Live Earth concerts: Anyone at any one or watching on cable tv c/d

Bravo's jumping around. Must be cold blowing that saxaphone in Antartica. Who is that group?

Did anybody see writer Joe Levy from Rolling Stone (and once with the Village Voice) in a suit on CNN last night talking about the shows (and defending them against various criticisms).

The Chinese government will probably arrest everyone involved with the Shanghai show and make 'em work in a factory for the rest of their lives. Who is that operatic-voiced singer with the orchestra? I'm out of the loop.

I missed Madonna and Crowded House and chose to miss Genesis.

I need to go research the Mekong River region Southeast Asian performers I am reviewing at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in DC later. So no Garth Brooks and Native American bands at the Washington DC Live Earth show at the Museum of the American Indian for me.

Oh boy, a special message from Robert Redford.

Shakira's doing "Hips Don't Lie" in Hamburg, and her stomach is covered and she's wearing jeans. What's up with that?

That was not Wyclef with her. Just some dreadlocked substitute. That might have been a good thing.

Oh, Rihanna had alot of backing singers with her and seemed to be getting some technological assistance in making her voice project. Does that make me a rockist for pointing that out?

Discussions of carbon footprints plus Carson Daly. And I forget the names of the Bravo hosts--perky Karen and that other guy. In London, Snow Patrol's singer is wearing a sweater while everyone else is in t-shirts.

Did anybody see writer Joe Levy from Rolling Stone (and once with the Village Voice) in a suit on CNN last night talking about the shows (and defending them against various criticisms).

he was on the PBS News Hour as well, prob in the same suit. he was typically well-spoken but to me came across as more of a music industry spokesman than a journalist. "well we'll have to see what happens" was his response to the interviewer's very mild criticisms/probing q's.

wait, is perky karen karen duffy, aka old mtv hottie duff? did they decide to preserve old music television hosts like her and carson daly as an energy- and resource-saving measure?

nice iphone commercial now. instead of donating money to save the earth, please donate $600 to save steve jobs.

madge has already performed?? low on the bill.

Favorite moment: Shakira, Don't Bother

Most painfully embarassing moment: Genesis attempting to lead a sing-along for Invisible Touch.

I'm gonna wait til 20017 and watch the highlights/naff bits on my youtube brain implant.

2017

That is Karen Duffy! Oh no, not more Phil Collins and Genesis.

not that give the slightest shit about the black eyed peas, but they're kind of popular, or so i have read. why are they playing in the middle of the afternoon UK time and 11:50 am US time? and why has madonna already played? who's scheduling this thing?

maybe madonna will fly by fuckin' f15 or something and play all eight gigs. that would make a point.

she could take off from, and land on, each stage in a harrier jump-jet.

I think that was just a special Madonna video I saw. She may be performing later. I had switched over to Wimbledon for a bit. It looks like Venus Williams won easy.

Portable solar chargers for your portable music listening devises.

I've been half watching on Universal HD. Wonder if it's any different than Bravo. Australia's been the best so far with Wolfmother and Toni Collette & The First (!?!).

Who's this Razorlight? Should I pay attention or fast forward?

x-post. Some uk group.

Duran Duran with the (obligatory) soulful black female vocalist. She's taking the lead on their Sly Stone "I Wanna Take you Higher" insert to "Notorious" . They are pros and can prabably keep dishing out their old hits like this till they are old and gray. Although hearing them do "Girls on Film" when they are codgers might take on a new meaning.

Just switched to Bravo cuz Black Eyed Peas are on Universal. Duran Duran sounds good. Maybe better than when I saw them in '87.

Ha ha: Was fast forwarding through my dvr recording, and I wondered who this new indie band with the shaved heads were performing from Wembley. Ha ha: it was Genesis, and they are bald.

it was Genesis, and they are bald

this is not exactly a new development on the genesis front!

Who's this Razorlight? Should I pay attention or fast forward?

-- MC, Saturday, July 7, 2007 4:33 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

foot through television

Nothing from the Meadowlands show on Bravo yet, and I doubt they'll show any of that small just added event in DC. That band in Antarctica has probably frozen to death by now.

holy shit @ soweto drum choir

Yea, the drums and those beats were great and now the gospel choir sounds great, but who's the white dude singer?

