The Home of Nu Rock, as this generation calls it.
Unfortunately, because all of us have succumbed to the whims and desires of the consumerist society, it will be torn down, only to be replaced by something that the listeners of NU 107 would be hardly displeased.
And for me, it is travesty. It is a desecration. It is a destruction of a home. For me, it was the blasphemy of all blasphemies, like tearing a church apart just to build a whorehouse specifically catering lowlifes.
NU has been the home of those who wish to deviate, to separate themselves from the blind crowd and decide to be authentic, to be different, and to be someone who can say that they proudly pursue what they love. It has been a home for their ears, for their music, for their culture, for their lives, for their future, and for their life.
Not only has this been a home, but also this has been a part of the story of their lives. This was the one station on the airwaves that catered to the different, to the separated, even to the ideological and the avant garde. Not only that, it has also been a refuge even for those who would want to just swing life away, who separate themselves momentarily from work and relax, chill, and enjoy rock music at its finest.
I, for one, was among those who benefitted from NU, to the point that my life really did a one-eighty because of it.
I discovered NU when I was in the late second year of my high school, searching for something new in my life after being tired of listening to pop and search for something more satisfying in terms of music. Back then, I was listening only to one station, the now-defunct Campus Radio LSFM which also featured more than just your typical pop-rock (unfortunately, it suffered the fate as NU will suffer in the next months). One of my classmates, after inviting me to play drums in a band that he is planning to form, suggested that I listen to a lot of different rock styles so as to come up with a default genre for our band. And he recommended NU.
And it was then that I opened the box.
It was there where I discovered about punk, progressive rock, (later on) electronic, britrock, and many other styles that drew me, attracted me to pursue greater things.
It was there where I discovered the emerging post-Eraserheads local acts that are worth listening to. Listening to NU led me to Sandwich, Sugarfree, the revamped Rivermaya, the revived The Dawn, Bamboo, and later on, to the Ambassadors, Urbandub, Pedicab, Itchyworms, and many other bands that formed authentic pinoy music.
It was there where, during my youth, I discovered early emotional hardcore rock, indie, and other genres I have never heard before. It was also there where I loved punk rock and its various forms and subgenres, allowing me to discover those less known bands, such as (during that time) My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Placebo, and the likes of them.
It was there where I, together with the band that we formed, planned to pursue our musical dreams by sending a mixtape to them (unfortunately, we were not able to push through).
It was there where I also discovered a lot of bands, both local and foreign, which pleased my ears and ushered a new life of tunes.
It was there where I was led to appreciate Pinoy Rock through the Rock Awards, telling myself that the Filipino, in spite of the wave of jologs music, still has some spunk left in him to be rightfully called artistic.
Later on, it was there where I could, through Halikinu Radio, get updates and comments from the teams and tunes of the school that has been my home as well. Add to that the fact that I was greeted on air every weekend, thanks to a close friend who had a stint at Halikinu.
It was there where my life of rock was founded upon and ushered new possibilities, new dreams, and new choices for me when it comes to music. Thanks to NU, I already have a whole lot of CDs and mp3s that shaped my life and partly made me who I am now.
NU 107 has been a comfort zone, a home of sorts, a refuge, a formation house for me. And now they are going to tear it down and replace it with things that the music community might not even call decent music. Tearing it down would be, for our generation, tearing apart our stories, our historicities, our culture, which we made an essential part of our life.
Goodbye NU 107, you could have formed a lot of minds and hearts which could serve as the foundation for the arts of the future Filipino, but this society doesn't have the right mind and heart to be with you and all those who listen to you. Rest assured, you will remain in our hearts, and we promise to keep the flame of passion to rock out alive and burning. It is in us where the Home of New Rock will continue to thrive and remain a real home.
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