Band Aid 20 - or whatever it's called

anyone heard it? if so what do you think?
personally i hope it appeals to the younger generation more than me as i find it a poor shade of the original. squeally oldfieldesque guitars in place of the christmassy chimes and some rapping. purely from a charitable point of view i hope it breaks all the records out there but if it had to compete on it's own merits i, personally, think it would flop.
cheers


julian.

 

Never liked the original, like this one even less. It just seems like a ridiculous kind of sentiment. Christmas, depending on how you look at it, is either a Christian (Western) celebration, or the most pro-consumer, anti-spiritual time of year. Either way, why should Africans give a good f**k about either of those? Because we think that they should?? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Do they give a sh*t??? I really hope not.

Another point - much of Africa's poverty and other problems have been caused by post-colonialism and Western banks. Why should we, the 'little people', be the ones to hand over our hard earned money for what our 'leaders', past and present, have done to Third World countries? Don't get me wrong, the situation is heartbreaking and totally unethical and wrong, but passing the buck to the average person shows how retarded the whole situation is. I could go on for a while, but I'll leave it here.

 

Just heard it. My God, it's terrible!

All week I have been listening to all the hype about them actually having a "real" band playing on this version whereas the original was just Midge Ure's synths and Phil Collins drums. I mean, who the hell is playing the piano on this, it's just a heavy handed mess and reminds me of the school clown in music class who would run up to the piano and start thumping at the keys. When the crap piano player finally shuts up, then some rubbish guitar "noise" is pushed forward in the mix. And that guy out of Coldplay just sounds so bad on the opening lines, not a patch on Paul Young's original.

It really sums up the state of pop music at the moment. If that's what the "cream of the crop" can produce it leaves me speechless!

 

But, as most things in life we do have a choice, in this case I choose not to listen to it or to buy it,the saddest thing of all is that it will get rammed down our throats until the new year,when then hopefully it will disappear into the ether forever.
RG

 

The piano player is also Chris from Coldplay. I've not heard this record yet, though I've no doubt it probably won't be long until I do. The original, while cheesy, was way better than the second one released a few years later and I can't see why this will be any different. Good cause though.

 

its awfull

 

christ of course it's bloody awful. that's the whole point. what was it ever going to be?

moaning about it is a bit like complaining about terry wogans haircut

 

Joss Stones contribution is a bit embarassing...someone ought to tell people like her and Craig David that sometimes ad lib isn't required.

 

in a uniquely south london kind of way. in my local boozer a guy is selling dodgy copies of the single for 3 quid. 2 of which goes to charity

 

It was shite then and its shite now.

 

It was shite then and its shiter now

Bob

 

I kinda like the Original, It was a bit novel having all the present stars (of their day) getting together for a sing song, especially as it was for charity. I did hear a rumour somewhere that modern day Bono insisted that he take part and sing his origial line, how unfortunate and pretentious if this is the case.

On Joss Stone and ad libbing.
This..... Horrible f**king whining, whinnying noise seems to be creeping onto just about every modern pop record these days. Usual ingredients are 2, 3 or 4 foxy looking chicks singing the main theme of the song with one of the dirty little virgins howling, humming and moaning in the the background between her 'turns' , It seems to be rife from the pop idol types. Everybody claps and says what a wonderfull singer she is, or how soulful their voice when in actual fact they sound more like a semi concious kidnap victim who is tied up and gagged, nailed to a wall, and trying to raise the alarm. Music and singing it aint.

 

Heard it the other day for the first time.

I can only agree with the shite camp.

At least the first one IMHO had a bit of soul, a bit of feeling. This one is , to me, pretty reflective of current "pop" trends. Quick, superficial and desperately shallow. In a word - product.

 

Don't beat around the bush...just what is it you're trying to say!?
haha so true though.

 

I haven't heard it, and I'm hoping to make it through to the New Year without doing so.

It's a charity pop single, so it's bound to be appalling. The original was appalling, it has plausible claim to being one of the worst singles ever released. The likelihood that the whinging "sensitive" souls of Travis and Coldplay can make it anything other than a deeply unpleasant listening experience is slim to none.

-- Ian

 

No Ian, the record made by USA for Africa, "We are the world" is much worst by a long shot.

All together now.

SCIDB

 

"We Own The World", as I prefer to think of it, certainly blows chunks too. Luckily, however, we don't get to hear at as often this side of the pond.

-- Ian

 

Even worse than the song "We Are the World" is the video. Real vomit material. Watch out for the "group" shots and note that there is always a certain individual missing from the group - Michael Jackson. All his shots are done in a room all by himself. So much for the stars leaving their egos at the door!

 

Hi,

I have finally heard this record. I have heard worst. That "Ferry across the Mersey" charity record or the 2nd version of the Band aid record in the late 80s are good examples of bad charity records. They should have recorded a new song or re-released the original. What would have been a good idea would be a double a side with a new song & the original. Charity records are never easy.

SCIDB