All better than Al Gore clapping awkwardly to Garth & Tricia, while Tipper is thinking "please, no Prince."

Uuugh, Keane.

RHCP are on the channel I'm watching

were duran duran as fantastic sounding on real telly as they appeared to be on a big tv screen i walked past in a square in manchester? i actually stood still to watch. an odd choice of SLY STONE tune to cover in their alloted 1o minutes or whatever too. good on them.

people with bad taste in music - classic or dud?

WTF Kenna is on Bravo right now. Some of these songs must be on the new album, making it better than I thought it might be.

Duran Duran were a highlight, which isn't saying a lot about the lineups. Metallica sounded great in the one song they showed. I also liked John Legend and Corrine Bailey Rae covering Marvin Gaye.

Who's this act that's opening up the NY concert? Jesus Jones and the Blowfish?

I swear they've been showing Enrique Iglesias from Hamburg for 30 minutes on Universal HD.

Spinal Tap opening with Stonehenge.

What networks are covering this besides Bravo? Right now, I'm stuck watching KT Tunstall.

sundance channel and the aforementioned UHD are showing the same thing, but it's different than bravo

It's on Universal HD if you have HDTV. Otherwise it's on Sundance and Bravo. NBC tonight I think.

Well, I guess I'm stuck with Bravo then. :(

it's ok, keane is on sundance right now

i saw a bit of kenna on bravo, which was boring.
and i watched a bit of enrique on sundance, which was also boring.

i wish i was waiting in line for the boredoms, right now.

yeah why can't bravo televise the boredoms instead

i'm sorta suprised ludacris would perform what's your fantasy. not really the most family friendly (or tipper gore approved) song.

He might be doing it as a subtle bird-flip.

it's not like luda has a huge repertoire of family-friendly hits...

'i'm doing 100 on the highway/so if you do the speed limit get tha fuck out of my way' probably not a great 'live earth' sentiment.

Madonna looks k-hott wielding a guitar.

The Sydney show was horrid.

FYI.

well its mostly been rubbish hasn't it - indeed Madonnas been the only thing I have even felt made worthwhile viewing, and I'm not usually a fan.

I did have a mild burst of interest when it looked like pre-op Genesis P Orrige was on-stage but it turned out the be the drummer from Metallica in a flattering camera angle.

Madonna was quite fantastic, children's choir, camp robo-dancers, feedback frenzy, gypsy nutcases, getting frisky with a ghetto blaster, Abba samples and gratuitous use of the word Motherfucker. Not bad value for 20 minutes work.

madonna looked amazing. musical content was ok.

foo fighters were the best of the day and the one the audience finally seemed to liven up for. great band too - never was into them before but they really rocked, were super tight, and put some interesting new bits into their songs which was nice.

I'm really sick of critics of this thing "lol look @ the hypocritical hippies and their concert that creates waste."

7-league boots, from continent to continent on MSN. Just saw Eason Chan in Shangai. Ones I caught were like mid-70s Bowie and Roxy (groove-wise; he didn't try to sing like Bowie or Ferry, which was okay by me) Otherwise, best I've seen were Duran Duran (mainly "Notorious," from Nile Rodgers-produced album, I think); Shakira, Kenna, Keith Urban letting his guitar loose, much more than on his frustrating albums; Ludicris, Akon, Fall Out Boy, although the singer sounded a bit tired, noticable in such usually-flamboyant arrangements; Mayer, for the guitar and band, mostly. Back to China (oops, here's Alecia, rowdy on the Merry Clayton "BURN ON" bit on K.U.'s "Gimme Shelter" cover, now here's her own set, she's doing "Mercy Mercy Me [The Ecology], as did John Legend and Corrine Bailey Rae, but Alecia sounds closer to the meaning of the lyrics)

I'm really sick of critics of this thing "lol look @ the hypocritical hippies and their concert that creates waste."[

fucking co-sign x100, that shit is like "did u know CHRISTMAS IS PAGAN OMG" & is highly fucking annoying

btw Xmas is pagan

dave matthews band name your reasons why they are so bad and at live earth

How can THIS concert get attacked by anyone who gave a pass to Live 8? As long as it does more than try to make people feel good for watching ads, it's less offensive.

