KTRU Prepares to Wave Goodbye (to the FM Dial, At Least)

Well, shit. When I posted last night about {KTRU} losing its FCC challenge to stop the sale of the station, I’d figured there was still a little time left.

As it turns out, there’s a week. From emails I’ve gotten today, KTRU will go off the air at 91.7FM for the last time Thursday, April 28th, at 6AM. There was some talk about asbestos abatement that needed to be done mid-week next week, and the suspicion was that that might be the time, and yeah, it looks like it is.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I know, I know — this has been an uphill battle from the beginning, from the very first moment the {Houston Press} broke the story that the sale was happening. This is Houston, and money wins. But still, it kills me to see this happen; I’ve got my fingers crossed that the students who run the station will keep it going strong both online and on the HD2 channel kindly lent by KPFT, but the cynic in me can’t help but envision a decline.

I’ll keep listening, myself, one way or another. I really-and-truly love the station, and I would not be the person I am today without it, no question. The years I spent doing shifts at KTRU, both while as a student and a handful of times after, profoundly shaped the way I view and listen to music as a whole. That place basically took everything I thought I knew about music, going into college, and lit it on fire, showing me how incredible all the other stuff out there that I never knew existing really was.

Here’s to you, KTRU. You were and are loved, and while I hope you continue to soldier on for many years to come in this new form, I salute The KTRU That Was and bid it a solemn farewell.