Ben Harper is too cool for you. In fact, so is Ani DiFranco. And ZZ Top. Probably even Lynard Skynard.

They must all be very busy sitting on their tour buses all day, because not one of the acts, except for maybe Skynard, is willing to give a 15-minute interview with the Daily.

I understand if you’re Kiss or Aerosmith or George Clinton — legends who have been giving interviews most of their lives and who would hardly benefit from talking to a college newspaper.

But Ben Harper. Who is he?

A budding musician playing a venue probably too big for him in a town that has never had a radio station that has ever played him.

But, according to his publicist, who we contacted two months ago, Ben’s doing limited press.

And then there’s Ani — the posterchild of the DIY movement. Miss Independent. Miss Anti-establishment.

Funny, considering she’s snubbed a college newspaper two years in a row. Meanwhile, we’ve seen her on the cover of SPIN and other mainstream rags.

“I have a hard enough time getting these guys on the phone with the Washington Post,” was the classic excuse given by ZZ Top’s publicist.

Yeah, sure you do. And I’m sure the Washington Post is hot after a band whose last hit record was in the Reagan era.

Am I bitter? Yep.

And for good reason.

A few years ago, Hilton and Stephens hosted several national acts in the same year, all of whom gave interviews to the Daily. Among them: Kiss, Aerosmith and George Clinton.

Though the Daily’s Arts & Entertainment section has made immense improvements in recent years, covering entertainment in this town is becoming quite a challenge.

Take television, for instance. Here’s an entertainment medium we have made vast efforts to improve our coverage on.

But it’s a bit difficult when our cable provider refuses to give a primarily college town popular 13 to 30 demographic channels like E! and VH1.

Instead, we get the Family Channel and eight different channels showing city council meetings.

Many of today’s most popular entertainment figures are coming out of WB programs such as “Dawson’s Creek” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” But we’ll never know who’s next because we no longer get the WB.

Our movie providers are no better. I’ve been seeing previews for “American Beauty” for weeks, and even noticed an ad in the Daily for the movie.

But when opening weekend came, it wasn’t here.

Instead, we get another month of the summer blockbuster, “Phantom Menace.” Keyword: summer.

Dollar theaters are nice (my cheap-ass roommate lives for them), but they are better suited for bigger cities with enough theaters for current releases.

And then, of course, there’s live music.

People’s used to book national acts a few times a month but has since become the house bar for a handful of regional bands.

But it’s hard to blame the venue when bar-goers show little excitement for live music. Why pay for quality bands when you know Sips and Dean’s List are going to have lines anyway?

Our local music scene is the strongest it’s been in years, in both size and quality.

But most of the bands remain relatively unheard because one of the two all-ages venues in town rarely hosts local bands. Not even as openers.

Even with local radio, which took a huge boost when KCCQ switched to a more college student-friendly format, there are issues.

KURE, which has struggled to hook listeners for years, is getting weekly publicity from the Daily. Yet some of the DJs continue to criticize the Daily, primarily a certain Vanilla Ice-loving editor, at public meetings.

Am I bitter? Yep.

My once-easy job is getting difficult. Like sitting on a tour bus all day.

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Corey Moss is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.