Fuckin Gore is going off. Good for him.

I caught a clip of someone saying earlier "Everyone who DIDN'T get here on a private jet, raise your hands!"

Really rock & roll.

Dave Grohl should never be allowed to speak his lyrics.

OTM whoever said Foo Fighters were the best of the day. Who did Grohl mean "this song is dedicated to you know who?"

TBF Foo Fighters were the only band on the day who avoided being self-aggranizing hypocrites on the sniff for 2 dozen extra album sales by pointlessly playing a freebie with no publicitiy.

Beasties too Noodle. That was like their Top 4.

Trudat. The 20 minute jam on "So What You Want" was brave.

Who's dat playing bass for Kelly Clarkson? It's not Mike Watt, but another old dude looking like the singer of Midnight Oil. What's up with Kelly and old bass players? Does she collect them?

Also I assume the BBC didn't have the time to check the spelling of Rihanna. Or read any setlists.

<i>I'm really sick of critics of this thing "lol look @ the hypocritical hippies and their concert that creates waste."[

fucking co-sign x100, that shit is like "did u know CHRISTMAS IS PAGAN OMG" & is highly fucking annoying</i>

Why should people suspend their cynicism? It's the same as Live 8 and the Red campaign...seemingly well-meaning, but any long-term positive effect is unlikely and they seem to have been created to allow celebrities and companies to brand themselves are sympathetic/green/etc. It's one thing to rag on something for the sake of ragging on it, but to point out clearly that the core purpose of a global event is highly flawed is far from nitpicking or being obnoxious.

I saw DMB being interviewed during one of the interludes and talking about how they've learned so much about the importance of respecting the environment. then I had to explain to everyone else in the room why I was cracking up. they probably think I'm weird now.

Duran Duran was amazing. KT Tunstall's leggings were ridiculous. Soweto Drum Choir made me cry twice: once by reminding me that I should be in NYC seeing EVEN MORE DRUMMERS, and once by having their music by soulless white guy vocals.

xpost yo did you know that avril lavigne isn't really punk either

Dear Billy Corgan,

Quit being a dummy.

Thanks!

I think yr missing the point of Billy Corgan there dude.

Yeah, I'm aware this isn't exactly a new development. I just thought maybe he could stop for a day.

As long as Bono lives, Billy Corgan is The Great Mysterio.

OH THAT FUCKER PIMPED HIS ALBUM I KNEW HE WOULD

PLUS HE MADE A SNOTTY JOKE ABOUT DOWNLOADING

(downloading is good for the environment, as opposed to releasing about 10 different variations of your stinky new cd)

man I hadn't even thought of the environmental ramifications of buying CDs rather than digital music files. NOW IF ONLY SOMEONE WOULD THINK ABOUT THE MY-HAPPINESS RAMIFICATIONS OF SHITTY COPY-PROTECTED FILES

TBF Foo Fighters were the only band on the day who avoided being self-aggranizing hypocrites on the sniff for 2 dozen extra album sales by pointlessly playing a freebie with no publicitiy.

-- Noodle Vague, Sunday, July 8, 2007 1:28 AM

I'm having trouble understanding your meaning here.

Being Foo-teristic these days means being Foo-teristic on yr own terms

What channel was Billy on? totally missed it, but I'm not watching closely...

He was on Bravo live, but they'll probably recap it on NBC later.

Why should people suspend their cynicism? It's the same as Live 8 and the Red campaign...seemingly well-meaning, but any long-term positive effect is unlikely and they seem to have been created to allow celebrities and companies to brand themselves are sympathetic/green/etc. It's one thing to rag on something for the sake of ragging on it, but to point out clearly that the core purpose of a global event is highly flawed is far from nitpicking or being obnoxious.

-- musically, Sunday, July 8, 2007 1:47 AM

The "core purpose" of the event is to expose people to reasonable ways they might reduce their waste and emissions in daily life. And also to shove a lot of musicians onstage so that there'll be a reason for some cameras to point that way.

