First up. "We are the World" was a great idea. Let's pool together some real star power to draw attention to a serious problem and raise money to help the cause. When it was USA for Africa in the 80's, great. They raised some money and brought the plight of African nations into people's thoughts. Mission accomplished!
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for helping Haiti in their time of need. I just think that this effort is bewildering. In the 80's the song served the mentioned purpose. It made people aware. However, in 2010, you would have to be deaf, blind, and locked away in a sound and light proof box on a deserted island to not be aware of the tragedy that has befallen Haiti. Next comes the money. The original version happened in a day when music made real money and included artists that were as current and big as you could get. MJ, Sting, Bruce, Stevie, etc. these were artists with real selling power at the peeks of their popularity. Not only that, but you had to buy a record. You paid a handsome sum and had the record and the twelve inch glossy photo on the cover that you could look at with friends and play name that pop star. The current version is a mere $1.29 on iTunes and what do you get for it? Nick Jonas may be at the top of his game, but he is by no means in the same league as The Boss. A digital copy of an inferior version of the song with contributions from "big" stars of the disposable music era. I'm sorry, but without the original line-up and novelty of it being a new song, "We are the World" is a glorified Sunday school choir song. What perplexes me the most is that there are so many outlets to contribute aid to the cause that are easy more substantial. You can donate ten bucks by sending a text message and having the bill be part of your cell phone bill.
With that said, I do respect anyone willing to use their notoriety and talents to help those in need. There are some cool compilations and such with the proceeds going to help Haiti. For what it's worth, great! Here is a very cool song with an outstanding cast of rocks seediest characters worth purchasing. I Put A Spell On You
3 comments:
'We are the World' 1 & 2 are just self-serving ripoffs of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'. Bob Geldof was the real visionary, not Quincy Jones.
"Feed da peepoh...stoy aloive!!"
You think that's bad, try the UK equivalent...a cover of Everybody /hurts that I haven't been able to force myself to listen to all the way through...
At least Everybody Hurts is a good song. We are talking about the REM song, right?
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