URADIO 107.9 FM

For sometime now, an underground radio station has been operating here in Metro Manila. It's location is undisclosed, just the same as the owners and the operators. There are no DJs; they utilize automated playlist from a computer with mix sets of popular DJs, both local and abroad, and they operate 24/7 (or so I think). I'm not sure if it is unlicensed to broadcast, or if it's just a gimmick. But then they also do not air commercials save for station ID and regular stingers about upcoming clubbing events in the metro or also warnings about drunk driving and driving while using a cellphone.

They play underground club music, ranging from house to techno, even drum n bass some of the times. The playlist can be so underground that many of the tracks being played are unrecognized. This doesn't mean, however, that the music is not good-- believe me, they will blow you away even if you are not a clubber. I also am not sure whether they do play live mix sets sometimes, but surely what they play most often are mix sets.

uRadio broadcasts on 107.9 mHz and may not be available in some locations as their transmitter is only 500 watts. And then they also have a live streaming site from where you can listen anywhere in the world. You can find the link here. You also can see more info about the staion here.

UPDATE:
Apparently, uRadio (or UnderGround Radio) 107.9mHz is operated by Brainstone Broadcasting Inc., with studio in Pasig and transmitter in Tagaytay city. Circa 2000, it was known as Power 108FM and was owned then by ConAmor Broadcasting Systems, they played then mostly urban music. The station closed in 2004 as it was then speculated to be a pirate station. It opened again in 2006, and this time with the trademark underground club music playlist, but also then shortly shut down due to complaints by licensed FM stations. They returned on air in April 2007, shifting frequencies to 108, 107.1, and 107.9mHz (so, that's why it comes and goes on our radio back home those times), but also had to close again after some months. Then, in October 2007, armed with newly acquired NTC permit, it went back on the air and this time with live broadcasts of mix sets from two of the most popular bars/clubs in Metro Manila. And then again, late September of 2008, it was closed down by NTC due to expired permit. It resumed broadcasting October 12, 2008 and remained on the air up to this writing.

ON WHY I HATE ROCK MUSIC

On my bus ride to work today I was seated opposite to this two friends who obviously are rockers, judging from their clothes, and sure enough they are talking about their music preference. You can blame me for being prejudiced, but from the way they talk and the words they use, even a kid can tell they both have nothing to speak of intellectually. They could well be typified like your neighborhood "taho" vendor. Well, I have seen the worst- like rugby boys in Cubao or Divisoria nodding to rock music, and "kargadors" as well.

It used to be that these kinds of people only listen to the likes of boybands or Filipino HipHop (looking the way of Salbakuta), even those old songs rolled into a medley with just one or two persons singing all throughout. And rock is reserved to those with enough intellect to understand what the bands are singing, at least literally. I admit I have been into rock music for the longest time. You can mention rock bands from way back AC/DC and Iron Maiden era to those of the recent years such as Incubus and Staind, and most likely I have got an album by them either on tape or CD. I grew up listening to rock music.

Somewhere along the way, around the time of Incubus and Limp Bizkit- the early 2000s, I just realized that I am sharing the same preference with most everyone else. I heard the errand boys at the grocery store near our home in Bicol listening to Linkin Park and System of a Down. I'm not being egocentric or something, but I do prefer things that are different from what everybody else has. Somebody suggested that this has been fueled by the proliferation of piracy, which opened the whole she-bang of options for music to those who previously are limited to, well, Salbakuta. So, damn the pirates. I do love downloading through the internet, though.

Along with rock, my other biggest music passion is electronic music. At around that very same time my love for rock is waning, I also am beginning to explore remixing and music production through computers. Well, to tell you the truth, I do dig most kinds of music from classical to pop standards to jazz-- the most extreme probably of which is my fascination for violins and bagpipes traditional music of the Irish and Scotts. Around the same time also, the opportunity to be a resident DJ for a local disco (club for us, westernized) opened up for me to explore further into electronic music by way of house music, and also into urban music. And me and my wife lived happily ever after.

Note: Thanks to http://www.shutterstock.com/ for the image