Doing God’s Work



Dear God:



I’m sorry to be reading your mail and all, but I just happened to come across
a letter addressed to you that was published in the L.A. Weekly [“What
the FCC?” by Kate Sullivan, March 4–10]. I wanted to make sure you got a
secular point of view as well.



The author was quite struck with the presence, beauty and grace you showed with
the installation of a radio station going by the name of Indie 103.1. Personally,
I thought it showed your vengeance in true form. Indie 103.1 is a plague with
the best of them. Sure, they are “a pretty-much-freeform, alt-rock haven for
music fanatics, unsigned local bands, and aging punk rockers,” but they are
ultimately interested in one thing: money. Steve Jones sells each listener car
insurance while playing old tired music that is hardly independent.



God, I was under the impression that you didn’t take kindly to money changing
in your temple. Because it corrupts the true message of your word. Sure, I don’t
really believe in you. But that’s one of the things I remember from the beating
I took from the good book. And to answer the question “Who cares if they had
ulterior motives; they did your work in the end, which is what counts.” I care.
And I think you do too. If money is more important than your work, aren’t they
breaking the First Commandment?



God, I’m struggling. I believe that my fellow disc jockeys and co-workers are
truly doing your work here at KXLU 88.9 FM, but sometimes people just don’t
notice. I know vanity and pride are sins, and to be humble is a virtue, so I
will do the best I can. We have never aired a commercial. We have no sponsors.
We are only interested in the purity of your word. We represent all your people,
from those who like salsa, to rock, to noise, to classical. I know we have many
faithful followers, and they keep us alive on their donations alone, but why
don’t others see the light?



At KXLU we are committed to maintaining consistently high programming standards
throughout our schedule by striving to give underrepresented artists and musical
genres a voice. We never have to worry if the noise we are playing is too soft
or too loud for the people buying our airtime, because our airtime is not for
sale.



Lord, I know we’ve been working together for a while now (about 25 years) and
we never will get the press and recognition that some might say your work deserves.
But it is good to know that we will keep working together forever with or without
the recognition. And doing that work will always be commercial-free!



Thanks for hearing me out, God.



P.S. By the way, can you please do something about that Christian station trying
to take over our signal?



—Brandon Perry

General manager, KXLU





Cleveland Rocked



Before I get started, let me say, good story, Eric Nuzum [“Small
Revolt,” March 11–17]. Having grown up in Akron, Ohio, I find it hard to
believe that you could not find a punk or other scene in Canton. Granted the
Canton scene was never as vibrant as the Akron or Cleveland scene, but you were
just a car ride away. Sure, you were coming a bit after the punk heyday, but
Cleveland was arguably the second most important city in the U.S., after New
York City, as far as the birth of punk. From Pere Ubu to Rocket From the Tomb,
who became the Dead Boys, the scene may have chilled a bit by the mid-’80s,
but the music and scene were still there.



I guess I have always been loyal to northeastern Ohio, and it bothers me when
people speak of it as some sort of cultural backwater. The fact that you could
find a Smiths album in ’80s Ohio is a surprise only to you. So, hey, the next
time you go back, drop me a line — I’ll point out a few cool places for you,
then you can write about that.



—Jeremy Roberts

Hollywood





Friend to the Feathered



I’d like to make one important correction to Judith Lewis’ fine article on the
DWP Pine Tree wind farm, in which I am quoted [“Don’t
Mince Birds,” March 18–24]. We aren’t defenders of the hundreds of
songbirds that fly through that location during migration. We are defenders
of the millions of tiny songbirds that fly through that location during
migration, a figure that even DWP’s hired biologist Dr. Michael Morrison can’t
refute. Our own members have seen up to 6,000 birds in one day in one location
on field trips. We just don’t know exactly how many there are, when they fly
(some at night), how high they fly, or exactly what path they use, because there
has not been a study. We feel it is DWP’s responsibility as lead agency under
the California Environmental Quality Act to conduct that study before they conclude
that there is no significant risk to avian populations, rush to put up turbines,
and try to conduct fatality studies on tiny puffs of feathers.



—Garry George

Los Angeles Audubon Society

Los Angeles





Get the Lead Out



Regarding the article “Fight
of the Condors” [February 18–24] and the problem of lead contamination:
In 1984 I visited a friend in New Mexico and we went duck hunting. New Mexico
Fish and Game officers came up and found shotgun shells in the truck that contained
lead. They wrote me a citation for $50 on the spot. Their behavior showed me
there was a ban on lead shot in New Mexico.



This can be done in California. Put the ban on lead shot on the books, explicitly
saying that the hunter and the landowner will be fined.



—James Heatherington

Los Angeles





Addendum

The photographs of the Dazzle
Dogs exhibit [March 18 issue, Page 34] were taken by Kevin Scanlon.


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