“Permanent Wave” appears to be a sub-genre of Rock Music and Alternative Music from both Rock and Pop; Permanent Wave is a term coined by Spotify (who are currently pioneering the invention of many musical genres and constantly refining them)
Possibly derived from “New Wave Music“, which is described by Wikipedia as a ‘loosely defined music genre encompassing pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s; originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock. An umbrella term involving many popular music styles of the era and more specific forms of punk rock that were less abrasive. It may also be viewed as a more accessible counterpart of post-punk.’
Elsewhere on the internet, some have described Permanent Wave as:
‘A category of music, mostly bands from the 80’s to early 00’s, now considered revolutionary in creating permanent ripples that have influenced new music.’
“If you got Permanent Wave (in your Spotify Wrapped Yearly Listening Analytics for Spotify Users) then you’re either Gen X, or you’re a massive softboi.
(Edit: I also had to google what this meant. Apparently this is a ‘a less masculine boy who is described as “cute” based on their soft or gentle characteristics’ – Very good! Moving on…)
You listen to artists like The Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop and The Velvet Underground. It’s basically alt rock, but for people stuck in the 90s.
Wave was very popular in the ’80s. It helped lead into the punk acts we know and love today. But permanent wave is its own genre with a massive variety of artists who encapsulate that sound and apparently are going to do it forever. Music in this indie-pop sub-genre (also known as “Permanent Wave”) tends to make people feel happy, bright and optimistic. Maybe it’s the upbeat tempos or the lyrics. There’s just something infectiously optimistic about these indie-pop artists. Artists classified as this genre: Green Day, the Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Muse
Urban Dictionary defines Permanent Wave as followed: “These bands were often called alternative, indie, folk or underground in their time. Their styles of music quickly became so popular it was absorbed into modern mainstream rock, pop, etc.”
Spotify’s Permanent Wave Genre appears to contain a wide variety of Bands and Artists. This is hardly a niche genre, but rather an umbrella genre for much loved post-post-punk classics; alternative, yet accessible; some might say the ‘better known’ songs that have emerged from New Wave.
What is Permanent Wave Music?
Accordingly to Spotify (and other Sources) the roster of Bands & Artists belonging to Permanent Wave includes:
Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Girl From Winter Jargon, Jeff Buckley, The Smashing Pumpkins, Drugstore, Echo & the Bunnymen, Pretenders, Pixies, The Smiths, Morrissey, JJ72, Blur, Pulp, The Verve , The Velvet Underground
Morrissey, The Stooges ,Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop , Garbage , Lou Reed, Beck , The Cure, The White Stripes, James, Gary Numan,
The Clash, Soul Asylum, Aimee Mann, Sheryl Crow, R.E.M. , Suzanne Vega, Blondie, The Cardigans, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Foo Fighters, Adam Ant, Placebo, Audioslave, No Doubt, Björk, Crowded House, Weezer, Pearl Jam, The Strokes, Muse, Ben Folds Five, David Byrne, Nirvana, k.d. lang, They Might Be Giants, Leonard Cohen, Arcade Fire, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, U2, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Kate Bush, Tegan and Sara
Permanent Wave – Spotify Playlists
- Permanent Wave
- The Sound of Permanent Wave
- Permanent Wave
- Intro to Permanent Wave
- The Pulse of Permanent Wave – The music that fans of Permanent Wave are listening to now.
- The Edge of Permanent Wave – Spotify Playlist: Some recent less-known music that fans of Permanent Wave are listening to now.
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