Band Aid biography
In November 2009, the internet radio comedy program Comedy Death-Ray Radio put out a video parody of "Do They Know It's Christmas" featuring Paul F. Tompkins, R.O. Manse, Tig Notaro, Rob Huebel, Patton Oswalt, Mike Phirman, Jimmy Pardo, Brian Posehn & Scott Aukerman, Garfunkel & Oates, Aimee Mann, Chris Hardwick, Paul Scheer & June Diane Raphael, Doug Benson, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Nick Thune, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Cracked Out, Dragon Boy Suede, Natasha Leggero, Thomas Lennon & Ed Helms (the latter two appearing by phone as David Bowie and Mick Jagger). The song was also available on the Comedy Death-Ray Christmas album.
Criticism
Claims of self-righteousness
In 1986, the anarchist band Chumbawamba released the album
Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records, as well as an EP entitled "We Are the World", jointly recorded with US band A State of Mind, both of which were intended as anti-capitalist critiques of the Band Aid/Live Aid phenomenon. They argued that the record was primarily a cosmetic spectacle, designed to draw attention away from the real political causes of world hunger.
In a 1985 Time Out interview, Morrissey gave his views about the song:
'I'm not afraid to say that I think Band Aid was diabolical. Or to say that I think Bob Geldof is a nauseating character. Many people find that very unsettling, but I'll say it as loud as anyone wants me to. In the first instance the record itself was absolutely tuneless. One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of Great Britain. It was an awful record considering the mass of talent involved. And it wasn't done shyly it was the most self-righteous platform ever in the history of popular music.'
View of Africa
The song presents a very bleak view of Africa, which the lyrics appear to refer to as a whole. Some of these, such as the suggestions (if read literally) that the continent has
no rainfall or successful crops, have been seen as absurd by critics. It also insinuates that there are no rivers in Africa. There are many, such as the Nile, the Niger, and the Zaire. At the time of the 2004 release, the World Development Movement spoke out on this issue, describing the lyrics as "patronising, false and out of date", although there was no attempt to discourage purchase of the song.
See also
- Hear 'n Aid
- Live Aid
- YU Rock Misija
- USA For Africa
References
Biography from 
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