Saturday, March 10, 2007

BNW Stories - Philly

My request for peoples' Brave New Wave stories is beginning to yield results. Today I received an anonymous comment on the original post about this, but it was so moving to me, I thought it deserved a post of its own.

I don't know how this little blog was seen by someone in Philadelphia, but I am honoured to have such honesty shared with me. So thank you, Anonymous, for your story. Have a read:

"I'm a rare breed, I'm a long time American listener of BNW. I don't live in Detroit/Windor, or Seattle/Vancouver. I live in Philadelphia, PA. And by some force of sheer luck, one night 15 years ago, scanning the dial I discovered this show was simulcasting on one of the local public radio stations here. I was 12, about to turn 13, and at the time I was living with my family in a shelter. I hated being there, the food was awful, and the beds were not that much better. I heard this crazy cut-up of Heatwave's "Grooveline", and everything changed. I had no idea what it was, but it was the escape I needed every night since. To make a long story short, the simulcast didn't last long, and then when we found a new place to live and I got online I have been listening ever since. All I can say that it wasn't just my musical tastes that have been altered by this show. It also affected my philosophies as well. Losing this show is losing the driving force of my life, and as much as it has changed over the last few years, I still come home from work listening to it and being blown away by what I hear. There will be nothing on Earth like Brave New Waves again, and I'm glad I got to know it so well and for so long."

If you have a comment, or a story you'd like to share, by all means, send it my way. Thanks again for such candour.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I would be that "anonymous" person. I'm flattered that you appreciated my story there. I wanted to email you a more detailed version of it, but couldn't find the email address, so had to abridge it a bit. If you're wondering how someone from Philly could reach a Montreal blog, there's this thing called Googling that makes the whole world much smaller, hehe. In all seriousness, Brave New Waves was and always has been the perfect escape when I needed one. Here's hoping you'll get more stories, and thanks again for the kind words.

The Editor said...

Hey there, that's totally cool. I see now from your myspace page that you were searching for BNW content. That's pretty cool you are collecting up past shows. I hope it helps in dealing with the loss of the show.
Fanx again for the comments, Jacqueline.