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.
Short film by Kym Farmen and ex-Amoebite Denah Johnston
Heads up, San Francisco and surrounding Bay Area! Get more details here!
Amoeba Music Berkeley Weekly Hip-Hop Top Five Chart: 01:21:11
1) Cee Lo Green The Lady Killer (Elektra Records)
2) Eligh Grey Crow (Legendary Music/ Alpha Pup)
3) Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)
4) Andre Nickatina & Tha Jacka My Middle Name Is Crime EP (I-Khan Distribution)
5) Madlib Medicine Show #11: Low-Budget Hi-Fi Music (Stones Throw)
Special thanks to Amoeba Berkeley's DJ Inti for the latest hip-hop top five chart. You can catch Inti's DJ sets at Radio at 435 13th St near Broadway in Oakland every Thursday! This week he notes how the popular Medicine Show series from super-talented LA producer Madlib is back after taking a short two month break, not quite delivering the 12 releases promised in the twelve months of 2010. Not a problem, though, since the series is back with a bang with the guest-heavy Medicine Show #11: Low-Budget Hi-Fi Music on Stones Throw. This full-length hip-hop release makes up for the delay with amazing production plus guest spots from such talents as Guilty Simpson, MED, Oh No, AG, Strong Arm Steady, and Karriem
Riggins. Premiering on this 28 track release is a Jaylib-era track taken from Madlib and J-Dilla's never-realized second album. The final part in the Medicine Show series is expected to drop within the next month.
