This Must Be the Place: An Oral History of New Wave

This Must Be the Place chronicles the rise of New Wave music through first-hand accounts from musicians, producers, DJs, and industry figures who shaped the genre in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The oral history format presents raw, unfiltered perspectives from both major stars and behind-the-scenes players who witnessed the movement's evolution. The book compiles extensive interviews that trace New Wave's emergence from punk rock roots to its eventual mainstream breakthrough and commercial peak. Key moments are reconstructed through multiple viewpoints, painting a complete picture of watershed concerts, recording sessions, and cultural shifts that defined the era. Through these collected voices, broader themes emerge about artistic innovation, commercial pressures, and the intersection of underground and mainstream culture during a transformative period in music history. The varying accounts create a complex narrative about how a rebellious art form evolved into a dominant commercial force while maintaining its creative spirit.

Readers found this 1986 oral history of new wave music incomplete and scattered in its coverage. Several reviews note that the book focuses heavily on the West Coast music scene while giving minimal attention to major UK and East Coast artists. Positives: - Detailed insights into bands like Talking Heads and Wall of Voodoo - Good coverage of the LA/SF punk scenes - Includes lesser-known regional acts often excluded from music histories Negatives: - Many key artists missing or barely mentioned - Too California-centric for a book about the broader new wave movement - Interviews feel surface-level and lack depth - Dated writing style One reader on Goodreads notes: "Limited and selective in scope - more like a random sampling than a true history of the genre." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.5/5 (15 ratings) Amazon: 3.0/5 (2 ratings) No other major review aggregators have sufficient data for this out-of-print title.

England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock by Jon Savage First-person accounts and historical documentation trace punk's emergence in 1970s London through interviews with musicians, artists, and scene figures.

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain Raw interviews with musicians and witnesses chronicle the birth of American punk from the Velvet Underground through the CBGB era.

Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011 by Lizzy Goodman Musicians, managers, journalists, and scenesters provide oral histories of New York's rock revival featuring The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and LCD Soundsystem.

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad In-depth profiles trace the rise of American underground rock through the stories of Black Flag, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen and other pioneering bands.

From the Velvets to the Voidoids: The Birth of American Punk Rock by Clinton Heylin Interviews and historical research document the development of proto-punk and early American punk rock through its key players and places.

🎸 The book was one of the first comprehensive oral histories of the American New Wave music scene, published in 1985 when many of the featured artists were still actively performing and recording. 🎼 Co-author David Gans went on to become well-known in the music industry as a Grateful Dead expert and host of the radio program "The Grateful Dead Hour." 🎭 The book includes raw, unfiltered interviews with influential artists like Talking Heads, B-52's, and Devo, capturing their perspectives during the height of the New Wave movement. 🌟 Many of the bands featured in the book started in art school environments, particularly the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which produced both Talking Heads and the B-52's. 📻 The term "New Wave" was initially used by music journalists to describe punk bands that were more experimental and artistically oriented than traditional punk rock, before it evolved into its own distinct genre.