As you probably realized by now, I love music. I’ve sung many new wave and other songs in the karaoke circuit. I even incorporated an impromptu dance routine or three (no videos, but it happened). My little daughter picked up on music pretty early: before she could write her name, she was already chanting the chorus to a Tears for Fears song (you know which one). Then she would recite the choruses of other songs after only several listens. Now granted, she likes other music styles too. While her older cousin introduced her to Taylor Swift, my daughter shakes it off once I put on some of her favorite new wave tracks (whew!).
But I can’t just pick a general new wave playlist, set and forget. One wrong song and I get the stinky eyeball, believe it. Three things reliably predict whether she’ll latch onto a song:
Her go-to band is not a heavy hitter like Police or the Cure, but rather Montreal's own Men Without Hats. Any why not? You’ve got…
Her favorite tracks? Latter ones, like Telepathy (off the criminally underrated return-to-form No Hats Beyond This Point). The chorus, a droning chant of “Internet Killed the Video Star” has her dancing and singing in no time!
She also loves the brand new single In Glorious Days. Doroschuk (at 68) and the gang are not slowing down, She’ll put this one on repeat, gesturing wildly and chomping aggressively to, well, the “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!” attack of the chorus. One time she actually started swing dancing with her brother. Different style, but it looked better than pogo-ing (sorry Ivan!). Wait, how did they learn it?…
Their classic (first two) albums are also a hit - she’ll boogey readily to the faster ones like Antarctica and I Got the Message. Safety Dance is solid by her but not as much -it’s a slower number and the richer synths are not as desirable to her.
My daughter also loves Falco. Here’s why:
My daughter also will dance and bop to Split Enz. It all started when I was playing some of their songs while writing my Australia/New Zealand new wave article. “My goodness”, I said, “she’s actually smiling and dancing to this!” I was pleasantly surprised, in part because vocalist Neil Finn is a tenor through-and-through. She prefers more of Split Enz’ earlier, quirkier numbers (think from True Colors and earlier). And while Neil Finn breaks the baritone rule, it turns out early Split Enz sounds like the inside of a kid’s brain: fast, colorful, and just this side of chaos (just like the album covers to Mental Notes and Second Thoughts. Here are good, overriding reasons she like early Split Enz:
Standouts include Shark Attack, which is basically a playground chant wrapped in new wavy goodness. It has a frenetic but consistent pace. And with just the song title as the chorus, its easy for her to follow. Another good track is Bold as Brass. My daughter really likes the clavinet intro that’s repeated in the choruses, as it sounds much more well, bold, than a usual Stevie Wonder track. The tone of Bold as Brass is playful, mischievous, and slightly chaotic - but never scary. And a quick note on Crosswords form the same album: the verses are partially set to the little kid taunt “na-na-na-na-naaaa-na!” I’d love to have her try more tracks from Dizrythmia, which has a lot more kid-friendly bop than its name indicates.
She’ll press skip on slow-burns like One Step Ahead. Great song, but fair enough. Seeing her love Split Enz makes me think kids secretly crave controlled chaos as much as adults do.
I know what works, but it’s also important to know what doesn’t work. That, and a quick skip-button reflex, will save the day.
Ah, a baritone who leans heavily into vocal hooks. A good fit, right? Wrong. While his unexpected vocal attacks make Idol distinct from other new wavers, my daughter (like most kids) gets jittery with Idol because of them. Phrases like “Why did that man get angry all of a sudden” are uttered. A big offender is his shouting “Flesh!” after calm parts of Flesh for Fantasy, and there’s other examples (Fatal Charm). It’s too bad. But maybe she’d dig his Christmas album…
My favorite band, I’m wounded… but seriously, while LeBon’s tenor is excellent, it doesn’t own the room for kids quite the way Gahan or Doroschuk might. And actually, Duran Duran’s choruses are actually more complicated than people give them credit for - less chant, more swoop. I’ll punt on them, and try again in a few years…
Adam Ant’s vocals (tenor and unexpected turns) work against him here. Sure, he’s got some catchy, dancy numbers, but they take a lot of unexpected turns (even in hit singles like Antmusic). And even his dancier tracks (like Don’t Be Square, Be There) zig when she expects them to zag.
Watching my little daughter react to these songs—sometimes with dancing, sometimes with confusion—reminds me that great pop connects on instinct. And if she alternates between Taylor Swift and Falco, that’s fine. There’s room in her playlist for both. I’ll just keep feeding the New Wave side a little louder.
