Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s

Just finished the book. What an immensely fun read. I went in thinking that there really isn't anything new I could learn about these songs. Wrong! Awesome interviews, straight from the horses mouth speaking today about what it is was like for them back then and how the singles came to be. This is definitely the kind of book that we aging new wave nerds could debate and argue over for hours. The atrocity of ignoring the Cure and Culture Club…the glory of choosing "New Life" over "Just Can't Get Enough"…Loved the chapters on Adam and the Ants, Spandau, Tears for Fears, ABC, etc etc. and great to see Modern English in here. Always interests me how that song is such a huge part of the 80s nostalgia, yet it didn't even come close to the US Top 40. I think it stalled in the 80's (no pun intended…well, maybe pun intended). I love the packaging of this book, good heavy stock, loads of color, and amazing photos. This is the type of book I'll be keeping on the bookshelf and go back to for reference. Fantastic choice of Duran photo for the cover, that for me is truly iconic of their new wave phase. Even though I really couldn't care less about Devo, Dexys, or Kim Wilde, the interviews were great. Really hoping for part 2 starring The Cure, Culture Club, Scritti (but please God, not Perfect Way..Absolute and Wood Beez were FAR better singles), Naked Eyes, Visage and Altered Images. To name a few. Thanks for the great book, perfect summer read for any child of the 80s.

First off, the book is not quite as all-compassing as the title implies. Most of the bands and songs included have two things in common: * British * synthesizersYou won't find anything here about Talking Heads, Blondie, B-52's, Police, the Cars, etc. It's more of the kind of music you'll hear on Sirius satellite radio's "First Wave" channel. (Though to be honest, it's really Second Wave, the synth bands that came after guitar punks led the way.)Credit the authors for managing to get first-hand interviews with most of the key people involved with the songs they are highlighting. Although many of the chapters are about songs that were hits in the U.K. but not America, therefore music I've never heard before, it was interesting to read the back stories of how songs were created, what bands went through to make it, and how things either fell apart or stayed together in the years that followed.Finally, thanks to the publisher for selling the Kindle edition at a reasonable price. I'm tired of seeing Kindle books priced almost as high as hardbacks, which makes no sense given that there's no printing cost and no expense for shipping to bookstores. It's just greed.

I was honored to be given an advanced copy of MAD WORLD, and I wasn't disappointed.MAD WORLD is more than a mixtape for a generation—it’s the story of a period of musical innovation, told by the musicians themselves and put into perspective by two of many whose lives were set to its soundtrack. Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein perfectly blend credibility, humor, style, and nostalgia as they present over thirty songs that changed the pop musical landscape in the early-mid 1980s. Each song is accompanied by first-person reflections from the artists who made them, including their origins, triumphs and tragedies, and present-day contexts. Better yet, Majewski and Bernstein provide the reader with recommended playlists to accompany each song (like pairing the best wines with each course of a meal), which will have readers scrambling to their iTunes or dusting off their vinyl records.By the end of each chapter of MAD WORLD, the songs stuck in my head, and in a good way. One mention of WLIR (from Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, no less!) sent me back to my bedroom on Long Island, where I had kept my stereo programmed to the radio station mostly responsible for introducing me to many of these bands (MTV and my friends did the rest). As the sister of professional musicians, I appreciate the elite production, the breakthrough synthesizer technology, and the musical influences that proceeded them, ranging from the Beatles to Bowie to Chic to the Sex Pistols. They still serve as the soundtrack to my life, and especially to my writing.The visual presentation of MAD WORLD is just as appealing as its textual content. Complete with classic photos and bold colors representative of the times, readers will feel like they are flipping through a scrapbook, and they will happily reminisce as they read.MAD WORLD is also a terrific conversation piece. Readers may not agree with Majewski’s and Bernstein’s song selections. They may argue over which artists were more (or less) influential. But that’s all part of the book’s appeal—there’s something for everyone: music lovers, musicians, pop culture historians, and, undoubtedly, Generation X. And what better way to pass down our favorite songs for the new generation, who, undoubtedly, will incorporate these songs into their lives—and their world—as their predecessors did.I love this book. It’s the kind of book I’ll pore over again and again, and get something new out of it each time. It's also the next best thing to being fourteen and listening to WLIR again. (Plus, no teenage angst or acne!) Seriously, though. You'll love it.~Elisa LorelloAuthor of Friends of Mine: Thirty Years in the Life of a Duran Duran Fan (a memoir) and the best-selling novels Faking It and Ordinary World

"... the music produced between 1978 and 1985 marked the last golden age of pop." (p.10 of the book) Just on this phrase alone, you know the authors know what they are writing about, and can distinguish between good and bad music, be it synth or no synth, makeup or no makeup, and good hair or bad.This book combines outsiders and insiders' views on 36 representative songs of New Wave. Each song starts off with a lively introduction by the two authors, followed by a detailed account of the song by the artists themselves based on new interviews by the authors. It is informative, and the writing is witty. In particular, Lori Majewski conveys her passion for the New Wave songs and artists in a colorful and entertaining way.I am about 1/3 through the book. Although the cliche "I find it hard to put it down" applies, I actually did put it down a few times for fear of finishing the book too early and finding nothing worthwhile to read afterwards. It's that good. It's just as good as the music it covers.Update: I have finished reading the book. It lives up to its early promise. My comments stand.

Great content as far as actual interviews go. Some of the author Lori Majewski’s comments are pretty lame and childish and potentially completely unknowledgeable of the bands at times.

