Outside, state police and National Guard units,
directed by Governor Bruce King and Deputy Secre-
tary of Corrections Felix Rodriguez, surrounded the
perimeter to prevent a massive escape of inmates. A
standoff ensued until the late morning, when in-
mates agreed to release the captured guards. In re-
turn, Secretary Rodriguez promised to end the peni-
tentiary’s harsh regimen and increase educational
and psychological programs. Allowed a television in-
terview, inmate spokesmen described the horrible
conditions that had led to the riot, while Dormitory
B burned in the background. The hostages were re-
leased, and at 1:30p.m., special weapons and tactics
(SWAT) teams retook the penitentiary.
Impact According to forensic investigators, thirty-
three people died in the New Mexico State Peniten-
tiary Riot, a death toll second only to the 1971 Attica
prison riot. In July, federal judge Santiago Campos
signed a decree ordering the Penitentiary of New
Mexico to set population limits and provide humane
discipline, medical care, recreation, mail rights,
schooling, jobs, and prerelease programs to its in-
mates. The judge’s order resulted in one of the most
comprehensive prison reforms in U.S. history. The
reformed penitentiary came to serve as a model for
other penitentiary systems.
Further Reading
Colvin, Mark.The Penitentiar y in Crisis: From Accommo-
dation to Riot in New Mexico. Albany: State Univer-
sity of New York Press, 1992.
Morris, Roger.The Devil’s Butcher Shop: The New Mexico
Prison Uprising. New York: Franklin Watts, 1983.
John Nizalowski
See also Crime; Miami Riot of 1980; Racial dis-
crimination.
New Wave music
Definition Genre of rock music
Out of the self-destructive punk rock scene of the mid- to late
1970’s, a more pop and refined genre of rock known as New
Wave emerged. It became prominent during the early 1980’s,
becoming associated both with mainstream groups and
with a continuing fringe sensibility.
New Wave music can trace its beginnings to the late
1970’s. It is believed that the head of Sire Records,
Seymour Stein, coined the term “New Wave” in rela-
tion to music. He wanted a marketing term to use for
some bands that had recently been signed to his label.
It was no longer fashionable to promote bands as be-
ing “punk,” so Stein believed that the “New Wave” la-
bel would generate interest among radio stations and
clubs. He believed that this new musical direction
could be compared to the 1960’s French New Wave
movement in film. As with the filmmakers of the
French New Wave, the New Wave rock performers
were primarily anti-establishment and believed in tak-
ing musical risks, but they tended to be less aestheti-
cally rough-edged than were punk rockers.
Punk Attitude with a Musical Twist Several impor-
tant New Wave groups—including Talking Heads,
Blondie, Elvis Costello, the Cars, and the Police—
released important recordings during the late
1970’s. It can be said that both Talking Heads and
Blondie had one foot in punk rock and one foot in
the music scene that was in the process of emerging
into New Wave. In addition to Elvis Costello, Talking
Heads, and Blondie, Television, the B-52’s, the Jam,
Devo, and Patti Smith originally had been labeled as
being part of the punk rock scene. One of the most
striking distinctions between punk and New Wave
was that New Wave groups tended to combine the
sensibilities and pretense of art with basic musical
hooks that came from pop music.
While punk rock celebrated a take-no-prisoners
approach to recording and performance that often
eschewed traditional pleasing melodies, New Wave
bands found a way to refine their sound. This refine-
ment allowed the bands to garner a level of commer-
cial airplay that punk rock performers could never
achieve. While most New Wave bands became linked
because of their willingness to experiment, to write
songs with intriguing lyrics, and to pay more atten-
tion to production values, the sound of each band
was distinctive. New Wave bands borrowed from
funk, disco, reggae, and ska. While the all-girl band
the Go-Go’s rose to the top of theBillboardcharts by
producing an infectious pop sound, the Police be-
came extremely popular by employing a variation on
reggae, the Specials and Madness took inspiration
from ska music, Nick Lowe and XTC played edgy
power pop, and the Pretenders and Graham Parker
produced a gritty rock sound.
A Look as Well as a Sound With the advent of mu-
sic videos and of cable television channel MTV in706 New Wave music The Eighties in America