Dare to Be Different

The music that moved me during the best years of my life. The insight and history of the performers and the songs had me spellbound.

WLIR, founded in 1959, was the first FM radio station in Long Island, broadcasting mainly showtunes and jazz-pop. In the '70s, WLIR changed their format to Southern and progressive rock, but in 1982 became an underground phenomenon by being the first radio station in the country to play New Wave (mostly coming out of the UK) and post-punk music (in other words, exchanging the Allman Brothers and Blue Öyster Cult for Duran Duran and U2). Thumbing their nose at US record labels--who usually dictated to radio stations what they should be playing--the station became home to a lot of European music acts who were big in their home countries but brand new to Americans. In the days before the internet, radio "found" the new music/tomorrow's hits (for instance, WLIR broke Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" six months before the rest of the US heard it), and the gratitude from the musicians--many of whom are interviewed here--is genuine and joyous. Something different, to be sure, and very entertaining for music buffs. *** from ****

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.

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.

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!