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New Wave Music: Dare to Be Different

Caught a great documentary film this afternoon as part of the Gold Coast International Film Festival. It was called "Dare to Be Different - WLIR - The Voice of a Generation". It was about the former Long Island radio station WLIR, and how with a dedicated staff and a hair-string budget, they helped a ton of British and American '80s New Wave bands break in the United States. If you're an '80s New Wave music fan, I highly recommend it. List is of my favorite WLIR artists, and my favorite album by each band. Artists I've listed with a compilation or live albums are artists who I generally found more interesting for their singles than their albums.
1Blondie
Parallel Lines


Top 25 band. Saw them live several times. "Parallel Lines" is the only album on this list that I've 5'd.
2The Police
Synchronicity


Top 25 band. Saw them live once, but saw Sting live several times. Even today, my wife would dump me for Sting in a heartbeat.
3The Cars
Candy-O


Top 25 band. Never saw them live. Think they first won me over with the synthesizer part of "Just What I Needed".
4Eurythmics
Touch


Top 25 band. Saw them live once - might be my favorite-ever concert. Loved their early synth-based stuff best, their later R&B-based stuff not as much.
5The Smiths
The Queen Is Dead


Top 25 band. Never saw them or Morrissey live, probably never will because I refuse to lay out my money for tickets and then hope that the moody bastard will decide to actually perform that day. Wouldn't mind catching Johnny Marr live, though. And damn, did they have some great songs.
6The Go-Go's
Talk Show


Top 25 band. Saw them live twice. Short discography, but much of what there is is golden.
7'Til Tuesday
Voices Carry


Top 25 band. Never saw them live, but I've seen Aimee Mann live a number of times. Band is seriously underrated, due to short career and silly haircuts.
8Squeeze
Argybargy


Saw them live twice. Great writers of pop songs.
9Duran Duran
Rio


Saw them live once. Simon LeBon has one of the best voices in rock history.
10R.E.M.
Out of Time


Saw them live once. One of the folkier New Wave bands.
11U2
The Unforgettable Fire


Never saw them live. Yes, they're pretty overblown now, but "Unforgettable Fire" and "War" are two of the great albums of the '80s.
12A Flock of Seagulls
Listen


Saw them live once. Another band that is seriously underrated -- see Til Tuesday comment re/silly haircuts. "I Ran", "Space Age Love Song", "Telecommunication" and "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" are among the decade's best.
13Dexys Midnight Runners
Too-Rye-Ay


Never saw them live (and I'd be terrified to try now -- see my review of their most recent album "Let the Record Show"). Unusual stylistically for a WLIR band, but their Celtic rock sound was right in my sweet spot.
14Ultravox
Lament


Never saw them live, but "Lament" and "Vienna" are two of my favorite albums of the decade.
15The Fixx
React


Saw them live once (weirdly enough as an opening act for The Moody Blues -- go figure). I'm not convinced they were a great albums band, but they had some amazing singles, including "Red Skies", "Stand or Fall", "One Thing Leads to Another", "Saved By Zero" and "Secret Separation".
16The Buggles
The Age of Plastic


Never saw them live. The first band ever played on MTV, who recorded a couple of albums as a duo, then were absorbed into prog-rock giants Yes for the "Drama" album. Once again, go figure. "Video Killed the Radio Star" is one of the classics of the era.
17Martha and the Muffins
Mystery Walk


Saw them live once, in one of my favorite concerts ever, opening for Howard Jones and Eurythmics. Largely obscure Canadian band, known mostly for the song "Echo Beach" off of their first album.
18The Human League
Greatest Hits


Saw them live once. Yet another synth-based singles band. Songs like "Human", "Don't You Want Me" and "Mirror Man" are among the era's best.
19The Cure
Disintegration


Never saw them live (but I'm still hoping). This is their best album imo, although "Just Like Heaven" is my favorite song of theirs. And who could forget Mecha-Robert Smith's inspiring defeat of the evil Mecha-Streisand during the first season of "South Park"?
20The Psychedelic Furs
All of This and Nothing


Saw them live several times. Again, some great singles, my favorite being "Love My Way".
21Echo and the Bunnymen
Ocean Rain


Never saw them live. But "Ocean Rain" and "Porcupine" are among my favorite albums of the decade.
22Patti Smith
Easter


Saw her live several times. A strange and unique artist who'd never be given a chance today. "Frederick" is one of my favorite love songs ever, and hell, she even did a guest appearance on Blue Oyster Cult's "Agents of Fortune" album.
23Joe Jackson
I'm the Man


Saw him live once. I know some people view him as a lesser Elvis Costello, but at his best ("I'm the Man" and "Night and Day") I liked him better.
24The B-52s
Cosmic Thing


Saw them live numerous times. My wife's favorite band other than Blondie, and a truly unique act. "Cosmic Thing" and "Wild Planet" are particular favorites, even if some of their best-known songs like "Love Shack" and "Rock Lobster" have been played to the point of aural invisibility over the years.
25The Alarm
Standards


Saw them live once, and it was one of those experiences of "Oh, they do THAT song? I've always loved it." and "They do THAT song too? Wow!" And who else would devote a whole song (and a good one) to Stephen King's "The Stand"?
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