I remember when Live Aid happened in 1985 feeling like I was missing

something titanic, that years later I would wish I had been there or

experienced it somehow. As it turned out, it was a pretty big thing,

but it wasn’t Woodstock either. Now with live coverage of Live 8 on

MTV (and VH-1) and TiVo, I won’t miss a thing.

U2 and Paul “Thumbs Aloft” McCartney started things in the UK with a

fine rendition of “Sergeant Pepper’s.” That seems good — rock

royalty in an unusual pairing. Then Will Smith opens the show (not

performing, thankfully) in Philly by celebrating the Declaration of

Independence and making a “declaration of Interdependence — we are

all in this together.” Then the Black Eyed Peas came on. I like

them, but is this our equal to Bono and Sir Paul? Coming up, Madonna

and Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi?

And as K-lo noticed earlier, the cause is a little unclear. “It’s not

about raising money, it’s about raising awareness.” Bono says “Make

history by making poverty history!” Um, okay. I’m up for that.

Think I’ll let the TiVo roll, as the only awareness that’s being

raised right now is of upcoming movie releases from the endless

commercials. If the cause is so important, couldn’t Viacom have gone

commercial free?