KOOP Was Up in Smoke: How We Can Help Rebuild Our Community Radio Station (and How An Arsonist Was Brought to Justice)

First the good news you probably already heard on Friday, January 25th: KOOP 91.7 FM is back on the air.

And now it's time to make sure we continue to show KOOP how much we support "radio de la comunidad" - "community radio".

The rebuilding of KOOP radio is a touchy subject with Kill The Critic. As a former volunteer, I have had some wonderful times at the station, and gained a lot of experience thanks to dedicated volunteers. Whenever I login to MySpace, it warms my heart to read a a post or re-post of a bulletin about local venues, magazines, bands, and station volunteers coordinating fundraisers for KOOP. This confirmed that other people missed one of Austin's premier community radio stations, one of our community stations; it also reminded me that someone who intentionally set a fire at our station was somewhere out there walking around, free. And when I heard negative criticism about KOOP programming after all we've been through with another fire, it compelled me to take action. Not to mute the critics (I say let the asses bray), but to embrace a station that has never striven for perfection, but has always striven to bring diverse music, news and information you won't hear on commercial radio.


Now act like you know.

For 19 days, the station was off the air, and it was 19 days too long. Tomorrow at 1:00 pm on KOOP's "Inner Views", you can hear an interview conducted by host Abigail Mahnke, with KOOP officers and the Austin Fire Department. KTC will be listen for an update in the investigation, and about the safety measures KOOP will be taking to prevent another nut from trying to silent their voices, which represent so many of our voices. And I can hardly wait to hear about the fun events planned to raise money to help pay for the repairs and replacement of equipment. Perhaps a few "big brother" type surveillance, motion detector cameras*, as well as topnotch smoke detectors and sprinkler system? Of course, money raised should go to day-to-day station operations too.

And later in the evening, "Now Playing Austin" DJs RGDG (Rebecca and Deidre) are guest bartenders at The Mohawk Happy Hour. Besides getting the hottest drink specials ($1 whiskey shots, $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon and Miller High Life, and $2 16-oz. Stone Lar - I mean Lone Star) from 5 to 8 pm, you'll also be hearing the hottest slection of tunes that have a lot to do with... fire.


What is that creature? Looks like Gorilla vs. Bear decided to mate instead.

And on Monday February 4th it's a party with Soundcheck in residency at the Beauty Bar, which features electronica freaks from John McCain's home state, Peachcake. The show opens with Ian Orth of Learning Secrets, and perhaps the only black guy at the indie rock show, The Cocker Spaniels. Donations will be taken at the door for KOOP, so be generous (the cover is a mere $3).

But the fun doesn't end at the beginning of the month of love and black history. KOOP is throwing a shindig that will make all of us mutants who didn't get a Valentine feel a lot better, or at least a little less like freaks and geeks.


Because it's not easy being green.

See a few of my favorite mutant bands and dance with that guy who has been giving you the eye all night, the one in the middle of his forehead. And according to my favorite KOOP blogger Paul Borelli:

"Beings of all species can make meaningful connections and engage in highly charged information exchange while dancing the night away to the sounds of KOOP DJ Scott Gardner of Stronger Than Dirt and the following electronically enhanced live music performers: Alright Tonight, The Carrots, and Pataphysics."

No suggested donation was mentioned, but I plan to give $10 at the door. I may even have a date with a tall and sexy mutant who enjoys listening to KOOP too.

If you have any information that may lead to the arrest of the idiot(s) that set fire to our radio station, the Texas State Arson Hotline is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

The hotline may be reached 24-7 at 1-877-4FIRE45 (1-877-434-7345).

KTC is happy to report that an arrest has been made. For more details, please tune in to KOOP 91.7FM at 1:00 pm today, or listen online @ koop.org.

For more information about KOOP Radio, contact KOOP at (512) 472-1369 or online at www.koop.org and www.myspace.com/koop917. KOOP is still acccepting donations. If you don’t have money, donate time, if you don’t have time, donate money here.


~DIY Danna

*Kill The Critic does not support the use of spy equipment in the name of security, but a few after hours cameras couldn't hurt.

Looks cool... But would it have killed them to add an "s"?

I have a love/hate relationship with dance movies. I simply wanted to express where I'm coming from before I give my two cents about the new release that is plastered on the MySpace login page - "How She Move". (I'll save my opinions on "Meet The Spartans" and "Semi-Pro" after the paid critics roast both, well done or burnt.)

Long before "Dirty Dancing" swept me off my feet (then made me gag a few years later), I was mesmerized (and then nauseated) by "Flashdance". What a feelin'! No offense against my sister Jennifer Beals (who shines in "The L Word"), but she wasn't winning any academy awards with her first starring role in a feature film. But I thought her day gig as a welder was hot. Feminist hot, believable to the average blue collar worker or not... But this blog isn't about "Norma Rae" - it's about dance movies. A year later there was the modern dance masterpiece "Breakin'". And who can forget the urban legend sequel, "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo"? I tried breakdancing for a while, but my career never took off after being dissed by my family during a dance-off with my sister. There's a laundry list of them, the dance movies we love or hate - or both - from the forbidden waste of dance fad flick "Lambada", to my all-time favorite that revels in underdog feel-goodness, "Strictly Ballroom". And I'm not ashamed to admit "Save The Last Dance" is in my DVD collection. It's ironically bold that MTV recycled this plot, featuring a young black female lead on the screen.

But when I first watched the preview for "How She Move" on television, I couldn't help but hear the "ch-ching" of cash registers (do they still make that sound?) and my high school English teacher Mrs. Gonzales sighing in exasperation. And it made my heart lurch. Street slang now pervades pop culture, and this culture - our culture- loudly proclaims that it's alright to be grammatically incorrect. No - it's the cool thing to do. Nevermind all the connotations of racism and illiteracy, two things a lot of people loathe. At least in my house.

Well, I'll never be one of the cool kids, spouting urban street slang even if I'm suburban or rural offspring. That time has passed, so I can be that corny old broad who insists your kids get off the street and play in their own backyards.

Would it kill them - the writer(s), director, producer(s), and post-production - to have added an "s" to the title? "How She Move" definitely grabs your attention. You read it and say it to yourself just once. You sound like a street hustler, or most likely a wannabe urban white hipster with one black friend. (Yeah, I went there.) Now say it with the "s". "How She Moves" doesn't sound so bad. It still flows like a rappers rhyme. Maybe it's a little softer... Too soft? Too romantic?


Almost makes you want to watch MTV again, right old folks?

As I write this critique, the words sounding off in my head, I wonder if the filmmakers were having the same debate.

I'm not admitting defeat about the "s". I'm sure the movie would still find an audience. I'm just not sure if that audience would be teenagers with expendable cash, searching for the freshest dance moves to bring to the Valentine's Day dance, or Prom floor. If they would have added the "s", would the majority of the audience be older men escorting women on dates?

The world may never know.

Here's the IMDB.com description of "She Hate Me" - I mean "How She Move": "Following her sister's death from drug addiction, a high school student is forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing."

Here's my one sentence review: A black teenager exiled from suburbia searches for social acceptance with her old neighborhood's step team.

And here's the trailer for "How She Move", which opens today in theaters across the U.S.A.:



Enjoy the movies this weekend, whatever you watch.

~ DIY Danna