We Are The World remake

[trane_fanatic]

Quincy, what were you thinking? If this does not convince you about the sad state that pop music is in, nothing will.

It's a better idea just to support Haiti directly.

[sonnymax]

Not sure what your point is, since the original was a fluffy, star-studded, piece of crap as well.

[Chuck Nessa]

[Dan Gould]

Not sure what your point is, since the original was a fluffy, star-studded, piece of crap as well.

Yes, but this POS also serves as a documentary about the frightening decline in pop music voices in just 25 years.

I'm wondering if there was any effort to duplicate the bizarre appearance of Dan Ackroyd in the original. And yes, there he is - Jeff Bridges. Perfect. Ackroyd "sung" with the Blues Brothers, Bridges just made a well-received movie about an aging country star. Well done.

I kept my dinner down even when Babs appeared, but I couldn't handle that ending. Anyone got a spare keyboard? I don't think this one will last much longer.

[Dan Gould]

No one should have had to check their egos at the door for this one.

Which isn't to say they don't have them, just that its unjustified.

[Alexander]

I liked it, personally. The original wasn't that great in the first place, and I liked the instrumental backing here a LOT better. At first I was uncertain about sampling Michael, but it is his song and they made it work.

I also liked the rap chorus. The original "We Are The World" completely ignored the early hip-hop artists so it was nice to see people like Snoop, LL Cool J, Kanye and Wyclef involved.

I don't even think the presence of Josh Groban and Celine Dion ruined it. They did their parts and did it pretty well. The only REALLY iffy moment was when Jamie Foxx imitated Ray Charles. Ray was on the original, and Jamie played Ray, but that doesn't give him the right to essentially go around speaking for Ray. Why wasn't Joaguin Phoenix there imitating Johnny Cash?

My big question is: Did they get Jimmy Thudpucker involved?

[Dan Gould]

Why am I not surprised?

My theory is this:

This recording essentially coincided with the moment in time when decent singing talent was eliminated as a prerequisite for any kind of pop stardom:

• 
  
  
• The hip-hop/rap revolution was about to reach the mainstream
  
• Madonna had only two LPs to her credit at this moment in time
  
• The only exceptional voice missing that would have fit alongside Tina, Diana Ross, Ray (and a few others) would be Whitney Houston, and her career had just gotten started
  

Then you go past Whitney and you get Mariah Carey and on to her appalling progeny, leading inevitably to skanks who look good but need autotune to make a record and on to the nauseating voices heard on that remake.

[Christiern]

I did not think Quincy could sink so far below hise original piece of nothing. What is there to be found beyond nothing? Obviously something less than nothing. Then I remembered "Back on the Block", Quincy's truly awful 1989 mishmash into which he threw an assembly hall of performers, including many with real talent (of the kind that had eluded himself) and proceeded to drown them out so effectively that only their names indicated their presence. No one can waste or mis-match talent better than Mr. Jones.

Here are the people in that sea of mediocrity:

Ella Fitzgerald

Sarah Vaughan

Chaka Khan

Dionne Warwrick

Al Jarreau

Luther Vandross

Barry White

Take 6

Tevin Campell,

James Ingram

El DeBarge

Al B. Sure!

Ice-T

Big Daddy Kane,

Kool Moe Dee

Melle Mel

James Moody

Gerald Albright

Dizzy Gillespie

Miles Davis

Herbie Hancock

George Duke

George Benson

Steve Lukather

Paul Jackson, Jr.

Nathan East

Harvey Mason

Steve Porcaro

Josef Zawinul

Rod Temperton (programming!)

Paulinho Da Costa

[A Lark Ascending]

I can't even remember this song.

Probably proves I was really there in the 80s.

[mikelz777]

The original was a self-indulgent piece of turd-ocity and this one is even more so. At least the original had a sense of newness about it. This is just a sad re-tread which struggles to appear fresh while being completely obliterated by the fog of stench and celebrated self-importance it creates instead. In case you can't tell, I was completely turned off by it.

Edited February 14, 2010 by mikelz777

[Alexander]

So what is it exactly that I'm missing that I'm not in the same self-righteous rage as the rest of you? Why am I not disgusted? I don't think I have bad taste. In fact, I think I have pretty good taste. So what's wrong with me? Why am I not offended? My memories of the original "We Are The World" were pretty bad, but when I watched the video for the original with my daughter, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't all that bad at all.

One thing that occurs to me is that I have a sense of perspective on this:

1) It's JUST pop music, people. It's not worth getting worked up over.

2) It's for a good cause. So who cares if the video and song are self-indulgent and self-congratulatory? Every artist who appeared in this video did so for FREE. Just remember that. These are people who get paid large sums of money to make music that most people here don't think is very good to begin with, but at least here they're doing it for NOTHING. They are donating their VERY valuable time. So I thank them for their good intentions in doing so.

3) I actually LIKE many of the people here. Not all of them, but a good number of them. I LIKE Kanye West (even though he has a big mouth). I LIKE Lil Wayne and T-Pain. The use of autotune does not offend me, as it does so many others. I even like Nick Jonas. I think the kid is a genuine talent.

So given all that, what is it I should be upset about here?

[Christiern]

Mediocrity from people who are very popular.

Sorry, but I find something skewed about that. Yes, let's hope the people of Haiti get some funds out of it, but who else? And what percentage of this mess was done in the name of publicity?

I guess my perspective is different from yours, Alexander, mine looks back on exploitation and and the silly ain't-we-wonderful aspect of it all. These people make very good money, it would have been a far better thing if they had simply directed that some of the royalties from their own records be channeled to help[p Haiti. But that, of course, would bring Mr. Jones and his mutual admiration society as much publicity as this truly awful recording probably will. BTW, the rap on this thing is about as weak as any I have heard—I like good rap, but good rap seems to be going the way of pop music, in general.

[Alexander]

Mediocrity from people who are very popular.

Sorry, but I find something skewed about that. Yes, let's hope the people of Haiti get some funds out of it, but who else? And what percentage of this mess was done in the name of publicity?

I guess my perspective is different from yours, Alexander, mine looks back on exploitation and and the silly ain't-we-wonderful aspect of it all. These people make very good money, it would have been a far better thing if they had simply directed that some of the royalties from their own records be channeled to help[p Haiti. But that, of course, would bring Mr. Jones and his mutual admiration society as much publicity as this truly awful recording probably will. BTW, the rap on this thing is about as weak as any I have heard—I like good rap, but good rap seems to be going the way of pop music, in general.

No, the rapping here was not spectacular by any standard, but I was just happy to see rap represented when it was completely ignored in the first "We Are The World."

[Dave James]

Alexander started an earlier thread entitled, "Please Check Out Where Dead Voices Gather". Did it occur to anyone else how appropriate that title would have been for this thread?

[Alexander]

Alexander started an earlier thread entitled, "Please Check Out Where Dead Voices Gather". Did it occur to anyone else how appropriate that title would have been for this thread?

I've got to admit...that's funny!

[Dan Gould]

But there's only one dead voice in the video.

[papsrus]

... I like good rap, but good rap seems to be going the way of pop music, in general.

Good rap gets a bad rap.