Ripping Off the (40th Anniversary of) Band Aid + Idris Elba x 'Masters of the Universe'
Hello WNVM-ers,
This week, we are taking a break from publishing a bigger story and instead bringing you some deep (not really) thoughts on a bunch of news stories we’ve seen come across our feeds in the past few weeks. If you need some topics for dinner conversation that do not involve politics this holiday season, we’re here to help. We are wading into the discourse about Band Aid’s 40th anniversary, and come to terms with our memories of the very problematic song. Plus, The New York Times is on the nostalgia concert beat, and the millennials at “Las Culturistas” have a very fun Gen X-y episode with Ana Gasteyer.
We hope everyone has a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving, with a minimum of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles travel drama!
‘Tonight Thank God It’s Them, Instead of You’
Wait, what?! Four decades later, the Band Aid holiday charity anthem hasn’t just not aged well, it also wasn’t a good message back in 1984
By Cheryl and Fawnia
We have such strong childhood memories about, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” the song by Band Aid, the 1984 Bob Geldof-spearheaded holiday charity group. That thrill of picking out Simon Le Bon and George Michael’s vocals and seeing them all together in the recording studio in the video, was so exciting. Even back then, though, we both thought Bono’s lyric (among others), “Thank God it’s them instead of you,” was a bad choice of words.
Of course, on its 40th anniversary, the song’s transgressions beyond the lyrics are abundantly clear: pushing the white savior industrial complex, which is a driver of colonization and Western imperialism; stereotyping the entire continent of Africa as a hopeless place; exploiting nameless victims of disease and poverty with trauma porn imagery; and the insensitive and just factually incorrect lyrics (It does, in fact, snow in Africa.).
Never mind the 1984 rendition featured zero artists of African heritage singing solos, which compelled Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones to mobilize Black American stars for “We Are the World,” per the documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop.” Band Aid relegated Kool & The Gang (Kool & the Gang!) and Jody Watley to the chorus! (And no women doing solos, either.) Subsequent versions in 1989 (the retconned “unofficial one” produced by Kylie Minogue’s team Stock, Aitken, Waterman — remember them?), 2004, and 2014 didn’t fare much better, though talent was more diverse in the latter two (Seal!), but barely. For the 30th anniversary edition dedicated to the Ebola outbreak, Bono, reappearing, sings adjusted lyrics: “Tonight we’re reaching out, and touching you …”
Now for its 40th anniversary (watch here), Geldof and co. introduce an overstuffed and Frankensteined remix that even has a voiceover from the late David Bowie, who couldn’t make the 1984 recording sesh. BBC refers to it as “piling on the schmaltz” and “overblown, smothering the stripped-back earnestness of the original,” and it features both of Bono’s aforementioned lyrics. Before the release, Ed Sheeran criticized the nonconsensual re-use of his bit from the 2014 iteration. Influenced by friend, British-Ghanaian rapper Fuse ODG, he would have refused to participate in this one.
But, in the face of legit criticism, a defensive Geldof continues to double down on his white savior-ism, telling the Conversation, “Colonial tropes, my arse.”
The charity’s usual response is to point out how much money it’s raised. But the bad optics may be overriding the intent. "Initiatives like Band Aid 40 perpetuate outdated narratives, reinforce racism and colonial attitudes that strip people of their dignity and agency," Lena Bheeroo, the head of anti-racism and equity at UK charity organization Bond, told the BBC.
Meanwhile, we need to confront our own affinity for a holiday song from our childhood, and — to (very) loosely quote actor/comedian Rose Matafeo from her set at The Bell House last weekend — we’re only allowed to listen to the problematic fave now when we happen to hear it played out in the wild.
We are two Gen X journalists who analyze all the '80s and '90s nostalgia in current pop culture, fashion, and beauty. Read more stories like this one here!