Obviously there are other factors at work here ("they seem to have been created to allow celebrities and companies to brand themselves are sympathetic/green/etc" relatively otm), but the purpose lies elsewhere, and regardless: effect is the point. I'm buying a set of CFL bulbs now that I know how effective they really are, and I doubt I'm the only one. etc.

"SHIT, Flying round the world to play a 15 minute gig is ruining the environment! Let's not become session players for Metallica!"

"Hi, I'm Ricky Gervais. Please destroy Capitalism."

I muted the sound so I could listen to old Free records when tubby Melissa Etheridge was exhorting the crowd.

guessing here but are the members of Free also a bit on the tubby side these days?

Sirius was/is broadcasting it in the US on several channels.

Xpost -- haven't seen Fraser or Kirke recently; assume Rodgers is reasonably stage-ready after doing the Queen tribute gigs.

Who is on right now with the whole band in painted shirts/dresses?

Dear Police,

You could've played 7 songs instead of 4 songs if you weren't doing lame 5-minutes jams in the middle of all of them.

Thanks!

I'm watching Roger Waters right now and I gotta say: this is pretty weak. For some reason, I was expecting him to be better -- maybe b/c of the Floyd reunion at Live 8, maybe b/c I read a good interview w/ him recently, or maybe b/c he looks damned fit for sixty-whatever.

But his voice sounds shot when he sings anything remotely high. And his expressions during "Us and Them" were laughably bad.

guessing here but are the members of Free also a bit on the tubby side these days?

Lessee, one of 'em's been dead for over thirty years. Paul Rogers fronts Queen. Didn't look that way last year. Nice try, though.

ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O
ROXANNE-O

But his voice sounds shot when he sings anything remotely high

Yeah, it did. He seemed pretty sporty through it, though.

EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH

Lotta people here tonight, d'ya wanna sing again?

EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH
EEE-OHH-EEE-YAH-EEE-YAH-OH

people were actually saying things like "if you get a different lightbulb you will save the world"

The "core purpose" of the event is to expose people to reasonable ways they might reduce their waste and emissions in daily life. And also to shove a lot of musicians onstage so that there'll be a reason for some cameras to point that way.

giving people the opportunity to think "well, I've done my bit!! got those bulbs!! watched the concert!! no problem!!!!!!"

I guess any increased record sales will be a totally unwelcome side-effect. In fact they'll probably give the money back.

i saw a bit where jonathan ross talked about china being a big problem for us, and then david baddiel played 'devil's advocate', and then i saved some precious energy by putting my foot through the television.

yeah I think they thought david baddiel would say something funny

Well that would've been an exclusive at least.

he fluffed a joke about chinese people all riding around on bicycles.

that was katie melua not baddiel

Alex Macpherson removed "madonna" from his favorite music. 12:25pm

you're friends

gotta keep the numbers up

lol j/k

Missed Alicia Keys singing '60s and '70s songs. Any good?

I thought Alicia Keys was pretty damn good. Probably a bit due to the competition but still.

UB40 was mindblowingly awful.

I liked Akon asking the crowd "How's the climate out there today?"

Was that Gogol Bordello playing with Madonna?

madonna: "tonight is all about conserving energy but right now I don't want to see ANYBODY conserving energy"

Yes, that was Gogol Bordello. They put a gypsy spin on La Isla Bonita.

Baby boomer former music biz attorney Bob Lefsetz weighs in predictably:

