Synth & Swagger

New wave and '80s music authority

Blondie50 Album Analysis: Plastic Letters

Explore this Synth & Swagger deep dive

New Wave's Specials Sauce

Explore the Specials' groundbreaking blend of Jamaican ska, punk, and new wave through their biggest songs, from "Gangsters" to "Ghost Town." Learn how two influential albums launched Britain's 2 Tone movement and inspired later ska revivalists on both sides of the Atlantic.

Best New Wave Songs of 1984

Explore the best new wave songs of 1984, global hits. Synthpop, and guitar rock reaching new creative heights.

Big On Japan: New Romantic's Missing Link

How did the band Japan become new romantic's missing link? Explore essential 70s & 80s songs that bridged Roxy Music's elegance and the stylish sound of early Duran Duran.

Blondie50: A Deepdive of Their Debut

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Blondie's 1976 debut album with a track-by-track deep dive into the record that bridged CBGB punk and new wave. Explore Debbie Harry's early style, the band's '60s pop influences, and standout songs like X Offender and Rip Her to Shreds.

In Leagues Of Their Own

Before Dare, the Human League sounded radically different. Discover how a little-known 1979 single foreshadowed both Heaven 17's soulful sophistication and Human League Mark II's synthpop breakthrough in the 80s.

Best New Wave Songs of 1983

1983 was a banner year for new wave. From synthpop breakthroughs and MTV-fueled hits to enduring classics by Eurythmics, Men at Work, New Order, and more, discover the songs that defined the genre's peak.

Four Roads to New Wave

Explore how Kraftwerk, Punk, David Bowie, and Roxy Music in the 70s informed different branches of new wave in the 80s, including Human League, Talking Heads, Duran Duran, Ultravox, and more.

2 Big Things Are Better Than 1: Duran Duran

Discover a track-by-track album analysis of Duran Duran's new wave album Big Thing. It brings up musical influences, themes, and the band's bold 1988 evolution.

Best New Wave Songs Featured in Movies

How movies across decades changed the meaning of iconic 70s and 80s new wave songs. From Simple Minds to Yello to the Psychedelic Furs, discover how unforgettable movie scenes transformed songs into shorthand for rebellion, romance, luxury, existential dread and self-acceptance.

Best New Wave Songs of 1982

1982 marked new wave's breakthrough into the mainstream. Explore the year's biggest hits as synthpop, guitar pop, and quirky originals reshaped the rock landscape.

Madness: The Nutty Ones & The Smooth Ones

Ska revivalists Madness are known for their wild, “nutty” energy, but that’s only half the story. This explores six essential songs from their classic late 70s and early 80s era, from the chaos of One Step Beyond and Baggy Trousers to the restraint of Embarrassment.

Best New Wave Collaborations

From duets to creative collisions, explore how new wave artists found synchronicity through 80s collaboration - teaming up to create some of the genre’s most compelling and unexpected moments.

Best New Wave Songs About Home & Family

New wave in the 80s explored what it means to feel at home. From Talking Heads to Depeche Mode, these six songs define home as a place to grow up and have family chaos

Duran Duran Notorious Analysis

Sleek, funky, and quietly defiant, 1986's "Notorious" reinvented Duran Duran. This track-by-track deep dive explores the band’s stripped-down lineup, Nile Rodgers’ influence, and the sharper, more mature new wave sound that still feels overlooked today.

Four Albums, One Way Out

Four modern albums from new wave bands Squeeze, Billy Idol, Joe Jackson, and Men Without Hats form an unexpected emotional arc - from entrapment and survival to catharsis and hope - offering a revealing snapshot of how new wave artists navigate uncertain times.

The Police: Optimists in the Machine

'80s new wave hitmakers the Police often tackled dark themes, but rarely let them overwhelm. Through humor and subtle reframing, they reshaped tension into something manageable. Essential songs to listen to.

Best New Wave Songs of 1981

From the breakthrough of The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” to the noir sleaze of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”, 1981 was a defining year for new wave - blending synth-pop, post-punk edge, and chart ambition into a sound that would shape the '80s. This guide highlights the essential tracks that made it happen.

Most Misunderstood New Wave Songs

Six new wave songs that fool the listener - where melody, imagery, and context mislead and surprise. You’ll never hear these '80s songs the same way again

German New Wave: 1 Scene, 3 Directions

Exploring '80s German new wave through Schilling, Alphaville, and Nena -where cold electronics, cinematic pop, and quirky hooks take shared roots in different directions.

Arcadia, Wild Boys & View to a Kill Analysis

A track-by-track deep dive into 1985's "So Red the Rose" by Arcadia: the Duran Duran side project that traded pop immediacy for atmosphere, and bold experimentation. Explore how LeBon, Rhodes & Roger Taylor made their sound darker & more cinematic - and why this new wave album still fascinates.

Headscratchers 2: More New Wave Weirdness

Six more weird new wave head-scratchers that defy expectations - from absurd B-52s chaos to Depeche Mode’s synth hoedown and Falco’s theatrical excess. Explore the strange detours and identity shifts that made these 80s songs unforgettable.

Elvis. Costello, that is.

Elvis Costello’s '70s songs rarely mean what they seem. A look at the anger, ’50s influences, and clever misdirection behind his first three, essential new wave albums.

Best New Wave Songs of 1980

The year new wave truly exploded. Discover the best new wave songs of 1980: from synth-driven hits to genre-bending classics that reshaped rock music.

Blondie: Parallel Styles

In the '70s and '80s new wavers Blondie moved effortlessly between punk, girl-group pop, disco, and global sounds. See how with essential songs, while keeping a distinct core identity.

A Tale of Two Ultravoxes

Synthpop band Ultravox didn’t just change singers, but also its blueprint. Explore how John Foxx’s '70s detached, dystopian minimalism contrasts with Midge Ure’s '80s emotional, cathedral-sized anthems across tone and scale. Essential songs for each singer

Headscratchers: Weird New Wave Songs

Some new wave songs are catchy. Others make you wonder what was in the studio air. Revisit the weirdest of the '70s and '80s - opera rap, pirate hip-hop, crying guitars, and more.

Best New Wave Songs About Technology

From Cars to Television Man, five new wave songs of the '70s and '80s where cars and screens become tools of isolation: long before smartphones existed.

Back to the Present: Bands with New Wave Flair

New wave never disappeared - it evolved. Explore how 2020s artists like Chappell Roan, Yard Act, Magdalena Bay, and Nation of Language carry '80s emotional DNA forward.

Best New Wave Songs of 1979

Discover the best new wave songs of 1979 - a list of iconic tracks from the Cars, Joe Jackson, the B-52s, the Buggles and more that defined the sound of the year.

The Omega A-Ha Moment

Was A-Ha the late '80s bookend of new wave? A look at the essential albums Hunting High and Low, Scoundrel Days, and Stay on These Roads - restraint, tension, and cinematic scale.

New Wave’s Los Angeles (Sprawl & Silence)

See how Los Angeles shaped new wave through Wall of Voodoo, Berlin, and the Motels - capturing sprawl, façades, and isolation inside the city in the '80s.

Duran Duran Seven and the Ragged Tiger Analysis

A track-by-track deep dive into 1983's "Seven and the Ragged Tiger": explore how Duran Duran’s third album balanced new wave ambition with world-spanning sessions, chart-topping hits, and internal tensions.

B-52s: Do Call It a Comeback

Explore new wavers B-52s’ remarkable comeback: how tragedy and creative risk-taking reinvented sound turned the Athens new wave oddballs into late-’80s hitmakers with Cosmic Thing and other essential songs.

Duran Duran Album Deepdives

Explore the definitive Duran Duran Album Deep-Dive Series: from their stylish 1981 debut and global breakout Rio to creative detours, reinventions, and the sleek late-’80s grooves of Notorious and Big Thing.

After the Backlash: '90s New Wave Producers

See how new wave lived on through producers in the '90s: from Trevor Horn to Ric Ocasek and beyond. They shaped major albums even after the genre faded at the end of the '80s.

Best New Wave Songs of 1978

Explore the 1978 breakthrough year of new wave with five essential songs: from Blondie’s Heart of Glass to Talking Heads’ energetic Take Me to the River.

Best New Wave Songs About Starting Over

Discover new wave’s take on starting over: how '80s songs by Squeeze, Eurythmics, INXS, and more frame fresh starts as escape, release, and change rather than spectacle.

Best New Wave Songs About Winter

Explore winter through seven '80s and '90s new wave tracks that capture cold as mood and metaphor from icy synths to emotional freeze frames that go beyond holiday cheer

Duran Duran Rio Album Analysis

A track-by-track deep dive into "Rio": explore how Duran Duran’s 1982 album avoided the sophomore slump, sparked MTV fame, and blended new romantic energy with artful songwriting and iconic videos.

