late 70s new wave classic rock

(I may be lumping more power pop in with my new wave, though.)

sort of feel like The Motels are the most perfect example of this thing

Yeah, not a bad call.

first Motel album at least

I was just thinking The Motels too

lots of Stiff records related stuff is this kind of stuff, i think?

English Boys / Working Girls era Deaf School

http://youtu.be/ujylEBjZOlU

Clive Langer and the Boxes:

http://youtu.be/ISSH8wX1ECE

Head East--Never Been Any Reason fits this perfectly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEkWa96pBkw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V88yyayq6AY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb-2gFO1uUc

Men At Work's first couple of records perhaps?

Tuff Darts

Oh and maybe some early/mid period Nits records would suit.

Oh man, Sniff'nThe Tears totally.

Doll by Doll were maybe too much their own thing, but I guess some of their music might fit here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSajH3ijMgQ

The Brains - Money Changes Everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLWbp3w2eqM

beat me to it!

'82, but may be what you're looking for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRI_02EOsyI

Also in searching for that I found an NJ cover band from 1983:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXKsIFLfB64

This is 80s, but it still fits. Translator--Everywhere That I'm Not

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEwwc1Vovkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XdaYYQZesY

Hawkwind had always been synth-y, but this was like they decided to be Sparks for 3 1/2 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFPLgGWMndc

Looking at that clip makes me wish Marc Bolan had lived long enough to have gone full New Wave.

I don't know how new wave Mad Love was in the long run, but Ronstadt absolutely nailed "Party Girl."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxJib9v0buk

Wait, "Never Been Any Reason" was number TWO FREAKING HUNDRED in the classic rock poll??? That's wrong by an order of magnitude.

(1981 technically)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rEVVAw3-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVpSoj-kHEU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17rt_xo9x0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0xwSp1HVRE

it's from the early 80s but what about greg kihn's break up song?

so was Trans the apex or nadir of this stuff?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om2Lt94Ltw4

Arlyn Gale. Kinda dumb song/video & maybe not classic rock enough, but look at this fuckin guy. Also Omar Hakim is on drums!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkVW-y1pbME

Gotta post some dB's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWN-adiDNtM

and the Mystery Dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTS09Wo1xhI

Random Hold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRFKRHa9ky0

Wait, "Never Been Any Reason" was number TWO FREAKING HUNDRED in the classic rock poll???

I think that song only got played on FM in the midwest. It was never on NY
radio. Too bad, because it's a masterpiece.

The Plugz would fit I think, although it's been a while since I heard any records.

Loved the Plugz I could find, but did they use keyboards? Mostly remember stomping beats and Tito's wail. For crate digging, try 15-60-75 The Numbers Band's Among The Wandering, in there between Graham Parker & The Roumour and a really butch Huey Lewis and The News, esp. on tracks like "High Heels Are Dangerous."
But not to forget the obvious, overlooked since this thread's original references: Blondie.
Parallel Lines and Eat To The Beat were the ones I've played the hell out of; s/t debut is good too, in a tres-garage-y way, though they're better w bigger production; Best of Blondie is handy car disc and has some remixes;Essential Blondie: Picture This Live has shows from their prime; No Exit is an unusually strong come-back album, though I've neglected it.

"Rumour," that is (jeez)

I don't think I knew "Never Been Any Reason" before I moved to Europe in the late 90s. (was east coast US before then).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMNU7yR1Gp8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yRRqxJHQmA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pFdkkjGiEs

'The Yachts' fit right into the original descrip.

the Knack?

the Cars pwn this thread

is it just me or has every youtube link in this thread vanished into copious white space?

you can still access the links (though some of the videos have been deleted) if you view this thread with images turned off

i.e. if you go to Preferences and uncheck "show images"

donnie iris to the rescue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH5Arbm47IQ

^_^

seeing that video after having known the song from childhood was quite a shock
there was definitely a time when i thought this song was by the cars (i was a child, going by ears only bc radio)
for me it has that rock/new wave sound + fire/desire hilarious lyrics

wow, that is a good one - total sub-Cars and a hilariously shitty video too!

My friend does a '80s Rock video TwitchStream every Saturday night. Tonight my socks were knocked off by Heart's 1980 B-52's move "Break" (see what they did there?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygM6rQebOoM

Not sure if the promo vid is up. It's a cheapie performance clip on a white set with Nancy rocking some tight tartan trousers.

I think this thread is mainly looking for power pop bands that embraced synths. Only thing I can really suggest is the band 20/20 and their self titled debut album.

There was another thread strictly about Classic Rock bands and their New Wave moves, but this thread's been revived more often.

There were a couple of really good examples of what this thread was really about in that TwitchStream; I'll DM my friend to see what they were, as I didn't take good enough notes.

This is waaay too late, but HOLY FUCK at this Devo/B-52's move by...Styx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx2xB4CJj5U

More early Oingo Boingo than B-52s IMO. Terrible either way.

I forget that Oingo covered a lot of the same junk culture territory the B's did.

Of course the song is terrible, but of all the dinosaur bands to go out the New Wave window, was not expecting STYX to commit so fully (was one of their final singles before the first breakup, a studio bait track on a double live set).

of all the dinosaur bands to go out the New Wave window, was not expecting STYX to commit so fully

It's kind of amazing the other four guys didn't just back Dennis DeYoung into a corner and beat his ass whenever he brought one of these stupid faux-Broadway ideas in.

“Music Time” is my all-time favorite “sorry bout the last album!” single

There's a couple of songs on the Woman Love LP (1980) by Burton Cummings that fit this: "Feels All Wrong" and maybe "Mile a Second". The rest is the typical ballads and 50s style rockers.
In my defence, I found this record in a box on the street with no cover.

1983, but still, how many of Mitch’s contemporaries could cover Prince this well?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOy8oT20qs

xhuxk's essay pertains:

https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2021/06/11/150-best-albums-of-1979/

I have an obsession with this genre / period...and had forgotten all about this! Not an obscurity - I remember this from the radio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK4zm7SLvbk

That's great, sounds as if La Düsseldorf is his backing band!

It's most probably Midge Ure?

Yep, Midge Ure. Wikipedia also says this was used as the TOTP theme song for 5 years:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Pearl_(song)

1984, but...NEW WAVE RONNIE MILSAP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiim9sVWWXA

Herve is that you?

Belated thanks for that Ronnie Milsap video, unbelievably, wonderfully, over-the-top 80s.

Yes, everything about it is deeply of its moment. If it was indeed the first country video played on MTV, they checked every single box for a veteran act’s makeover.

Good faux-Cars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVrILDo5CZg

Clocks: "She Looks Alot Like You", 1982

Not quite 1970s (1980) and never played on classic rock stations afaik, but I've always had a soft spot for Gary Myrick's "She Talks in Stereo." I saw him back then for like a dollar for some low-admission record label promotion night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKhmK_sD2uo