But it's a sad state of affairs when the backlash is about Madonna holding interests in polluting companies and acts contributing to the problem with their travel. The acts used to be Gods, now they're just one step above the celebutantes on TMZ. If you want to have cred today, unless you're already an icon, you say NO! You DON'T want the opportunity to reach EVERYBODY, you're fearful of alienating your core audience. You want to cement the bond with YOUR people first and foremost. In a TiVo world sitting in front of the tube and watching what you don't want to is BEYOND frustrating. Spend all day in front of the television? God, it's no longer 1985. Let me just dial in the highlights I want to see, not only act by act, but SONG BY SONG! THAT'S the festival. The Website launches with everything sliced and diced. THERE IS NO SIMULCAST! And maybe intersperse the message, told by celebs with cred. Get people TO DO something when they watch. Shit, how can "American Idol" get it so right, and Kevin Wall GET IT SO WRONG? AI works because people believe it's THEIR SHOW! We don't believe Live Earth is our show. Maybe we could have voted on who we wanted to see. OR NOT SEE! Add an edge. In Web world, there's cutting honesty, not the bland we're all friends of network television. Live Earth is network television. More is sometimes less. One show, with true headliners, not seen recently, was enough. Doing it all over the world just dilutes the message. Where everybody in the world can tune in to see an event happening ANYWHERE, why do we need to have the EVENTS EVERYWHERE! Maybe one event in a space ravaged by temperatures rising. In Greenland, where the ice is melting. The days of rounding up bands to sell your message are passe. You've got to tweak the concept, you've got to respect the audience and get it involved. This didn't happen here. Live Earth is so misconceived, so lame on so many levels, that most people just don't care. They've done a DISSERVICE to the cause!

-- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

Or, as hip-hop singer Akon yelped from the Giants Stadium stage: "Support global warming, baby!" (Oops. But point taken.)

From the Washington Post review http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/07/AR2007070700318.html?hpid=features1&hpv=local

The "core purpose" of the event is to expose people to reasonable ways they might reduce their waste and emissions in daily life. And also to shove a lot of musicians onstage so that there'll be a reason for some cameras to point that way.

Obviously there are other factors at work here ("they seem to have been created to allow celebrities and companies to brand themselves are sympathetic/green/etc" relatively otm), but the purpose lies elsewhere, and regardless: effect is the point. I'm buying a set of CFL bulbs now that I know how effective they really are, and I doubt I'm the only one. etc.

Well obviously the concert is going to have SOME positive impact, but my point is they probably could have taken the money and effort that went into Live Earth and harnessed it to promote sustainability and raise awareness in a less flashy and likely more efficient and effective way.

I think where we disagree is the idea that they could have brought a similarly high level of awareness to the issue without the concert. Without 100+ bands performing simultaneously around the world I think there would have been a lot fewer people looking.

"people looking" is not going to do very much. in a way, neither is awareness; it'll take concerted government intervention. even a cursory reading of history will tell us that governments won't listen to poxy plebs or their beloved celebrities -- not even bono.

Can musicians and the public change the mind of Congressman John Dingell from Detroit:

Which brings us to Mr. Dingell. He helped beat back efforts to pass a renewable energy standard and a CAFE standards increase because, he says, he wants to take them up in the fall when his committee considers global warming legislation. The fall? There's no reason to wait. Both pieces of legislation have growing support on Capitol Hill and among the American people. If Mr. Dingell is serious about taking concrete steps to help combat global warming, he won't put off to tomorrow what can be done today. Washington Post editorial http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/06/AR2007070602036.html

forget the big important issues, who wore better black leggings than rihanna?

I'm just gonna agree to disagree here. I think the impact is more positive than negative, and that it is raising some awareness. I think that's a good thing.

In other words, Madonna was hotter.

she did wear a great dress.

What Live Earth Really Meant

"If Gore was being characteristically hyperbolic when he claimed the concerts could reach up to 2 billion people on the Internet — sure, and so could this story — the sheer size and spread of the events meant that for a day at least, climate change (or, the rock concerts it has prompted) dominated headlines across the world. But would the Earth have been better off if we all stayed home and did nothing, literally? "That's a fair thought," Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson told TIME before his band's Tokyo show. "It's also a cynical one." He's right. It's time to get past the obsession over carbon footprint size and offsets, over who's an eco-hypocrite and who is truly green. We need to use energy far more wisely, both individually and internationally, but with hundreds of millions in the developing world getting richer and producing more carbon every day, the threat of climate change is far, far bigger than our personal conservation habits. It will require technological change and painful political choices such as carbon taxes, gas taxes and mandatory greenhouse gas emissions caps. That means, especially for the young, the un-rock star act of voting.

Live Earth's success will be measured not by the number of trees the initiative plants or the number of energy-efficient light-bulbs sold as a result, but by whether it motivates concertgoers to make climate-change their generation's political priority, and press their leaders to act on it."

Or, as Chris Rock put it, ""I pray that this event ends global warming the same way that Live Aid ended world hunger."

