# "We Are the World 25". Good God. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802 "2010-02-13T01:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/41 "2010-02-13T22:58:17Z")
Who is the hot brunette that appears near the beginning with Jennifer Hudson and then shows up a few more times? The full version was at least a bit better than the truncated version they showed during the Olympics last night. Weird–it’s like they combined all the worst parts for the world premiere. Actually, the full version is no worse than the 80’s version up until the autotuners start, and then the rest is all crap. If this is the best we can do for Haiti, then they are well and truly screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/42 "2010-02-13T23:00:42Z")
> [@Tinkertoy](#): > > Why the hell was Jeff Bridges there? Same reason Jamie Foxx was there, he played a singer in a movie. > [@Wheeljack](#): > > … > > One thing, though: am I crazy, or was that Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles? I’m not sure how I feel about that. > [@cstamets](#): > > Something about Jamie Foxx’s apparent Ray Charles impersonation really irritated me. Jamie Foxx has taken the Oscar he received as Carte Blanche to continue to “be” Ray Charles. The only way to stop him is to raise the real Ray Charles’ zombified corpse to seek revenge and eat Foxx’s brain. So anyone know where we can find a Voodoo priestess? I guess we’re in trouble if Ray was cremated. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/43 "2010-02-13T23:36:44Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Who is the hot brunette that appears near the beginning with Jennifer Hudson and then shows up a few more times? > . I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Nicole Scherzinger, aka the lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls. She is very hot. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/44 "2010-02-13T23:39:01Z")
\*“I’m not a music superstar, but I played one in a movie. So, I’ll keep acting like one.” \* Lovely. Well, yeah as to the topic – both\* Feed The World (Do They Know It’s Christmas) \*and _We Are The World_ were better fundraising than music to start with. But still, at least the original Band Aid (and Geldof must have been fully cognizant of the ironic context of the name) begat Live Aid, which was various flavors of excellent in both its original verison and in its +20 version. On the plus side, at least in this benefit we did NOT have to deal with Kanye West going off script on a rant. Thank Heaven for small mercies. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/45 "2010-02-13T23:44:55Z")
I prefer “He’s fucking Ben Affleck” for multi-musician songs. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/46 "2010-02-13T23:48:43Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Yeah, no reason for MJ to be in it. > > Agreed that it tried for too much, and ended up perfecting nothing. > > And I’m so glad a know nothing kid got to open the song. > > Who the hell is this Bieber kid anyway? Does he know how bubble gummy he is? Well, MJ did co-write the original. And I’m sure he’d be involved if he were still alive. It’s not the most ridiculous addition that I can think of. Having the Bieber kid start it off, though, was really odd. All in all, I don’t think it’s any better or worse than the original. It has artists who are popular today (and Tony Bennett and Streisand for, what, credibility), just as the original did. Remember, 25 years ago, Springsteen and rock music in general _was_ oftentimes in the Top 40 charts. In the late 90s and 2000s, rock gave way to hip-hop. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/47 "2010-02-14T00:02:36Z")
Guess I’m not cool enough for the room because . . . ~ I only saw the new video today at the 2:00 opening of NBC’s Olympic coverage ~It choked me up – that Haiti footage ~I recognized roughly 25% of the artists (Streisand, Bennett, JHud, Usher, Celine, Wyclef and MJ and a few others) ~I liked the original Does it help my cool quotient that every time I saw Randy Jackson’s smug mug, I wanted to punch my TV? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/48 "2010-02-14T00:08:42Z")
> [@infinitii](#): > > I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Nicole Scherzinger, aka the lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls. She is very hot. Thank you! Google Image Search confirms, you are correct Whoa! I’ll be in my bunk. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/49 "2010-02-14T00:13:51Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > All in all, I don’t think it’s any better or worse than the original. It has artists who are popular today (and Tony Bennett and Streisand for, what, credibility), just as the original did. Remember, 25 years ago, Springsteen and rock music in general _was_ oftentimes in the Top 40 charts. In the late 90s and 2000s, rock gave way to hip-hop. I agree. Although the original version was accepted by the public at large, the press in general thought it was a useless ego boost that would not really do anything- just as many in this thread are saying about this version: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Following its release, “We Are the World” received mixed reviews from journalists, music critics and the public. American journalist Greil Marcus felt that the song sounded like a Pepsi jingle. He wrote, “[…] the constant repetition of ‘There’s a choice we’re making’ conflates with Pepsi’s trademarked ‘The choice of a new generation’ in a way that, on the part of Pepsi-contracted song writers Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, is certainly not intentional, and even more certainly beyond the realm of serendipity.” Marcus added, “In the realm of contextualization, ‘We Are the World’ says less about Ethiopia than it does about Pepsi—and the true result will likely be less that certain Ethiopian individuals will live, or anyway live a bit longer than they otherwise would have, than that Pepsi will get the catch phrase of its advertising campaign sung for free by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and all the rest.” Author Reebee Garofalo agreed, and expressed the opinion that the line “We’re saving our own lives” was a “distasteful element of self-indulgence”. He asserted that the artists of USA for Africa were proclaiming “their own salvation for singing about an issue they will never experience on behalf of a