Podcasts about do they know it

År 1985 samlades världens största artister för att bekämpa svälten i Etiopien – och skapade Live Aid, ett av de mest ikoniska ögonblicken i modern musikhistoria. I det här avsnittet går vi på djupet: från bakgrunden till svältkatastrofen, via popmusikens roll i välgörenhetens utveckling, till själva dagen då allt hände. En berättelse om musik, politik, och viljan att förändra världen.Musikpodden finns även på:Instagram: Musik_poddenSpotify: Musikpodden med Arvid BranderApple podcast: Musikpodden med Arvid BranderKontakt: podcastarvid@gmail.comKällor:Böcker & biografier– Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen – Mark Blake (2010)– When the World Came to Save Ethiopia – Steven M. Silverman (2022)– Live Aid: Rockin' All Over the World – David Sinclair (2005)– Bob Geldof: Is That It? – Bob Geldof (1986)– We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song – Ken Kragen (1986)Tidskrifter, tidningar & reportage– The Guardian: “How Live Aid Changed the World” (2015)– Rolling Stone: “Live Aid: The Greatest Show on Earth” (1985)– BBC News: “Live Aid 30th Anniversary: Bob Geldof Reflects” (2015)– Washington Post: “How Ethiopia's Famine Inspired a Global Movement” (1985)– Mojo Magazine: Specialutgåva om Queen och Live Aid (2015)– NME: “The Untold Stories of Band Aid and Live Aid” (2014)Filmer, dokumentärer & visuell media– Live Aid – BBC/MTV original broadcast (1985)– The Day the Music Changed the World – BBC Documentary (2010)– When Harvey Met Bob – BBC Drama om Bob Geldof och Harvey Goldsmith (2010)– Do They Know It's Christmas? – The Story of Band Aid – Channel 4 (2004)– Band Aid: The Song That Rocked the World – VH1 Rock Doc (2005)Intervjuer & offentliga framträdanden– Bob Geldof – BBC-intervju: The Meaning of Live Aid (1985)– Midge Ure – intervju i The Guardian: Behind the Band Aid Single (2014)– Freddie Mercury & Brian May – intervjuer i dokumentären Queen: Days of Our Lives (2011)– Bono och U2 – Rolling Stone: “Bono Remembers Live Aid” (2005)– Joan Baez – intervju med NPR om Live Aid och Woodstock (2010)Webbresurser & digitala arkiv– BandAid30.com – officiellt Band Aid- och Live Aid-arkiv– The Live Aid Archive (liveaid.free.fr) – line-up, setlists, citat och bilder från konserterna– BBC Archives – nyhetsinslag och originalsändningar från Live Aid 1985– USAforAfrica.org – officiell historik och rapporter om “We Are the World”-projektet– NPR.org – “How Live Aid Sparked Modern Charity Concerts” (2015) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martyn Ware was one of the founding members of The Human League and left to form Heaven 17 who were known for many hits including Let Me Go, Temptation, (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thing, and Penthouse Pavement. He contributed to Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas and has produced various artist's albums including Tina Turner, Billy Preston, Erasure, and Terence Trent D'arby. He is also a college professor, a keynote speaker, podcaster, and partner in an immersive 3-D soundscape and design company called the Illustrious Company.

Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he began his solo success in the 1980s. His hit singles include "Love of the Common People, 'Wherever I Lay My Hat," "Come Back and Stay," "Every Time You Go Away," and 'Everything Must Change, all reaching the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. Released in 1983, his debut album, No Parlez was the first of three UK number one albums. His smooth yet soulful voice belongs to a genre known as "blue-eyed soul." He won a Brit Award for Best British Male in 1985, and his hit "Every Time You Go Away" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also won Best British Video at the 1986 Brit Awards. He performed on the 1984 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas," which included singing the opening lines, and played Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium in London in July 1985. Since the mid-1990s, Young has performed with the band Los Pacaminos.

