I got to see Dare to Be Different at a film festival and it was a blast! The sound mix was so good and the music selection so right on that I was dancing in my seat the entire time. It felt as if the entire audience was having a shared musical experience of 80s music and memories. Even though this is the music of my youth, I didn't know that much about the artists who created the 80s sound. It was very engaging to hear artists, now in their 50s and 60s, riff about their early work, their inspirations, and how the era influenced their music and message. The story of the small, rogue, radio station that played this music was an entertaining subplot. Hearing the DJs remember moments when famous artists "hung out" at WLIR or when they literally had to go to the airport to pick up record imports gave the documentary authenticity. I recommend this documentary anyone who loves 80s music.
14 Reviews
Love It
ellenirishellen-6296224 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Great WLIR,and its story as a New Wave Station,or at least one that was playing great music while others sold out.Some of the DJs,Larry "The Duck" Dunn,Lori Majewski (pardon me if I misspelled your name,Lori),are on Sirius XM Station 33,my favorite and they play many of the hits featured on New Wave:Dare To Be Different.Any documentary that prominently features Joan Jett,Billy Idol (Absolutely fanatical about Dancing With Myself!),Depeche Mode,Midge Ure (not only noted for his tremendous contribution to Live Aid with Sir Bob Geldof,Thompson Twins.So glad this has been shown and will continue to watch each time it airs.Rock On!
Awesome Movie, Awesome Music
johnshindler9 July 2018
For anyone over 40 this movie will bring them back to a time when new wave was hitting the US. It is the story of the radio station in NY that brought the music here first and played over 1500 new wave artists in its short time on the air. The movie tells the really interesting story of life at the radio station when all these acts were young and unknown - so many to go on to be mainstays on 80's radio. But at the time for me and so many it was a revelation to hear this music.
Great interviews with the artists and producers. So much great music and live footage in the movie. You are transported back to 1982 and the movie brings back that fresh feeling of hearing things for the first time, along with great interviews that tell us what the artists were thinking.
Instant classic!
Parallel development ...
Reviewer9927 December 2021
I echo the sentiment of the Southern California reviewers. "New Wave" music was introduced into North America in many locations in parallel. We had a local university radio station playing this music circa 1977-78. It took a while for the mainstream FM stations to introduce this music to their playlists but it was here and available for listening well before 1982 on FM radio, TV and album imports. I suppose it was a gamble for an FM radio station to go full New Wave in 1982 but certainly not pioneering as this documentary alludes to.
The documentary was somewhat confusing, jumping all over the place with respect to artists and dates. Information presented chronologically would have been clearer.
The documentary was somewhat confusing, jumping all over the place with respect to artists and dates. Information presented chronologically would have been clearer.
Loved It!
mariannarocchio6 December 2019
In 1982 I was 18 and a year out of high school. It was amazing to here about the clubs I used to frequent, the artists that started out of Long Island and that even thought at the time I didn't know it, and I'm sure none of us did, WHAT an impact it really was to the music world and how proud I am that I was part of that.... Definitely a film to keep in my collection. Thanks for the Memories.
The Soundtrack of my Life
harlan-7375111 July 2018
Should be called "A Year (maybe more) Or So Behind"
wallygatorca4 June 2018
A DJ or Exec from WLIR must've taken a vacation to LA about one or two or three years? after KROQ was already giving New Wave/Punk/Ska/PowerPop it's proper due. Taking credit as though WLIR is the first, and not giving credit to the original radio stations (KROQ in LA) that broke these bands is just a pat-on-the-own-back-Sham, especially to people who might be taking it in as the truth.
The other review referencing the station as "Late to the Party" nailed it.
Gave 3 stars for content and love of the genre, but it'll get exposed...Adam Carolla's upcoming doc about KROQ will provide the accurate timeline for New Wave and will be understood as the truth.