You Oughta Know
I’ve been seeing this comeback announced for months now via different sources, but I’ve been in denial. Then I saw it manifested in the wild on the streets of NYC and have to concede: Vera Bradley is back. The quilted bag brand started in 1982 in Indiana. The bags were all over the place in Chicago in the ‘90s when I lived there, and the brand exploded more widely in the early aughts after it started selling online. It’s now having a resurgence thanks to Gen Z-ers, who apparently love all things girly, and millennials digging out their Y2K originals. Zooey Deschanel is the brand’s new face, and there’s a Wicked collab, of course. If you want to carry your stuff around in a lumpy quilt, I mean, that’s fine. -CW [Elle]
My husband Idris Elba joins the new live action Masters of the Universe movie in the role of Duncan, Man-At-Arms. The latest Mattel vehicle also stars Nicholas Galitzine — who is Gen X-adjacent from his role as Timmy in The Craft: Legacy — as He-Man, a.k.a. Prince Adam. (I actually watched soap operas after school — it was the ‘80s — so hold very fuzzy memories of the plot of the original animated series.) Elba’s character sounds like both a mentor to Adam, and the Q to the young prince’s Bond. I’m imagining a character possessing Stringer Bell-esque methodical strategizing, as an adviser to the Eternia royal court; powers of deduction à la DCI John “Luther;” superhuman strength like Asgardian gatekeeper Heimdall and Hobbs & Shaw antagonist Brixton Lore; and so much swagger, he’d board a first class international flight with no carry-on luggage and just a tiny Gucci shopping bag. (That’s a deep cut for you “Hijack” fans.) –FSH [Deadline]
Broadway is running out of ideas apparently, because so many ‘80s and ‘90s movies are being adapted into musicals. The Outsiders, Back to the Future, and Death Becomes Her are there currently. Coming in 2025: Beat Street, The Bodyguard, Dirty Dancing (I cannot), a Griswolds musical (??), The Karate Kid, The Lost Boys (I really cannot), The Nanny (yes, the TV show), Purple Rain, and Thelma and Louise. The aughts are represented too: 13 Going on 30 and The Devil Wears Prada will hit the stage. -CW [Playbill]
Last week on the “Las Culturistas” podcast, hosts, Wicked scene stealer Bowen Yang and Prince of Christmas Matt Rogers, interviewed “Saturday Night Live” alum Ana Gasteyer for a very Generation X-themed episode. We have Gasteyer — who’s currently on Broadway in Once Upon a Mattress — to thank for some of the most iconic ‘90s characters, and skits, like the musical couple duo The Culps, with Will Ferrell, and “Schweddy Balls,” words that never fail to make me, essentially a 12-year-old boy, snort giggle. Gasteyer drops some serious ‘80s and ‘90s references, like delightful anecdotes about a semi-method Ferrell during “SNL” writing sessions in the late-’90s, a P. Diddy red flag, moms pushing Dexatrim and poor body image onto their teenage daughters, grapefruit and black coffee diets, and a Courtney Thorne Smith “deep cut.” Highly recommend! –FSH [Las Culturistas]
Gen X journalist Jolene Edgar interviewed a bunch of Gen X dermatologists and plastic surgeons about the enhancement habits of our generation. Generally, we are looking for low-maintenance fixes, tweaks that are not too dramatic, and “treatments that improve the quality of their skin, so they can wear less makeup – that’s part of why they look younger.” (As in, younger than the “Golden Girls” looked at the ages we are easing into now.) Lasers, to reverse the sun damage of our baby oil-infused laying-out days, are also popular. But apparently we are also more likely to do a facelift than fillers. It’s a fascinating read. (Edgar is the best possible person to follow on this beat if you’re interested in learning more. She has a fantastically informative Substack, Aesthetics Unfiltered. Check out the story she did on facial estrogen creams.) -CW [Allure]
In the latest music news, the Coachella 2025 line-up is out, and X-ers of all genres are covered. Missy Elliot, who headlined her own tour this year, The Go-Go’s, and The Prodigy, who still terrify me, open day one, with Green Day headlining Saturday. Others include The Misfits, Circle Jerks, and Kraftwerk. Plus, late Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland’s son, Noah released new singles. Prior to going solo, he was in a full band of nepo babies, Suspect208, alongside Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash’s son London Hudson and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s kid, Tye. –FSH (+ CW who added all the punk bands I totally missed, oops.) [Pitchfork; Consequence of Sound]
Per usual, The New York Times is on it! Four months after Cheryl explored the proliferation of nostalgia concerts via a reported story for our humble little Substack, the paper of record published an essay opining on the phenomenon. “There must be better ways of sticking with the things we love,” concludes the writer. Like collecting vintage concert t-shirts, maybe? –FSH [The New York Times]
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You didn’t even mention Ana’s bonkers story about her childhood hanging out with Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat!
Oh wow, so much to think about re Band Aid - thank you so much for this – like all Gen X Brits, I remember exactly where I was when the concert was live-streamed, had the 12 inch version of the vinyl, and now thinking back to the video ... On a lighter note completely, the quilted bag phenomenon is happening here as well 😳 and 😮 about those films being made into musicals! I’ve got to admit, I was half tempted to suggest back to the future as a West End family treat, but nothing is ever going to compare to the OGs and now we just want to watch those again! 🎥🍿 And thank you so much for flagging Jolene Edgar, totally going to check out her Substack – thank you.🤩