Pop Culture Gems

Live 8 - Taped and edited? - Part 1

An early afternoon (three hours) spent near the TV and computer, while people around the world get to see good/great/mediocre live music for free that will somehow pressure President Bush and seven other G8 world leaders to forgive African debt, make grants and somehow wipe out poverty. Check out www.one.org for more info.

(I'm not great on the history of the annual meeting, but has a G8 summit ever resulted in anything happening?)

First a quick obligatory rant (a.k.a. QOR) at AOL: If you are trying to open up to more non-subscribers with your portal, then why not allow Mac computers to get your live music feeds?
A QOB at MTV/VH1: I seem to recall waking up at 7a.m. for Live Aid - why can't I see live London, Japan, Berlin, Philly? Is it that important to show "Best Week Ever" and endless ads?

On to the tunes, the aforementioned endless ads and the messages of the day:
Great start - Sir Paul with U2 doing "Sgt. Pepper's" - Nice touch with 20 years ago today Live Aid reference. Also cool to see this song live (first time for Paul?) and with a muticolored satin suit-wearing horn section.

Too quick of a cut to female host who I swear in explaining the day's significance said, "the wicked awesome thing is it (the situation in Africa) doesn't have to be that way." OK, I guess the sentiment was there about eradicating poverty, but speak English.

I'm big on Kanye West musically (Puffy wishes he had a tenth of the talent), but I'm pretty sure in a backstage interview he talked about AIDS being introduced by man into Africa on purpose, just like the CIA brought drugs to inner city and wiped out the Black Panthers - Huh?!

Following an OK song by Black Eyed Peas (hey, does Justin ever jam with these guys or is there a fight over recording proceeds?), the other host refers to all the great rap-related acts on the bill today as opposed to 1985 when it was only Run-DMC. I don't remeber Run-DMC on the MTV telecast back then, but they are pretty cool on the DVD with King of Rock. So who's next in the current rap parade: Will Smith?! I guess someone in Philly must like him. I guess I'm OK with him playing but no "Jiggy with it" or "Parents just don't understand"? Next sort of rap is backstage interview w. Snoop Dogg & Charlie last name Wilson. So why not show them performing?! - Argh! Whoops, a bit later now, and in cutting off Madonna live (more on her later) they finally showed, "What's My Name." Bow wow wow yippee yay!

Green Day (much tape delayed and much edited at 12:37 p.m. ET) and American Idiot is the first song my six-year old knows/sings to. Did VH1 just bleep the word "faggot" in the song - Why? By the way, I thought bands wearing red, black and white might be banned in front of mass gatherings in Berlin, but I guess time has passed. In a sign of production values to come, they cut end of the song to have hosts say how incredible the day is.

Instead of showing Annie Lenox, VH1 cuts to Jimmy Fallon backstage. He does get off a zinger asking if long-lost founder, songwriter Syd Barrett will be involved in the Pink Floyd reunion. Now, that's funny and this madcap laughs.

Cut to Bob Geldolf for about 10 seconds on "Don't like Mondays" - darn. But at least VH1 turned to endless ads instead: XM Radio/War of Worlds - is anyone seeing that?/horrible Charmin ad with animated bears using toilet paper/Swiffer/Olive Garden/Crest White strips/Paint/Pampers/Diet Snapple w. a talking dog/Cingular and "Strip Search" promo for a reality show on male strippers. All shown at once. Speaking of ads - the one for The Global Fund (important advocacy funding group) was cut off by an ad forBob's Furniture and the Bobopedic. My last QOB rant against ads on the telecast.

Richard Ashcroft's amazing "Bittersweet Symphony" with Coldpaly was awesome. I like them as a backing band. Jon Bon Jovi (who I once flipped off) looked and sounded the same. Please no more Richie Sambora mouth solos on "Living on a Player."

U2 on delay - Question for blogger The Optimist: Did Bono invent going into the crowd at festivals during Live Aid? My wife cried then and came close during a recent DVD watching (and that's having given up on the band in 1987). Bono is getting old because this time it was doves released during "Beautiful Day." Not sure if Beatles' "Blackbird" worked as the closing outro over that song that reminds me of the Patriots winning their first Super Bowl.

And now the biggest recovery since Live Aid - Madonna dedicating and singing "Like A Player" to a grown Ethiopian woman who was saved 20 years ago. They bleeped "Are you f*&%ing ready London," but "Ray of Light" jumped along nicely with lots of dance moves/energy and break dancers.

Best sign in the crowd from Philly: "I've been here since 6 and I need to pee."
Remember, check out www.one.org.
That's all for now.

posted by Adam Zand @ 2:55 PM