There aren’t many certainties in life right now, save for death, taxes, and the wisdom of staying inside. Oh, and the gleefully geeky and goofy sounds of long-running Milwaukee band Xposed 4Heads! Let’s focus on that one!
So, how have the 4Heads been spending their time during the current apocalypse? By creating a song and video called “New Wave Apocalypse,” of course. Mark G.E. and company spend the song’s four minutes name-checking a slew of ’80s new wave (or new wave-adjacent) groups and artists: Human League, Flock Of Seagulls, Billy Idol, The Go-Go’s, New Order, Joy Division, etc. “The Television has Talking Heads,” goes one reference-packed lyric in particular. “Spun right round Alive or Dead.” Fun!
Need a guide to the song’s many Easter eggs? Here you go, courtesy of Mark G.E. (“We just wanted to make something fun for those of us who love new wave and reminisce in a way that makes us feel connected and comforted.”)
New Wave Apocalypse – A Guide to Decoding it
Billy Idol is on his steed
Riding with the Human League
(Billy Idol and the three main Human League singers are the four horsemen of the apocalypse)
This is, the stuff of dreams (this is a premonition of things to come)
Kraftwerk and the Man Machines (two more sets of four horsemen of the apocalypse)
(The first verse is introducing that three sets of four horsemen of the apocalypse are coming)Gary Numan is Down in the Park (Down in the Park is a Gary Numan song)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (name of an 80’s band that rhymes with Park)
(Everyone is caught off guard)
Reverse everything you know
Now we are all Devo (Devolution is reverse evolution)
(Everything is falling apart in the apocalypse)Flock of Seagulls ran far away (References their most famous song)
Went to see the Spandau Ballet (Name of band, not really a ballet in Spandau to see, Spandau was a famous prison)
The Television has Talking Heads (Talking Heads is the name of newscasters on the television)
Spun right round Alive or Dead (the name of the band has been turned around)
(fear, chaos and reports of the apocalypse in the news, everything turned around)Romeo Void might like you better (references their song)
But the Bangles tied their legs together
Johnny Rotten feigns defiance
(Johnny Rotten is faking being an angry punk, trumped up agitation)
Thomas Dolby is Blinded by Science (References his most famous song & science deniers)
(Things get crazy and make no sense)Chorus
The Go Go’s have sealed their lips
Gonna be a New Wave Apocalypse
Gonna be a New Wave Apocalypse
Gonna be a New Wave ApocalypseBridge
We’re headed for a new wave
It’s a new day
Don’t worry how long it lasts
The future was better in the past
(hopeful, yet sad about the future not being as cool as we hoped)B52s went to Planet Claire (referenced their song)
They’ve got a Love Shack there (another B52s song)
New Order’s with the Joy Division (New Order is mostly Joy Division members)
They took The Metro to Berlin (Berlin’s song The Metro, referencing sadness and longing)
(Escape to somewhere comforting, together in death and sadness)Ultravox All Stood Still (References their song, some did nothing)
They’re Forever Young in Alphaville (references their song, you don’t age when you’re dead)
The Waitresses know what you like (references their song)
We’re all gonna Wang Chung tonight! (References their song, call to party)
(This verse is about redemption and hope)Chorus
The Go Go’s have sealed their lips
Gonna be a New Wave Apocalypse
Gonna be a New Wave Apocalypse
Gonna be a New Wave Apocalypse