SYNOPSICS
Dare to Be Different (2017) is a English movie. Ellen Goldfarb has directed this movie. Nancy Abramson,M. King Adkins,Ron Alexenburg,Sam Ash are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2017. Dare to Be Different (2017) is considered one of the best Documentary,Music movie in India and around the world.
U2, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Blondie, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, The Clash, The Cure: Over half a billion records sold but you may never have heard of them if not for a small suburban radio station on Long Island, NY: WLIR. In August, 1982, a small group of radio visionaries knew they couldn't compete with the mega-stations in New York City. With one brave decision, they changed the sound of radio forever. Program Director Denis McNamara, the 'LIR crew and the biggest artists of the era tell the story of how they battled the FCC, the record labels, mega-radio and all the conventional rules to create a musical movement that brought the New Wave to America.
Dare to Be Different (2017) Reviews
Awesome Movie, Awesome Music
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!
Recommend this to anyone who loves 80s music
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.
Love It
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!
West Coast girl just doesn't get it....
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.
Should be called "A Year (maybe more) Or So Behind"
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.