In this episode of The XS Noize Podcast, host Mark Millar sits down with Gary Kemp—legendary songwriter, guitarist, and Spandau Ballet co-founder—to discuss his highly anticipated third solo album, This Destination. As one of the UK's most successful songwriters, Gary wrote 23 hit singles for Spandau Ballet, including iconic classics "True" and "Gold"—helping the band sell over 25 million records and achieve 500 weeks on the charts. His acclaimed songwriting earned him an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection and the BMI Icon Award (2023), placing him alongside legends like Queen and Peter Gabriel. Beyond his solo career, Gary co-hosts the Rockonteurs podcast with Guy Pratt and has spent six years touring globally as part of Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets, reviving early Pink Floyd classics. In this exclusive interview, Gary delves into: The creative process behind This Destination The influences that shaped his songwriting journey His experience with Band-Aid and the legendary charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? His top five most significant songs Don't miss this must-listen conversation with one of Britain's greatest songwriters. Listen now to The XS Noize Podcast – Episode #216. Or listen via YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | RSS – Find The XS Noize Podcast's complete archive of episodes here. Previous XS Noize Podcast guests have included Doves, Gavin Friday, Anton Newcombe, Peter Hook, The Twang, Sananda Maitreya, James, Crowded House, Elbow, Cast, Kula Shaker, Shed Seven, Future Islands, Peter Frampton, John Lydon, Bernard Butler, Steven Wilson, Ocean Colour Scene, Travis, New Order, The Killers, Tito Jackson, Simple Minds, Divine Comedy, Shaun Ryder, Gary Numan, Sleaford Mods, Michael Head, Villagers, and many more.

Director Nigel Dick is behind some of the most iconic videos (and images) in rock history. Whether it's Britney Spears, Guns n Roses, Oasis, Tears for Fears, Cher, Def Leppard, or hundreds of others, his visuals are what shapes our impressions of these artists. In this incredibly entertaining conversation, we dive into all the best stories from his nearly 45 years of directing including his time making Hollywood features, how videos are made from the top down, working with temperamental artists, and filming the recording of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas." Chalk this up to an instant classic! Enjoy!  www.nigeldick.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod  

There comes a time when the call must be heeded to revisit one of the most significant moments in Gen X pop culture history: the star-studded 'check your ego at the door' collective recording known as "We Are The World," which took place following the American Music Awards on the evening of January 28, 1985. (A quick tip of the cap to the captivating Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which reignited a desire to revisit this historical event). On this episode of the pod, guest contributor and fellow Gen Xer Phil Singh joins Rick to watch and comment in real-time on the 7-minute video for "We Are The World," rehashing tidbits learned about the night from the Netflix doc as well as from dozens of other interviews and videos about the inspiration behind, gathering and recording of, and video for the song that followed on the heels of the U.K.'s own star-studded "Do They Know It's Christmas" charity single. Part fashion police, part amateur music critics, Rick and Phil inject perspective, thoughts, and humor into what they see unfold in the "We Are The World" video, from the outfits to the vocal pairings to who brought their A-game and cared about the effort to who came off as less than stellar. They also discuss how the song has aged and how it stands up today. The magnitude of "We Are The World" for us Gen X'ers cannot be overstated. The star power of the artists in the room, many of whom were still climbing to the peak of their icon status, and the realization that putting together something like this for one night only and making the impact it made could never quite be duplicated made this retrospective a must to revisit through a new lens 40 years later.

"If I Was" Midge Ure is a one-man highlight machine. The Scottish born Ivor Novello Award winning musician was in the pop band Silk, the post-punk outfit Rich Kids with Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, the synth band Visage, the rock band Think Lizzy and the new wave band Ultravox. If you were wondering if Ure has range, the answer is: yes. Aside from co-writing Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas with Bob Geldof, helping organize the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, being the musical director of the Prince's Trust concerts, organizing Live 8 concerts, being appointed the Order of The British Empire, receiving five honorary Doctor of Arts degrees by esteemed universities, and being an Ambassador for Save the Children, Ure has also had a successful solo career, releasing close to ten marvelous albums. Not only that, but he's an author, he's been on Celebrity Master Chef and he turned down an invitation to be in the Sex Pistols. His latest effort is Live at the Royal Albert Hall, a show that was recorded back in April of 2023 and it's just wonderful. In recent years, Ure along with keyboardist Charlie Round-Turner have figured out how to play songs that have a lot of sonic architecture and replicate them in two-man band form. The results are rich and deeply satisfying and Ure will be hitting the road in this Band In A Box format in May for a North American tour. But in the meantime, he's stopped by the podcast for a chat. http://www.midgeure.co.uk www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com) IG: @emberspodcast Bluesky: @emberspodcast

