Choose your fave Futurist/New Wave/New Romantic band. If you want, provide an explanation as to why you like them or discuss which songs are exemplary of their particular repertoire :)

The Pet shop Boys

I loved more Pet Shop Boys songs than any of the others even Duran Duran. The only other group there that really stands out is Tears for Fears but they had no where near as many hit songs aas the other two I mentioned.

I totally agree with Recker. For me the Pet Shop Boys are one of the best bands from the 80's. The voice of Neil Tennant is instantly recognisable and it is a perfect foil for Chris Lowes music. My favourites from this Band are:

80's
Left to my own devices

West End Girls

Domino Dancing

Alright


90's
I wouldnt Normally do this kind of thing

Can you forgive

Single Bilingual

New York City Boy


Good Thread!!!

Kraftwerk - since they had defined the genre of electronic music even when they hadn't used electronic instruments back then (in the late 60s, FYI).
Without this group, a lot of bands may had chosen Neil Diamond as a reference for their future works. :lol:

My vote goes to The Pet Shop Boys as well. Duran Duran would be second to the list, but like Recker and Prefab pointed out, they had some great songs in the 80's and even some in the 90's, that I liked slightly better than Duran Duran.

Tears for Fears also stands out, and I also like Depeche Mode too.

Actually this Poll was easy for me~Depeche Mode/Martin L. Gore gets my vote. ;)

Kraftwerk!! They were the inovaters. Who could forget their "ahead of the time" hit in 1976 "Autobahn", If you didn't know, you'd swear that song was 80's. If not for Kraftwerk you may not have any of the other artists on this poll. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the groups listed but Kraftwerk is my favorite.

I was a huge Duran Duran fan! Powerstation was good, but i only liked them because of John Taylor. :)

My vote goes to Tears for Fears. I loved them! :thumb:

I voted for Japan! Yay! I was going to go with Depeche Mode, but I knew Japan was not going to get many votes - or any at all. They're all great bands, first off, so my voting for Japan/David Sylvian is not a reflection of how I don't like the others. I love all those bands. I was reminded I did not add OMD, Spandau Ballet, The Sparks, Oingo Boingo, Devo, XTC, Talk Talk, ABC, et cetera. I suppose they would go under "Other" and it's a shame since I view them on the same level.

Anyway, why did I vote for Japan even though I consider Depeche Mode the be-all, end-all of all Futurist bands? Because I think they brought the artform to its height and had a major, major influence on other bands as to how they should sound and look - having taken direct influence from David Bowie and Roxy Music themselves. I think it is a shame they recorded for a brief time (1978-1982) and decided to split up. Depeche Mode holds a special spot for me, but, objectively, Japan had the best songs of the genre. I would go insofar as to state that they had the best album of the genre with Gentlemen Take Polaroids; recorded in 1980, not even a year after their 1979 release - Quiet Life - they mastered and set the standard as to what the style is. Exemplary songs: "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" and "Methods Of Dance" (the song "Quiet Life" was a prototype for the latter!)...

Dang it! I just thought of Kraftwerk! They are really good too. Hmmm. I'll keep Japan as my choice, though, since their sound is smoother and they were the first ones in the group to look the way they did (skinny ties rule!).

I voted for Duran Duran.

This was tough for me, because I liked most of those choices, but I went with "other", because I wanted to vote for Talk Talk. Their music is totally fantastic, plus their spin off projects (.O.Rang, Mark Hollis and Beth Gibbons and Rustin' Man, who is Talk Talk's Paul Webb) are great too. If "other" wasn't a choice I'd pick Ultravox!/Ultravox/Midge Ure.

Even though I like almost all of the bands on the list, my vote goes to Duran Duran. They are my most favorite group and have been a fan for over 20 years now.

My vote would have to go with the band, Tears For Fears.

My vote went to Erasure/Yazoo/Robert Marlow, although I love every single one of them my vote was based on sentimentality. Only You by Yazoo and Always by Erasure are super special songs to me.

