Arts and Music

The Prater's Creek Gazette

7th Issue Fall 2005 Page #6

A Short Editorial from Gazette Arts Editor

Recently it was announced that researchers are worried that, with all the I-Pods and such, young people will suffer early hearing loss, or damage, because of the extensive use of headphones or ear pieces when using such devices. We here at The Gazette are more worried about what they are listening to than how they are listening, and the brain damage and subsequent sorry taste in music they will suffer and inflict on others throughout their lives.

Are We Really that Stupid?

I am getting tired of these disclaimers on commercials to “Not try this” and such. They show a guy doing something ridiculous, obviously fake and impossible in real life and they put up a disclaimer. Are we that stupid? Wait, don’t answer that question.

PBS and Government Funding

The federal government agreed to continue funding for the Public Broadcasting System again earlier this year. The conservatives argued that PBS shows such as Sesame Street made enough money on sales of toys and licensing to pay for their show. And these same opponents of PBS said that the shows had a liberal slant. Well, that maybe true for a few shows, but the majority of shows are invaluable and have no right or left wing bias. And we as a nation cannot afford to lose these types of shows.

When I was a kid I learned chess moves, learned about and was able to hear classical music, and even watched Frank McGuire’s show on ETV. Coach McGuire’s show featured Gamecock basketball players such as Tom Riker and John Roche teaching basketball skills and drills. Today, shows such as Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, and Jubilee still continue to feature artists that the general public would never get to see otherwise. And bluegrass music would hardly ever get any airplay without public radio stations. South Carolina ETV has produced many great shows such as The Writer’s Workshop with William Price Fox featuring James Dickey and Kurt Vonnegut.

No matter how many cable channels we get on our systems, we will never get the kind of programs seen on PBS and heard on public radio. It is not a matter of "if the show can’t compete commercially in a free market it does not deserve to survive". No, the masses aren’t going to skip American Idol to watch a program on Shakespeare or a documentary on tobacco farmers. But those programs need to be on the air for those folks who stumble upon them and get hooked like I did when I was ten years old and tuned in to watch Coach McGuire’s show. We get much more value out of the tax dollars spent on public broadcasting than we do most of the things to which our money goes. And how does listening to classical music have a left wing slant anyhow?

WOODSTOCK

Last month, VH1 Classic aired "Woodstock: The Movie" all weekend to celebrate the thirty-sixth anniversary of the landmark concert and cultural event. I think I watched it ten times that weekend. In my youth I was blown away by the appearances of The Who, Hendrix, and Sly and The Family Stone. I now realize, after thousands of viewings of this movie over the years that the coolest person in the movie wasn’t ever on stage. The coolest person in that movie is the Port-O-San guy who was cleaning out the "jiffy johnnies" or "portajohns". He said he had "one son here (at the concert) and one son over in Vietnam". I hope both his sons made it home all right.

Suggested Reading and Listening List

1. Everything ever recorded by Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers

15. Professor Longhair

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