The Colorado Sound – Vol. 3, Ep 11 2011

Fox Street Allstars “Somebody In the World for You” from Welcome to the Mighty Pleasin’ (2011)
Soul Creek “Four-Leaf Clover” from Positivity (2006)
Chain Gang of 1974 “Funk Giants” from White Guts (2010)
On Second Thought “Frantic” from Don’t Drive Angry (1999)
NEW – Rightfully Accused “Changes” from Western Air Part 1 – Classy, Chic, Sophisticated (2011)
NEW – DELLA “Not That Simple (Things I Do)” [single] (2011)
Asia Jazz Project f/ Molina Soleil & Aju “Reflections of the Sun Pt. 3” from Sacred Paths (2009)
FaceMan “BigHead” from FaceMan (2010)
The Lovely & Talented “Death of the Lover” from The New American Fable (2010)
George Inai “Lonesome Highway” from This Foolish Music (2007)
Great American Taxi “Good Night to Boogie” from Reckless Habits (2010)
Lonesome Traveler “Summer Wind” from Listen to that Sound (2008)
The Blue Canyon Boys “Rocky Mountain Bound” from Mountain Bound (2010)
Peter Sommer “Looks Like This” from Tremolo Canteen (2011)
Otis Taylor “Walk Right In” from Recapturing the Banjo (2008)
John Mieras “Love & Rent” from Painted Glass (2011)
Devotchka “The Common Good” from 100 Lovers (2011)
Trace Bundy “Sweet Child O’ Mine” from Missile Bell (2008)
Broken Everlys “Rocket Fuel” from Stoned In Juarez (2011)
Bonnie and The Clydes “Used to Play” from Bonnie And The Clydes (2011)
Trucker’s Daughter “Little Disappointments” from Broken Down Love (2009)
NEW “but, Naked!” “Can’t Get Enough” [single] (2011)
The Big Motif “Don’t Go Wrong” from Does It Weigh Heavy (2011)
Eddie Turner “Monkey See, Monkey Do” from Miracles And Demons (2010)
Ego vs Id “Landmine” from Taste (2010)
Sherri Jackson “Tell Me” from Catalyst (2000)
Erik Applegate “123” from Red Skies (2009)

Coloradoans charting nationally

Big Head Todd & the Monsters and the Monsters … and John-Alex Mason continue to find international chart success on the Roots Music Blues chart … coming in at #7 and 11 respectively.

Bob Rea‘s (Durango) Ragged Choir also continues to chart well, coming in at #42 on the Roots Country chart

Cahalen Morrison & Eli West … and Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore both hold down great positions on the Roots Folk chart …

On the TRUE COUNTRY side of things, Halden Wofford & the Hi Beams and Bonnie & the Clydes both post impressive chart positions ….

In the Jazz world, the Carmen Sandim Sextet locks down the #3 slot, while 2 titles on the Colorado based Capri jazz label also appear in the top 40

Public Media – To Fund Or Not to Fund

What was it, really?  The perception of bias, real or imagined, or a desire to get rid of NPR, or a pragmatic desire to cut spending – and the CPB got in the path?

All of the above…. and then some.

It is VERY likely that we will lose most, if not all, federal funding in the next two years.  Every sign points in that direction.  That means a rewrite of what public radio is, and how it’s funded.  If in the next few years conservatives have their way, the non-comm band (estabished in 1941) will be opened up to all interests, and the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which established public funding via the CPB, will be seen as irrelevant and unnecessary.

The intent of federally-funded public broadcasting in the Public Broadcasting Act was to make “telecommications services available to all citizens of the United States.” (47 U.S.C. 396).  Today, over 99% of Americans own a TV and over 95% have access to the Internet.  The core argument is that the Corporation’s mission of ensuring universal access has been fulfilled and the government-funded broadcasting is completely unnecessary.  H.R. 5538 would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to eliminate federal funding for the CPB.  President Obama’s own bipartisan debt commission proposed ending subsidies to public broadcasting.

There is a strong argument to be made that if public radio and TV offers programming people want, it can get sponsors like everyone else and stand on its own.  The base sentiment is that there is absolutely no reason that the taxpayers should be subsidizing media, unless they choose to do so through their own private donations.

The future of public mass-media companies will be based not on the technologies we have in existence today, but rather on evolving convergent  technologies.  What really is public media? Don’t blogs and facebook and twitter and things unseen represent that which the government first envisioned in making “telecommications services available to all citizens of the United States?”

Funding for public mass-media, one that is free of direct governmental and/or commercial influence, will likely include advertising, sponsorship and direct public subsidies — although the uses that may be made of the latter will likely need to be restricted in order to reduce the risk of this subsidy being abused to influence programming.

The recent developments concerning NPR have only exacerbated the problem.