The Rhythm of the City
By now, some of you may have already heard about the impending final sign-off of one of the most iconic radio brands ever to grace Manila’s FM band, 99.5RT, after more than 30 years on the air. RT as a format is going to be ditched in favor of one that’s similar to the likeness of its sister station (and over-all flagship brand of the TRPI/Tiger 22 radio empire), Magic 89.9, in order to boost revenues, or so I read online.
To be honest, there was a sense of disappointment in me when I learned about RT’s latest format flip a couple of weeks ago. I thought that after four years since DWRT-FM relaunched as nuRT after two failed format changes, management have finally stuck to what really works. Turns out that it didn’t.
I have a love affair with RT, one that I’ve hold on to since 2008. It’s something akin to one of those so-called greatest love stories ever told in the history of mankind except for the fact that I’m in love with a non-human entity, a brand that has defined a generation and have been through hell and back.
I’ve lost count to how many times I’ve been to the RT booth since day one of its return to the airwaves that it’s not even funny. I’ve made research prior to the relaunch to know why RT meant so much to a lot of people. Turns out that I learned what the reason was front and center.
I never thought that I would find myself being a part of the station itself. I became an intern to RT’s weekly chartshow, the RT30 Countdown. I learned a lot during my stay on the show, from researching about the songs and artists featured in the countdown to coming up with ideas to make it an even better show every week.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly the way it should have that I ended up seeing my tenure on the show cut short. It felt like one of those rough patches with a girlfriend that inevitable led to a tragic break-up.
On the heels of such a depressing chapter, the radio gods somehow gave me reason to hold on, a little something called The Farm.
The Farm, a radio training program that paved the way for individuals to be trained on the many aspects of radio: marketing, production, research, on-air. I had the honor of being under the tutelage of one of the greatest (can I just say greatest?) DJ’s in RT history, Jeremiah Junior. He is such a fun and sweet guy yet he knows what he’s doing especially when it comes to making great radio. Koji Moralez, who I listened to back in the old WLS-FM when he was still Joe Spinner, is also a great mentor to me and the rest of the team. Between sending us Farmers to seminars and teaching us the basics of radio, he also treated us to pizza (Yey!).
The program have produced several graduates who became full-fledged DJ’s, a couple of them ended up on RT like Dirty J and Jack Master 8. Too bad I never got that one chance to become a DJ-in training. Blame it on nerves and stuttering, I guess.
I think RT have, in a certain way, made a great impact in my life. Call me whack, the whole RT experience opened my eyes and ears to some really great music, some really great artists and most of all, made life in college one of the best years I ever have.
Meeting some of the most extraordinary people in the world like Ron, Winner, Sam Oh, Neil, Inka, Slyde, Lellie, Joshua, King DJ Logan and along the way, the likes of Mr. Mike Pedero and, if I’m not mistaken, Joe Schmoe, online really made this whole love affair worth it. Fours year and 2 months, I can’t believe it lasted that long but I was really hoping it’d last for maybe thirty more years and beyond.
Too bad I don’t have a lot of friends who enjoy listening to RT as much as I do. Although I’m still a little clueless when it comes to having the best of musical knowledge, I don’t think it really matters as long as I could enjoy whatever RT is playing. Heck, I’ll even choose 24k Weekend as my favorite oldies program over the likes of Slide and Friday Madness anytime.
Once RT signs off for good, I’m not sure what station I’ll go to next as there’s not a lot of choices left in the FM band. I hope some facets of RT still remains to whatever form DWRT-FM will take in the next few days, other than the DJ’s retained for the relaunch (wishful thinking: 24k). It is such a shame that my love story with RT is going to meet a bittersweet end so I’m really hoping that I could be there for its very last day on the air. I’m praying to the radio gods right now so as to make sure I’ll be there.
As the song goes: “The rhythm makes me feel like loving you…”
99.5RT Station ID on Kinetic Typography (Self-Made) from James Habitan on Vimeo.