No Wave

No Wave was a short-lived but influential music and art scene that thrived briefly in New York City during the late 1970s and early

No Wave was a short-lived but influential music and art scene that thrived briefly in New York City during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The term No Wave is in part satiric wordplay rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre. The term also highlights the music's experimental nature: No Wave music belonged to no fixed style or genre.

In many ways, No Wave is not a clearly definable musical genre with consistent features. Various groups drew on such disparate styles as funk, jazz, blues, and punk rock. There are, however, some elements common to most No Wave music, such as abrasive atonal sounds, repetitive driving rhythms, and a tendency to emphasize musical texture over melody. No wave Lyrics often focused on nihilism and confrontation.