Since 92.7 changed its format on February 1, 2004, there hasn't been any station on the radio in the NYC area playing alternative music. WLIR which has moved to 107.1 can only be heard in Suffolk County. The radio dial is now horrible, and I can only take refuge in my own music collection.
This posting though is a tribute to WLIR which I discovered in late 1984. I heard a few songs that I wanted to tape from the radio. Yep... back then we used to buy blank TDK or Maxell tapes and record songs from the radio. We were poor high school students on a budget and couldn't afford to buy every record for every song we liked. This was a decade before the internet and downloadable music files.
By early 1985, I switched allegience from Top 40 radio to the alternative WLIR, latching onto groups like Depeche Mode, New Order, the Cure, Dead or Alive, the Smiths, OMD, Alphaville, and artists like Billy Idol, Howard Jones, and David Bowie. It was WLIR at its peak, with DJ's Doona Donna, Larry the Duck, Denis MacNamara, and Malibu Sue. The station aired weekly live concerts, an import program called "Off the Boat", a Friday night "Party Out of Bounds", and of course the "Screamer of the Week" which was the week's favorite new song voted in by the listeners.
In late 1987, the station changed owners and morphed into WDRE. After what I would consider a shaky beginning, WDRE picked up where WLIR left off, getting in stride by 1988 and almost reaching the WLIR peak. On WDRE, I used to like the Sunday morning "Rock Over London" broadcast which inspired me to track the British music charts instead of the American Top 40. I was a fan of the station as well as the music. When I finally got my first car in 1990, I proudly placed a WDRE bumper sticker on it. I also drove to the station to pick up a WDRE t-shirt. I remember listening to the morning show on my way to college in 1990/1991 when the aired parody sketches of serialized stories (one was called "The Dunwich Horror", another "Come Lover Viking" and if anyone out there can remember the others, let me know).
At this time I also found some interesting college radio stations that played some great shows during the weekend. Among them was WRHU's "Post Punk Progressive Pop Party" with Jeff Foss, and WBAU's "Adventures in Modern Recording" with Randy, Kelly and crew. It was there that I found groups like Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, and Yello.
By 1994/1995 the format of WDRE began to change to a commercialized grunge rock. The station even stopped playing some of the new material of groups that were considered staples years ago. During this time I was listening to my own growing CD collection, following groups like Inspiral Carpets, Blur, Manic Street Preachers, Curve, Slowdive, and more. Eventually I lost interest in WDRE altogether, until one day WLIR returned.
Although never achieving its mid 80's peak, it wss good to have WLIR back again. Although the station was blatantly guilty of "missing the boat" on a lot of talent, like the aforementioned Manic Street Preachers, as well as VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, De/Vision, Mesh, and even A-ha's latest hits (the good music is usually on the other side of the Atlantic guys!), it was still upsetting when they disappeared from the 92.7 frequency.
Anyway, this is my tribute to the history of the great WLIR.
WWW.WLIR.COM
3 comments:
I have vivid memories of the first time I ever heard Depeche Mode. From that moment on, I was hooked on WLIR forever!
I still have MANY tapes from WLIR that either I taped or you taped for me. One is a countdown (that might be from WDRE). Luckily I still have a tape deck in my car!
The one thing Flordia actually has is a pretty decent 80's radio station that plays a good amount of Billy Idol, Depeche Mode, INXS, Howard Jones, and many others. Unfortunately, we also have to hear some 80's metal as well but the station favors the early MTV stuff.
I just found this blog via a search for WBAU radio shows. I am desperately seeking recordings of Keith Marchesi's and Randy Finnerty's 'The Hidden Dimension'. It aired on Tuesday nights in 1987-88 and I used to listen to it religiously. I was in high school then, and this show kept me sane! I'm particularly fond of their comedic rants and stories. My fave was their 'Back to School Rap'. Any idea where I can find some of this stuff?
I loved the Post-Punk Progressive POP Party and what came before it, the PIX Penthouse Party on WPIX which changed formats to talk radio right before WLIR started up. For this reason I always hated LIR and DRE because they seemed like watered-down versions of the greatness that was the PPPPP, which interspersed garage rock, soul and old rock (like 50’s and 60’s) with the newest of the new, which formed a seamless mix. I have many, many tapes from that era - most unfortunately warped. Thanks for the nostalgic look back. I can’t believe the wasteland radio has become. I like to be surprised by music and hate the predictability of playlists.
Post a Comment