West Coast girl just doesn't get it....
tashinaknight28 May 2018
I was 15 in 1979 and this was my music growing up so I feel like I understand the history reasonably well. The Cure, Split Enz, Adam & and the Ants, The English Beat, and Devo were at the center of my music world. This documentary doesn't make a lot of sense to me, or at least the spin on how amazingly groundbreaking it was. I'm sure this radio station was a big deal in Long Island, but it just seems really late to the party to me. They make a big deal about being so influential and how MTV could barely have existed without them, but WLIR didn't even change format to New Wave until August 1982 - new wave (and MTV which started a year before WLIR) was well established by then. I listed to KROQ's New Wave format in Los Angeles for many years before WLIR even changed format to New Wave. This is from Wikipedia (about KROQ): "By 1980 the station had fully committed to a post-new wave modern rock orientation." And they say "post-new wave" because they'd been playing New Wave since 1976 and by 1980 it was about time for post-New Wave - WLIR didn't even start playing New Wave until 2 years after KROQ went "post-new-wave." Not exactly groundbreaking from my perspective. I can see looking at some old playlists that they were playing some New Wave songs before the format change, but definitely mixed in with plenty of Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen.
I don't think the documentary knew what it wanted to be. If it wanted to be about the politics and staff of the Long Island radio station, that part of the story doesn't seem very interesting unless you lived there at the time. If they were going to tell a story of a groundbreaking New Wave station, they should have made it about KROQ. If they were going to tell more of a New Wave story, then WLIR could have just been a small segment in the latter part of the documentary.
I will say that the interviews with the Dave Wakeling, Thomas Dolby and others were worth at least fast forwarding to get to, but I can't really recommend the documentary itself. I'm giving it a 5 for probably being interesting to a NY audience and for getting to see some artists on camera that I haven't seen for many years.
I don't think the documentary knew what it wanted to be. If it wanted to be about the politics and staff of the Long Island radio station, that part of the story doesn't seem very interesting unless you lived there at the time. If they were going to tell a story of a groundbreaking New Wave station, they should have made it about KROQ. If they were going to tell more of a New Wave story, then WLIR could have just been a small segment in the latter part of the documentary.
I will say that the interviews with the Dave Wakeling, Thomas Dolby and others were worth at least fast forwarding to get to, but I can't really recommend the documentary itself. I'm giving it a 5 for probably being interesting to a NY audience and for getting to see some artists on camera that I haven't seen for many years.
Factually incorrect
laurel-373-4486121 April 2019
I know for sure that 2 college radio stations in the Boston area, WERS and WMBR, and 2 commercial stations - WBCN in Boston and KROQ in Los Angeles - were among various American radio stations that turned people on to many of the bands that WLIR claimed to have been "the first" to, and by several years. I was annoyed by how DJ's and staff in the film patted themselves on the back in taking such credit. WLIR changed format in 1982. U2's first album was released in the US 2 years earlier and was played at all the stations cited. That's just one example. Sure, WLIR helped expose the music which generated album sales, but don't claim something that is not true. It diminishes the legitimacy of the documentary. I cringed watching it. The listeners and staff obviously dug the commercial alternative format and the filmmaker shows that. I did enjoy seeing musicians that I liked remembering those days. Overall, great that 'LIR dared to be different but don't make false claims that you were the first, etc. And nobody likes a braggart anyway.
Watch it only for the musicians' interviews.
beoir-4367216 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The interviews are great, but their repeated claims to be the first to play these bands is just completely false. I know KROQ in Los Angeles was playing some of this music a year or two before LIR even switched formats, and a couple of other reviews point out other radio stations were as well. They claim they were the first to play Los Angeles' Wall of Voodoo??
Why would they claim something they knew to be false?
The last half hour this documentary switches into a history of the legal fight with the FCC, so if you were watching this for the music, it sort of abruptly stops there.
Why would they claim something they knew to be false?
The last half hour this documentary switches into a history of the legal fight with the FCC, so if you were watching this for the music, it sort of abruptly stops there.
Inaccurate portrayal of the true introduction of New Wave music to the States
salmon626 January 2019
Nice try, but you can't write your own history of music.
This film is a good example of how a group of people affiliated with some cultural phenomenon view their experience as the first, best or only experience of that phenomenon.