people most of them will never encounter”. Apparently, Quincy Jones was planning on doing a 25th-anniversary version of the song anyway, but the disaster in Haiti struck during the early planning stages and thus a cause was found. I’m sure the song will raise a lot of money for the cause, but both it and the original version, though very catchy and well-written songs (even though most of the lyrics don’t actually rhyme), don’t really mean that much. I’m reminded of the _Saturday Night Live_ sketch where the snowman from _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ walks off set after 9/11 saying that the whole thing is too much for him to bear, causing Santa Claus to tell him that show biz types are trying to shift the focus away from the tragedy and onto themselves, and what they should be doing is entertaining so people forget about it, so get in your cage, paint your ass red, and dance, monkey, dance! I guess this is somewhere in the middle of that- the singers are doing what they do best and in a way bringing both attention to themselves _and_ the tragedy, though it weighs more on the self-publicity line of the scale. It may not be the best way to get things done for Haiti, but at least it’s a solid middle line. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/50 "2010-02-14T02:28:42Z")
This symbolizes everything wrong about modern day pop: –opening with Bieber. It would have been like the original opening with Falco or Kajagoogoo. –giving more air time to the Pussycat Dolls’ lead skank than to Tony Bennett. –original had rock represented by Dylan and Springsteen. Now:the guy from the Fray. –AUTOTUNE:eek::eek: Plus we know [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfdXbTRVRzc&feature=related) is the only truly great charity single. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/51 "2010-02-14T02:37:28Z")
> [@Tinkertoy](#): > > Why the hell was Jeff Bridges there? > [@Wile\_E](#): > > Same reason Jamie Foxx was there, he played a singer in a movie. They should have brought Kevin Spacey in, and had Quincy write a Bobby Darin solo for him. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/52 "2010-02-14T03:04:25Z")
Until about six months ago, I’d never heard the term “auto-tune.” Now I believe it is yet another sign of the coming of the apocalypse. Wouldn’t singers be ashamed of having to use such a pathetic crutch? We evolved to appreciate the nuances in actual human voices – why the hell are they putting this crap out? This is like Ferris Bueller playing on his keyboard, but they’re not trying to be funny. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/53 "2010-02-14T03:08:27Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI) the full version. Jamie Foxx forgot to say, “25 years ago Quincy Jones gathered together a dazzling array of artists and musicians [_and LaToya Jackson_].” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/54 "2010-02-14T03:19:48Z")
It wasn’t just the two rappers who used auto-tune; they were just the ones who were up front about it and used it as an effect. At least three singers used it to improve their singing–Bieber, Streisand, and the black male vocalist I don’t recognize, near the end, just before Fergie jumps in again. I have no doubt you could find more instances going back through it. Still, musically I have to say it was better than the original. Not as insipid, a tiny bit more ballsy. Musically, that is; otherwise it’s still a Pepsi commercial. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/55 "2010-02-14T03:20:51Z")
Oh and–Vince Vaughn? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/56 "2010-02-14T03:36:19Z")
I’d never heard of autotune before this thread. I just read the wikipedia article. I’m curious, how do you know they used it on this song? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/57 "2010-02-14T03:40:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’d never heard of autotune before this thread. I just read the wikipedia article. > > I’m curious, how do you know they used it on this song? I only vaguely know what Autotune is, but it’s obvious some of the singers sound like robots. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/58 "2010-02-14T04:14:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’d never heard of autotune before this thread. I just read the wikipedia article. > > I’m curious, how do you know they used it on this song? Well, **I** can tell because when I hear it, my soul cries out in agony and I see a vision of a zombie Karen Carpenter rising angrily from the grave over a pile of dead 70s Motown singers to go forth into the night killing babies as hellfire covers the landscape and the angels, powerless, can do no more than look down and weep for all the pain endured by humanity since the beginning of time through the end of eternity. But that’s just me. You can probably tell because there are no inflections in their voices – notes just glip from one note to the next abruptly. If you have a stereo or surround sound, you’ll suddenly hear harsh harmonics come from random directions because they’re out of phase. It’s akin to early speech synthesis – trying to reduce signals of infinite complexity into small samples createdy by too-simple algorithms. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/59 "2010-02-14T04:25:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’d never heard of autotune before this thread. I just read the wikipedia article. > > I’m curious, how do you know they used it on this song? Anybody who hasn’t heard of auto-tune should watch this you tube video for a rare example of where it has been used for good instead of evil. It’s easy to hear the auto-tune in this video because the original source material is narration, not singing. [We Are All Connected](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/60 "2010-02-14T05:04:05Z")
> [@groo](#): > > Well, **I** can tell because when I hear it, my soul cries out in agony and I see a vision of a zombie Karen Carpenter rising angrily from the grave over a pile of dead 70s Motown singers to go forth into the night killing babies as hellfire covers the landscape and the angels, powerless, can do no more than look down and weep for all the pain endured by humanity since the beginning of time through the end of eternity. But that’s just me. You know, if I saw that on the cover of a comic book, I’d probably buy it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802.md?page=4)