chaplin

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

I've finally had it with the sons of Live Aid. I never want to hear of another large-scale charity or consciousness-raising show. I was prepared to give Live8 the benefit of the doubt but the swiftness with which its impact has already faded means that we can all see Al Gore's Live Earth coming and we're composing our features into an expression of profound scepticism already. It's not just the fact that there is simply nothing more planet-polluting than a massive great rock show. It's not just the dispiriting list of the usual suspects making up the bill. It's not just the fact that corporate sponsors and "media partners" are already fighting to make sure they come out of it on top. What's profoundly depressing is what it says about our belief that the best way to meet massive challenges is with massive media events. The idea that if you provide a spectacle that can excite the public for as long as a day you can help bring about some kind of fundamental change in their behaviour says everything you need to know about the relationship between the entertainment industry and the rest of us. Live Aid had an impact because nobody - not even Bob Geldof - really saw it coming. There are months to go before Live Earth and already we feel we've been had.

10 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree more, David.

    Does this mean that you won't be getting the TV presenting gig this time around then?

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  2. TV decided it could get by without me a long time ago.

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  3. Anonymous1:22 am

    And you're right about the line up. Dispiriting is not the word. Some OK acts, but the line-up reads like a cover CD for Hello! So how do they get to the performers with these things? Is it a case of getting a Madonna to say yes, and using her name to get others, or maybe Al putting in a call? Is there anything as horrible as lobbying going on?

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  4. I would imagine it's the promise of world-wide TV exposure.

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  5. And actually there will be lobbying going on, which is perfectly legitimate. I recently heard some band with strong eco credentials complaining that they couldn't get on the bill because, obviously, they weren't big enough.

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  6. Anonymous11:22 am

    But Duran Duran?

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  7. Anonymous11:46 am

    In fairness to Duran Duran's eco credentials, they do use yachts with large sails in their videos.

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  8. I'm afraid that I lost it with these events round about the time that Bob Geldof told me not to go the pub back in July '85, and hotfooted it right round to the old saloon. That showed him.

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  9. Anonymous12:21 pm

    Aye Dave, you're not wrong. Who the feck hasn't heard that there's global warming anyway? "Get the message out there"?! Bollox! And another thing: the only way to stop the world melting is to curtail the expansion plans of the 'developing world', and who's ever gonna do that? Al bloody Gore? No chance!

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  10. Sigh.

    Bored already.

    And the carbon footprint of all this?

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