Re: Political Rant! Was Latin House Music!

From: Leslie N. Shill (icehouse@redshift.com)
Date: Tue Jan 30 2001 - 05:29:22 CET

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    Yo Steve,

    whoa boy! hold on one sec dude! CPB and the like were largely gutted during
    the Reagan years and i am unable to argue with your tilting at the education
    windmill because i really nothing about it. but let's go on a bit shall
    we...

    i have been a volunteer on our local community radio station for 20, yes
    TWENTY years, and although for the most part i did one three hour show a
    week, i now do three 2 hour shows a week and, besides hitting on everyone i
    know for donations to the station, i donate my own hard-earned $$ as well.
    On top of that, i play a number of live gigs largely for nothing to back up
    the on-air stuff so i have made my contribution in that regard. In addition
    i served on the board of the station for years and also on the board of the
    San Jose Ballet as well. Having spewed all that out, i think that i do know
    something about the funding mechanisms that community radio tries to live on
    and that is where my comments were directed, at the way CPB etc. were gutted
    during the years of the Great Communicator and public broadcasting in
    general since it does serve so many people at a very reasonable cost.

    Education has suffered in this country over the years and it has suffered in
    a bi-partisan sort of way. I aim at the Republicans largely because of what
    began during Reagan's time and what has been continued during the reign of
    the Republican's in Congress! It's probably true that the Dems could have
    done more and fought for more but anything cultural has been starved of
    funding over the last few years and that was because of Congressional
    majorities NOT who the Pres. was. At least Unka Bill played the field er i
    mean the saxophone!

    i would be prepared to wager that Ricky Martin was the most visible and,
    importantly, AVAILABLE "star" when it finally got to be time for setting up
    the inaugral celebrations and so he got the gig. There could easily have
    been some jazz in the program but it just was'nt there and has not been for
    as long as i can remember these things. Neither Stephanie or I suggested
    boycotting Ricky Martin, what i saw of his performance was relatively
    lacklustre and he probably hurt himself but i never saw anyone suggest a
    boycott on this board.

    the ongoing discussion here relating to the JAZZ series that had a kind of a
    side thing going about public broadcasting was what prompted my remarks and
    i refer you back to some of what was discussed about that. Starting with
    Reagan, public broadcasting HAS suffered, i do not claim that it was solely
    a Republican thing, just a negative thing and it is going to be continued
    during these Bush years, just wait and see!

    It is true that from a demand point of view the audience lacks here, I agree
    with you on that score. Part of that is directly related to the lack of
    funding for CPB and the like. and that, without question came out of a
    Republican consensus not a liberal one.

    The points you make about highly-paid recording industry execs are well-
    taken but i think that with the paradigm shifting the way it is now that the
    internet is alive must be making quite few of those folks tremble in their
    cushy offices. The record companies have not taken up education as a way of
    extending their own businesses in a serious way and now they are watching
    kids trading musical files helter-skelter and ignoring them. I am willing to
    predict, however, that we are going to see some general governmental
    invasion of the internet spaces in the next few years and a lot of what is
    free now is going to cost us over the next few years, tax cuts or no tax
    cuts!

    My points were directly aimed at public broadcasting and what i have
    personally experienced being involved as i am in that arena. Even if my
    audience is relatively small, every set of ears counts and i know as a
    matter of fact that the kind of show i am doing is not generally found all
    over the show. Education begins with people who are aware, like you and me,
    we have to pass our knowledge on.

    kids are listening to "Miss Jackson" as you point out because "Miss Jackson"
    has beaucoup corporate bucks to back up her efforts, something that most of
    what people on this board love clearly does NOT have! I live in a community,
    Monterey, that has the oldest running jazz festival in the world and a good
    part of what happens around that involves high school bands and performances
    and clinics by well-known and great musicians. When I go to the Monterey
    Jazz Festival not only am I seeing high school bands perform but I am
    supporting those clinics by buying tickets, it is a small contribution but a
    positive one anyway. MCI/Worldcom, by the way, has been the sponsor of that
    event for some time. I have played dance gigs for local students for free to
    try and broaden the spectrum of what they are dancing to and to take it
    beyond "trance". So i canlook Uncle Sam right in the eye and say that I have
    done all the things you questioned me about in that regard and i continue to
    do so. In addition, I have filled in at the station at Robert Louis
    Stevenson high School's radio station as a volunteer whenever i have been
    asked. I am doing what I can to bring the music I love and care about to a
    broader audience, what about you, what have you done in this regard?

