Death of a Radio Station

THANK YOU FOR 23 YEARS 
OF ORIGINAL MUSIC!

Just woke up listening to NU 107 this morning and it seems like the word-of-mouth is true regarding the impending signing off of this ultra kewl radio station for good.

The Upswing tandem of DJs Trish and Jay couldn't hide the sadness as Macoy Fundales and his crew from Kenyo made a surprising visit and shared fond memories of their early years as budding artists and musicians with the help of this country's pioneering rock-n-roll station. Macoy topped the nostalgia trip with live, acoustic performance of a popular song Heaven Knows by his former band Orange and Lemons.

If the rumored final day of airing is true this coming Saturday, the loyal followers of this station will definitely raise a glass or two until midnight to pay tribute to what this station meant to their lives as artists or dilettantes, and as professionals or underground musicians.

Even for just a loyal listener, this station and its noteworthy segments will be missed for sure. I'll miss listening to Rock Ed Radio discussions with Gang and Lourd, the All Pinoy Countdown and Stairway to Seven, Francis Brew's In the Raw, and of course the best of them all---Remote Control Weekend. I've been listening to this station since college days and admittedly it has defined my adolescent life when it comes to musical preferences and idols. It gave me a great and therapeutic respite from Boy Bands, Spice Girls, and Britney Spears. It showed me who really are the true voices of music like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, RATM, Eheads, Teeth, Wolfgang, 311, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, 3rd Eye Blind, Filter, Silverchair, The Offspring, Bush, Radiohead, Oasis, Deftones, Yano, Nine Inch Nails, Francis M, RHCP, et al -- and they became a major influence in a diverse way at the time when downloading an mp3 song was illegal. Of course, I'll never forget falling for the music of kick ass chicks like Shirley Manson, Courtney Love, Gwen Stefani, Tracy Chapman, Harriet Wheeler(The Sundays), Melody(Sugar Hiccups), Bic Runga, Cynthia Alexander, Aya De Leon(Imago), Beth Gibbons(Portishead), Acel Bisa, Sampaguita, and Lolita Carbon. I can still remember ages ago taking the path of Roces St from my dorm to AS Building for my Social Science II class. I couldn't stop humming a classic song from Yano as I picture the serene face of a female classmate.

This morning at the end of the show Macoy asked on what will happen to the new rock artists releasing their works next year if a pioneer rock station like NU will leave the industry for good. For this, there is no definite answer--yet. But remember, Pinoy Rock survived the Marcos years of silenced and pacified airwaves during Martial Law. And now that we have TV and Internet and other radio stations(no matter how lame and tame their music is), Pinoy Rock will surely live on as we bid farewell to this station that we always loved and loved us back.

Sometimes, there is also good news in letting go...


The agony of giving it up... Wasak ang Wakas brad!