Blog

Goodbye To The Rock Bass?

The electric bass has been a staple of the rock band. “In the past, the bass has played a role in most rock bands of any consequence. Music history has given us legendary bassists from Paul McCartney and Sting to Geddy Lee, from Bootsy Collins to Chris Squire.” But the trend today is bands without basses – and the instrument may have hit a low point…

Should Foundations Be Required To Spend More?

A proposal before Congress would increase the amount of money foundations are required to give away each year. The foundations are opposed. “At root, the bill exposes the conflict over whether foundations exist to make an impact quickly and divest themselves of assets, or whether they exist to perpetuate themselves—and enrich the executives who run them.”

Indianapolis’ Big Cultural Initiative

While other American cities have been cutting back their cultural initiatives, Indianapolis has been putting together a new $10 million plan for the arts. “The thing I’ve been most struck by is the intense emotion everyone feels about this initiative. Right or wrong, individual or organization, there is a very strong conviction that this is our chance, and we’d better not blow it.”

NEA: Colorado Can Keep Grant Money

The National Endowment for the Arts has decided to let the state of Colorado keep this year’s NEA grant of $613,000. “The funding was at risk after the Colorado legislature reduced next year’s funding to the CCA from $1.9 million to $200,000, leaving the agency with just one full-time employee. In the past, the NEA has not funded states lacking a fully functioning state arts council.”

Dismantling Colorado Arts Funding

Colorado has all but eliminated its arts council, reducing funding to $200,000. The NEA has come across with another $600,000, but things are bleak. “The dismantling of the council has been slow and insidious, and painful to watch. Though some legislative support exists, there also has been a certain disinterest, if not scorn, for the agency’s role in bolstering the state’s cultural profile.”

FCC Releases Details Of New Media Ownership Rules

America’s Federal Communications Commission has released details of its new regulations on media ownership. “The rules as released yesterday – bound in a 257-page document that includes a historical survey of the 20th-century media industry – represent Powell’s belief that the FCC has little role in regulating media content. The language in the rules is likely to inflame opponents, who say that the agency cares more about enriching big media companies such as Viacom Inc. and NewsCorp Inc. than fostering equal access to the airwaves and encouraging minority viewpoints.”

California Arts Council Fights For Its Life

The California Arts Council is in dancer of going out of business next week. “The arts council is listed on a seven- to eight-page document totaling $11 billion in cuts, and it includes things like hearing aids for people with hearing disorders – so when you’re looking at things that are sustenance for the elderly, the blind and the disabled, you have to keep that in mind when you’re looking at the arts council.”

NJ Abolishes Poet Laureate Position

The New Jersey State Legislature has passed a bill abolishing the position of state poet laureate. The move is the culmination over unhappiness over poet laureate Amiri Baraka, who wrote a poem last year suggesting Israel had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “The Assembly approved a bill Tuesday that passed the Senate in January. Gov. James E. McGreevey, who cut off the $10,000 annual stipend that goes to the poet laureate after Baraka refused to resign, intends to sign the bill, according to a spokesman.”