Depeche Mode: Broken Synths to Black Cathedrals

Explore Depeche Mode’s transformation through their essential songs: from '80s raw synth beginnings to global synthpop icons in the '90s, weaving darkness, devotion, and sonic reinvention.

Missing Persons' Neon Zappa Origins

Explore, with essential songs, how Missing Persons fused Frank Zappa-trained virtuosity with Los Angeles' neon new wave in the '80s, influencing MTV sound and even future acts like Duran Duran.

Best New Wave Christmas Songs

Celebrate a new wave Christmas with synth-tinged, bittersweet ’80s holiday tracks — from Wham!’s Last Christmas to Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Israel.

Best Covers of New Wave Songs

Discover how unexpected artists like Tom Jones and Eddie Vedder reinvent '70s and '80s new wave classics like Burning Down the House in inventive covers.

Raising a Small New Wave Fan

Watch a young new wave fan take shape as dad shares how songs from Men without Hats, Falco, and Split Enz get little ones loving ’80s new wave songs.

Tears for Fears’ Arc: Hurt to Healing

Explore Tears for Fears’ emotional arc in the '80s and '90s: from the primal trauma of The Hurting through cathartic new wave anthems and healing reflections across their classic albums.

Best New Wave Songs That Are Covers 2

Discover five surprising new wave covers - from the Flying Lizards’ Money to Kim Wilde’s You Keep Me Hangin’ On - where ’80s acts reinvented classics.

The Cars’ Road from Jangle to Gloss

Take a five-album tour through the Cars’ evolution: from '70s jangly power-pop roots to '80s glossy synth-fused new wave hits like You Might Think.

Duran Duran Debut Album Analysis

A track-by-track deep dive into Duran Duran’s self-titled 1981 debut: how their blend of synth, dance rhythms, and new wave style on tracks like Sound of Thunder and Girls on Film helped define their early sound.

Del Shannon: Proto-Depeche Mode?

Explore how Del Shannon’s use of the Musitron synth and minor-chord melancholy in the '60s foreshadowed new wave’s electronic heart and influenced acts like Depeche Mode in the '80s and '90s.

I Smell a Boomtown Rat

Explore how Ireland's Boomtown Rats used new wave energy and social commentary in the '70s and '80s. Essential songs like I Don’t Like Mondays blend catchy hooks with dark, provocative themes.

Best New Wave Songs About Work, Jobs & Labor

Explore how ’80s new wave bands like XTC, Devo, and the Police turned office life and factories into unforgettable songs

Cyndi Lauper: Girls Just Wanna Bend Time

Explore Cyndi Lauper’s new wave impact, from her Queens roots to Girls Just Want to Have Fun and three essential ’80s albums that defined her rise.

Best New Wave Songs About Other Musicians

Explore how new wave artists sang about each other in the '80s and beyond - from the B-52s’ tribute to Debbie Harry to Billy Idol’s self-mythologizing tracks.

Which New Waver Are You? 3 Archetypes

Discover which '80s new wave archetype fits you: punchy Power Pop & Skinny Tie Brigade to quirky Art-Pop Eccentrics and glamorous New Romantic Synthpop stars.

The Howard Jones Sutras (Synthpop Meets Zen)

Discover four essential “sutras” in Howard Jones’s music that blend '80s synthpop warmth with mindfulness and optimism, showing how his songs offer emotional insight and Zen.

Best New Wave Halloween Songs

Explore new wave’s spooky side with eerie '80s tracks by Duran Duran, the Cure, Oingo Boingo, and more: perfect songs for your Halloween dancefloor.

New Wave Fempowerment

Enhanced for members

Explore how the Pretenders, the Go-Go’s, and Eurythmics redefined female empowerment in new wave in the '80s: from Chrissie Hynde’s grit to Annie Lennox’s command.

Post-Punk vs New Wave: Shadows and Shimmers

Explore the contrast between post-punk’s brooding mood and mainstream new wave’s glamour in the '80s by comparing bands like the Cure, Joy Division, Duran Duran, and Blondie.

Canada Rides the New Wave

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Looking at Canada’s vibrant '80s new wave scene: from Toronto clubs to Montreal art basements, through influential acts like Martha and the Muffins and Men Without Hats.

Squeeze: New Wave’s Literate Hitmakers

With their classic albums, explore how Squeeze’s Difford and Tilbrook turned sharp, witty narratives and melodic hooks into some of new wave’s most literate and enduring songs in the '70s and early '80s.

Best New Wave One-Hit Wonders

Explore new wave one-hit wonders like Safety Dance, Break My Stride, and Tarzan Boy, unpacking why these '80s tracks became timeless singles.

