A new wave

"I went ahead and shook things up on this thread a little bit" 🤣 🙏

I’m just throwing this out there, maybe a little bit of a wild card for the area, and yeah, that's about it.

I’m admittedly pretty weak when it comes to the historical and musical nuances of this era, so I could really use some help untangling this.

I’m watching a documentary about that period right now, and they mention how The Dirty Theater wasn't exactly fond of the old regime—how they and various other bands were critical of the system—but they don't get very specific about what, exactly, they were protesting against.

Most musicians lean left, and since communism is basically the extreme end of the left spectrum, what was actually bothering them about life in the country back then?

On top of that, I know there were student protests, so I'm wondering: what were the students—who were also largely leftists—actually pushing back against?

I recently watched that documentary *generation 68*, and throughout the entire film, they only mention the cause of their protests ONCE. Some girl on TV said something along the lines of how they liked the social equality provided by the state, but they hated the censorship and the constant surveillance—if I recall correctly.

So, what was the actual grievance of the New Wave musicians and the students during that time?

David Flores68 said:I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this era, both historically and musically, so I could really use some help getting up to speed on this stuff.

I'm watching this documentary about that era right now, and they're mentioning how The Dirty Theater wasn't exactly big fans of the regime back then. They claim this band and that band were always pushing back, but they don't actually get specific about what exactly they were protesting against.

Most musicians lean left, but when you're dealing with communism, there isn't really a "further left" to go. So what exactly was their problem with living in that kind of state?

Besides that, I know there were those student protests back then, so I’m curious—what exactly were the students complaining about? Since they were also pretty much "always left," what was their beef with?

I was watching that generation 68 documentary recently, and honestly, the whole movie only mentions what they were actually protesting against exactly ONCE. Some girl on TV said something along the lines of how they loved the social equality in the country, but the censorship and the surveillance were driving them crazy—if I remember that right.

So, what exactly were those New Wave musicians and college students railing against back then?

That’s just total nonsense—claiming he "didn't like the regime." 🙂 Back when they were dropping their albums in the late 70s, that whole "regime" thing wasn't even really a factor anymore—especially not by the 80s, because by then everything had basically swung wide open with total liberalization. Sure, you’re going to dig through those lyrics and find some critical jabs that people can interpret however they want, but that’s just what punk-rock bands do. That's literally how the roots of The Dirty Theater started. It doesn't matter if you're in an authoritarian state or a parliamentary democracy; punk is always going to have that social edge to it. It's just part of the deal.

The theater is just simple—smart, you have to admit—they basically rode the wave of the US breaking away, positioned themselves as a major brand within that whole context, and honestly, that’s pretty much it.

I mean, we're talking about an anti-establishment band here. 🙂 That probably just goes to show the fact that they recorded the whole Street Hero album over in Sweden, and their previous one, Black and White World, was done in Italy.

It’s such a joke—this whole setup where they let you wander the globe, soaking up inspiration and recording albums, only for some local label like Suzy to swoop in and release it under their thumb. It’s just business as usual for them in this system. 🙂

That’s probably how the whole regime just ended up tearing itself apart from the inside. 🙂

Look, if we actually sit down and look at the songs from black white world and really break down the lyrics, I don't see anything inherently anti-establishment there. It’s just not that deep.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_white_world

David Flores68 said:I’m pretty clueless when it comes to the history and the music from this era, so I could use a little help here.

I’m watching a documentary about that period right now, and they mention how The Dirty Theater wasn't exactly fond of Marshall's regime—basically saying this band or that band was criticizing things—but they don't specify exactly what they were pushing back against.

Most musicians lean left, and since communism is basically the ultimate left-wing stance, what exactly was bothering them about life in that country?

Also, I know there were student protests back then, so I'm wondering: what were the students protesting against, considering they were also mostly leftists?

I recently watched that generation 68 documentary, and throughout the whole film, they only mention the cause of their protests ONCE. Some girl on TV said something along the lines of how they liked the social equality in the country but hated the censorship and surveillance, if I remember correctly.