    My comment about the lack of support was NOT limited to Republicans but to
    the whole social and political spectrum. What i did say related directly to
    public broadcasting and the JAZZ series simply because it has been so
    topical lately. One of the reasons I participate in this board and some
    others is to speak out and to draw attention to what i consider to be an
    important cause, namely the lack of funding for public broadcasting. The
    station that i work for has just been forced to sell it's license to the
    local California State University branch simply because we have been unable
    to interest the community enough to keep the station viable on its own and
    through contributions of the local listenership. Its a shame really because
    the left side of the dial was supposed to be for public broadcasting and now
    that it is becoming owned by the entities that will move in where they can,
    the programming will change, probably drastically and probably not in the
    way that we would like to see! Again, this really got the hammer blow during
    Ronnie's years and he was uh, uh, a Republican? hell yes he was!

    I admire your arguments and the way you have gone at it but lets just chill
    and look at the facts, again i am really focussed on public broadcasting
    because, where i live, even with the Monterey Jazz Festival being here,
    there is NO jazz broadcasting except for one small station KRML (eah the
    play misty for me one) and the local public stations. I am all to aware that
    there are 2 sides to every story as you suggest but the decay of
    broadcasting is a serious issue and it speaks directly to education as well!
    There simply is NO BBC here, nothing even remotely like it because CPB was
    disenfranchised so many years ago and the NEA is not exactly "well" funded,
    at least not as well as it should be, it is as simple as that. In France
    there are several tv stations that broadcast a wide variety of programming,
    this is as it should be and these actions are duplicated in many European
    countries.

    You commented on the "corporate thing" as though I had thumbed everything at
    it. The truth is that relatively few corporations have stepped up to the
    plate to support cultural endeavours. Thankfully we do not live in a
    cloistered atmosphere but the corporations need to make their presence felt
    on the cultural front. You have really gone overboard in your defense of the
    Republicans, enough to make you sound a bit like my Dad in that regard, but
    please look at what i wrote and see where it was directed before you jump
    onto your chad er i mean high horse and gallop to the rescue of what? who? I
    am willing to bet that Yamaha, Kawai etc. have certain benefits accruing to
    them for their work with schoolkids and they are very smart to do what they
    have done but they were probably "persuaded" to set up these programs. I
    have not seen or heard of anything even remotely similar here, more's the
    pity! but hey, Napster was developed here and so was the internet and i am
    not aware of very much in the way of contributions flowing from that
    corporate sector into education and cultural awareness, certainly many of
    those companies have eaten the big one but there is still a wide gulf that
    will not be bridged until the government makes sure that when they take
    dollars away from thing that foster cultural awareness then they should make
    absolutely darn sure that the breach is filled in somehow but then they seem
    more intent on cashing in soft dollars before they go the way of the edsel
    than they are on cultural development.

    so Steve, what was your point exactly? that the Dems are as much to blame as
    the Republicans? that education has suffered over the years? at least Bush
    is starting to address that but in a country where building jails is a
    growth industry are'nt you just a little scared about cultural things?

    leslie/the Power of Sound
    ----- Origina Message -----
    From: Steve Catanzaro <stevencatanzaro@sprintmail.com>
    To: Leslie N. Shill <icehouse@redshift.com>; stephanie <nnine@yahoo.com>
    Cc: acid <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
    Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 7:15 PM
    Subject: Political Rant! Was Latin House Music!

