the genre’s heavy association with synthesizers, it is not uncommon for modern pop and hip-hop groups that incorporate electronic elements to borrow motifs and sample from legendary new wave groups. Groups from the new wave era have been sampled and covered by Carla Bruni, Selena Gomez, Yo La Tengo, Rihanna, and everyone in between. New wave has been immortalized as a result of how distinctively it carved a place in music for itself during the early 1980s. New wave still inspires current artists who include upbeat tempos and intelligent lyrics in their repertoire. Contemporary music styles are becoming harder and harder to define as time goes on. Modern musical groups refuse to classify themselves into restrictive genre categories, even at the risk of losing listeners who crave specificity and order. New wave’s experimentalism and social activism exist as templates for 21st century musicians eager to expand their own futuristic exploration among diverse cultures. It is unclear whether new wave’s portrayal in mass media will change as time goes by. Regardless of if new wave will be rendered in a more optimistic light, there is no doubt that new wave will remain deeply enmeshed in popular culture. 

Article by Erika Badalyan