This whole concert was like saying that it's better to do something than nothing at all.

Isn't it?

Obviously that kind of mentality contributes to the idea that just doing "something" is going to save the world, which it's not, and that kind of thinking should be critiqued, but empirically speaking it IS better to do something than nothing.

If you were in a burning building, and "something" was running up and down the stairs screaming, then doing nothing would be better.

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2437263/2/istockphoto_2437263_a.jpg

In more mundane stuff about the performers I was just reading Jon Pareles' blogging at the NY Times about the shows(he went to Giants Stadium and watched or listened to the others online and via cable tv) and his favorite was the new Smashing Pumpkins. Uh, not me. I saw a picture of Baaba Maal at the Johannesburg show. Now, that's whom I wish I saw.

Yeah I saw that Smashing Pumpkins set televised, it was funny.

The other day Andy Langer was filling in on the morning show and he said something about how the new SP record is "uniformly bad; the only people that will like this thing are people that were at last night's 311 show."

Other morning DJ chimes in: "I was at that show last night...it was...pretty good, you know. 311, they've got some grooves to em..."

SO refreshing to hear somebody be critical on the radio.

Pareles liked The Smashing Pumpkins best?!?!? They were lifeless and Billy was in usual crap voice. On the TV they came after the great set by Madonna--was that the actual live order in London? Because if I were there, I would have left early they were so bad. (And I'm speaking as a former, former SP fan.)

If you were in a burning building, and "something" was running up and down the stairs screaming, then doing nothing would be better.

-- bontempi scott, Sunday, July 8, 2007 11:57 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

best analogy ever.

i don't think these concerts will achieve anything. but the idea that nothing needs to be done is ridic.

Terence Stamp: "We MUST DO SOMETHING and here are the DETAILED REASONS WHY!"
Audience: "Ma-don-na! Ma-don-na!"

That Madonna set was quite good though, with the predictable exception of the Horrid Specially Written Song, which failed to live up to the standard set by "Throw Those Guns Away."

Now here's a thing.

I get to my mum's house for the weekly family visit, and there's a fuck-on massive limo, bedecked with Live Earth finery (properly part of the bodywork), and an "Artist - Priviledge" badge in the window. So, we're all "ey, Madonna visiting?"

Apparently, a family friend was one of many, tasked to go collect performers and deliver them to the place, and back home too.

No-one famous in the house. Nor, the driver. So my mum says, he had been down to pick up "someone called Rick Wakeman?" who is at least someone my mum has heard of (actually, we've all met him, btas).

So, god knows who he actually drove. He's not the sort of bloke who knows who any of these people are.

Still, nice for the environment.

(had been = someone else who lives closer to Bath got that job)

Miles Kington?

For John Mayer, the raised awareness that Live Earth U.S.A. brought to the issue of climate change made the event a success. "I think a lot of people at Giants Stadium today want to listen," he said. "Awareness works likes a vitamin. You go to the bathroom and 99 percent of it is gone but you hope that you retained 1 percent."

I see now why Scholastic recently ditched the analogy portion of the SATs.

And my other favorite quote:

However, Etheridge aside, it was nonmusicians at this concert who made the most passionate pleas about demanding action for the environment. "Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist author, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy's son, who grew hoarse from shouting. "This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors."

I don't think Democrats have had Congress for nine months but now even the leaf people are clamoring for warm bodies to fill the GULAG. Yikes!

"someone called Rick Wakeman?"

Just out of idle curiosity, was R Wakeman Esq. actually appearing at / involved with the event in any capacity, or were the organisers just creating demand for the manufacture of more of these gas-guzzling decadentposeurmobiles, by ordering fleets of the things which could then be driven all round the country at 6-7MPG in order to ensure that the VIP areas at the event were appropriately filled with sufficient numbers of the right calibre of disinterested Tory-voting freeloading parasites, thereby preventing the place from getting overrun with too many of those strange over-earnest tree-hugging planet-saving Green types?

Well, you wonder don't you?

Maybe he was short of a gig, and they'd told him it was the Diana gig part two!

I am aware that Mr. Wakemen has expressed an interest in journeying to the centre of the earth (I have always assumed that this must be because there's a particularly exclusive golf course down there or something) but I've never known him show any particular interest in saving it.

