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This may be old news to some of you, but I just learned that Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson’s song, “We are the World,” is being rerecorded to support relief efforts in Haiti. ABC News has the story:

I couldn’t agree more with the idea behind covering this song. It’s really cool to see some of today’s biggest stars lending their support to raise money for Haiti. But I have a bone to pick with how this thing is being packaged. Avatar is doing beacoup bucks in the box office and it’s in 3-D right? (See my entry, Meet The Playlist: The Sweet Spot Where Music and Film Converge for some funny commentary on this) And the Grammy’s viewership has sucked lately so they broadcasted a tribute to Michael Jackson in 3-D right? (See my entry, Are the Grammys Still Relevant?). So obviously we can all conclude that, to get people to spend money on art, we need to somehow present it in 3-D… right? NO! Seriously people; did the “We are the World” music video really need to be shot in 3-D?

Don’t get me wrong, there have been some awesome 3-D movies. Pixar’s UP was incredible in 3-D, Henry Selick’s Coraline was also pretty fantastic, and a couple of people (myself included) liked Avatar well enough. But these films were created with the format in mind. Now according to The Playlist: The Clash of The Titans (a 2-D film) may be turned into 3-D using some new technology. And the same process has already been confirmed for the upcoming Harry Potter movies. Is it just me or is this pretty lame? I would pay to own a DVD or to download a digital file of my favorite musicians collaborating to record a new version of “We are the World” because I love to see artists in their element and I think it’s really great to see the proceeds of their work going to relief efforts. This 3-D marketing ploy just rubs me the wrong way though. To me, it turns would could be a genuinely good project into a cheap advertisement for today’s latest pop stars. What do you think? Maybe it’s just me; but at least if we buy into this 3-D thing our money will go to a good cause.

Ranting aside, Wikipedia has a great wiki onthe original “We are the World” recording along with some info on the cover here. I really enjoyed reading about how the project came together but couldn’t help but think how it’s a shame that MJ couldn’t be with us to reintroduce his song to the world. You’ll find his picture in the image below. Along with Michael, the picture on the left of your screen includes many of the original artists whose collaboration made “We are the World” such a huge success. The picture on your right features the roster for the new version. Enjoy!

Which cast do you prefer? Can you name all of the artists? I guessed most of the folks in the leftmost picture but I only knew about half in the right. Am I out of touch?

Hope this finds you feeling healthy!

-Mason