    > Hold it! Can't let it slide. If the "richest country in history" doesn't
    > support "culture," it's not just because of the circa 30% registered
    > Republicans, its because of the citizens, writ LARGE!!!
    >
    > The problem, imho, is not with the supply, it's with the demand. I went to
    > see Andre Watts at the government subsidized, Frank Lloyd Wright designed
    > Gammage Auditorium at Arizona State University. Seats 2,000. Probably
    about
    > 400 in attendance, and Watts is perhaps in the top 5 classical pianists
    out
    > there.
    >
    > Now, why is that? Quite simple. There is NO music education to speak of in
    > many American schools. And who's fault is that? Just the evil Republicans?
    > How about the NEA, an arm of the Democratic party? Don't they have *some*
    > influence in the curricula?
    >
    > Hell yes, they've got a stranglehold in some places, and the music
    curricula
    > in this country is really, REALLY bad, generally speaking. Kids don't want
    > to get involved because they don't want to be marching around like
    doofuses
    > playing flute and piccolo at football games as the reward for 8 years of
    > study on their instrument. Where's the modern thinking, NEA? Where is the
    > enlightened Democratic party when it comes to pulling the music curriculum
    > out of the 19th century?
    >
    > And what about the myriad PTA's out there? Parents don't want to force
    their
    > kids in band if all they're going to do at the end of the year is honk out
    > the "Barney" theme on tuba. There's plenty of blame to go around.
    >
    > By the way, try finding a *Republican* A&R rep at a major record label,
    like
    > Ricky Martin's. I'll bet dollars to donuts there wasn't one Republican
    > involved in the signing or promotion of Brittney Spears. Ditto ALL the top
    > cats at ALL the majors. David Geffen isn't a Republican by any stretch,
    what
    > the hell has he done for jazz? Give Pat Metheny a signing bonus? But now
    > we're supposed to boycott Ricky Martin like he was Queen performing at Sun
    > City because he came in contact with Republicans? Get real.
    >
    > Meanwhile nice Dems like Michael Greene of NARAS take home $2 million a
    year
    > (perhaps the highest paid "not-for-profit" exec in the US) to get up after
    > the bullshit Grammys and cry about the Republicans gutting music programs,
    > and please send money so we can donate more barytones to schools so more
    > kids can learn "Twinkle Twinkle" and join the band and get Hostess apple
    > pies thrown at them in the lunch room by kids grooving to "Miss Jackson."
    >
    > There's alot of bullshit name-calling that goes on in this country, but
    > Uncle Sam wants to know; "What have YOU, U.S. citizen, done to directly
    > influence the music education programs in your local schools?" Have you
    even
    > been to a local high school jazz band concert? Helped sponsor any school
    > music programs? Volunteered time or any energy at all?
    >
    > If no, then go on dimpling your chads and have fun blaming the Republicans
    > for all that's wrong with American culture, if it makes you feel better.
    >
    > Oh, and btw, which country has the best music education? Well, I'll bet
    > Japan would be close to the top, and the "corporate thing," i.e., programs
    > established by Yamaha, Kawai, et.al, have taught alot of Japanese kids how
    > music works, and alot of them owe their perfect pitch to Yamaha! So
    > remember, there are at least 2 sides to every issue.
    >
    >
    >
    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: Leslie N. Shill <icehouse@redshift.com>
    > To: stephanie <nnine@yahoo.com>
    > Cc: acid <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
    > Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 5:01 PM
    > Subject: Re: Latin House tunes
    >
    >
    > > thank you Steph for pointing out the sickeningly obvious, I am glad
    > someone
    > > had the guts to do that! One thing is for sure, the JAZZ series by Ken
    > Burns
    > > would never have seen the light of day had the current ruling party had
    > its
    > > way and I bet they go even further in their attempts to completely gut
    > > public broadcasting. It's amazing that the richest country in history
    > cannot
    > > support culture because the ruling cliques feel that it should be a
    > > corporate thing! Rocky Martin indeed!
    > >
    > > leslie/The Power of Sound
    > > ----- Original Message -----
    > > From: stephanie <nnine@yahoo.com>
    > > To: Blees, Eelco <E.Blees@sfbgroep.nl>; Acid Jazz list
    > <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
    > > Cc: <gkanai@earthlink.net>
    > > Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 3:24 PM
    > > Subject: Re: Latin House tunes
    > >
    > >
    > > > > as I've been
    > > > > noticing a lot of lovely
    > > > > ladies dancing wildly on these kind of tunes in
    > > > > front of the DJ
    > > > > booth.........and I like THAT! ;-)
    > > >
    > > > Try Ricky Martin. It seems to work for Republicans.
    > > >
    > > > seethingly yours,
    > > > 99
    > > >
    > > > __________________________________________________
    > > > Do You Yahoo!?
    > > > Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
    > > > http://auctions.yahoo.com/
    > > >
    > >
    > >
    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: Leslie N. Shill <icehouse@redshift.com>
    > To: stephanie <nnine@yahoo.com>
    > Cc: acid <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
    > Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 5:01 PM
    > Subject: Re: Latin House tunes
    >
    >
    > > thank you Steph for pointing out the sickeningly obvious, I am glad
    > someone
    > > had the guts to do that! One thing is for sure, the JAZZ series by Ken
    > Burns
    > > would never have seen the light of day had the current ruling party had
    > its
    > > way and I bet they go even further in their attempts to completely gut
    > > public broadcasting. It's amazing that the richest country in history
    > cannot
    > > support culture because the ruling cliques feel that it should be a
    > > corporate thing! Rocky Martin indeed!
    > >
    > > leslie/The Power of Sound
    > > ----- Original Message -----
    > > From: stephanie <nnine@yahoo.com>
    > > To: Blees, Eelco <E.Blees@sfbgroep.nl>; Acid Jazz list
    > <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
    > > Cc: <gkanai@earthlink.net>
    > > Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 3:24 PM
    > > Subject: Re: Latin House tunes
    > >
    > >
    > > > > as I've been
    > > > > noticing a lot of lovely
    > > > > ladies dancing wildly on these kind of tunes in
    > > > > front of the DJ
    > > > > booth.........and I like THAT! ;-)
    > > >
    > > > Try Ricky Martin. It seems to work for Republicans.
    > > >
    > > > seethingly yours,
    > > > 99
    > > >
    > > > __________________________________________________
    > > > Do You Yahoo!?
    > > > Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
    > > > http://auctions.yahoo.com/
    > > >
    > >
    > >
    >



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