What's up, dudes? Remember Band Aid and its mega-hit “Do They Know It's Christmas?” It spun off countless relief efforts, including Carol Aid 1985. Ken Kessler from Sounds of Christmas introduced me to this concert, and he's here to talk about its MTV and Music Box broadcast!Carol Aid was a famine relief concert held at the club Heaven in London. MTV and Music Box aired a cut down version, leaving out several acts. In fact, the likes of Magnum, Captain Sensible, and Miquel Brown (to name a few) were cut for time. It's quite unbelievable.Cliff Richard kicked off the broadcast version with “Another Christmas Day,” while John Parr sang “Once in Royal David's City.” Meanwhile, the Fixx pressed for donations and sang “Peace On Earth,” a hidden track from their following album. Subsequently, the event ended with the entire roster singing “Do They Know It's Christmas?” rather heartily.Chris De Burgh? Check. Anita Harris? She was there. Toto Coelo and the Flying Pickets? Got them too, though we have no idea what they sang. So grab your oversized checks, put on your red beret, and jam out to “Carols from Heaven” and Carol Aid 1985!Sounds of ChristmasFB: @SOCMusicTwitter: @SOCMusicIG: @socmusicGive us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

Send us a textLee and Simon talk about being sensitive (or not) to others and Lee had a conversation with his Dad about politics (spoiler: changing what we watch and read changes what we think and believe). Things covered: Queen at Live Aid (1985), Lee has been having a lot of fun, Simon is not a big drinker, Simon and Lil's cocktail phase, Gimlets, Lee helping the Portuguese government (not really), having fun vicariously, Queen being big in Italy, Pink Floyd, I don't like mondays, Bob Geldof, Happy Salmon, Do They Know It's Christmas "documentary", Midge Ure, Boomtown Rats, The Golden Girls, Sting's haircut in Band Aid, films with "gold" in the title, sneezing then blowing your nose, covering your mouth when your cough (or not), what we did and didn't learn from the pandemic, bodily policing, our capacity to be sensitive to others, Lee's Dad's politics, bootstrapping, first-hand evidence, Socialism, Lee reading Marx to his Dad, Norman's media diet has changed, changing what we watch and listen to changes the way we see the world, flaming aetheism, Darth Vader giving Lee a car, Lee "Strident" Miller, turning their frowns upside down, Happy New Year!Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net. ---The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)

“Only cowards hide behind silence.” -Paulo Coelho   Clips played:   Syria's New Leader Ditches Military Fatigues for Suit | Vantage with Palki Sharma (youtube.com)    Do They Know It’s Genocide? The Band Aid Tale – YouTube     Who are the Alawites? (youtube.com)    How Muslims Influenced Thomas Jefferson and America's Founders | American Muslims – […] The post Is Spain transit for children to rape and torture- Opus Dei since WW2? -ZOHAR and Kabbalah – Bashar al-Assad and PIPELINE Plans?  1969 The Spartacus guidebook listed child brothels all around the world.  Nazi Salute came from USA;) appeared first on Psychopath In Your Life.

