The New Wave Fun House: Blondie, Talking Heads, DEVO, The Cars, Oingo Boingo

Get in touch! It was the late 1970s and early '80s. New York was bankrupt. Akron's tire factories were closing. Regular families were struggling with double-digit inflation. The AIDS epidemic was raging. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan and the US boycotted the Olympics in protest. John Lennon was assassinated. And somewhere in the background, always, that low hum — nuclear warheads, patient at the edge of the light. Into that America walked Blondie, Talking Heads, Devo, the B-52s, the Cars, and Oingo Boingo. You Might Think you know what they were doing. Quirky! Fun! Great hair! Here's what they were actually doing: holding a mirror up to everything that was broken and making it danceable. Whether that was a fun house mirror or a regular one — you'll have to decide. This episode, we find out what New Wave was really made of. And who was really making it. Continue the American Song journey on Substack! Music Featured In This Episode Blondie - X Offender Blondie - Rip Her to Shreds The Stillettos - Anti Disco Blondie - One Way or Another Blondie - Heart of Glass Blondie - Call Me Blondie - Rapture Blondie - Dreaming Talking Heads - Psycho Killer Talking Heads - Take Me to the River Talking Heads - Life During Wartime Talking Heads - I Zimbra Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime Talking Heads - Burning Down the House DEVO - Jocko Homo DEVO - Whip It DEVO - Wiggly World B-52s - Planet Claire B-52s - Rock Lobster The Cars - My Best Friend's Girl The Cars - Just What I Needed The Cars - You Might Think Oingo Boingo - Capitalism Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad Oingo Boingo - Private Life Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party Oingo Boingo - Goodbye, Goodbye Oingo Boingo - We Close Our Eyes Interviews With Chris Stein David Byrne Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerry Casale Cindy Wilson and Fred Schneider John Lennon Rick Ocasek and Benjamin Orr Brandon Flowers Danny Elfman Continue the American Song journey on Substack!