‘Hope for Haiti’
While watching the “Hope for Haiti” telethon, I was happy all the celebrities looked busy answering phones because I feared the mostly lackluster musical performances were not going to inspire people to rush to their computers and download the tracks from iTunes.
I was wrong, and happy to be so, because the download-only “Hope for Haiti” compilation now rests atop the Billboard charts — the first for a digital album. By Sunday it had sold 171,000 copies with all the proceeds going to disaster-relief efforts in Haiti.
The new U2, Jay-Z and Rihanna collaboration “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” was appropriately awkward live. Bono and Rihanna possessed whatever the opposite of chemistry is and should probably agree to never share a stage again, but the song was more of a three-car pileup than the total train wreck I expected.
Still, I can’t help thinking it would’ve been better if Jay-Z had simply rapped over the verses of “One” and Bono and Rihanna had sang the chorus. It’s lazier, but probably more enjoyable.
Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Shakira’s cover of the Pretender’s “Stand by You” were memorable. I appreciated The Roots and Sting’s version of “Driven to Tears” for injecting the crushing solemnity with a bit of — still appropriate — energy.
But the musical highlight of the night was Justin Timberlake’s cover of “Hallelujah.” This was the one-bazillionth time someone has covered the classic Leonard Cohen track, but, as the judges on “American Idol” like to point out, song selection is key and the gravity of “Hallelujah” was a smart choice.
Conan’s ‘Free Bird’
Younger viewers with viewing habits similar to mine are a big reason why Conan O’Brien is no longer host of “The Tonight Show.”
I like Conan and grew up watching him as host of “The Late Show,” but aside from “Saturday Night Live,” I no longer watch late-night shows. If something spontaneous or noteworthy happens, I’ll watch a clip of it the next day on Hulu or any of the blogs I follow.
The other major reason O’Brien no longer has the job is because Jay Leno is an out-of-touch monomaniacal gas bag whose sense of self-worth is so tied to his painfully inoffensive talk show that without it his entire existence would likely devolve into an endless pall of meaningless blabber that would find him telling Judge Ito jokes to his airplane hanger full of cars until one day he sealed the hanger off, fired-up his fleet of engines and let the exhaust carry him to oblivion, mustering his final breaths to tell a joke about Viagra and, right before the end, ask, “Hey Kevin, why don’t you say ‘That’s cold, man. That’s cold,’ anymore?”
But, of course, that’s well covered territory.
While I’ll miss the comfort of knowing I can flip the TV on any weeknight and find Conan doing something goofy, at least the ending of his show was perfect.
Will Ferrell, dressed as a ’70s southern rocker, took the stage with his extremely pregnant wife, Viveca Paulin, dressed as a flower child and said: “Conan, I want to thank you for having me and my lady Dawn on tonight. And if you’re wondering, yes she is with child.”
Then Conan joined him with his guitar, and they launched into a version of “Free Bird” backed by Max Weinberg, Ben Harper, Beck and one of the guys from ZZ Top — sweet, totally absurd and completely appropriate.
Beach Music:
‘Teen Dream’
Rating: B
Baltimore dream-pop band Beach Music’s third album is almost like a pleasant, 50-minute fugue state.
The unwavering tone of the album — dense, lush, melancholy — can make it impenetrable at first, but once you find a way in, it’s the kind of album you eventually play end-to-end exactly because it places you in the middle of a moody fog, or a “Teen Dream.”
I recommend listening to it with headphones, and if you’re curious, begin with the tracks “Zebra” and “Walk in the Park.”
Address correspondence to Jeremiah Tucker, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802.
