A New Fan of New Wave Music

The older I get the more I have found myself going back to music I used to listen to, or flat out trying music that I never gave a chance in the past. During the pandemic I finally started listening to Talking Heads and now they're one of my favorite bands. I have recently gone back to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I forgot how much I love their album "Howl". I have listened to more Prince lately. I found that, since I like The Beatles, why not give The Zombies and The Kinks a shot, and they both rule.

With this newfound trait to give different music a try, I have found that I have been leaning a bit more on New Wave music. I almost always passed New Wave up because it seemed akin to disco to me, a genre that I'm not all that into. I would see my brothers listening to Depeche Mode and Joy Division and just pass it off as "their" music. I was too busy listening to bad hip hop at that time of my life. But, after seeing that some Talking Heads songs are considered, hell they must be, new wave, I decided to jump in. And I have loved what I have been hearing.

I went online and found a new wave playlist and streamed it. I am really digging the sound. I have heard songs from Blondie, Talking Heads, The Smiths and Depeche Mode. These are songs I already knew, but never really gave a real listen to before. I have really enjoyed what I have heard from these artists. I love the music in the background of "Heart Of Glass". It sounds like a precursor to a ton of music I listen to now. It has a cool blend of pop and hip hop. I adore the song "Just Can't Get Enough". It is groovy and fun to dance and sing along to in the car. The Smiths can be a little preachy, but I do like the guitar in most of their stuff. I have also been introduced to some bands that I had heard of before, but never listened to. I'm glad I'm giving these bands a real chance. I heard The Cars today. I had no idea they sang "Just What I Needed". That song rules and is fun as hell. I also finally listened to XTC today and they are rad. I love their sound. It is a great blend of rock and synth music. The The is another band I was introduced to today and they are cool as hell. They have more of that new wave feel, and I'm here for it. And The Psychedelic Furs seems like the members may be pretentious, but damn do they make some good music.

As I was sitting back and thinking about new wave music today, it dawned on me why I like it so much. New wave is just rock music, maybe a little pop, and then the bands added a synth player. And the synth does some fine work in the songs. It adds a whole new layer to the music. It makes it funkier and easier to dance to while bopping along in my car. I fully understand that new wave may be more of the look of the bands and their lifelong fans, but for me it is all about that synth. It is so cool and it is one of my newfound favorite instruments.

I'm going to go full bore into the world of new wave at this point, so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know who to listen to. I greatly appreciate it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Music is Just One Part of Why "The Bear" is Television Perfection

Last night I finished season two of "The Bear". That show is something special. It is as near perfection as there is on tv today. I know some people do not like that it is all released in one day. I don't care about that. I took a week to watch all ten episodes. You can find a way to watch weekly if that is how you want to consume it. TV is in a streaming age, for better or worse, and we have to adapt as viewers. But, as I stated above, I adore this show. I am not going to review season two today though. I'd rather talk about the music, and how they used it, this season.

I saw some other publication, I cannot remember which one right now, say something about the music, this was before I finished the season, and that was when I started to clock the music this season. It is pretty awesome, and it harkens back to the 90's for me. Growing up in a house with three older brothers, all of which had differing tastes in music, this season of the show brought me back to that time in my life. There is a good amount of REM this season. I am a recent convert of their music, but I know RD has listened to them for a while now. I believe our oldest brother listened to them too. So whenever there was a somber, or even moving moment this season, a song like "Strange Currencies" would start and I would reminisce hearing that song as a pre teen. And it would be used so perfectly in the show. They would play it at pivotal moments. It was the perfect drop in for the perfect scene. They also played an Eddie Vedder song at the end of an episode this season and it moved me. I kid you not, hearing the song and seeing what I just saw, it made me tear up. A show about opening a restaurant took this very good Eddie Vedder tune and used it at the exact proper moment, and it moved me.They used Wilco in this season. A one hit wonder band, Fine Young Cannibals, had the perfect moment to play their hit. Steve Earle was peppered in and out this season. The Pixies would show up and amplify an important scene. The episode dedicated to Richie's moment of realization had this epic Taylor Swift soundtrack, but it was just one song. AC/DC was used for multiple scenes while they were breaking down the old restaurant to build the new one. They used Nine Inch Nails in a very fitting way for a viewer such as myself. They had one of my favorite David Byrne songs, "Glass, Concrete and Stone" playing during a montage that I adored. The end credits for the family Christmas episode had the best button of music with the Weezer song "The Christmas Song". Crowded House was featured. They played some solo George Harrison. The Bodeans had a song in this season. The Replacements, who are criminally underrated, had one of their songs used. Squeeze was there for a hot second. The Psychedelic Furs were featured. The season had some bangers by very famous musicians, but they also brought out some of the coolest, lesser known bands from the late 90's and early 2000's for all of the viewers to hear, and I dug it.

This is a soundtrack I will listen to multiple times. This is a season that when I revisit I will be even more focused on the music and how it is used. This is just another example of what makes this show so damn good. Watch "The Bear" for how great it is. But stay to see the food they make and to hear the excellent music they use. I love it and you will too. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.