New Music (music industry)
Encyclopedia
New Music was an umbrella term
used by the music industry and by music journalists in the United States, primarily during 1982 and 1983 to describe music acts who had come to commercial success in the United States through the cable music channel MTV
. It was a pop music
and cultural phenomenon in the United States associated with the Second British Invasion
.
During 1976 and 1977 there was a punk rock
music explosion in the United Kingdom
. In its wake the New Wave
and post-punk
genres emerged informed by a desire for experimentation, creativity and forward movement. As the 1980s began a number of these musicians desired to broaden these movements to reach a more mainstream audience. Out of this desire came a technologically oriented music that hid its less commercial and experimental aspects underneath a pop
shell. From 1981 to 1983 music journalists began to replacing the term "New Wave" with New Romantic
and New pop in Great Britain, and talk about "New Music" in America. Unlike in Great Britain, attempts prior to 1982 to bring New Wave and music video
to American audiences had brought mixed results. During 1982 New Music acts began to appear on the charts in the United States and clubs there that played it were packed. In reaction to New Music Album Oriented Rock radio stations doubled the amount of new acts they played and the format "Hot Hits" emerged. By 1983 New Music acts such as Duran Duran
, Culture Club
, and Men at Work
were dominating the charts and creating an alternate music and cultural mainstream. Annie Lennox
and Boy George
were the two figures most associated with New Music.
Many New Music acts were danceable, had an androgynous look, emphasized the synthesizer and drum machines, wrote about the darker side of romance, and were British. New music acts rediscovered Rockabilly
, Motown, Ska
, Reggae
and merged it with African rhythms to produce what was described as a "fertile, stylistic cross-pollination". The term "New Music" was also used to describe New Wave acts such as Elvis Costello
and the Pretenders
and American MTV stars such as Michael Jackson
. Stephen Holden
of the New York Times wrote at the time that New Music was more about its practitioners then the their sound. Teenage girls and males that had grown tired of traditional "phallic" guitar driven rock embraced New Music.
Criticism of New Music emerged from both supporters of traditional rock and newer experimental rock. These critics looked at New Music as pro corporate at expense of rock music's anti-authoritarian tradition. Critics believed New Music's embrace of synths and videos were ways of covering in many cases lack of talent. Rock Journalist Simon Reynolds
noted homophobic elements in the criticism occurring at the time. Richard Blade
a disc jockey at Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM
speaking of the late 1980s said "You felt there was a winding-down of music. Thomas Dolby
's album had bombed, Duran
had gone through a series of breakups, the Smiths
had broken up, Spandau Ballet
had gone away, and people were just shaking their heads going, 'What happened to all this new music?' "
Umbrella term
An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...
used by the music industry and by music journalists in the United States, primarily during 1982 and 1983 to describe music acts who had come to commercial success in the United States through the cable music channel MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. It was a pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and cultural phenomenon in the United States associated with the Second British Invasion
Second British Invasion
The term Second British Invasion refers to British music acts that became popular in the United States during the 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV...
.
During 1976 and 1977 there was a punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music explosion in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In its wake the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
genres emerged informed by a desire for experimentation, creativity and forward movement. As the 1980s began a number of these musicians desired to broaden these movements to reach a more mainstream audience. Out of this desire came a technologically oriented music that hid its less commercial and experimental aspects underneath a pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
shell. From 1981 to 1983 music journalists began to replacing the term "New Wave" with New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
and New pop in Great Britain, and talk about "New Music" in America. Unlike in Great Britain, attempts prior to 1982 to bring New Wave and music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
to American audiences had brought mixed results. During 1982 New Music acts began to appear on the charts in the United States and clubs there that played it were packed. In reaction to New Music Album Oriented Rock radio stations doubled the amount of new acts they played and the format "Hot Hits" emerged. By 1983 New Music acts such as Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
, and Men at Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
were dominating the charts and creating an alternate music and cultural mainstream. Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
were the two figures most associated with New Music.
Many New Music acts were danceable, had an androgynous look, emphasized the synthesizer and drum machines, wrote about the darker side of romance, and were British. New music acts rediscovered Rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, Motown, Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and merged it with African rhythms to produce what was described as a "fertile, stylistic cross-pollination". The term "New Music" was also used to describe New Wave acts such as Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
and the Pretenders
Pretenders
Pretenders may refer to:* Pretenders , a rock band**Pretenders , the 1980 debut album by the group* Pretenders , a 1972 British television series...
and American MTV stars such as Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
of the New York Times wrote at the time that New Music was more about its practitioners then the their sound. Teenage girls and males that had grown tired of traditional "phallic" guitar driven rock embraced New Music.
Criticism of New Music emerged from both supporters of traditional rock and newer experimental rock. These critics looked at New Music as pro corporate at expense of rock music's anti-authoritarian tradition. Critics believed New Music's embrace of synths and videos were ways of covering in many cases lack of talent. Rock Journalist Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
noted homophobic elements in the criticism occurring at the time. Richard Blade
Richard Blade
Richard Blade is a popular Los Angeles radio, television, and film personality from Torquay, England. He is best known for his radio programs that feature New Wave and Popular music from the 1980s...
a disc jockey at Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
speaking of the late 1980s said "You felt there was a winding-down of music. Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
's album had bombed, Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
had gone through a series of breakups, the Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
had broken up, Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
had gone away, and people were just shaking their heads going, 'What happened to all this new music?' "