New Wave: Dare To Be Different

This is a documentary about Long Island’s WLIR. It broke from Top 40 radio to create its own format that featured Punk, Post-Punk, New Wave, Reggae and Ska. It broke dozens of British bands in the U.S. by having a direct tie to UK labels and got all their promotional releases. The film follows a traditional approach with talking head interviews interspersed with tons of 80s music videos. Those brought back a lot of nostalgia because I used to listen to a lot of that music and watched all those videos as a teen. A lot of the stories are also interesting and funny especially about how rag tag an operation WLIR was. If you’re an 80s kid this will definitely be right up your alley.

I grew up with WLIR up in Norwalk, CT. I was 11 when it came on the air. I have been with the station when it was WLIR, then WDRE, and back to WLIR, where it finally signed off terrestrial radio in 2004. It is now located at wlir.fm. I love this station. Best of all-time as far as I'm concerned.This documentary was extremely well done. It really caught the spirit of what was happening at that time in the early-80s with the flood of all those great New Wave, Post-Punk, and Techno Pop (what electronic music was called back then, i.e. Kraftwerk, Depeche) bands.My friends and I would have loved to have been in England at the time, and who would of thought – Long Island as well, with everything going on in the clubs and after-shows. The influence this station had on the music and also my life was tremendous. There's not enough thanks. Loved calling in and listening to 'Screamer of the Week'., listening to "Rock Over London" on Sunday Mornings, and other shows Sunday evening.Anyone who is a music fan and loves eras of music history will totally enjoy this film. Denis McNamara and all who worked at WLIR are true radio/music legends. This, sadly, will most likely never happen again, due to corporate structure and bankrupt iHeart Radio garbage practices. The station not only played singles, but 12" mixes, album tracks, b-sides, and imports not available in the US and even months before availability. They even had exclusive tracks, like when they were the only station to play "Personal Jesus (acoustic)" by Depeche Mode months before it's official studio release. Where else could you hear Thrashing Doves, Flesh for Lulu, Cetu Javu, Secession, and Comsat Angels?I could go on and on and talk about this station with stories for hours. This documentary by Ellen Goldfarb gives you a glimpse into and even a bit of what it was like to experience WLIR. The fan and artist interviews really nail this home.Never had a problem with the signal from across Long Island Sound though :D

This is an outstanding documentary if you grew up listening to WLIR on Long Island, NY in the 80's! Wonderful memories abound!!!

Nostalgic

I really enjoyed watching this DVD. Good memories and rock 'n' roll history I never knew about. It's too bad WLIR never came back, I can only imagine how HUGE they would be today. A definite awesome buy for any music fan from the '80's. I enjoyed the old footage of my rock idol, Joan Jett. And seeing other artists today, as aged as I am, still rockin' (Billy Idol, Debbie Harry, Duran Duran, Joan Jett).

I grew up on Long Island in the 80s. I listened to WLIR, I phoned the "airline" to vote for Screamer of the Week, and I danced in all the clubs. Every WLIR DJ was like a friend. Obviously I could not give this film anything but a stellar review and a big recommendation. I have friends who are music lovers from other parts of the country and all over the world, and none of them had anything like this incredible hole-in-the-wall radio station. Yeah, I cried all the way through this. Anyone who wants to understand what the 80s were *really* like should watch this.

An awesome documentary about a Long Island radio station that dared to be different and brought new music to a generation of people. This is a must watch for anyone that is into music history, new wave music, or radio stations. It shows some really cool behind the scenes information and includes interviews with some of the biggest musicians.

Very well put together! Brings me back to my teens when I was glued to the radio. WLIR was a big part of my youth. It was devastating when they went off the air. It was like losing one of your family members. It’s a great documentary. It filled in the gap as to why they never came back as they said they would. I’m still so devastated by the end of a fond period.

This documentary was extremely well done. Well worth watching (and owning).