So, what was the actual beef between the new wave musicians and the students versus the establishment back then?

The students were actually protesting because the regime wasn't "left" enough for them. They mostly followed the Praxis school of thought, which meant critiquing the bureaucratized socialism of the time from an even more radical leftist perspective. They were actually worried that pro-capitalist factions were starting to creep into society.

It’s similar to how Chinese students protested against market reforms rather than fighting for Western-style democracy.

Anthony Carter5 said:Students were rebelling precisely because the regime wasn't leaning far enough to the left for them. For the most part, they were following the Praxis school of thought—essentially critiquing the bureaucratic socialism of the era from an even more radical leftist perspective. They were actually worried about certain pro-capitalist formations starting to emerge within society.

Much like how Chinese students protested against pro-market reforms rather than fighting for some Western-style democracy.

So, what exactly was it that those American students wanted?

David Flores68 said:So, what exactly were those American students looking for?

I don't recall the specific details, but there's a whole section on it in Klasić's book, *America and the World in 1968*.

Hey everyone!
I've been obsessed with music for years, and for the last decade or so, it's been all about New Wave. I've got this idea floating around in my head to put together some kind of chronological timeline of everything that went down during those years. Album releases, big concerts, the key players, major events, blah, blah. I know you can find all this stuff in various books and documentaries already, but I want to try and pull it all into one single spot. Why? For whom? Honestly, I have no clue. 😁 😁

Anyway, my question is—can you guys recommend some good reading material that could serve as a solid foundation for me to get started?

So far, I've got these on hand:
My Life is New Wave - Branko Kostelnik
Lucky Child - Igor Mirković
Imagine Life: New Wave - first generation - Dušan Vesić
Seventh Republic - Ante Perković

I've already read plenty of monographs, autobiographies, and biographies, so I wouldn't want to dive deep into just one specific group or person. I'm looking for something more general that covers the whole musical landscape of that era.

Thanks! 🙂

I couldn't find the specific NEW WAVE section, so I figured I'd just drop it here:

New wave - 40 years later

🙂

Jacob Cruz42 said:I couldn't find a specific NEW WAVE section, so I figured I'd drop this right here:

new wave - first generation - Dušan Vesić seventh republic - 40 years later

🙂

Thanks so much!

I am honestly so excited to sit down and watch this tonight! 😵

...and I really hope this thread finally starts picking up some steam......😛

...or maybe we could just start a fresh "New Wave" thread where we can toss in all the local stuff and anything else that fits the vibe......😁

Jacob Cruz42 said:I couldn't find a specific NEW WAVE section, so I figured I'd just drop this here:

new wave - 40 years later

🙂

Love ya!🙂

Mandić-Best of The Best

Maybe the old-timers know better than I do, but it feels to me like the new wave back home wasn't quite the same thing as the actual new wave out in the rest of the world (England, America ?!??)

To me, our version felt more like a gritty, rocker-heavy punk sound, whereas true new wave was way more driven by those synthesizers. 🤷

redbear12 said:Maybe the old-timers know better than I do, but it feels to me like the new wave here wasn't quite the same thing as the New Wave out in the rest of the world (England, America?!?).

To me, it feels like back home, the new wave had much more of a rocker, punkier edge to it. Meanwhile, "new wave" as a genre felt much more heavily driven by synthesizers. 🤷

The issue starts right here: if you listen to someone discussing the new wave from an American perspective, you often hear them cramming absolutely everything into the category. It happens primarily because they experienced it as this massive "second British invasion," and we all know exactly which one came first.

The official standards from the UK and Europe definitely serve as the primary benchmarks here. But personally, when I’m listening to the heavy hitters of the genre, it feels like the real identity lies within the rhythm section—specifically that interplay between the bass and the drums. It’s really about how those instruments are played; that specific groove is where you truly recognize the style.

Synths can definitely be an extra layer—and they often have been—but they aren't exactly the make-or-break factor here. It’s not quite like, you know, a pure synth-pop approach where everything revolves around them.