Hour 1 Jerry is joined by Willie Colon for this Christmas Eve show and Willie says Jerry's Grinch shirt is very on-brand. The NFC North has three of the best teams in football and Jerry is ready for lesser teams who win worse divisions to stop being rewarded over better teams who don't win stronger divisions. Willie thinks the Commanders are a team to watch out for in the playoffs. Willie is happy that a beleaguered fanbase now has their guy in Jayden Daniels. Jerry says watching good teams is a reminder of how far away the Giants and Jets are. The guys discuss the Jets issues and Willie says the team has too much talent to be as bad as they are and many problems that go beyond Aaron Rodgers. CLo is here for his first update of the day but first we learn Willie is not a big Christmas guy. CLo says because of work he is not able to celebrate as much as he would like to. Willie's wife told him they aren't doing gifts this year but something is telling him to have one ready to give. The Knicks beat the Raptors last night and Jerry says the Knicks feel like the Yankees - they're fine, let's check in on them in the playoffs. Willie is loving the Knicks and Jerry finds himself liking them even as a Nets fan. The Packers easily handled the Saints on Monday Night Football. Aaron Rodgers joked about being released by a teenager on The Pat McAfee Show. The Devils blew the Rangers out. In the final segment of the hour, callers share gift ideas for Willie and Jerry expands on his love of Walgreens. Willie thinks Jerry is an enigma. Hour 2 Willie had an experience with spicy food over the weekend that gave him a tough time all the way through his Jets pre and postgame duties. Willie thinks Brian Daboll can be the right coach for the Giants if they fix the offensive line. CLo returns for an update and begins with the Knicks big win. Jerry says it's a good sign that the Knicks can win when Jalen Brunson has a bad night shooting. The Knicks are an offense-first team now. Willie wants to see Thibs use the bench more. Joel Embiid got ejected and made contact with a female ref. Aaron Rodgers said he would take a pay cut next year. Willie says Jets fans have to prepare themselves for Rodgers coming back next season. The Rangers and Islanders had awful games heading into Christmas break. In the final segment of the hour, we all discuss favorite and least favorite Christmas songs, movies and gifts. Hour 3 During the break we learned Willie has never heard the song “Do They Know It's Christmas” by Band-Aid. Jerry knew the song but had never paid close attention to the lyrics. Jerry explains why he liked the Aaron Rodgers documentary and now has a more favorable view of Rodgers. Jerry's endorsement made Willie want to watch the documentary. Willie originally bought into Rodgers saving the Jets, got worn down, but is now open to turning his opinion back in favor of the QB on and off the field. CLo returns for an update and begins with the Knicks blowout win. Michael Penix Jr. was impressive in his NFL debut. Aaron Rodgers said he'd be willing to mentor a young QB in 2025. Willie says the Jets next play caller could be as important as the head coach. Jerry thinks they need someone with a strong personality and experience. Willie didn't like how much attention the Jets gave the media when he came to the team in 2013. In the final segment of the hour, Jerry brings back “What Would Willie Do?” Hour 4 Former NFL RB Merril Hoge calls in to discuss all things NFL, including the Vikings win over the Seahawks on Sunday that he broadcasted. He was impressed by the Sam Darnold-led offense. The three then go over Super Bowl contenders and what's next for the Jets. CLo returns for his final update of the day and begins with Lamar Jackson telling reporters that he's not going to miss Beyonce performing at halftime of a game he's playing in. He apologized to John Harbaugh. Aaron Judge remembers the entire Yankees lineup from his MLB debut. The Moment of The ...

During the break we learned Willie has never heard the song “Do They Know It's Christmas” by Band-Aid. Jerry knew the song but had never paid close attention to the lyrics. Jerry explains why he liked the Aaron Rodgers documentary and now has a more favorable view of Rodgers. Jerry's endorsement made Willie want to watch the documentary. Willie originally bought into Rodgers saving the Jets, got worn down, but is now open to turning his opinion back in favor of the QB on and off the field. CLo returns for an update and begins with the Knicks blowout win. Michael Penix Jr. was impressive in his NFL debut. Aaron Rodgers said he'd be willing to mentor a young QB in 2025. Willie says the Jets next play caller could be as important as the head coach. Jerry thinks they need someone with a strong personality and experience. Willie didn't like how much attention the Jets gave the media when he came to the team in 2013. In the final segment of the hour, Jerry brings back “What Would Willie Do?”

This week on The Struts Life, we deliver part two of our festive holiday special, recorded live on Gigaverse! Join us as we dive into everything Christmas, from debating the GOAT holiday songs (Wham!'s Last Christmas, anyone?) to reminiscing about hilarious gigs and treasured family traditions. Expect spirited discussions on Frank Sinatra's genius, UK Christmas hits, and the bold suggestion that Nickelback should tackle a holiday single. We even reveal our dream supergroup for a modern-day Do They Know It's Christmas?. Whether you're rocking a dairy milk bar or just getting in the festive mood, this episode is packed with yuletide laughs, trivia, and Struts charm. Tune in, and let's slay—S-L-E-I-G-H—it together! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A holiday surprise! I invited Patrick Dupuis (EETF Podcast), John Mutford, Mike Drew, Hector Contreras, Kyle Hildreth, and Woody Meachum to discuss the 2024 documentary Band Aid - The Making Of The Original 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' - to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic charity single. The movie is streaming for free on YouTube!Send us a text

We talk about recent Christmas releases (Trevor Horn's 40th anniversary mix of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" available at https://bandaid.lnk.to/BA40 Steve Howe's "12 Guitars of Christmas" available with lyrics at https://yesworld.com/ and John Lodge's Christmas single "Love Will Conquer All.") Then we'll do a 2024 year in review, recapping Yes and Yes member-related events and releases of the past year, and then look over the horizon to what we have to look forward to in 2025. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yesshift/support