In this case, a small Long Island radio station is switched from a rock and roll format to a "new wave" format in 1982 and the station enjoys success and fame with a playlist of British post-punk artist comprising the "new wave" movement in pop music. This documentary amounts to a big "pat on the back" to the DJs and program director who claim credit for breaking many european music acts before any other station did the same.
The problem with this film is it's not true. This film is purely a self-congratulatory effort to lionize people who feel that their efforts in their subculture were worthy of recognition that's not really warranted.
Rodney Bigenheimer was the Person who broke most of the bands whom the filmmakers credit the Long Island station with introducing to America. Bingenheimer is an iconic LA rock persona who was a DJ for KROQ radio in Pasadena, Los Angeles, California from 1976-2017, where he introduced many, many bands from overseas into the popular culture. Most of the bands mentioned in this documentary as introduced by the Long Island radio station were previously played by Bigenheimer on his show, "Rodney on the Roq" on KROQ in Los Angeles. So, this film's premise is basically false. The reality is clear for anyone with internet access or who grew up in Southern California during the 70's and 80's.
Its fun hearing the east coast fans talking about their experiences with new wave and the parties and clubs and excitement. But this experience was shared and explored by others earlier and concurrently in other parts of the US. And that takes away from this documentary's credibility and relevance. It's shameless actually.
This film is a good example of how a group of people affiliated with some cultural phenomenon view their experience as the first, best or only experience of that phenomenon.
In this case, a small Long Island radio station is switched from a rock and roll format to a "new wave" format in 1982 and the station enjoys success and fame with a playlist of British post-punk artist comprising the "new wave" movement in pop music. This documentary amounts to a big "pat on the back" to the DJs and program director who claim credit for breaking many european music acts before any other station did the same.
The problem with this film is it's not true. This film is purely a self-congratulatory effort to lionize people who feel that their efforts in their subculture were worthy of recognition that's not really warranted.
Rodney Bigenheimer was the Person who broke most of the bands whom the filmmakers credit the Long Island station with introducing to America. Bingenheimer is an iconic LA rock persona who was a DJ for KROQ radio in Pasadena, Los Angeles, California from 1976-2017, where he introduced many, many bands from overseas into the popular culture. Most of the bands mentioned in this documentary as introduced by the Long Island radio station were previously played by Bigenheimer on his show, "Rodney on the Roq" on KROQ in Los Angeles. So, this film's premise is basically false. The reality is clear for anyone with internet access or who grew up in Southern California during the 70's and 80's.
Its fun hearing the east coast fans talking about their experiences with new wave and the parties and clubs and excitement. But this experience was shared and explored by others earlier and concurrently in other parts of the US. And that takes away from this documentary's credibility and relevance. It's shameless actually.
If It was So Great, Why is it Gone?
arfdawg-129 October 2019
Movie expounds on how great WLIR was. OK well I never listened to it. But that aside, the burning question is -- if it was so great that you insisted on being in a particular facing dorm so you could receive the signal, why is it all gone?
No one really explains that one.
The movie is essentially the Bingenheimer documentary as a radio station instead of a DJ.
No one really explains that one.
The movie is essentially the Bingenheimer documentary as a radio station instead of a DJ.
Not entirely true
dwburke-5361213 February 2022
Great documentary but they didn't break many of those bands and certainly weren't the only station playing new wave. WXRT in Chicago was definitely ahead them with most of the bands they claim to. But that's New York for you.
Interesting But I also had a problems with the film
tberkun-8124416 May 2023
Something that bothered me when I watched this was that there was no mention at all of the station that immediately followed LIR on the airwave. The wikipedia page basically lists them both as one entity The movie producers clearly chose to ignore the reincarnation of the station, which I didn't mind if they hadn't done it without making a single mention of the WDRE station that succeeded LIR. To leave it out without a mention, even a sentence in the epilogue, makes it seem pretty obvious that they went far out of their way not to mention the later station.
At some point the new station took the old LIR moniker, the movie could have helped clear up the confusion about the call letters by explaining what happened with the call letters over time, but by leaving it out they only added to it.
At some point the new station took the old LIR moniker, the movie could have helped clear up the confusion about the call letters by explaining what happened with the call letters over time, but by leaving it out they only added to it.
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