The Lost Tribe
The Original "New Wave," Lost to History
About fifty years ago, there was a tribe of mostly young people. Born in the 1950s and early 1960s, they had vague memories of a simpler time. AM radio was their language, and it was filled with tight and punchy songs that made one feel great to be alive. Sadly, those times were no more. AM gave way to FM. Three-minute sonic bomb blasts had given way to freeform extended instrumental jams, pseudo-highbrow poetry, and a belief that all music should aspire to be Serious Art. That which didn’t was derided as “bubblegum,” fit only for children and thick teenyboppers.
Said tribe remembered how good the AM radio made them feel. They slowly came to realize that they actually preferred the old ways to this newfound “artistic freedom.” Those with musical chops found an axe to grind. With only drums, electric guitars, and simple keyboards, they aggressively reclaimed the music of their younger years. Only this time, they did it with a fury, playing harder and faster songs with more lyrical street smarts. Though often keeping with the spirits of old, these young troubadours were called many names, usually New Wave or Punk.
This New Wave was the sound of a youthful underground until one day, men with the moolah realized that they, like white men in Hammersmith Palais, could make a fortune selling rebellion for money. But first, changes had to be made.
Young and rebellious musicians were told to stop sounding like their joyous past. Everything must sound totally new. Swap those twangy guitars for synthesizers. Add cavernous reverb to those drums. Remove the frets from the electric bass and add a fifth string. “This is the nineteen eighties,” the money men loudly chided, “not the bloody ‘sixties!”
New Wave became popular with the masses, but few truly understood the original concept. Rather than back-to-the-basics Rockers, average John and Jane Doe perceived the movement as androgynous musicians with synthesizers. The tribe would soon be eclipsed and mostly forgotten.
Soon, the tribe was mostly assimilated into the money machine. A few deviants held out. They kept their songs and hair short and their guitars jangly. They and their disciples never lost the faith, clear into the 21st century. Hail Elvis, Bruce, Graham, Chrissie, and Joe! Move deeper underground. It’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll!