The Krux of the Matter

As I type this, I'm listening to my iTunes. Of all 11,187 songs in the library, it has chosen randomly to play "Here Comes Santa Claus," by Elvis Presley.
That's appropriate because I'm setting out to write about a unique radio station, and what I love most about KRUX, 91.5 FM in Las Cruces, is its bizarrely eclectic and seemingly random playlist.
One morning I heard the 1969 country classic "Harper Valley PTA," by Jeannie C. Riley, followed by, I think, Marilyn Manson. I was jarred by the juxtaposition. But in a good way.
In a given hour, you can hear John Lennon, John Mayer, John Cash, John Legend and John Coltrane. Though I've not heard John Travolta.
Yet.

Almost all of the DJs are New Mexico State University students.
And man, are they hip.
Tuesday, during Lee Ryhanes' Representation Show/Soul Session, I heard a deep cut (Kalimba Story) from the 1974 Earth Wind & Fire album Open Our Eyes. I was so stunned to hear it on the radio, I had to call in. I requested another cut from the album, "Mighty, Mighty," and within minutes it was playing. I found myself driving down U.S. 70 loudly singing along with Maurice White, Philip Bailey and the crew while grinning from ear to ear.
A few weeks back on the Representation Show, I heard him play an incredibly obscure song by the group Brick, a 1970s funk band. It was good to know there's at least one other person in New Mexico who knows and loves the disco jazz music of the band whose biggest hit was "Dazz." My personal favorite is "Living from the Mind," one of the greatest headphone songs ever recorded.

Some mornings I listen to the coolly named "Two white guys from Ohio" show. At least until they play something that's way too hip (or too obnoxious, or too annoying, or too metal) for me.
Some mornings there's a very young and very cool sounding girl (maybe Adri G, according to the playlist at kruxradio.com) who will ramble on about whatever topic falls into her brain. Sometimes it's enlightening. Sometimes it's inane. But it's always entertaining. And like all of the DJs I've heard so far, a third of the music she plays I absolutely love, a third I can't stand, and the other third I can't UNDERstand.
From what I DO understand, just about any NMSU student who wants to have a show, can. It's enough to make me want to enroll.
And I would play stuff most people would love (such as the Rev. Al Green singing "Tired of Being Alone"), stuff most people couldn't stand (like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys doing "Roly Poly") and stuff most people couldn't UNDERstand (like "Good King Wenceslas" by Mojo Nixon and the Toadliquors).

The title of this blog is In Search of the Crosses.
And since KRUX (or crux) is Latin or Greek or maybe Yugoslavian for cross, perhaps I've found one of the true crosses in Las Cruces. If so, that means there are two more hidden ones out there.
I'm open to clues if anyone's out there reading at 1:39 a.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2008. Why am I still awake at this ungodly hour? I'm supposed to be on a basketball court in Alamogordo in 4 hours and 21 minutes. And, can there really be such a thing as an ungodly hour?
Buenas noches, my fellow cross-bearers.