mostly this is all about me purchasing a single knowing in advance that (alas) it would be atrocious, with my knowledge being spot on. also this shall be a lament for a world no longer here, look you see, with some comments likely to be determined to be a whine. but, you never know, the odd valid point may well be made here, even by accident.
so, for the 40th anniversary of Do They Know It's Christmas off of Band Aid they went right ahead with a kind of obligatory re-release. this has been done before, with re-recordings coming out in 1989, 2004 (no, nothing in the 90s that i recall) and, disastrously, 2014. no "new" version here, however, just what has been called an "ultimate" mix by Trevor Horn.
it is, i am so sorry to write this, the case that the "ultimate mix" is an obscenity. as in it is really, really bad. so bad, as point of fact, a conspiracist or cynic might suggest that the comments off of Ed Sheridan (or whatever) and his pal (i believe called Fused) were deliberately engineered to distract people from just how remarkably much of a totes f*** up this version is. and i write that as a devotee of Trevor Horn, for he had a massive part in the sound of Frankie, so had a massive part in the sound of my life.
one gets the feeling that the original (1984) version of the song is included on the tape (disc) out of some sort of obligation. it remains a masterpiece. no, not the "greatest" Christmas song of all time, but perhaps (despite the views of some) the most important. also included are the 2004 version, which is a surprisingly dated breezy, whimsical "acoustic" thing that has far, far, far too much Coldplay to it. there's also the Live Aid finale version, which is chaotic and a fun memory from that truly remarkable day, but has all the audio quality of someone holding a dictaphone up to tele to record it.
there is also the obscenity of the 2014 "rewrite". beyond reflecting the dire lack of true, genuine grade a pop stars by this point in our history, it all got distracted by making it about "other things". i do not mean to be flippant or light, but i genuinely can't recall if they elected to now make the song all about Haiti, Ebola or some other concern. sure, quite likely a noble concern or several concerns, but it moved it all away from what inspired that magical moment in pop history.
worst of all, for me, was the removal (or if you will replacement) of a specific line. for some reason some people have, over the years, decided that the lyric sung by Bono (before he was really Bono as we know him today) well tonight thank god it's them instead of you was "wrong" and should never existed. i would absolutely agree that it's controversial, but that's its strength.
right there is the line that addresses much of the recent "controversy" around the song, and right there is the power of the song. and beyond, dear reader, far beyond. in one very direct, overt, in your face line, so many things got addressed. isn't it so that those are the precise words which pierce the heart when confronted with images of abject horror and are called on to help? don't those words head on address, tackle or debate concepts such as western (sometimes called "white") privilege and prompt a sense of western (frequently called "white") guilt? how f*****g dare they go and remove one of the most powerful lines to exist in any song? if it made people feel uneasy or uncomfortable, then so much the f*****g better as that's exactly what it should do.
for the most part (or mostly) when i heard that Ed Sheridan (or whatever) was all upset about them using his contribution to the "ultimate mix" without asking, i was very much (at first) "oh f*** off, you complete tw@t", which to be fair is my reaction to anything he has to say. reading on about what it was he had to say, i was somewhat bemused by the cultural appropriation going on by him and his Fuse mate, declaring that the song "reinforced stereotypes" about Africa. wow. indeed there are some lines of fluff in the song, likely inaccurate, but i really doubt that the lyrics have been influential on the way people have considered a continent for the last four decades. goodness knows what the fallout shall be when these two hear a certain song off of Toto (band, not dog).
people involved with the actual 1984 song have responded to him (them) far better than i could. strangely and unexpectedly Tony Hadley in particular gave a considered, thoughtful reply, which has challenged my perspective on life as i really, really, really f*****g hate Tony Hadley. let me kind of leave it as whilst there may be variations of validity to the opinions of Sheridan (or whatever) and Fuse, for me, and hopefully for many, these words of (quasi) Sir Bob are all that matter.
in what i take as being a marking of the 40th anniversary the BBC has recently shown a fly on the wall documentary about the making of the original single. it truly is a wonderful thing to behold. what a chaotic, no one knows what's going on day it was, and if anything it amplifies what a miracle it is that the song came out sounding as good as it did, or rather does. highlights are a very pre-fame Bono being all meek and shy when meeting music legends, Boy George swanning in and showing them all how to do it and Midge Ure working his absolute socks off.
sadly what the documentary shows is a world which simply does not exist. music, it seems is no longer as important as it once was. as in most of the people who appeared in the 1984 original were household names far beyond the reaches of the pop world. all of them made sacrifices, gave up time and money that just wouldn't happen today. i could go on (and on) here, but there is little point in doing so, i suppose. ultimately, had all of this been happening for the first time in 2024 not 1984, Bob and Midge would have had to settle for setting up one of those "donate" pages and getting various celebrities calling for people to donate via social media.
no, to the best of my knowledge this (awful) new version of Do They Know It's Christmas has not reached number one on the singles chart. with thanks to all this "streaming" nonsense, the charts are a mess anyway, featuring all the usual Christmas songs at the top rather than ones specifically released for the season. since for the last couple of decades (or so) the once much vaunted, highly desirable Christmas number one has simply been an advert for "talent" shows or been all about some idiot whose primary talent appears to be able to say "sausage roll" over someone else's record.
whereas no, i am no expert in such things, it does strike me as they needlessly overthought this release. essentially all they had to do was put the original out again, but include "rarities" such as the original b-side, featuring messages from people that couldn't (or wouldn't) make the recording, as well as the 12". including the other versions (except oddly the 89 one) does little but chart the sad decline in musical talent available as the years have passed.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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