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What
Like the French new wave--or "nouvelle vague"--movies that preceded it in the 1960s, new wave music was spontaneous, personal and dealt with "uncomfortable" themes like alienation. It's hard to pigeonhole new wave music because each band's musical style was different, but lyrically, new wave bands shared a bond of disillusionment and escapism. The lyrics distinguished the genre as much as the androgynous, skinny-tie-sporting look that accompanied it. Unlike punk and disco, which shared radio time with new wave and emphasized either collective overthrow or collective partying, new wavers sang of dark and mysterious worlds that existed in their own minds. Introspection and imagination, often set to irresistible, computerized dance beats, was the heart of new wave music.
Who
Brian Eno, film scorers Giorgio Moroder and Vangelis, and the bands Kraftwerk and Can inspired the synthpop set (Gary Numan, Eurythmics, The Human League), while Siouxie & the Banshees and the Cure took the goth route. The Talking Heads and Bow Wow Wow used African beats to get folks out on the dance floor. Duran Duran and O.M.D. were the "new romantics" of new wave. Blondie used a horn section in addition to synthesizers; her detached, sexy style influenced bands like Elastica. The Go-Go's did a pop thing in the mid-'80s, and Weezer, for one, is doing it today.
When
Approximately 1978-1986. New wave arrived hot on the heels of punk and oftentimes shared its fans; those seeking more aggressive new wave sounds cranked the Pretenders and XTC. The advent of MTV brought new wave out of bedrooms and clubs and onto television screens, spawning a fashion craze and movies with new wave characters, like Samantha in "Sixteen Candles." By the mid-'80s, just about every band on MTV was new wave. The craze began to die down in '84, but was revived in the mid-'90s by bands like Stereolab and St. Etienne.
Etc...
For more new wave than you can shake a synth at, check out New Wave Outpost and New Wave City.
