Elons_a_distraction t1_j19vdje wrote
In the 80s, parts of Africa were going through a severe famine. Thea images of naked kids starving were everywhere to drum up awareness of that famine. The intent wasn’t offensive at all since they certainly weren’t making light of the situation.
SparkDBowles t1_j1a4t6d wrote
Yeah. Op sounds like another post-millennial snowflake looking for something to be offended about and call the PC Police to come and cancel it.
IzzyTheIceCreamFairy t1_j1aegjt wrote
A post-millennial with a daughter who has a copy of Do They Know It's Christmas? Seems unlikely mate.
Notinyourbushes t1_j1aa6ha wrote
It was written specifically about and to help Ethiopia...and he wanted to use Ethiopia in the song, but it just didn't flow so he went for the more general "Africa."
Plus you can't expect Americans to give money for a country they're not totally sure exists or not, better to use a word they know.
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1a1w5x wrote
I agree that their intentions were good. My friend just showed me a different original cover art version, which was equally as inappropriate.
I used to live in West Africa. If I showed a picture of a suffering, homeless man in downtown San Francisco to people in the village, they wouldn’t have believed that people don’t have homes in America.
And then, to seem to suggest that that is everybody in America.
Where nothing ever grows; No rain nor rivers flow.
I mean they were really trying and I’m sure they raised money. It just doesn’t seem right for some reason. The cover art in Apple Music is pretty bad. And the other original version that I saw was equally as horrible.
FreakerzBall t1_j1a9drs wrote
You realize the album and concert were a fundraiser for African famine relief, right? Right?
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1aajrk wrote
Oh, I totally get that. I think the intentions were good. I’m not sure how much it raised awareness of famine, but maybe some. Not sure how much good it did to be honest.
It’s just such a strange approach lyric-wise and the cover art is really unfortunate.
FreakerzBall t1_j1alq5t wrote
It was a global event. Huge.
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1amaq7 wrote
Huge event. Perpetuating the myth that Africa is filled with a bunch of starving helpless stick figures.
Live Aid was also when Phil Collins sat in with Led Zeppelin, but didn’t know any of the songs. Here is the cringiest post-show interview:
FreakerzBall t1_j1amr8h wrote
Were you even alive in 1984? It was a global charity event. If you could do better, do it and stop ripping on stuff you're obviously clueless about. Merry Christmas.
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1aof4h wrote
I live in an isolated West African village for two years, helping them with local health care delivery, but I don’t know if that would necessarily qualify as ‘doing it better.’
But I can definitely play drums better than Phil Collins did at that embarrassing performance without practicing. But if I got the gig, I would practice every single day until I had every single note exactly perfect.
Because it’s Led Zeppelin.
Merry Christmas ❄️
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Z5bH5jGhN_I&feature=emb_logo
FreakerzBall t1_j1ap4sz wrote
Peace Corps? I think you need to consider that what we did in the 1980's, 40 years ago, with no internet, almost no cable tv, was an attempt to ease the suffering in Africa. If you can't find that in yourself, keep in mind that in 2062 some kid is going to shit all over your gen's good deeds.
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1at3xt wrote
It definitely raised awareness of the suffering in Africa. Maybe even inspired me in someway to eventually do it myself to try to help out.
I dare you to take a look at that cover art though.
FreakerzBall t1_j1avlex wrote
I did. I don't know that I remember it from 1984, but my school had a fundraiser for it, and we watched it at home on our giant 24" console TV. It was eye-opening to me, and a decade later I studied eco development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I hadn't made that connection until now. Huh. Thank you for that.
The artwork was meant to be confrontational. Extremely so. It was the ME decade, and it was far too easy to focus on the cola wars and peak Spielberg, and ignore the news about tens of millions of humans at risk of starvation. The artists behind the event and album weren't pulling punches.
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1awgj8 wrote
It’s a mixed bag.
And Phil Collins should’ve practiced 🤨
FreakerzBall t1_j1bd5py wrote
F that guy. BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM... BOOM, BOOM.
ASecularBuddhist OP t1_j1bl2rj wrote
It’s like being a piano player and being asked to play a Mozart piano concerto without knowing or looking at the music.
“I’m just gonna wing it. I mean how hard can Mozart be?”
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