Here are some typical examples that come to mind...

1981 - Bol - Stol
1982 - gang of Four - i Love a man in a Uniform
1983 - New Order - age of Consent

Jacob Cruz42 said:I couldn't find a specific NEW WAVE section, so I figured I'd just drop this here:

New Wave - 40 years later

🙂

......and just to briefly touch upon this documentary.....

Kudos to them, really, for marking another anniversary with some fresh footage (interviews with participants and key voices), but after sitting through both parts—it honestly blows my mind that none of the creators (or even the interviewees) realized you can't just limit this to a handful of bands (we all know which ones) instead of broadening the scope a bit.

As it stands, it makes it look like a certain B-52s never even existed (in my opinion, the essential NYC band), and I won't even go into further detail about that.......

This documentary was framed within the context of the old America, rather than just America 😉

So, there probably wasn't enough room, time, or funding to cover the smaller, more niche new wave bands that were scattered all over the former American territory. For instance, you had NYC B-52s, or in Mexico City, you had the group Mexico City with their song T. V. (I found myself waiting for them to show up in the documentary, but they didn't even get a mention... 😎) and so on...

Jacob Cruz42 said:This documentary is framed within the context of America, not America. 😉

So, there probably just wasn't enough room or resources to highlight all those smaller New Wave bands. They were everywhere across the old American territory, too. For instance, you had the NYC B-52s scene, or in NYC, you had the group Mexico City with their track T. V. (I was actually kind of waiting for them to show up in the documentary, but even they didn't get a mention...). 😎It’s just... it really is.

Well... the thing is, I don't think—and I believe many others feel the same way—that one B-52s is any less influential than the other.

On the other hand, I used to have both their single (TV/Dreaming in Color) and that Mexico City group's album, but they were always pure synth-pop through and through. Because of that, I honestly don't think there's a justified place for them in a documentary like this...

redbear12 said:Maybe the old-timers know better than I do, but to me, the new wave back home didn't feel quite the same as the actual new wave overseas (like in England or America?!?)

To my ears, our version was much more about that gritty rocker and punk sound, whereas true new wave leaned way harder into the whole synthesizer vibe. 🤷

In the old territory, Charlot the Acrobat were probably the closest thing to a pure punk sound. But even in England, you had bands like The Stranglers (despite the keyboards), Boomtown Rats, The Jam, or XTC sounding pretty damn punk on their early records.

new wave is the law 😍
Azra, Haustor, Film, EKV, etc

whenever I start thinking about Kulušić and Blue Moon on a Friday night... 🙏

analogbear40 said:......and just to briefly touch upon this documentary.....

I mean, credit where it's due—it’s cool they marked another anniversary using fresh footage (interviews with participants and key folks), but after watching both parts—I honestly can't wrap my head around how none of the creators (or even the interviewees) realized you can't just limit this to a handful of bands (we know which ones)—they should've broadened the scope a bit more.

As it stands, it's like the B-52s never even existed (IMHO, the most vital NYC band), but I won't even go there..........

Exactly.
That first B-52s album is fascinating. Along with Azra's first record and The Dirty Theater's debut, it’s easily some of the most valuable stuff created during that era in the old country.

Jacob Cruz42 said:I couldn't find a specific NEW WAVE section, so I figured I'd just drop this here:

new wave - 40 years later

🙂

Regarding the first part, around the 8:30 mark, Hus is talking—since he was doing production work back then—about how he recorded those first two Azra singles, like North American / what to do.
He mentioned that at first, things with Johnny were collaborative and he’d actually listen to suggestions, but eventually, the communication became pretty one-sided—which, according to Hus, isn't ideal.

I mean, I guess Johnny generally tends toward that one-sided way of communicating.

Now we can just sit around and wait for Štulić's reaction:
- New Wave? That was ME!
Or maybe a rebuttal to Hus's claims:
- It's not true that Hus produced those first two Azra singles; it was me, Johnny, who produced them...🙂
(Or something in that style, anyway.)

And the second part:
YT link