8 Crime

The announcer at the London Live 8 concert called it, “The greatest rock show in the history of the world.” XM Satellite Radio said it was “the single most important concert ever.” Coldplay singer Chris Martin couldn’t help but point out that Live 8 was "the greatest thing that's ever been organized probably in the history of the world."

And I had no idea!

I watched bits and pieces of Live 8, but there just didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about it. The coverage on VH1/MTV was appalling (the only way to take things in respectably was on AOL), but I don’t get the feeling I missed much. I’m not sure why the music was so disappointing—there’s a real wealth of great new music out there—but there just wasn’t anything of real substance, aside from Pink Floyd’s four-song set, which dwarfed everything else.

I’ve always felt that artists have an obligation to be genuine. Art that is not pure is irrelevant, at least to me. Chris Martin’s rock star persona seems disingenuous. Just about everything I saw seemed disingenuous. Popular music is well represented these days by artists like Bjork, Rufus Wainwright, and The Shins. If you want to hear someone pouring herself into music, listen to Martha Wainwright’s Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole. “I will not pretend, I will not put on a smile, I will not say I'm all right for you when all I wanted was to be good, to do everything in truth.” Even Rufus’ little sister gets it. The “artists” at Live 8 did not.

I’m a musician. I know that music can change the world. So does Bob Dylan, and he didn’t show up for Live 8. Where’s was Bruce Springsteen, one of the most outspoken of all pop stars? If it was so important, where was Peter Gabriel?

It’s time we get up off our sanctimonious, self-absorbed asses and stop behaving like a bunch of pretentious brats. We idolize Bono and Tom Cruise and Opra while dismissing people who have dedicated themselves to public service and medicine and teaching as ignorant, greedy, and manipulative. Any idea how far Bono, Tom Cruise, and Opra could personally go toward ending the starvation in Africa?

I guess the main problem I had with Live 8, aside from the perfectly boring performances, is that it seemed too much about Geldof and Bono and Coldplay and not enough about music. A multi-continent rock concert with inspiring music and cross-cultural connections makes the world a better place. A preachy, self-righteous self-celebration only makes our fundamental flaw more obvious. We’re obsessed with appearances, so much so that we’ve sacrificed even the tiniest semblance of substance.

What a shame.