Those of you who know me know that I'm incredibly into music and radio. So when I found out today that the alternative station that I grew up on -- the one that introduced me to the music I love today and the one that I used to spend hours listening to when I was in high school, eating up all they had to offer me -- changed to hip-hop this afternoon, I felt like another little part of my childhood had died. Admittedly, the station had not been doing well in the ratings and I had liked to poke fun at it for being pretty bad as far as alternative stations went, but it still held a special place in my heart as being my first love, and I guess I'm lucky that it lasted as long as it did, considering all the station changes going on these days. I guess in a lot of ways now, I can never go home again, for the house I grew up in has been sold to some complete strangers and the soundtrack isn't my life anymore -- it's thumping bass and prefab sampled beats and words with "z" at the end of them. As The Ataris say, So Long, Astoria. The Ataris - "In This Diary" Here in this diary, I write you visions of my summer. It was the best I ever had. There were choruses and sing-alongs, And that unspoken feeling Of knowing that right now is all that matters. All the nights we stayed up talking Listening to '80s songs And quoting lines from all those movies that we love. It still brings a smile to my face. I guess when it comes down to it... Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up: These are the best days of our lives. The only thing that matters is just following your heart And eventually you'll finally get it right. Breaking into hotel swimming pools And wreaking havoc on our world. Hanging out at truck stops just to pass the time. The black top's singing me to sleep. Lighting fireworks in parking lots, Illuminate the blackest nights. Cherry cokes under this moonlit summer sky. 2015 Riverside, it's time to say, "goodbye." Get on the bus, it's time to go. Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up: These are the best days of our lives. The only thing that matters is just following your heart, And eventually you'll finally get it right...