# "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:** 5
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/81 "2010-02-15T15:13:17Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > This song was ass 25 years ago, and I don’t need to hear it again to know it’s still ass today. > > I heard they had some lined up, but then Haiti called and said, “we’re not THAT hungry.” I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there! 😃 And probably true. ---
**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 15, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/82 "2010-02-15T17:06:57Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > I agree entirely, and he belongs to the same genre as Jennifer Lopez (J-LO/Selena) in that respect. Pop grotesqueries of manufactured talent. Yup, I almost mentioned her in my post. But at least she seems to be sticking with singing now, then again she may not get many film offers anymore. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/83 "2010-02-15T21:05:43Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > 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) That was good, but as you said, they were not trying to sing, and it was nicely put together. > [@Gyrate](#): > > You too? Wow, I thought I was the only one. > > (The only pop star whose use of autotune I will excuse is Cher, because she had a couple of decades demonstrating that she had real singing chops before using it as a gimmick. Everyone else - if you can’t sing in tune, STFU.) Ah, a kindred spirit. I am not an audiophile, but listening to music is partially an emotional experience for me, and singers convey a lot of emotion. I think that some current music producers do everyone a disservice by mistakenly thinking that “hitting the notes right” is the most important thing in a song. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/84 "2010-02-16T12:01:53Z")
Even thought he was just pasted unto the video, I thought MJ outsang everybody else in the video. It was a reminder of how great a singer he was in his prime. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/85 "2010-02-16T12:10:58Z")
Apparently, Quincy Jones is a graduate of the[Pat Robertson School of Idiotic Quotes.](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1247971/Helping-Haiti-single-Everybody-Hurts-makes-debut.html) > [@](#): > > Producer Jones said: ‘It’s the 25th anniversary and it’s perfect timing. It’s not an accident, man. That’s God. It will be We Are the World for Haiti.’ [Pit thread in progress.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=552380) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/86 "2010-02-16T12:19:28Z")
> [@groo](#): > > Ah, a kindred spirit. I am not an audiophile, but listening to music is partially an emotional experience for me, and singers convey a lot of emotion. I think that some current music producers do everyone a disservice by mistakenly thinking that “hitting the notes right” is the most important thing in a song. I think the ability to hit the notes right is rather important if you are choosing a career as a professional singer. There are times and ways to bend the rules, but if you can’t hit the notes when you need to maybe singing isn’t the right career for you. And if the end result of your song’s production process is that you sound like Stephen Hawking, why should I listen? It might as well be Hawking singing for all we can tell. You are surplus to requirements. _Yvan eht nioj, baby!_ ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/87 "2010-02-17T03:01:36Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > I only vaguely know what Autotune is, but it’s obvious some of the singers sound like robots. Is that why Cher’s voice sounds so unnatural on her song _Believe_? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/88 "2010-02-17T03:39:43Z")
I think one problem is that it’s been parodied and lampooned so much in the last 25 years it’s hard to take it seriously. Saturday Night Live has done several skits skewering it, and in the 21st century the Child Stars video on the otherwise unwatchable _Nicky Roberts_, the inspired “I’m F\*ckin’ Ben Affleck” video on Kimmel (complete with Josh Groban) and the absolutely brilliant “He Needs a Kidney” on 30 Rock, and others I’m leaving out have all taken their shots and this just seems like an unfunny parody. Another problem is Streisand… WTF? And while I like Tony Bennett and Josh Groban this just isn’t they. Michael Jackson… WTF? And then there’s the fact it sucks and I don’t know most of these kids and wish they’d get the hell off my lawn, and the rest need to get back to the day room because they walked out right in the middle of our shuffleboard tournament. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/89 "2010-02-17T04:21:29Z")
I don’t have any problem with pop glurge, particularly something that I associate with my youth so strongly. If they had made any effort whatsoever to incorporate a diverse array of artists, I would have been extremely happy. That was one of the key elements in the original. They had Bob Dylan ,Willie Nelson, Cindy Lauper, Bruce Springsteen and a whole bunch more. No doubt, some areas were neglected, but it was still a very diverse group. This time though, it’s all pop and rap. I’m sorry, but Jeff Bridges does not count as a country star. Not to mention the newer genres that could have been represented. It makes me mad because I had hoped that they would really try with this one. I’d love to hear a new take on it with some real character, but this is just awful. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/90 "2010-02-17T04:53:25Z")
[The 30 Rock Milton Green video begins at 1:15](http://vodpod.com/watch/1621895-clay-aiken-kidney-now-30rock). Notice how Adam Levine has the identical concerned and caring expression in both. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/91 "2010-02-17T06:22:56Z")
> [@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. Post of the year, man. 🙂 ---
**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 17, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/92 "2010-02-17T08:03:24Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > Is that why Cher’s voice sounds so unnatural on her song _Believe_? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/93 "2010-02-17T08:43:55Z")
Was there ever a charity single (that wasn’t a cover version) that was any good? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/94 "2010-02-17T09:33:18Z")
> [@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. I’ve never had such a strong visual just from reading a post. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight. As for the song, meh. It was bland, but it wasn’t bad enough to provoke a strong reaction from me. Although the rap part was stupid. Why the hell did they use Autotunes? ---
**Author:** ![GreatStuffMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f04885/32.png) [@GreatStuffMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatStuffMan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/95 "2010-02-17T10:00:22Z")
Are we calling Lil’ Wayne a “musician” now? Wow. ---
**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 17, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/96 "2010-02-17T17:31:10Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > Why the hell did they use Autotunes? The same reason you use a lot of pepper and spices when cooking with gamey meat. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/97 "2010-02-17T17:49:27Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I think one problem is that it’s been parodied and lampooned so much in the last 25 years it’s hard to take it seriously. Saturday Night Live has done several skits skewering it, and in the 21st century the Child Stars video on the otherwise unwatchable _Nicky Roberts_, the inspired “I’m F\*ckin’ Ben Affleck” video on Kimmel (complete with Josh Groban) and the absolutely brilliant “He Needs a Kidney” on 30 Rock, and others I’m leaving out have all taken their shots and this just seems like an unfunny parody. Krusty the Klown: I called my good friend Sting. He said, `Krusty, when do you need me?'' I said, `Thursday.‘’ He said, `I'm busy Thursday.'' I said, `What about Friday?‘’ He said, `Friday's worse than Thursday.'' Then *he* said, `How about Saturday?‘’ I said, ``Fine.‘’ True story! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/98 "2010-02-17T18:15:37Z")
The original wasn’t that great; this wasn’t that bad. Although the only singers I recognized were the ones who made me go, “Holy crap, I thought they died”. Only in Streisand’s case was I correct - the bottom rather dropped out when she chimed in. Although I thought the rap part worked, by contrasting the traditional prettiness of the chorus. It is rather like a fund-raising party that you invite rich folks to. Sure, it would be more efficient to do it some other way, but for some people, it’s either done in a way to stroke egos, or not at all. Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness and all that. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/99 "2010-02-18T01:48:54Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Was there ever a charity single (that wasn’t a cover version) that was any good? A question, not an answer: was any of the material on _Concert for Bangladesh_ new? ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802/100 "2010-02-28T04:36:58Z")
Timely Comment for 2/27 : Wow, SNL just laid it on heavy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-are-the-world-25-good-god/528802.md?page=6)