What's right for Haiti may not be right for music

Don't misinterpret this. I'm all for George Clooney organising the Hope for Haiti Telethon - but it really does bring out the worst musically, doesn't it?

Justin Timberlake singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah?! - I don't think so. If the song's important enough and the event's important enough, surely Mr Cohen can sing it? And also do we really want a song about a guy remembering "when I moved in you/The holy dove was moving too" being dedicated to victims of a natural disaster? This is a song comparing orgasms to a religious experience, referencing several famous infidelities along the way, being offered as a prayer to people still trapped in rubble. It's also a song that's been covered too many times for it to really mean anything.

Beyonce sang Halo and somewhat disingenuously reworked the lyric to include "Haiti I can see your Halo". There's no halo when the death toll reaches towards - or beyond - 200,000.

And this was my major problem with this particular telethon - the desperation in trying to find the right song to fit. There is no right song.

It can be an admirable gesture to raise awareness and to raise money - to give people something to watch so that they donate money, sure. And the innovation for this concert was making the individual performances available to purchase through iTunes - with the money being donated to the cause. But there's one problem with that: who would want these shoddy, desperate, cloying performances?

Christina Aguilera sang Lift Me Up - and when she's delivering one of the classier performances we know the charity-concert caper has come a long, sad way from the drunken escapades at The Arms Concert and Live Aid.

It's all too safe, too obvious, in your face - appealing to the lowest common denominator. And it all means that what may be good for Haiti is very bad for music.

Check Madonna; another victim of the must-choose-the-right-song campaign. Madonna performs Like a Prayer - or should I say pre-forms the song - her Botoxed face incapable of expressing any emotion toward the cause.

But never fear - as Bono is there!

Already the Where's Wally of music documentaries (ever noticed Bono will always pop up? I've seen him talking about Pixies, Charles Bukowski, Joy Division, David Bowie, Roxy Music...anything for a bit of cred, it would seem) Bono just can't seem to say no. Now I'm sure he's got a big heart. Brian Eno said recently of Bono: "He has a huge ego, no doubt about it. On the other hand, he has a huge brain and a huge heart. He's just a big kind of person. That's not easy for some to deal with." I've no doubt that's true - but seeing Bono endorse something - particularly when it has anything to do with music - will put people who like music off it; unless they belong to that rare subset of liking U2 and having a modicum of taste.

Nu-Bono was there too - aka Chris Martin of Coldplay. Another message song - this one actually called A Message (that makes it easy) - with lines like "my heavy heart is made of stone" and "you don't have to be alone" (click here to hear the song if you must); this one even finishes with the rather insulting plea of "please come home". 

These people are home - they just don't have much of a home left.

But at least as important as donating time and effort to the cause is clearly the desire to pick the right song - even if it ends up being pretty much the wrong song.

Even Bruce Springsteen suffered from this concept. His "small prayer for Haiti" was a resurrected cover of We Shall Overcome. Okay, so he's not missing the mark as much as Beyonce, Bono, Nu-Bono and Timberfake. But still, this is The Boss. His catalogue is excellent for inspiring hope, for assessing tragedy, for harnessing the power of a singalong. Why not an epic version of The River or Thunder Road? Why not his song from the movie The Wrestler? Why not something from The Rising - the title track perhaps? Or You're Missing.

Bruce can do sombre and sad, forlorn and heartbroken, Bruce can do uplifting. Many of his songs manage both sets of moods. But We Shall Overcome? Okay...if it makes you feel good...

Having a tribute concert for every horrific event may be a way to spread the word and to raise some funds; to appeal to people's generosity - but it does nothing for the music; it actually cheapens the effect and power of good songs, pointing out just how lame the average and crappy tunes are. And to have a tribute show or telethon each and every time, calling out the usual suspects and beating the message in to the audience, cheapens the effect of when it has worked. And it should make people embarrassed and angry.

Musicians often mean well when they poke their nose into politics; when they agree to raise money for a project...but it doesn't mean we'll get good music out of it.

Just look at this atrocity. It's Bono with Jay-Z, Rihanna and The Edge singing the hook "the sky falls, the earth quakes/we gonna put this back together, we won't break".

Pffff!

So I hope this two-hour telethon did some good business for Haiti. I really do. It did nothing for music - except make me think that the best work had happened long ago for everyone involved.

What do you think of such shows and ideas? And did you watch any of these links or see any of this footage over the weekend? Do you think any of the performances stood up - outside and away from the fundraising and support concept? Or did they not have to?

Postscript: For information on how to donate to Haiti and its victims click here.

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