I wouldn't have liked to have been one of those 'cellists when he was doing King Arthur On Ice.

Come on cynics, if just one person is persuaded to buy a couple of energy-saving lightbulbs by this event then the massive expenditure of energy and promotion of global capitalism will have been well worth it.

Buy no lightbulbs! Go to bed when it gets dark and get up when it's light! Think about the CHILDREN!

I do! We had to get heavy lined curtains to persuade them that it really *is* nighttime at 20:30!

For some reason I keep thinking of the Economy Drive episode of Hancock's Half Hour. "We don't need a light to climb a dozen stairs!"

Pause, followed by BOOM CRASH BANG.

Did Swampy die in vain?

Blimey I'd forgotten about him. Probably a Tory councillor now.

I reckon he's Shadow Cabinet material.

Mr. Grout, my missus wants to know if your Mum still lives in Woodley and whether the chap who was supposed to be driving the limo for Mr. Wakeman used to drive a lorry for Challenge Anneka.

Holy fucking shit I'm happy I didn't watch this.

Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist author, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy's son, who grew hoarse from shouting. "This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors."

Well, Bush needs a "war czar," so...

I flicked over a few times during the evening and hopped about to see if there was anything interesting happening, and the most striking thing as far as I was concerned was how incredibly SMALL the event at Washington DC was - it just looked like a few local bands playing at some school fete!

fucking co-sign x100, that shit is like "did u know CHRISTMAS IS PAGAN OMG" & is highly fucking annoying

Stop pointing out the bleedin painfully obvious but never acted upon hypocrisies of late-capitalism? Yeah, how fucking passé.

It sure is.

it's a bit like "did u know THE ATTEMPT TO INSTALL DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST HAS ENDED UP BOLSTERING FUCKING IRAN OMG" and highly fucking inconvenient.

If you were in a burning building, and "something" was running up and down the stairs screaming, then doing nothing would be better

Isn't that what Simon Le Bon was doing on stage?

Stop pointing out the bleedin painfully obvious but never acted upon hypocrisies of late-capitalism? Yeah, how fucking passé.

-- Venga, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 11:20 PM

haha a+ senor jameson

i watched that show a little bit trying to catch ymo and noticed that at least during one performance there was a giant informative "marquee" ( text onscreen to scroll from right to left across the screen") projected behind the performer ; they should have displayed those environmenal advices and tips non stop on tv to for maximum effect.

yeah when we had this on we kept saying "what is the text saying behind?" and there never seemed to be a good shot of it except maybe once when it said something really dumb

the "non stop marquee" thing should have rolled even during ads. I have not memorized who they were, but i remember some of em set a different "feel", those advertisers , more earth friendly right? they would have been down with such an ordinary idea, yes?. .
going by al gore's fairly ambitious and elaborate pledge , i must bet some of his people must have thought of that idea, and even if we live in the age of information it turns out such a feat turned out to be undoable.

feelin everso faintly alcoholized glucose-fructose nauseous right now. strike flagship pop feeling for live earth concerts strike

Mr. Grout, my missus wants to know if your Mum still lives in Woodley and whether the chap who was supposed to be driving the limo for Mr. Wakeman used to drive a lorry for Challenge Anneka.

-- Stewart Osborne, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 22:45 (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

I don't know, why would he? Oh, and my mum doesn't live in Woodley anymore...

'Cos my missus comes from Woodley (her Mum still does) and she used to know someone who used to drive a lorry for Challenge Anneka and she wondered if it might have been the same guy.

Oh right. No, the guy does not come from or live in Woodley.

We used to live in Beechwood Avenue.

My missus used to live / her Mum still lives on Loddon Bridge Road.

Our second date was at a disco at the old St. John's Ambulance Brigade Hall on Headley Road - I went with my mate Cally and we took along a copy of New Rose which we somehow managed to persuaded the unsuspecting halfwitted DJ to play.

Me and Cally immediately started pogoing and almost managed to keep going for the whole 2:44 duration of the song before we were punched to the ground, dragged outside and given a bloody good kicking.

I later worked for John Hicks on Headley Road.