Hey, remember those songs from the 1980s that were kind of new wave, but also mainstream and really freaking earnest? I got to thinking about them earlier today when I recalled this song completely out of the blue:
"Birds Fly (A Whisper to a Scream)" by Icicle Works
Many of these bands were one hit wonders, but some were by big-deal performers and were widely embraced by 14-22 year old New Romantics and proto-goths who needed more than Huey Lewis & the News to get them through a few difficult phases. These were the songs that could clear the average middle school dance floor, leaving only the art and theater kids to stand in the middle and dance like their lives depended on it.
In some clear and distinct ways, maybe they did. I mean, if it weren't for this powerfully earnest music, I doubt I'd have ever found my voice or the courage to submit that first poem to the school's "literary magazine" which landed me an editorial position on the student newspaper. After that, if it weren't for the encouragement of my 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Albright, to continue writing those unflinching exposés on adolescent angst and alienation, I'd have never gotten that scholarship to my first choice ivy and become the world-class author that I am today!
No. No wait. None of that happened to me. If memory serves me more accurately, I just liked to wear black and listen to songs that seemed tragic and important. Most of them trafficked in post-apocalyptic themes and reflected the anxieties of the Cold War. I still feel powerfully moved by these songs, even though I realize now they were no more effective at installing world peace than the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Here is a selection of wayward songs of the Earnest Wave. Of course the Smiths and the Cure dominated the genre, but they deserve a whole other post unto themselves.
"Forever Young" by Alphaville
The ultimate Earnest Wave song.
"Russians" by Sting
This genre was accessible to the masses.
"The Great Commandment" by Camouflage
It could veer into something like Sophistipop...
"Cities in Dust" by Siouxie & the Banshees
...or, as we see here, towards the more gothic.
"Send me an Angel" by Real Life
I don't know why this song fits into this list, but it does, so just go with it.
"Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil
Australian earnestness was never so bald.
"99 Luftballons" by Nena
The ultimate in German earnestness.
1 comments:
1.) Except for the one by Midnight Oil, I own every one of these songs.
2.) Oh my effin' G. For weeks I have been struggling to remember the name of Camouflage, and because of my faulty memory, was worried that this important part of my freshman year at college was lost to me forever. Thanks, WCFC!
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