Oceania Wave: Split Enz, Men at Work & INXS

Explore how Australasia’s new wave scene - from Split Enz and Men at Work to INXS - turned local swagger into global style and memorable hooks in the '70s and '80s.

Modern Songs That Sound Like New Wave Classics

Explore five modern songs - from Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack to Dua Lipa’s Break My Heart - that sound inspired by ’80s new wave melodies, rhythms, and riffs.

New Wave’s Secret Ancestry

Discover how minority voices shaped new wave’s sound and spirit in the '80s: from Adam Ant’s Romani roots to Oingo Boingo’s Latino rhythms and culture.

Thomas Dolby Didn’t Just Do Science

See how Thomas Dolby’s first four albums go beyond quirky '80s synthpop science. His essential songs blend satire, sorrow, and sci-fi noir to reveal the depth behind his pioneering sound.

New Wavers Embracing the 2000s Revival

Explore the 2000s new wave comebacks  - how the new wave revival brought the sound back into fashion and boosted '80s icons like Duran Duran.

New Wave Evil Twins: Wicked and Tame

New wave '80s hit songs like Don’t You Want Me and Tainted Love, alongside their edgy evil twins. Deep cuts that twist mood, theme, and sound in unsettling ways.

Local New Wavers: Chicago, LA & Minneapolis

Uncover six under-the-radar new wave bands from Chicago, LA, and Minneapolis whose underground sounds captured the genre’s quirky DIY spirit and inventiveness in the '70s and '80s.

Gay & Queer in New Wave

Explore the gay and queer influence in new wave music, from queer icons and club culture to songs like Johnny Are You Queer? that reshaped identity and expression in the ’80s.

Best New Wave Summer Songs

Explore new wave’s sun-soaked side through '80s hits like Katrina & The Waves’ Walking on Sunshine and Bananarama’s Cruel Summer, where synths meet summer vibes.

Synthpop - How It's Different From New Wave

Learn how synthpop’s electronic sound and hypnotic rhythms set it apart in the '80s from broader new wave like Blondie and the Cars in this deep style comparison.

Best New Wave Deep Cuts ('79 to '81)

Unearth under-the-radar new wave tracks from 1979 to 1981. Think deep cuts by the Cars, Depeche Mode, Human League, and more.

New Wave & Music Videos - Like PB and J!

Explore new wave’s most iconic '80s music videos, from Talking Heads’ Once in a Lifetime to A-Ha’s Take On Me, and how visuals shaped the genre on MTV.

Best New Wave Songs That Are Covers

Discover new wave hits that were actually covers. Like Soft Cell’s Tainted Love and Blondie’s The Tide Is High, and how they became ’80s classics.

New Wave’s 2nd Wind: A Revivalist Guide

Explore how Franz Ferdinand, the Killers, and the Bravery helped revive new wave’s '80s sound in the 2000s and kept its spirit alive.

More Talking, More Head

Explore the influence of new wave's Talking Heads in the '70s and '80s - from quirky art-rock beginnings to iconic songs like Psycho Killer and Once in a Lifetime.

Falco: Vienna in a Tux

Discover Austrian new wave pioneer Falco: with essential songs like Der Kommissar and Rock Me Amadeus, his quirky rap-infected stylings and place in ’80s music history.

Rock Hall Nominees: Who Gets in?

Our expert look at the 2025 Rock Hall of Fame nominees - comparing '80s new wave artists Cyndi Lauper, Billy Idol & Joy Division/New Order on hits, influence, and Hall odds.

Women in New Wave: Weymouth, Lauper * More

See how women like Debbie Harry, Tina Weymouth, the Go-Go’s, and Cyndi Lauper reshaped new wave and '80s music, expanding its sound, style, and cultural impact.

Best New Wave Cold War Songs

Explore how new wave’s sound captured Cold War anxiety, with tracks like Nena’s 99 Luftballons and Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Two Tribes echoing '80s nuclear tension.

New Wave Aesthetics: an A to Z

Explore new Wave aesthetics from A to Z - how '80s style, fashion, and visual flair defined the look of a genre that was as bold and quirky as the music itself.

Devo meets Oingo Boingo: 2 Paths to Weird

A head-to-head look at Oingo Boingo and Devo - two distinct '80s new wave innovators - exploring their styles, influences, and contributions.

What is New Wave, Anyway?

A concise guide to what new wave music is - its origins, sounds, and key characteristics - so you understand the genre’s identity and impact beyond the '80s.