of local, community radio - that some new pointers on how to get KUSF back on the FM dial might arise. Or at the very least that there will be a show of solidarity towards the unfairly ousted KUSF programmers from their fellow left of the dial broadcasters of the NFCB whose tag is, "We are local. We are global. We are independent, connected, and engaged." 

Since KUSF was abruptly pulled off the FM dial on January 18th, when the University of San Francisco (USF) management secretly worked out a deal with Public Radio Capital (PRC) replacing 90.3FM with an out of town programmed classical station, the ripples have been felt across the country by other college & small non-commercial radio stations who, particularly in this time of federal & state funding cutbacks and universities clamoring for ways to generate money, wonder if they might be next to get the plug pulled on them. The move by USF was not an isolated one but rather part of an increasing trend by budget challenged colleges across the country. While tomorrow's panel will focus on the events that went down at KUSF and KTRU (another radio station that got kicked off the air) its message of what to do when your station faces the chopping block is as much, if not more so, directed at those college/student stations that are still on air but could soon face a similar fate.

1) DJ Quik The Book Of David (Mad Science Records)

2) Snoop Dogg Doggumentary (Priority) 

3) E-40 Revenue Retrievin: Overtime Shift (EMI)
 
    E-40 Revenue Retrivin': Graveyard Shift (EMI) 

4) Wiz Khalifa Rolling Papers (Atlantic)

5) Blueprint Adventures in Counter-Culture (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

Thanks to Marques at Amoeba Hollywood for this week's Hip-Hop Top Five, which features the brand new release from LA hip-hop legend and friend of Amoeba DJ Quik. His album The Book Of David on Mad Science is the artist's eighth studio album in 20 years. It was released on Tuesday this week (4/19) and the following day (4/20) the long time SoCal rapper/producer had an extremely well attended Amoeba Hollywood instore album signing party. At 7:30pm on Wednesday Marques reported that -- an hour and a half into the signing -- there were still "A lot of people...here waiting to meet Quik and get their CDs signed. He's cool," he said adding, "Looks like we are selling out of it [The Book Of David]." Indeed, and hence the new CD shot to the top of the latest Amoeba hip-hop chart. 

by Sally
Davey Havoc pic by Audra, all other pics by Kaitlin.

Every year Record Store Day just gets bigger and bigger, and the craziness grows! Here in SF before we opened the line was INSANE outside our doors and the first person in line had been there since 6am! That's some dedication! Even more astounding, customers were calling Friday night and asking if they could camp out for prime spots on the big day!

At 10:30am on the button, the doors were opened and people swarmed into the treasure-laden vinyl aisles of Amoeba SF. There were hoardes of people packing the rows and surrounding the 7"s. Watch an awesome video below shot by Audra of the line and the vibe before the doors were flung open!

Last night as Colin Firth and all the other Oscars 2011 winners were celebrating in Hollywood, up north in San Francisco the members of the Save KUSF collective were still celebrating their weekend victory in the ongoing battle to win back their radio station, which had the plug pulled January 18th. Due to support for the much beloved San Francisco non-commerical radio station, not just one (as anticipated) but two Petitions to Deny the transfer its terrestrial FM license had been filed with the FCC. Saturday (Feb 26th) was the cutoff date and for the past five and a half weeks the tireless members of the Save KUSF group held a series of events, including the big radio station simulcast at Amoeba SF on Feb 18th, to garner support to reverse the move by the University of San Francisco. And support has been building rapidly! Last Tuesday at the Fox Theater in Oakland, Ira of the group Yo La Tengo sported a Save KUSF t-shirt on stage in a show of solidarity.

In an email Saturday night from Save KUSF's Kenya Lewis, who is one of the many hard working volunteers with the group, she praised the "steady and practical commitment to what was necessary to be sure KUSF-FM 90.3 remains the stalwart voice of SF and hub of our community, right where it belongs on the left-hand side of the FM radio dial here in San Francisco." Lewis also acknowledged that the battle is far from over and went on to say, "the next set of legal, negotiation, and community-building work will require an equal amount of rigor, dedication, and commitment -- which we have now proven is entirely possible." Lewis noted that the importance of winning this battle is not just a local one -- hopefully they can "help buck a bad nationwide trend" in which universities have been selling off their radio station FM signals and thereby depriving their respective communities of an important alternative media voice. For more info visit Save KUSF.

1) T.I. No Mercy (Grand Hustle)

2) Andre Nickatina/Smoov-E The King & Mr. Biscuits (I-Khan Dist.)

3) Big Rich Built to Last (Big Rich Music)

4) Buff1 & Rhettmatic Crown Royale (ASide)

5) Redman Reggie (Island Def Jam)

Special thanks to Luis at the San Francisco store for this week's top five chart. Beyond the top five, Luis notes that, "Then there's the Kanye, Curren$y and Damu the Fudgemunk, which is super dope!" The latter is also a favorite of DJ Inti at the Berkeley Amoeba, where it was a hip-hop chart contender last week. The latest SF Amoeba chart includes some local Fillmore district SF flavor from both Big Rich and Andre Nickatina. His latest outing is a joint project with his regular studio collaborator, the Tennessee to The Bay transplant Smoov E, who also sometimes goes by the name Smoov Biscuits. That explains the title of their new joint release, The King & Mr. Biscuits, which appears on Nicatina's label, I-Khan Distribution.  The eleven track album features great tracks such as "For The Green (Remix) and "Genuine Draft (Remix)."


Meanwhile, Big Rich, who last year dropped Heart Of The City, is back with his impressive latest two-part release. Built to Last (Big Rich Music) is both an album and a documentary (CD + DVD) from the successful SF artist who has had a mixed year. Musically, he's kept busy and been artistically satisfied, he says, having spent the greater part of 2010 out on the road.