About Atomic

Atomic is a new wave themed party held every Thursday at Neo nightclub in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Since 1979, Neo has been a pillar of Chicago’s thriving underground dance music scene with an emphasis on dark music and one of the most diverse clienteles in the city.

Atomic debuted on March 20, 2008, taking it’s name from the classic Blondie song and following a tradition of new wave club nights reaching back to the early ’80s with a modern new interpretation. We’re a little pop, a little punk, a lot of new romantic, synthpop, a bit of electro, and always fun. Every week, we watch the club fill with people of many different backgrounds and allegiances, while young newcomers share the dancefloor with seasoned club veterans.

This blog is dedicated to all of them, written by our DJs and our regulars. We aim to shed light on the music you haven’t heard, the old forgotten songs and the new guard that defies the misconception that new wave died in the ’80s.

Finally, it would be remiss to not mention the legacy of other club nights before ours. Previous to Atomic, Thursdays at Neo were home to DJ Dave Roberts’ long running ’80s night Planet Earth, and we have inherited from him both many of his regulars and an array of songs that he made familiar to them. We also owe a great debt to the groundbreaking club Medusa’s, among the most important nightclubs in the history of Chicago music and a source of much of what we still play today. We hope to add a little to what they started long before us.

Welcome to our party; enjoy the music. We’ll see you on the dance floor.