Bob Geldof stirred up some interest in the music community on Monday when rumors began spreading that he was making calls in an attempt to recruit participants for a 30th anniversary edition of Band Aid, the charitable super group that came together to record the classic "Do They Know It's Christmas?," which raised huge amounts for those struggling from famine in Ethiopia. The new rendition will benefit the fight against Ebola, according to Sky News.
So who would be a dream team? It'd be easy to yell "Taylor Swift!" but that'd be too easy. Geldof has always leaned toward representatives of the UK and greater Commonwealth (just look at the respective 1984 and 1989 squads), so we figured we'd keep our predictions in those regions as well. From best options to not-best-but-still-a-good-idea:
01) One Direction
Duh? Say what you will about One Direction but Band Aid has never been about the quality of music. We at Music Times concur that "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a great track, but the point is to raise money, not win a Grammy. If "Surfin' Bird" would bring in buyers, they should go for it. One Direction is ideal—not just because they're pop singers with Christmas carol experience—but because they have a rabid fan base unlike any other on Earth. The group releases a Christmas song, for charity no less, and millions will come running.
02) Paul McCartney
OK, so Paul McCartney is not exactly a representative of "today's" UK scene. But then again he wasn't quite modern when the original 1984 single was recorded either. Nor when the 2004 version was made. The moral is McCartney is the single biggest living musician on the planet in terms of relevance and it won't hurt to include him on one more charity track.
03) Ed Sheeran
First of all, Ed Sheeran is a pro when it comes to the vocals-and-acosutic-guitar routine, which is an essential role for the recording video that will inevitably be released with the single. Plus he seems like a genuinely good guy, who has a ton of fans to boot. If he gets his pal Taylor Swift to do some social media promotion to her millions of followers then we could have a second One Direction-effect on our hands.
04) Adele
Frankly we're surprised Adele hasn't released a Christmas album yet, considering what a huge seller her 21 was. And of course she's busy working on the follow-up to that record but she'll jump on this opportunity to be part of a Christmas classic, to impress her son Angelo, who's too young to grasp the narrative of "Someone Like You" but will be blown away (maybe next year) that his mum sang a Christmas tune with Paul McCartney (again, theoretically).
05) Florence Welch
Adele is obviously a bigger name in the minds of American audiences but "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is more ideal for Florence Welch's epic vocals. The chorus of this track was built for the frontwoman of The Machine to let loose (and her band can stick around to provide instrumentals).
06) Muse
It's important to represent a variety of genres, so the increasingly mainstream Muse will do for the alternative rock corner. Thom Yorke (who performed in 2004) is welcome as well...we just wanted to get some fresh blood in there as well.
07) Dizzee Rascal
Yes, he represented hip-hop ten years ago as well, but tell us that there's been a better British emcee since? Young Fathers may have just nabbed the Mercury Prize but they didn't seem all that excited about so we didn't want to risk a sullen showing for this event.
08) Calvin Harris
No offense to Calvin Harris, but there's absolutely no room for house music in the somber-yet-hopeful tone of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" That said, he's a major face in the new wave of music from the UK and he also provides his own vocals frequently, so we might as well include that aspect of his performance, if not his instrumentals.
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