And why the future is still so bright.
Looking back on our lives we often paint the past much brighter than it actually was.
That’s not to say it wasn’t great and colourful but memory tends to turn the contrast and saturation up a notch or two.
And let’s face it nostalgia can sometimes feel almost physically painful.
To hear a song that has a deep emotional connection to our past can stop us dead in our tracks, kick us in the stomach, and make our heart skip a beat or two.
One of the common phrases used is to look back through ‘rose-tinted glasses’.
The phrase itself is thought to have originated from early medical tests where migraine sufferers were encouraged to wear pink-tinted lenses to ease their pain.
And, as we get older, the harsh and jagged edges of our past become more rounded and less painful - it’s as if time helps our minds to become rose-tinged too.
And the carefree abandon and mayhem of youth seems so romantic compared to the more practical responsibilities of adulthood.
More often than not though, we leave our deepest dreams and ambitions in the past, settling for less in the pursuit of more.
Then we rationalise our choices, as if growing up and following our dreams or having fun are mutually exclusive to one another.
Often only allowing ourselves to have fun in limited binges on holidays and at the weekend.
We convince ourselves we should be more serious, more professional, more mature.
And potentially, more boring.
But what if the best times of your life aren’t just in the past?
What if it isn’t too late for you to still belong to something?
What if you aren’t too old to discover new things? New music, new technology, new attitudes, new people.
A new radio station?
Radio used to be at the centre of the city. It united people as they gathered around it, and let it play to them the soundtrack of their lives.
But then video killed the radio star, closely followed by the internet, music streaming and finally corporate and commercial greed.
Radio lost its way. But we were the real losers.
And so now people ask the question - with music streaming so convenient, what place is there for radio?
Our answer is this. A great radio station takes away the stresses of choice.
When you have every song imaginable at your fingertips, what track do you pick next?
Too much choice can be a bad thing.
You have to do all the work, all the thinking, all the searching, when really you just want to be listening and enjoying.
A great radio station plays you the songs you didn’t even know you wanted to hear.
And, hopefully it keeps on surprising you, so you keep coming back.
The other answer we give is just one word. Belonging.
A great radio station makes you feel part of something, a community, a tribe, something worthwhile. Music streaming is wonderful in so many ways, but you remain disconnected.
The Buzz Mcr is a radio station that understands the power of music and community.
We believe that there are still great times to be had in a city notorious for its music and partying past. A city filled with incredible people who want to feel they still belong to something valuable.
And, in a city where the worker bee is our symbol, and with our station called The Buzz, there is no better place or time than now to be hive-minded.
And because of our city's proud musical heritage, it’s our job at The Buzz Mcr to make sure, as we march into the future together, that we provide you with a killer soundtrack.