AIDS Concert Footage Disappoints, And Yet. . .
World AIDS Day saw a concert at Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa that pointed up why musicians should sing rather than talk about political issues. And why they shouldn't write songs specifically to suit the latest political fad. In the most noble cause going at the moment, a number of artists put on a weak show that won't make anyone's greatest hits album, with one notable exception.
Honesty demands that this critique is not based on a visit to South Africa (the budget at the Kensington Review is microscopic) but rather on the Viacom-owned MTV rebroadcast of the "highlights." However, the few brief speeches between performance numbers showed that these people care passionately and really just don't know how to talk to a large group of people.
That said, the music held a few disappointments, too. Bono and The Edge from U2 teamed up with the Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame to help Beyonce Knowles perform a flaccidly written tune that had something to do with AIDS and prayer and hope. Ms. Dynamite rapped painfully on about taking care of oneself and not being judgmental. Anastacia, sounding like Marianne Faithful after a long night out, made Queen classics "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You" less than they could have been -- especially considering Brian Mays was accompanying her on guitar.
On the plus side, Annie Lennox and the previously mentioned Mr. Stewart put on a version of "Sweet Dreams" that could easily have matched their 1980s period. And Ms. Lennox sang a duet with Youssou N’Dour of Dakar, Senegal, that surpassed most of the other numbers on the bill.
That said, the concert was historic not for the AIDS efforts (important though they are) but rather for Peter Gabriel's "Biko." In Cape Town, before a mixed race audience, in front of former President Nelson Mandela (prisoner 46664), Mr. Gabriel sang his song written for and about Steven Biko, which appeared on "Peter Gabriel III" in 1980. Mr. Biko was killed by the police while in custody on September 12, 1977, and was memorialized in the film "Cry, Freedom." AIDS is still with Africa, but apartheid is not.
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