Two charity singles are reaching their 40th anniversary that supported Africa's famine: Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (1984), and U.S.A. for Africa's "We Are the World" (1985). Both gathered a fantastic group of celebrities singing together, and earned enough proceeds for future philanthropy. Explore the music and charitable impact then and now. Theme Song: "Dance Track", composed by Jessica Ann Catena1984 documentaryBand Aid II (1989)Band Aid 30 (2014)2024 Ultimate MixBand Aid Forty - AlbumBand Aid name origin clip: (7:31-8:03) - VH1's I Love the 80s-3D: 1984 (2005)"We Are the World 25 for Haiti" (2010)The Greatest Night In Pop (2024)Related Episodes:Ep. 115 - Christmas Hot 100 HitsEp. 190 - Tina Turner Top 10Ep. 193 - George Michael Top 20Ep. 219 - Christmas 2023's SongsEp. 255 - Yacht Soul PlaylistEp. 258 - The Jackson 5 Top 10Ep. 260 - Global Citizen Festival 2024 - Review Ep. 263 - Ghostbusters' 2 Movie ThemesEp. 265 - Quicy Jones FavoritesEp. 269 - Christmas 2024 Playlist

What's up, dudes? You know “Last Christmas.” You've heard “Do They Know It's Christmas?” and the “A Very Special Christmas” album. Did you know there is a plethora of Christmas albums and singles from the ‘80s? Vinnie Brezinsky from Huey and Bax and I dig into lesser known ‘80s Christmas songs!From Lori Loughlin's “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to Buster Poindexter's “‘Zat you, Santa Claus?”, we get into many overlooked gems. Chris Squire released “Run With the Fox,” a prog rock masterpiece of suspended chords and ostinato figures. Of course, George Thorogood brings boogie-woogie back to the ‘80s with “Rock and Roll Christmas” as well!Meanwhile, our lists boast Jon Anderson singing "Three Ships" and the Dallas Cowboys getting in on the action with the charity hit "I Don't Want To Be Home for Christmas." We follow it with Cathy Harrington's "Sha La La (Deck the Halls)" and Fishbone's homage to a holiday staple "It's a Wonderful Life (Gonna Have a Good Time)!" Robbie Robertson released "Christmas Must Be Tonight" for the Scrooged soundtrack, while Bonnie Tyler recorded "Merry Christmas" for Dial Code Santa Claus.Weird Al? Of course! New Kids On The Block? Got them too. Fishbone? Fishbone?!?! So grab your guitar, put on a Santa hat, and get a new publicist as you listen to this episode on lesser known ‘80s Christmas songs!Give us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

Brian and Murdock relive the horrors of Christmas seasons past – particularly the ones where they had to play Christmas songs on the radio – and get at why one particular tune always got under the skin.  Support the show on Patreon See the show on YouTube Visit the show on Instagram Visit the show on Facebook SHOW NOTES: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610472/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-song- history https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1220362/george-michael-news-band- aid-paul-weller-savage-bust-up-do-they-know-its-christmas-spt https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/ethiopia.shtml https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge_Ure https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-of-hear-n-aid-the-heavy-metal-band-aid http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4012573.stm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It%27s_Christmas%3F Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brian and Murdock relive the horrors of Christmas seasons past – particularly the ones where they had to play Christmas songs on the radio – and get at why one particular tune always got under the skin. SHOW NOTES: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610472/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-song- history https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1220362/george-michael-news-band- aid-paul-weller-savage-bust-up-do-they-know-its-christmas-spt https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/ethiopia.shtml https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge_Ure https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-of-hear-n-aid-the-heavy-metal-band-aid http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4012573.stm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It%27s_Christmas%3F

As we roll into the holidays, we want to cover a few holiday songs with you. We have some new episodes in the next few weeks, but for this week we've got a re-post of our episode covering Do They Know It's Christmas. Enjoy! Hosted by @sliiiiip and @megamixdotcom, the Super Hits Podcast reviews a different retro single each episode! We're on all of the usual podcast platforms, so come find us. Come and give us a 5-star review! To correct us if we miss a fact or get something wrong, to request a single, or to just say hello, hit us up at superhitspodcast@gmail.com Here's our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://megamixdotcom.com/super-hits/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Here's our Twitter: @SuperHitsCast Here's our Instagram: @SuperHitsPodcast You can also find playlists for all of the songs we've covered on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Apple Music. Just search for Super Hits Podcast Playlist!

