farewell, NU!

I thought I wasn't much affected with the going off the air of NU107.5. After all, I rarely listen to radio nowadays.

This weekend, my aunt turned on the radio to listen to music. She thought it's awfully quiet in the house, so she wanted to make it more lively. Of course, the dial of my radio was eternally tuned in to 107.5, and when she turned it on, NU was no more. It hit me: so they're really gone, eh? In the office, whenever I'm bored or when it's noisy, I just click on NU Live Access in my bookmarks toolbar, and time just passes away. When I want to just relax, sometime I just listen to NU at home. When I'm angry, I listen to NU (and it fuels my rage then calms me).

I started listening to NU when I was already in first year college. In our province, there are only 2 stations you can listen to, both local, both mainstream. In UP, I made friends with people from Manila Science High School. Whenever these MaSci people are in my car with me, they would turn the radio to NU107.5. They would not let anyone change it to a different station! (In high school, the first cassette tape I had was Evil Empire of Rage Against the Machine, and NU's playing their songs!) Since then, I never really listened to any other stations.

Last Saturday, when my aunt turned on the radio, I looked for another station I could listen to, or tolerate listening to (both the music and the annoying DJs), and there was none. I asked fellow NU listener t2rad which station he's now tuning in. Apparently, the answer is none; he now only listens from the Internet.

I love NU especially because it taught me music. I love NU because I hear songs I never really heard before, despite these songs being already "old." I love NU songs because they play the music that I like--that I can identify with.

Lat November 7, NU played its last song. Perhaps fitting for this rock station that served a generation of music lovers was its last song, Ang Huling El Bimbo from Eraserheads---the legend of Pinoy rock. People gathered in front of the station as NU signed out, wearing misses clothing, casual shorts and shirt, rocker outfit--all sorts of people who loved the station. Some held lighted candles as the last song was being played, a tribute to our mighty radio station.

For me and all these people, NU107.5 will always be The Home of NU Rock.