Band Aid: Secrets and Stories From the Star-Studded Session

December 25, 2014 5:35 PM

Sting, Boy George, Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and Simon Le Bon on the 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" session.
posted by paleyellowwithorange (18 comments total)

At the time, I was a young teenager, pleased with the thoughtfulness of all my favorite singers and musicians. But looking back, it was just posturing. It did lead to many really good parodies though. So many parodies, so little time. Let's start with this one: Do they know it's pizza?
posted by learnsome at 5:58 PM on December 25, 2014

I don't think it's fair to say it's all posturing; I'm sure they were sincere in their efforts to use their fame to do some good. But there's something.......I need a word here that's a combination of pretentious, ludicrous, and arrogant.....about the idea that pop stars and their metastatic egos can Save The World. But I think it's mean-spirited to mock them too much for trying to do something to help bring relief to people suffering in that crisis; they could have just spent the day snorting cocaine off the buttocks of supermodels, instead.
posted by thelonius at 6:46 PM on December 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

Such cocaine Very snow So blow

Wow
posted by pxe2000 at 6:54 PM on December 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

> But I think it's mean-spirited to mock them too much for trying to do something to help bring relief to people suffering in that crisis; they could have just spent the day snorting cocaine off the buttocks of supermodels, instead.

It kind of sounds like a lot of them didn't have to choose.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:01 PM on December 25, 2014 [6 favorites]

I found this post really interesting. Thanks, paleyellowwithorange.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 7:03 PM on December 25, 2014

I don't think it's fair to say it's all posturing; I'm sure they were sincere in their efforts to use their fame to do some good. But there's something.......I need a word here that's a combination of pretentious, ludicrous, and arrogant.....about the idea that pop stars and their metastatic egos can Save The World. But I think it's mean-spirited to mock them too much for trying to do something to help bring relief to people suffering in that crisis; they could have just spent the day snorting cocaine off the buttocks of supermodels, instead.


I think many of us felt this way when we were younger, living in a world that was only just starting to be conscious of the world around us.

I think it's better to be naive and Pollyannish and then figure out the truth rather than be a cynic from the get-go, despite the cynics likely being right most of the time.
posted by bitteroldman at 8:35 PM on December 25, 2014 [3 favorites]

considering the big discussion about the line "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of You" that we had here just recently, and considering the love/hate relationship we have with Bono, the back-story about him and that line was very very interesting.
posted by bitteroldman at 8:38 PM on December 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

Years ago I read Geldof's book "Is That It?" about the whole BandAid & LiveAid thing. I recall it being excellent.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 9:41 PM on December 25, 2014 [3 favorites]

At the time, I was a young teenager, pleased with the thoughtfulness of all my favorite singers and musicians.


I was too at one point, although I didn't really care for the song itself.

Now I am annoyed by the lyrics, because they imply that the entire continent of Africa is Ethiopia. The will be snow at Christmas in the parts of Northern Africa where it fucking snows. Not so much south of the equator, not because it is sad but because it's SUMMER.

AND YES, THEY KNOW IT IS CHRISTMAS.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:56 PM on December 25, 2014 [5 favorites]

Also, did you spot that Alanis Morrisette's song 'Ironic' references a number of events which in the context she provides are not in fact ironic?

ISN'T THAT IRONIC?
posted by biffa at 12:27 AM on December 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

Also John and Paul wanted to do much more than hold your hand.

It's almost like poets think they have some sort of a license to play fast and loose with the facts.
posted by paleyellowwithorange at 12:31 AM on December 26, 2014 [4 favorites]

"I Want To Bend You Over A Trashcan In a Hamburg Alley In The Dock District" didn't make the cut for radio in 1962
posted by thelonius at 5:20 AM on December 26, 2014 [6 favorites]

Best bit of the article was George Harrison's advice to Bob Geldof:

"Get yourselves good accountants."
posted by Pendragon at 5:38 AM on December 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

I also like Sting's advice to Goldilocks that one should precisely calibrate drug consumption to avoid subsequent physical discomfort.
posted by srboisvert at 6:35 AM on December 26, 2014

Sting was into this sort of thing.
posted by IndigoJones at 11:46 AM on December 26, 2014

BandAid raised a lot of money quickly. Yes, it didn't "solve" anything but it put food in peoples mouths for a while, paid for supplies and saved some lives. I think that's probably pretty meaningful to the people who reveieved the food and who's kids were saved.

I don't understand the trend to criticize any charity that doesnt get it perfect and solve the roots of every problem. Sometimes you can't and in a crisis you can't save everyone. Its still very human to try and they weren't total idiots, they learned from earlier mistakes made in fundraising. Remember they were fundraising, not running the UN.

It seems like an excuse to not try and help or try to take a leadership role for change to me usually. It is perfectly possible to change many things about the world if enough people try.
posted by fshgrl at 1:33 PM on December 26, 2014 [4 favorites]

But where's the write up about the backstory for Neil's song? SLYT
posted by Alles at 2:24 PM on December 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

But, don't you see, fshgrl - if we sit back and criticize people for imperfectly attempting to do something to improve the world, it 100% absolves us of any need to do a fucking thing ourselves!

Bonus: we won't ever need to actually learn the definitions of irony, so long as we mindlessly repeat memes about someone else!

Next up: Calling a celebrity horse-faced isn't the least bit misogynist - or wrong!
posted by IAmBroom at 8:37 PM on December 28, 2014