Join the Cherry Ice Cream Smile girls as we reflect back on the making of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" -- so many of amazing artists in one place that came together to help people on the other side of the world.  We loved seeing our favorites using their talent for good and can't believe that it's been 40 years!!!

Send us a textJoin me, as we wander through the echoes of the 1980s and revisit "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band-Aid. We reminisce about this iconic charity single that, despite limited US airplay, became a hallmark of Christmas for many. We touch on the powerhouse lineup that included Bono, Sting, and Phil Collins, and explore why this heartfelt anthem still resonates today, alongside timeless holiday films like "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."I can't get enough of 'Christmas Vacation', with Clark Griswold, the Christmas tree, Cousin Eddie, Snots the dog, Margo the next-door neighbor and of course Aunt Bethany.As we journey through musical history, we look back at 'Beatles 65' and a salute to The Clash's game-changing album "London Calling" on its 45th anniversary. Discover the backstory of The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" and unravel the enigma of Yes's "Leave It" music video. Wrapping up from my childhood bedroom in Levittown, New York and with Jimmy in Atlanta, Georgia, we hope you enjoy the memories and insights we've shared."Music in My Shoes" where music and memories intertwine.Learn Something New orRemember Something OldPlease Like and Follow our Facebook and Instagram page at Music In My Shoes. You can contact us at musicinmyshoes@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas! We're here and ready for the holidays with the annual Alt80s Christmas Podcast. Best part is you don't have to wait to unwrap it - so enjoy! Also, don't worry, our podcast is a Whamageddon safe zone.1) Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses 2) Last Chance [Christmas Mix] - Soft Cell 3) I Believe In Father Christmas - U2 4) Candy Carol (Sugar Lips Caroling) [Extended Mix] - Book Of Love 5) We Three Kings - Blondie 6) Fruitcake - The Superions 7) Merry Something To You - Devo 8) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Erasure 9) Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues 10) Jingle Bells - Yello 11) Christmas In The Club [Single Version] - Tom Tom Club 12) I Saw Three Ships - Sting 13) Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics 14) Love Will Find A Way - Alphaville 15) It's Always Christmastime - Ministry 16) Ode To Joy - New Order 17) Insanity Over Christmas - Madness 18) Things Fall Apart - Christina 19) Do They Know It's Christmas? [Extended Version] - Band Aid 20) The Coventry Carol - Alison Moyet 21) Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant - Siouxsie And the Banshees 22) A Gary Numan Christmas Carol - Vanilla Coffee 23) Yellin' At The Christmas Tree - Billy Idol 24) My Silent Night - Lisil 25) Please , Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths 26) Frosty The Snowman - Cocteau Twins 27) Power Of Love ['93 Alternate Mix]- Frankie Goes To Hollywood

It's a very irreverent episode about a very serious song. Live Aid has released a new documentary about making the Band Aid single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Oh, boy, do we have some thoughts and observations! You can watch the documentary HERE.www.thegardentarts.comSUPPORT: www.patreon.com/thegardentarts AND www.buymeacoffee.com/thegardentartstwitter: @the_gardentartsinstagram: @the_gardentartswatch this ep on YouTube: @thegardentarts

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Recorded before a live Facebook (and YouTube) audience, Will, Kat and Jon first discuss current 1980s news. Then, they share the true story of the most brazen robbery of all time: The 1985 Christmas Heist.0:00 - Introduction8:25 - Oregon Trail the Movie16:30 - Village People Cop will Sue24:50 - Mattel Sued Over Porn Link35:13 - Do They Know It's Christmas?46:30 - True Crime: The 1985 Christmas Heist1:15:15 - Wrap Up and Thank YouBecome a patron at www.patreon.com/1980snowEmail us at will@1980snow.com or kat@1980snow.com.Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1980snow.Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@1980snowGet Michael Thomas Perone's new book here.Join Will live on Mr. Throwback Thursday on December 9 at 8pm Eastern on YouTube or Facebook.Mr. Throwback Thursday Live on YouTubeMr. Throwback Thursday Live on Facebook

 Chewy launches "Chewy Claus" - a holiday campaign where pets can write letters and help donate food to shelter animals. Plus, Diane Keaton makes her Christmas music debut (at 78!), hear how a town solved their too-small Christmas tree problem in the most creative way, the latest controversy around Band Aid's 40th anniversary release of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and a Grey's Anatomy star reveals why she had to give up real Christmas trees after turning tree shopping into a "military operation."Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!  You also get 20+ other shows on the network ad-free!   