It was a hard choice, but I went with the Pet Shop Boys as I own more albums of theirs than all of the others.

Helllloooo......where's The Human League in this equation??:hammer: They would have to be one of the forefront bands of the 'Futurist' genre, no? There's my vote anyways..Phil Oakey and the girls!

I'd vote for New Order. Their Substance collection is one of the best collection of songs available. Pet Shop Boys would be second. Erasure and Depeche Mode come in close behind them, but I actually owned several New Order and Pet Shop Boys disks in my time.

I'm a new waver through & through and I love all of these bands. But Duran Duran have been my favorite band for most of my life. They have my vote here, no question.

spot on djdaffy...kraftwerk

Kraftwerk were definitely the innovators, though it would be difficult to call them the best of the 80's - a bit like asking for your favorite rock'n'roll band of the 80's and choosing elvis! I agree with the pet shop boys, with ultravox and japan coming a close second. Interesting though, no mention of gary numan & tubeway army?!?

Hmm choices choices

Kraftwerk, the inventors themselves.
Japan, Quiet Life
Ultravox! Hiroshima Mon Amour or John Foxx - Underpass (god that sounded scary and bleak at the time!)
Visage, Fade to Grey
Depeche Mode, Sadly didn't get into top gear untill after Vince left
Duran Duran First LP, Star! 2nd, arty pop, after that, faltering.
The Eurythmics, The Garden and Sweet Dreams are both worthwhile LPs

Chuck in

Human league Circa 'Sound of the Crowd'
Gary Numan, Down in the Park
and many others (mainly no hits wonders!)

I suppose i'll have to go for other, just nothing for it, despite Ultravox!/Ultravox/John Foxx/Midge Ure being proberbly the most complete body of work i own.

Where's NEW ORDER?!?! I mean c'mon :rant: :bs: :dammit:

PSB gets my vote. Loved them since .. well.. forever! PSB have never failed to put out great hits. Bilingual was the best PSB album i ever bought [i don't count greatest hits cause it's not fair]. When 'Miracles' came out in 2003, that song blew me away it was sooo good. I'd finally found a PSB song that i can honestly say is their best!

Kraftwerk. They were the most innovative & unique. Also, they are probably one of the most influential bands of all time. Think I'll go dig out one of the albums now. Great Poll!

:thumb:

The Pet Shop Boys got my vote

Believe it or not, it was not an easy choice as I am a big fan of many of those groups. But in the end, big suprise, I had to vote for Ultravox.

Wow, I didn't think the outcome would be like that..... A lot of those bands are great!!!! But I had to go with my favorite band of all TIME EVER, Erasure!!!! I think Vince Clarke is one of the most innovative musicians and producers of all time, and I've been a fan of all his many varied projects. I guess what seperates Erasure from MOST of the other bands (except for maybe Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, and Duran Duran) is their longevity and ability to keep making new and original innovative music that can't simply be lumped in with a particular style.

But that's just my two cents!!! :thumb:

Where's NEW ORDER?!?! I mean c'mon :rant: :bs: :dammit:



Good point... New Order/Joy Division are definitely up there with Kraftwerk as one of the most influential bands in all of music... Joy Division defined the post punk movement, and Factory Records forever changed music in a 7 year span.

Erasure! I still buy their albums! My top favorite Erasure song was not release in the 80's but in the 90's... 'Always' :)

Depeche Mode/Martin L. Gore :thumb:

I like most of bands here , but gave Depeche Mode the vote :)

My vote went to Ultravox, but not the Midge period. John Foxx and John Foxx solo.

Several good bands in this poll. It would be hard to choose.

But my alltime Futurist/New Wave/New Romantic fave is not listed: the FIXX.

I choose PSB... just because, they are the ones...

I picked Erasure but yeah, where's New Order???? :mad:

Duran Duran... John Taylor :drool:

for me it's a tough choice between Visage and Ultravox