More damaging than the Macarena? Before the world was made a less culturally literate abode with Gangnam Style, Korean sensation Psy rapped,
Kill those f**king Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives
Kill those f**king Yankees who ordered them to torture
Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers
Kill them all slowly and painfully
The slander is actually from a song called Dear America, by South Korean artists, NEXT. Psy performed with them in 2004. He has since apologized for this message, and it has been pointed out that back in the Korean War (1950-53), many Americans died in his country, for his freedoms. Still, the concert was held after a Korean missionary was beheaded by Islamic militants in Iraq.
Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote this 1985 supergroup song which sold about 20 million copies. It won four Grammy awards in 1986. People of all ages liked it. The song was sung by a racially diverse mix of artists and celebrities. It was saccharine but hummable. The proceeds went to charity: for hunger in Africa, birth control and other programs – more than $50 million bucks.
We Are The World is so very impressive on so many counts. What more could Africa want?
There are critiques of foreign aid provoked by We Are The World.
Maybe these Artists for Africa were self-serving, singing how much they care. The money raised is pocket change considering the poverty and famine in places like Ethiopia, even at the time. The support may have helped for disaster relief, but some feel longer term assistance needs to be provided and encouraged to prevent future famines. This line of critique of foreign aid is about teaching governance, which was a focus after decolonization and African independence. Still others such as Dambiso Moyo and Hernando de Soto look not to aid but to trade and capitalism and private property as more longer term solutions. And yet this can be called out for being “western” or “imperialistic.”
There are more arguments. In short, poverty alleviation is a serious and complicated business. However, the scope of We Are The World was narrower. While poverty has not decreased in many African countries since 1985, we shouldn’t expect too much from a pop song. It was a watershed moment in putting the needs of developing countries on the collective radar of the developed world, which was something probably only celebrities could have done to such a degree.
The Artists For Africa:
Singing solos: Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles
Singing in the choruses: Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes,Sean Hopper, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings,Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer, Smokey Robinson
American politicians like Senator John McCain and Alaskan governor Sarah Palin have used this song to campaign with. This continues a pattern of elected officials not getting permission from the artists, and these artists typically not supportive of those politicians. Except singer Sammy Hagar has financially supported George W. Bush.
The 1992 lyrics, which focus on taking action to achieve your goals, charitably, are quite inspiring and motivational when combined with the upbeat music. Cynically, the rhythms of the song are quite complex, covering for the words which are hackneyed; they could be copped by a motivational speaker or cribbed for a self-help or leadership book many will read but few will act upon?
Like Nena with her red balloons, 80s artist Kim Wilde has reheated her top hit a few times over.
The narrator seems to be watching city life from a window above, and assumes the action below is change happening. The change could be nothing more than new wave music as this was 1982. Or the change may be about youth bringing new ideas. In a world with the vapidity of “suburbia’s sprawling,” there’s a young, down town energy needing to be harnessed. And Kim Wilde is ready to do it.
Of course, politicians love to say that children are our future. And young people imagine they can shake things up. While there are wonderful examples of the power of youth, history also shows many conform more than they planned. The flower power hippies supposedly became the Gordon Gecko capitalists or yuppies of the 1980s, for example. This is not to say everyone sells out! Having bills to pay and kids to feed can make for a very satisfying life. But such responsibility can damper the enthusiasm of 80s tunes with the potential of more revolutionary, less conservative intent.
What might be most interesting, politically, about this song, is whether any 40-somethings today that rocked to the spirit of this song back in the day, still get that energy boost for activism from it… in between minding their retirement portfolios and paying for their children’s college educations.
Burma-Shave was brushless shaving cream from the 1920s. Burma-shave advertising signs may have been early billboards. How it worked was successive signs conveyed the advertising message:
In politics, the concept has been widely used in campaigning:
Roger Miller (King of the Road), known for his country honk novelty songs, also had a silly tune about this whole business called Burma Shave. YouTube at present only has a version by the Everly Brothers:
Phil and Don have another song reviewed here, too: Man With Money.
This folk song is a gospel parody or response to pious finger pointing at the indigent. Like many folk songs, it’s not clear who actually composed this 1920s number. Given that one can find different versions with different verses, performed by different artists, it’s more like a song that is shared and adapted – the essence of a folk song.
The welfare state is a collection of government services and programs intending to assist people that need help getting by. While its roots can probably be traced back to the English Poor Laws of the 16th century, it wasn’t until the Great Depression that the ideological climate widely shifted toward some acceptance of public assistance for those out of work. Since this shift, the welfare state has become part of how most citizens understand to be the best way to support each other through sharing of their resources through taxation. The welfare state still bears all manner of criticisms, including that it costs too much, does not achieve its intended results and even creates “bums,” to the extent that people may become dependent on government “handouts.”
Love probably has the best name possible for a 1960s flower power era group, though they were more than incense and peppermints. Racially mixed, and socially concerned, this song from their seminal album Forever Changes, seems to mostly look at the stupidity of war, in their view. The multi-section 1967 tune may also cover off land seizures from American Indians.
Any lyrics mentioning “snot” can be hard to hear in a popular song!
The title generally refers to freedom, letting people do as they wish. But Live and Let Live has also referred to, in the First World War, temporary truces in trench warfare. Several other rock artists have been inspired by this halting of fighting. Two thus far are covered here:
