Musical Relief

The people of Haiti certainly need our help--our time, energy, and resources. Our music? The D Man is not so sure. I suppose if the recent Help Haiti Now telethon can encourage a few more dollars to go to the island, then it is well worth the effort. However, the entire exercise still seems strange to me and some of last night's performances appeared a little self-indulgent, almost as if certain artists couldn't wait to watch their career retrospective twenty years from now and have this be their humanitarian Live Aid moment. "In 2009, Beyonce performed a stunning version of 'Halo' to bring attention to the plight in Haiti."

The D Man still feels inclined to give you his random thoughts. So it goes.

• Coldplay did their Coldplay thing.
• Just happy Stevie Wonder didn't play "Superstitious" for a record twenty-ninth straight television appearance.
• Taylor Swift wore the same dress that she has worn for the past two years. That's about all I noticed about her performance. Although she was so nice on that telephone call, right?
• Christina Aguilera was understated (for her) and quite good.
• Sting played an excellent jazzed-up version of "Driven to Tears" with the help of Chris Botti and The Roots.
• "Haiti, I can see your halo." I suppose the fact that I made The Mrs. laugh after saying it over and over tells you enough.
• Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, and Kid Rock. Yup.
• Madonna totally grossed The D Man out and he was waiting for her skin to rip apart at any moment. Mrs. D Man wondered if the black choir (which they always can get at the drop of a hat, right?) already performed "Like a Prayer" each week at church. Scary.
• Less Matthews, more Young, please. Thankfully, Neil's fantastic performance of "Long May You Run" on Conan O'Brien's final Tonight Show erased all memories of Dave attempting to hog the acoustic spotlight.
• Rihanna looked like she showed up to make a music video and just found out about the earthquake. Seriously.
• The D Man was waiting for The Edge to open up a sonic boom with his guitar after about the third verse of the Jigga Man's supposedly epic rap. Would have made things much better.
• Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris (a former Mickey Mouse Club cast member that recently signed to Timberlake's label) actually performed a quite-nice rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," with obvious reference to Jeff Buckley's exquisite version.
• Jennifer Hudson was fine. The D Man couldn't help but wonder that "full-figured" black women have it much better in the entertainment business than their Caucasian doppelgangers. So sue me.
• Wyclef added some needed color and one could sense his genuine concern for his homeland.
• Regardless of your musical tastes, donate some money or find a way to help.