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

I agree with your premise JW - Richie/Jackson theoretically ought to be able to write the better song - but WATW isn't it. Melodically, it's OK, hardly prime work from either guy; lyrically I mean it's not the offensive & condescending "Do They Know?" but I'd rather be offended by content than by vague nonsense (what the hell does "we are the children" mean in the context of the chorus? which children: the starving children? no, "we" are the ones who make a brighter day and are called upon to give; however, we are also "the children" etc etc - just total nonsense, deploying the word "children" 'cause everybody likes children - bizarre, confusing, senseless)

As the Culturcide chorus goes:

"We're not the world, we're not the children,
We're just bosses and bureaucrats and rock 'n' roll hasbeens,
There's a choice we're never given,
To run our own lives,
Without it, your better day is just a better lie."

Again, WATW is redeemed by the vocal performances.

You're insane.

Culturcide's is better than either, agreed.

Otherwise, this thread is pretty 0_o to me! It's like being asked "which do you prefer, this turd or that turd"?

They're both pretty awful records!

A better idea would have been "Let It Be (Zeebrugge)" versus "Ferry 'Cross The Mersey (Hillsborough)."

"We Are The World" is the biggest dollop of tepid, runny, poisoned-pancreatic pooh ever to be subjected on human ears. Raise your damn standards.

Although the real winner in this debate of course is "Sun City."

Someone post a Japanese version of "Do They Know?" so I can make a final decision.

I liked the Austrian Band Aid song (Opus?) where the chorus went "We're only doing this so that we can feel better" or something along those lines.

No one's arguing that either song is a good one in and of itself.

what the hell does "we are the children" mean in the context of the chorus? which children: the starving children? no, "we" are the ones who make a brighter day and are called upon to give; however, we are also "the children" etc etc - just total nonsense, deploying the word "children" 'cause everybody likes children - bizarre, confusing, senseless

That's incredibly disingenuous, J0hn. "We are the world/We are the children" is rather obviously hippie-esque "We are all one people" imagery, followed on with "we're the lucky ones who should help out the less fortunate ones" moral imperative. I kind of don't see how you can find that confusing or bizarre unless you're trying to shore up a shakey rhetorical stance based on thinking the song eats moose balls.

i thought "we are the children" in the chorus meant=take a child's like view of the world and how to defeat hunger, we're saving our own lives, etc.

Geldof famously described DTKIC as "fucking Z Cars on a toy piano."

How can they say "We are the world" when the starving people are part of the world too? Are they trying to say that they're starving, but want to help themselves as well? Is that what they mean by making "a better day for you and me?" And how did I get involved with this?

</FreshmanYear>

liked the Austrian Band Aid song (Opus?) where the chorus went "We're only doing this so that we can feel better" or something along those lines.

Yeah, among the bits from Live Aid I VHS'd was Opus and friends. "Once you were a princess, woooh! Now you are a beggar, woooh!"

Spoiled it a bit when you realise it was obviusly at the same 'taping' when they recorded the video for "Live is life, ba na na na nah!

Hear 'N Aid>>>>>>WatW & DTKICT

<subtext>"I dooooooooooooo."</subtext>

Not very good at all - "Tears Are Not Enough," the Canadian Band Aid record. If only they'd covered the ABC song.

In light of Burton Cummings' brilliant "Gordon Lightfoot Does Maggie May" routine I would like to see Gordy covering the whole of Lexicon Of Love.

The We Are The World album has Prince's "4 the Tears In Your Eyes" on it, so its existence was good for something.

Okay purely as a songwriting thing, Do They Know It's Christmas was better.

Making a charity record that started with african drums and a funeral bell was somewhat startling at the time.

Fed through a Fairlight by renowned African drummers Phil Collins and Jon Moss.

Fuckin' A, Mark G! :) I was an anglophile even at 13 years of age. You bet I was.

Also do you think anyone in my middle school (or junior high) knew who the hell Frankie Goes To Hollywood was besides me? Not a fucking chance.

I used to buy Brit teenager mags, see that's how it all started. That's how I figured out who Scritti Politti was.

Also do you think anyone in my middle school (or junior high) knew who the hell Frankie Goes To Hollywood was besides me? Not a fucking chance.

Yeah, how could anyone possibly know about a group with an inescapable top 10 hit?

not at that time they hadn't a top 10 hit yet! :)

Best bit on DTKIC: "I can't get the laugh right Bob."

Anyway sorry to diverge the thread. Continue as normal.

Dan I have seriously always been mystified by "we are the children," makes no sense to me poetically or otherwise in that chorus

Seriously, replace "the" with "God's" and you've got your answer.

Besides being unapologetically Christian, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has the honor of featuring no blacks or women in lead roles.

So because most UK people are white (and were in 1984 to an even bigger extent), then they are racist?

As for the women thing, 80s New Romantics was all about male vocals. Most music was back then. And male vocals have always sounded better anyway.

LOL

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/Tonito44/ThatsRacist.gif

And male vocals have always sounded better anyway.

glad to see Geir's sticking with his "I just say insane shit that has nothing to do with anything" policy

Britishes at least have a valid chauvinistic reason for preferring Band Aid, but jeez, how long have the rest of you been living in a Bizarro world where Bob Geldof and Midge Ure write better songs than Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie?

Jonbert Williamsgau

"We Are The World" is the better song, but "Do They Know It's Christmas" had the better performers.

Of course, it was British after all.

DTKIC is such utter shit its not even comparable to WATW which is kinda shit and saved by the vocal performance as mentioned before.

The melody of

feeeeed the WOOORld
do they know...

is such utter shit

if Ray Charles injected his "C'mon, let me HEAR YA!" into the Brit version, I might show it some respect.

Britishes at least have a valid chauvinistic reason for preferring Band Aid

They do?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZktrrq
HEAR'N'AID

Okay Pleasant Plains' Hear N' Aid link is fucking hilarious. I mean hilariously awful, but wow. The awfulness factor was ratcheted up way high up to ELEVEN man! Yikes. In its own way yes this is MUCH better than either DTKIC or We Are The World.

Other especially good classic stuff Pleasant Plains posted on this thread:

How can they say "We are the world" when the starving people are part of the world too? Are they trying to say that they're starving, but want to help themselves as well? Is that what they mean by making "a better day for you and me?" And how did I get involved with this?

Someone post a Japanese version of "Do They Know?" so I can make a final decision.

"We Are The World" is the better song, but "Do They Know It's Christmas" had the better performers.

Of course, it was British after all.

URGENT MEMO to Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen - you guys ain't got nuthin' on Pete Briquette, Chris Cross or Marilyn.

URGENT MEMO to Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen - you guys ain't got nuthin' on Pete Briquette, Chris Cross or Marilyn.

If their respective performances on "We Are The World" are at all indicative of their "gifts," those three performers (and let's bring Dylan in there too) have no business enjoying the status they currently do.

Bottom line: "We Are The World" = FLATLY INDEFENSIBLE. If you like it, you have shit in your ears and in your skull. Class dismissed.

Dylan is one of the few performers who actually comes out of the thing with credit. No one would talk to him at the recording except Willie Nelson.

fear!