Taking Sides: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" vs "We Are the World"

Unfortunately neither one of these is New Wave; besides, do you want new wave or do you want the truth?

I recently came across that xgau piece that Alfred links to, and similar sentiments from Greil Marcus while researching a piece on these songs. I always saw it in terms of UK pop oddballs singing a tinselly, jerry-built, lyrically odd song vs the sanctimonious, gilded aristocracy of US pop - revealing snapshots of the two different Top 40 cultures in the mid 80s and easy to know which side I was on - so I find xgau's focus on vocal technique and the racial mix interesting but counterintuitive. A major transatlantic divide on this issue.

I need to find the poll of the "We Are the World" soloists.

Here we are: Who Bodied Their Verse On "We Are The World"??

OTM:

the thing that's most interesting to me from an aesthetic standpoint is how the veterans really kill it with their professionalism. the really awesome ones in here are from people who've been pretty much living on stages in front of audiences for 20+ years and know the difference between singing in an ensemble & singing duet & having a line where you want to both shine & not look like you're trying to out-do anybody (this is where stevie w. & ray charles really give a master class - they both go WAY up, but they could both have taken it much further if they weren't both dudes who know exactly what they're doing & how to always remember that your job is to make the song better than it was before you got there, not to make it a Spotlight On Me deal, which is springsteen's problem imo). dionne, al jarreau, lionel r., tina & willie are to me the ones who outshine everybody else by not trying as hard.

― the evil genius of Zaiger Genetics (J0hn D.), Friday, July 31, 2009

I only paid attention to "We Are the World" because of Michael Jackson.

I'll just come in and comment a bit on one statement upthread. Sure, I agree that Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie both have overall better song catalogues with more classics than Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. Still, "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Vienna" are surely up there with the best of everything Jackson and Richie have written.

take all the vocals out of DTKIC and it reminds me a bit of the Doctor Who theme, therefore it wins.

Yes! I remember thinking it sounded kind of cool and futuristic when I was a kid.

My grandparents donated a record player to my cousins and me to use when we visited them over the summer holidays. They were big into jazz and Motown, and "We Are The World" was one of the rcords that got chucked into the kids' pile. So whenever I hear it, it really reminds me of being on holiday in the South of France. I like it by proxy for this reason.

"We Are the World" is classic American schmaltz, with all the good and bad hideous vomit-induction that such a phrase entails.

― Martin Van Burne, Monday, 23 July 2007 15:42 (3 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfVmJBF-OY&feature=plcp

hahaha amazing....genius of american music ladies and gents

i love that.

"Bob, it's great -- you're the only singing the lower octave!"

in which Steve Perry and Daryl Hall demonsrate they can sing well no matter how many takes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwEOOgv5unE&feature=related

lol @ Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes trying to harmonize their irreconcilable voices.

I don't think Daryl Hall is in the same league with Steve Perry. On several of the takes Mr. Hall is off key quite a bit. Look at Steve's face as Hall is singing. He does look a little annoyed with Hall.

gretchen606 in reply to 511A19Tay92(Show the comment) 1 month ago

Who Bodied Their Verse On "We Are The World"??

we have a new contender

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4oz4dfi9gg

that's p interesting!

arguably the most baffling lineup for any charity single:

Love Song to the Earth: Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Colbie Caillat, Natasha Bedingfield, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul, Johnny Rzeznik, Krewella, Angelique Kidjo, Kelsea Ballerini, Nicole Scherzinger, Christina Grimmie, Victoria Justice & Q'orianka Kilcher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBEGxqJKup8

the Earth = d00med

TS: Love Song To The Earth vs Fistfucking God’s Planet

wow, can't believe macca took part in that shit

Love this guy:

"Do they know it's Christmas" - HANDS DOWN! Bono...FANTASTIC!!! Great song! I think the radio has decided it. When was the last time you heard "We are the World?" on the radio? However, every Christmas we hear "Do they know..." a million times. As George "Dubyah" Bush said of the British... "We have no closer friend..." Thanks for a great song!!!!!
― JK, Domingo, 23 de Dezembro de 2001 1:00 (sixteen years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink