3 New Wave Hits From 1983 That Every 80s Kid Can’t Stop Singing

New wave softened the edges of punk with glossy synthesizers and the rigid yet danceable rhythm of drum machines. But those same synthesizers also increased the drama with a similar density to orchestral strings, giving an emotional weight to pop music in the 1980s, with keyboard riffs that are as identifiable as classic rock guitar riffs. Combining intense emotions with moody pop, these new wave hits from 1983 continue to beckon 80s kids to sing their iconic hooks.

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“Mad World” by Tears For Fears

Roland Orzabal told The Guardian that he wrote “Mad World” when he was 19. Though Tears For Fears are famous for synth-driven anthems, Orzabal wrote the song on an acoustic guitar. He was trying to capture the spirit of Duran Duran’s “Girls On Film”. Yet it didn’t take on its familiar shape until keyboardist Ian Stanley added a synthesizer and drum machine to the track. So how mad is the world? Mad enough for a dark hook about the cathartic benefits of nightmares to become a global hit. And one we can’t stop singing.

And I find it kind of funny,
I find it kind of sad,
The dreams in which I’m dying,
Are the best I’ve ever had.

“Here Comes The Rain Again” by Eurythmics

Drenched in melancholy, Eurythmics glum hit was born while Dave Stewart fiddled with a riff on his newly purchased Casio keyboard. As he sat in front of a window inside the Mayflower Hotel in New York City, Annie Lennox sang the opening line as she stared at the gloomy skyline over his shoulder. Meanwhile, Lennox aims for a glimmer of hope against the gray sky, longing to fall in love or at least find some company for her misery. “Here Comes The Rain Again” appears on Eurythmics’ 1983 album, Touch.

So, baby, talk to me,
Like lovers do.
Walk with me,
Like lovers do.

“Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads

Drummer Chris Frantz was inspired after seeing Parliament-Funkadelic perform at Madison Square Garden, leading to a jam with bassist Tina Weymouth. As the jam progressed, David Byrne began improvising gibberish. Then once he settled on a melody, he fit words to match the rhythm of his nonsensical syllables. Byrne explained to NPR, “I thought that it would be a challenge to write words that, in a literal sense, don’t make any sense, but that hold together according to some other rationale.”

Watch out,
You might get what you’re after.
Cool, babies,
Strange but not a stranger.
I’m an ordinary guy,
Burning down the house.

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