Rant Aid.
Know Band Aid?
Doesn't matter, I'll explain. See, back in 1984 (the real '84, not Orwell's '84), when you and I were chewing on our Lego, there was this terrible famine in Africa (Ethiopia, to be exact). Well, this irked some bloke called Midge Ure (yes, it's a bloke) and some other bloke called Bob Geldof, who didn't like the idea of people starving in Africa while other people were getting fat in rest of the world. (Enough with the links, already!)
So, they wrote a nice little Christmas song and they called up their friends to help them record it, and the money they made went to African famine relief. The Ethiopians got their food, the stars their publicity - everybody happy, right?
Wrong.
They've decided to do it all over again.
Don't get me wrong, I fully support the idea behind the original Band Aid, and therefore also the updated version, appropriately called Band Aid 20 (20 years later, geddit?). I'm all for charity and helping out the needy.
But!
Have you seen the video for their updated song "Do They Know It's Christmas", starring all the fancy-dressed British rich folk? It starts out OK, just a bunch of very high profile (but ever so 'normal') people doing their thing in front of a mike and a camera. But then, about halfway through the video, something happens that makes my skin crawl.
All these people, with their perfectly toned and bronzed bodies wrapped in ludicrously expensive Haute Couture and decorated with their ridiculously posh Bling Bling huddle around a big-screen/flat-screen/plasma/55 inch TV to go watch some footage of an emaciated Ethiopian kid, who's literally dying of hunger.
Cue the hands in front of faces.
Cue the Oooh's and the Aaah's.
I don't know, but something about this strikes me as wrong - very, very wrong.
's All. Rant over.
Cheers
Doesn't matter, I'll explain. See, back in 1984 (the real '84, not Orwell's '84), when you and I were chewing on our Lego, there was this terrible famine in Africa (Ethiopia, to be exact). Well, this irked some bloke called Midge Ure (yes, it's a bloke) and some other bloke called Bob Geldof, who didn't like the idea of people starving in Africa while other people were getting fat in rest of the world. (Enough with the links, already!)
So, they wrote a nice little Christmas song and they called up their friends to help them record it, and the money they made went to African famine relief. The Ethiopians got their food, the stars their publicity - everybody happy, right?
Wrong.
They've decided to do it all over again.
Don't get me wrong, I fully support the idea behind the original Band Aid, and therefore also the updated version, appropriately called Band Aid 20 (20 years later, geddit?). I'm all for charity and helping out the needy.
But!
Have you seen the video for their updated song "Do They Know It's Christmas", starring all the fancy-dressed British rich folk? It starts out OK, just a bunch of very high profile (but ever so 'normal') people doing their thing in front of a mike and a camera. But then, about halfway through the video, something happens that makes my skin crawl.
All these people, with their perfectly toned and bronzed bodies wrapped in ludicrously expensive Haute Couture and decorated with their ridiculously posh Bling Bling huddle around a big-screen/flat-screen/plasma/55 inch TV to go watch some footage of an emaciated Ethiopian kid, who's literally dying of hunger.
Cue the hands in front of faces.
Cue the Oooh's and the Aaah's.
I don't know, but something about this strikes me as wrong - very, very wrong.
's All. Rant over.
Cheers
2 Comments:
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Chewing on lego? Shit, I was 17 when it first came out.
I loved it. Still do - the original Band Aid that is.
Remember the horror that was Band Aid II? Now Band Aid had big stars: Bono, Sting, Phil Collins, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club etc.
Band Aid II had... erm... Bros? It also had... fuck knows to be honest. At least Band Aid 20 has decent quality artists in there! Stars like..... (ah, fuck!)
Another thing I remember about Band Aid was the US effort who sang 'We Are The World'. What a pile of shite that was. The line: 'There are people dying'. In the video everyone was smiling cheesily... they looked fucking delighted! Prince had the right idea, he didn't sing on that crap but wrote a song instead: For The Tears In Your Eyes'. Lovely stuff, mate.
Rant Aid... heh heh that's a good un!
I'm going out to buy the Live Aid DVD set...
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