What Is Love? (Howard Jones) - day 25
When we think about the sound of new wave, we generally lean toward the usual suspects who were the mammoths of the genre: Depeche Mode, the Cure, the Psych Furs, etc. Among the bands putting forth such splendidly unique sounds that defined a generation was a solo act named Howard Jones. He produced a string of new wave hits that permeated the decade.
The first song I’d ever heard by Jones was What Is Love, and it stuck to my giant hair like bubblegum. Back in my first countdown I wrote about No More Words by Berlin as a song that reminded me of that teen dance club I’d go to with my stink-ho baby Cristine, the one inside a building whose façade mimicked a castle. The first time I’d ever heard this new wave gem by Howard Jones was with my cousin at that place, as we swayed and laughed in our pleather and mesh. What a fucking vibe!
Every single time I hear this song, that moment from our past becomes the instant present and I am transported to that dungeony castle on Sunrise Highway as my relationship with my cousin butterflied into an undying friendship. Dance Parc was the chrysalis for my friendship with Cristine and What Is Love is the anthem of its genesis.