Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!jeff From: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) Newsgroups: net.music Subject: Re: "USA for Africa" trash... Message-ID: <1521@dciem.UUCP> Date: Tue, 9-Apr-85 12:26:26 EST Article-I.D.: dciem.1521 Posted: Tue Apr 9 12:26:26 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 9-Apr-85 13:19:38 EST References: Reply-To: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 84 Summary: > This note is concerning the recent USA for Africa recording... > First off, it really pisses me off that they did this first > in England, and the American artists copied the English and NOW This isn't the first time that American recording artists have copied the English. Just because something isn't original doesn't mean it isn't a good idea, especially in this situation. Of course, the best thing is a good original idea. > the only version you hear (not to mention that pit of video dreck, MTV) > is the USA for Africa one. Grrrr... Part of the reason why you only hear USA For Africa and never Band-Aid may have something to do with the fact that the former is current while the latter is now several months old, (most radio and video stations play mostly only current stuff) plus the fact that Christmas songs don't belong in the middle of April anyway. However, they should be playing the Canadian song "Tears Are Not Enough" too. It's still current and it's on the "We Are The World" album. > Secondly, and more to the point, I am not at all impressed > by the fact that these artists got together and pressed a disc - so > that the poor American consumer is left actually footing the bill > for whatever aid we send to Africa....why didn't these rich slobs > (read especially folks like M. Jackson Inc.) just GIVE some of their > millions? Noooo! They just visit a recording studio for an hour > (with all sorts of expensive catering, I've heard) and sing and now > WE have to be the ones donating the money. I really can't understand the above argument. First of all, these "rich slobs" earned their money from the "poor American consumer" buying their records and concert tickets, so if they donate some of that money, haven't we footed the bill anyway? At least with a benefit record we know that our money is going to Africa instead of maybe to another one of Michael Jackson's mannequins. Their time is more valuable anyway because with this project, they can raise more money with less effort than they can with their regular records. Also, I don't know if it's the same way in the U.S., but I know that in Canada, if a millionaire makes a large monetary donation to a charity, he gets a lot of it back in the form of tax deductions, and therefore the "poor consumer" taxpayer foots a lot of the bill anyway, whether he likes it or not. Time donated to a charity is not tax deductable (in Canada at least), nor is money spent on records, so the tax pool will not be weakened at all by this project. As far as us being the ones donating the money is concerned, nobody says YOU have to buy the record or make a donation, and if somebody else does, what difference does it make to you? > I suspect that there is > not a single person reading this net that can afford to donate as > much money (or even a fraction as much) as ANY of the people that > made the track. I'm sure that's true, but it's not just a single person that will be buying the records. There will probably be millions. The recording artists may be able to top the money raised from record sales, but it would most likely be a much bigger sacrifice than donating their time. By doing a benefit record, they've raised a huge amount of money, without any significant sacrifice from anybody, and at the same time provided some entertainment (some people like the song) that would not otherwise have been provided. It sounds like a perfect idea to me. > The worst thing is, the music is pretty pathetic...and the > video reminds me a lot of the self-indulgent Police junk - a 'gee, > isn't it neat to see us at work?' sort of attitude! I'll agree that they could have done a much better video (some African scenes would have helped), but the video is also a copy of the English version, and people enjoy watching it to see how many people they can recognise and whether they've correctly identified the voices. Since people like watching it, then I guess it's not a bad video. > Anyone else disgruntled by this shit? Not if they've thought about it a little. > Dave Taylor > Hewlett Packard -- Jeff Richardson, DCIEM, Toronto (416) 635-2073 {linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd}!utcsrgv!dciem!jeff {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!dciem!jeff