Songs About New Things

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I wanted to do a column for New Year's Day. I looked through my music collection and found 10 songs about the New Year, but I only like half of them. However, in my search, I did find plenty of songs about new things in general.

The start of a new year is supposed to be about new beginnings. Lots of new things. So why not a list of songs about new things as well, to give a fun soundtrack to a New Year?


Here we are – new songs. No, that's wrong. These songs aren't new. Some are quite old, in fact. Songs about new things. I'll settle for that. So, no songs about places, no songs about news, just songs about new things.

So, as well as the usual rules (one song per artist, one version of each song, I need to like it, I need to own it), I'm going to add a new rule – upbeat or up-tempo songs. Nothing slow or too depressing. I want this to be a song-list for a party. So, also, the word "new" should appear in the title.

So, with that in mind, I hope you enjoy this!
'Papa's Got A Brand New Bag' by James Brown (1965)

I'm not a huge fan of James Brown, but this song is one of those that I do like. That horn section just nails it so hard.
'What's New Pussycat?' by Tom Jones (1967)

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I like this song and had to include it here. Let's call this a guilty pleasure song, you know you'll sing along to the chorus, and it is a song about newness.
'New Rose' by The Damned (1976)

One of the best debut songs in rock , this track just pounds along at a hundred miles an hour and still holds up all these years later.
'New Toy' by Lene Lovich (1981)

A fun bit of early New Wave from an artist who scared me as a child. The song is great, though, even if I'm still not really sure what it's about.
'New World Man' by Rush (1982)

I didn't include this song in my list of Rush songs because I thought it was a little obvious – did you know this is Rush's best charting song? It is a great track.
'(Better Keep Yours Hands Off) My Potential New Boyfriend' by Dolly Parton (1983)

A remake of the Doug Parkinson song that is as upbeat and fun as the original, but with Dolly's perkiness an added bonus. I think I like it as much as the original.
'New Moon On Monday' by Duran Duran (1983)

From my favourite Duran Duran album (Seven And The Ragged Tiger), one of the many great tracks that really did verge on pop-rock, this is a great song.
'I Want A New Drug' by Huey Lewis And the News (1984)

The drug is, of course, love , but this great song from the Sports album is one of so many wonderful Huey Lewis songs out there.
'A New England' by Kirtsy MacColl (1985)

This is a more up-tempo version of the Billy Bragg original, which is why it's on this list. Bragg even wrote an extra verse for her, which he now performs following MacColl's death.
'New Sensation' by INXS (1987)

I realised I don't put anywhere near enough INXS songs in these lists, so let's remedy that with this wonderful track from the Kick album.
'New Generation' by Oingo Boingo (1987)

An album cut from a band that keeps popping up in these lists where you least expect them. This is a fun little track that just bounces along so well.
'New Groove' by Rockmelons (1988)

I wasn't sure about this song when I started this list, but listening to it I started to sing along, so I knew it had to be in this list. It is an ear-worm. Sorry.
'New Blue Moon' by The Traveling Wilburys (1990)

An album cut from the frankly awesome super-group is a song only fans know about, but it needs to be out there. So dance-along-to-able.
'Brand New Man' by Brooks & Dunn (1991)

A country song, the title track from their debut album (I believe), and one that is fun. Yes, they might not be everyone's favourite, but I didn't mind a lot of their early stuff.
'Brave New World' by Iron Maiden (2000)

Another title track, from an under-rated album, and a song that I really like. It might not be as hard and heavy as their 1980s heyday, but it still rocks and is still great.
'New Born' by Muse (2001)

A minor single, this from a band I was not introduced to until 2010, which meant I had a fair bit of catching up to do. And I'm glad I did because they have released some great stuff, and this song is one of those.
'The New Country' by The Dandy Warhols (2005)

Could this be called a country song? The Dandy Warhols certainly have a country feel here, but are they making fun of modern country music or just trying something different? So hard to tell. Let's just say it's a cool song and leave it at that.
'74 Is The New 24' by Giorgio Moroder (2015)

Giorgio Moroder has been there in a lot of the music of my younger years, and then he released a new album in 2015 and this song from it grabbed me. Fun New Wave synth-pop with a modern feel.
'New Man' by Ed Sheeran (2017)

Yes, I know – Ed Sheeran . Sorry. But this track does bop along nicely, isn't offensive, and (most importantly) hasn't been played to death on radio for the past 4 years.
'New Age' by Polish Club (2021)

A song from this year, from an album I really liked . This track has that 80s vibe I like so much, and is a really good one from that great album.
And now a bonus: A Comedy Song!
'I Want A New Duck' by 'Weird Al' Yankovic (1985)

A musically spot-on parody of the song 'I Want A New Drug' mentioned earlier, only with members of the Anatidae family. Not much more to say, really. Pretty cool.
And there we are – twenty songs, with one bonus comedy track, about things being new. Hope you had a good time.
And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
via GIPHY

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