I liked how the people were not introduced; it wasn’t about the performers - it was about the tradgedy.
I thought Billy Joel was too starched. Maria was too self serving. I almost got misty when Neil Young sang and played “Imagine”. Ditto with Paul Simon doing “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. I almost lost it when Mohammed Ali actually spoke! (The first time I’d heard his voice in well over 15 years. He’s still The Champ.)
And why didn’t they get Bob Dylan to sing “Blowin’ in the Wind”? Surely that would have brought in a bazillion dollars in donations (especially if he could have managed a silent tear running down his cheek.)
I’m going to have to go with Bridge Over Troubled Waters, just because that song makes me cry anyway. I think Paul was trying not to get choked up, hence the “stiffness” of the song…
And yeah, I waited in vain for some good ol’ Bob Dylan.
Actually, I thought it was the Dixie Chicks. Don’t remember the name of the song…something like “I Believe in Love”. I broke down and cried while petting my dogs.
Was Goldie Hawn stoned or what? At the end, she was glassy-eyed and leaning on Kurt (more like he was holding her up), but not as if she were overcome with emotion. I fear that she was not suffering a case of “vapors” but a case of “smoke and fumes”, as it were.
I wanted to like the Eddie Vedder/Neil Young tune, but, as always, I had no damn clue as to WTF Eddie was saying.
I was really impressed with Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Meyers and Kurt Russell, among others…that is, if they really were taking actual phone calls. For major talent (not to mention some major egos) to donate their time to man a donation hotline and not even say anything on camera except some barely-heard phone conversation…pretty impressive.
I still wish Ray Charles had been there to sing “America the Beautiful”.
I liked Sting’s performance of “Fragile”. Anyone else seen the tape VH1 has of him trying to perform it the day after the attacks? He gets to the first chorus, looking bewildered the whole time, then he gets this hurt “edge-of-crying-but-I-can’t-because-I’m-English” look on his face and has to stop. Gotta be the most powerful clip they’ve ever shown…
It had to be the ol’ outlaw, Willie Nelson, at the end. A great performance.
What I would have liked to see:
Bob Dylan with any number of songs
Ray Charles
Randy Newman
Arlo Guthrie to perform “This Land is Your Land”
Pink Floyd doing "Wish You Were Here (not the pale imitators who were there)
Aretha Franklin
Kris Kristofferson
Though it is in bad form to do so, I’ll just go ahead and say what everyone is really thinking: it was boring as hell except for the 5 minutes that were actually moving, and Wille Nelson’s version of America the Beautiful was the perfect soporific for a good nights sleep? Methinks the producer went to Willie and said “We are about 4 minutes fast… drag it out, Willie, drag it out.”
Also, does anyone else think that if you’re talented enough to get paid millions to warble out a tune that you’d better memorize the words to America the Beautiful instead of having it miked to your ear? My wife and I were at first pleasantly surprised that they had memorized the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th verses of the song… that is until the guy feeding them the lines got piped over the TV signal. :rolleyes:
My vote goes to Paul Simon and Sting. Man, I got more than misty when I could tell Paul was trying hard not to cry.
I didn’t even bother listening to Mariah or Celine. I put it on mute and went to the bathroom, or to the fridge. I think the whole thing was great except for those two.