06
Sep
2010
From Alum Ben Horne

Plato had a different idea. He said ideas rule the world.
KTRU is an idea.
A philosophy.
KTRU is not just a club. It is a cause.
KTRU is, even, possibly a religion.
Do you believe in God? If you do, you will probably agree that KTRU is the station that God listens to. It’s the #1 preset on the dial.
God doesn’t care about money. KTRU doesn’t care about money. It may just be a coincidence.
KTRU allows ideas to be heard that do not have the express purpose of making money. This is normal for kids. Kids create art for the joy of it. This indifference to material greed is not normal for adults.
Bob Dylan sang “There’s no success like failure. And failure’s no success at all”
When I went to Rice, it was popular to complain that KTRU was static. Criticized by many, most of them have never tried to turn it on at all. If they have, most have not tried to understand. If they did turn it on, they would know we play way too much indie rock and not enough challenging music anyway. KTRU is actually, quite soft and accessible. And for those who tried to listen to KTRU, it was far more educational than HUMA 101. Or HYPER / LPAP. Or watching a Rice football game.
D.A. Levy wrote that “if you attack the structure—the system—the establishment-you attack yourself…attack if you must”
It is scrawled on the KTRU office wall that if other stations color outside the lines, KTRU eats the crayons. Put differently, KTRU is a rock that you throw at the car window of the Man.
KTRU supports the idea that the system is a rotting corpse. Actually, KTRU supports nothing. It allows artists to support whatever ideas they want. Its one purpose is to be a voice for actual concepts, not an avenue to profit. As Jesus said, “you cannon serve God and Mammon.”
But in the words of Swedish alternative band Refused, “When every expression, no matter how radical it is, can be transformed into a commodity and be bought or sold like cheap soda, how is it then possible that you are going to be able to take “art” seriously?”
My first KTRU DJ shift I thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers were alternative. By my final shift, I was playing Merzbow and Null. And liking it.
The Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis is the most famous Lithuanian to most Americans. It’s their right to listen to him. But Lithuanians have a statue of Frank Zappa in their Town square.
That’s right, there are KTRU stickers in Vilnius, Lithuania. There are more in Houston- a diverse and beautiful community progressive enough to embrace a truly challenging and innovative idea.
Lithuanians put up their statue after Zappa died. May they never put up a statue for KTRU.
Love,
Ben Horne
KTRU DJ, 1998-2002
KTRU DJ director 2000-2001
KTRU Station Manager 2001-2002
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