It's a very good time to be a fan of 80's music. Record labels can't stop re-issuing our favourite albums from the decade that matters most, to some very fine magazines devoted to only this kind of music, to some of our favourite bands giving it another go and performing live and recording (not to forget those who never stopped!)"What, another book on 80's music??? " some might say.....not so fast!What we have here is Mad World and where other books on the topic have almost got it right (and others have totally missed the mark) Mad World succeeds on pretty much all levels. My criticism about other books on 80's music is the tendency for the author to interject personal opinion, I realize 80's music is a very personal thing, so I understand why some authors fall in to the trap of adding personal opinions and recollections. My opinion is that those memories and opinions are the authors and not mine so I feel detached from a lot of books on the topic. What Mad World does most importantly is LET THE ARTISTS TALK! Any personal opinion in Mad World is kept separate as to not break the continuity of the story. So it works on both levels that way, want to read an incredible interesting story from Gary Numan and don't want to be sidetracked, then it works that way. Interested in what the author might have to add, it works there too. I appreciate that any personal reflection doesn't get in the way of the stories being told.Having said that, there is a tendency for books on the 80's to pander to the most common denominator and that's featuring the most popular recognizable bands. I also can't blame them for that, the idea is to sell books, but this genre of music needed someone to come along and go beyond the obvious without being too obscure. Well it works on that level too. What you get is bands that have mass appeal (Duran Duran, A-ha etc) but what's most exciting is the authors really have made an attempt to stretch and dig deep a little. Kajagoogoo, Animotion, Modern English, Berlin, Ultravox, OMD are among the many who finally get a chance to shine on the big stage (and rightfully so!)The authors really have a passion for this music, or so it appears. Some books come off as an obligatory nod to the decade or a quick cash grab, the passion put in to this book just drips off the pages. These people know their stuff and it shows.So you have seamless story telling, bands other than the obvious and passion on the part of the authors....but what else? Well you get stories that dig a bit deeper even for the most ardent 80's fan. There are well told stories but it's like some of the interview subjects decided that they were really going to open up and go in to great detail. This makes for an incredible read. I am not sure if it's the interview subjects that went in to more details or it's the great work on behalf of the editors and author to not whittle down the stories to it's bare minimum. I really found this element fascinating. I have a hunch it might be both great editing (or lack of editing) and great work by the authors to know when a good story needs to play itself out.Another interesting aspect is the sections at the end of every artist feature called "That was then, this is now" which I think might appeal most to someone not so schooled on the bands and their whereabouts of late. I even found that section very informative and it's just another element that makes Mad World such a good read.Is Mad World perfect? Well no, of course not. By the very nature of putting out an oral history of New Wave, you are just inviting people to argue about "what is New Wave" and "Does that band belong in a book of New Wave?" and I found myself asking that too. In the end, it's a healthy argument, I mean it's 80's music, not politics! Having said that, I could have done without some bands and I question why some were left out. I suspect a sequel is forthcoming but I questioned the inclusion of The Smiths, The Waitresses and Band Aid to name a few. Where is Visage? Where is Talk Talk? That's my personal opinion of course and like I said you can't fit everything in to one book, hence why a sequel is needed.Mad World is the first chapter of a story that HAD to be told correctly, and it has. It's not a comprehensive history mind you, but it doesn't need to be. If there is a second chapter released....what I think you will have are complete bookends to the only decade (musically) that matters to me....and I'm guessing to you too if you are reading this.

Genius book, great for a gift. The informal style is perfect for the subject of the 80's. Clever in that they cross interview people.

Being born in 1971, new wave music already made a huge impact on my life as a 8 year old. I still find this music magical and I would even go this far that it has shaped my personality. Enough about myself, this books makes me just very happy, it's well written, it's funny and the writer has made some excellent choices about what songs to cover. This is already one of my favourite music books ever and I can only hope that the author is considering a part two, because I would love to read more. Also it would hope that someone would write a similar book that would cover new wave in non English speaking European countries. Holland, Belgium, Germany all have some true new wave gems, not known outside their own country.

What a great way to find out the history of some of my fave songs ever. Very detailed interviews with the band members. For example, i went back and started listening to more of Devo's music because of their message they were trying to put forward. they were a very socially conscious band and their lyrics were more than just pop dribble. This books has definitely kick-started my love of 80's music again!

This is a really good read if you have any interest in this era of (largely British) pop.There are some quality anecdotal accounts from some of the artists themselves (though some notable band members didn't contribute to some chapters, which is a pity). There's a bit of opinion from the authors, some of which I agree with, some of which I don't. No one said this book is the ultimate authority on any of these artists though, it's a flash back through an interesting time in music history and I appreciate the authors explaining their motivations for writing it, and their opinions of the artists. It's written by fans, not some stiffs who got told to write about something they don't care about, and it's honest and authentic in that regard.A bit of opinion from the artists too, loved McCulloch's passage on Bono, although I view McCulloch generally as a cocky gobs***e who massively overestimates his cultural contribution to the world. He also employs that tedious trick of running other credible artists down to big himself up, but his contribution to this book was probably the most entertaining of all the artists. Just my opinion, since we're all doing it.Back to the book as whole. I found it didn't contain any references to US culture that I didn't fully understand. A previous reviewer has claimed that it's packed with American cultural references that mean nothing to a Brit. Unless mine is a drastically revised edition I have to say that's utter nonsense, besides which there are two authors to this book, one of whom is Scottish and didn't "graduate from High School" as such. Also, I have to say, if anyone is "outraged" by the opinions in this book they're probably also outraged by soap opera story lines not going in the direction they'd hoped........ just sayin'.Plenty of interest in this book, and particularly in the light of Bowie's recent sad, sad passing it's notable just how many bands owe so much of their success to the trail he blazed ahead of them. Nice to see him quite rightly name checked so regularly from the start of the book and throughout.It's a good book, and I'd very much like to see a follow up, or two :)