Stuart Bruce in conversation with David Eastaugh Stuart Robert Bruce is an English recording engineer. He was the engineer for the recording of the Band Aid's charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" on 25 November 1984. Bruce started his career at Trevor Horn's Sarm West Studios. When Horn offered Bob Geldof and Midge Ure the studio free of charge for 24 hours to record the charity single, but was unavailable to produce it, Bruce was approached to engineer and mix what became one of the biggest selling singles ever. With many of the most famous artists of the time participating, and seven film crews in attendance, he worked straight through that day and night. The reputation Bruce gained of being able to get a track down in difficult circumstances later led to him being chosen to engineer the Guitar Trio album by Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía and John McLaughlin.

(00:59) Sie ist in Beziehung mit Menschen und Musik und versucht, neue Beziehungen zu knüpfen, sie zu vertiefen und zu erweitern: Irena Müller-Brozović ist Professorin für Musikvermittlung an der Fachhochschule Bern und der Bruckner Universität in Linz. Sie war heute zu Gast im Studio. Weitere Themen: (11:46) «Do They Know It's Christmas?» von «Band Aid» in der Kritik: Sind solche Hilfsprojekte noch zeitgemäss? (16:50) Zeitzeugen-Serie zum Thema Konsum: Die Geschichte des Lieferservice. (21:18) Nacktheit als Schnittstelle von Intimität und medialer Darstellung: Neues Tanzstück «Exposure» von Choreografin Alexandra Bachzetsis in Lausanne. (26:02) «Verlust. Ein Grundproblem der Moderne»: Neues ambitioniertes Werk des Soziologen Andreas Reckwitz.

Send us a textIt's a week full of heartbreak. There's no way to sugar coat it, but we will press on and make the best of it. On December 8, tragedy struck the music world

durée : 00:05:27 - La BO du monde - Paru en 1984, Do They Know It's Christmas? de Band Aid est entré dans l'Histoire comme la première réunion de stars contre la famine en Afrique. 40 ans plus tard, alors que parait une version remixée, cette belle initiative humanitaire est plus que jamais critiquée.

For Pete's Sake 11.30.24 - Three of the Most Important Stories of the week -“Do They Know It's Christmas?” celebrating 40 years-Iphone notes app being used to CHEAT-A dog cruise kicks off next year   To subscribe to The Pete McMurray Show Podcast just click here

Would you be able to last 5 minutes? Let me explain shortly!Welcome to The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X Podcast! Our very own Dominic Byrne had the daunting task of facing a stand-up night at the Comedy Store called King Gong! You'll hear his full set, and what the team thought of it, but remember, you can't spell comedy without Dom! We also speak to the compere of the night, Jarred Christmas, who gave Dom the offer of a lifetime!It really was a revolving door of guests this week! We catch up with Sir Bob Geldof about the new Band Aid remix to celebrate forty years of ‘Do They Know It's Christmas'! We loved chatting to the brains behind Taskmaster, Alex Horne! He came by to talk about his new book An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium. Listen to check if Chris made a few George Formby jokes when good friend of the show Jake Bugg popped into Radio X headquarters to chat with the team. If that isn't enough for you bunch of content hungry so-and-so's, we also had:A Pot Noodle taste testA surprising Kate Nash updateA wet accident in the studioEnjoy!The Chris Moyles Show on Radio XWeekdays 6:30am - 10am

John Maytham is joined by Fuse ODG, who addresses his critique of Do They Know It's Christmas?, the Band Aid charity single marking its 40th anniversary. The British-Ghanaian musician highlights the song's reductionist portrayal of Africa, arguing that it perpetuates harmful stereotypes by depicting the continent as defined solely by famine and poverty, overshadowing its cultural richness and diversity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

En våbenhvile er trådt i kraft mellem Israel og Hizbollah i Libanon, men spørgsmålet er, om den kan holde? To mistede livet tirsdag aften i en voldsom arbejdsulykke ved en silo på Fyn. En jule-støttesang til hungersnødsramte i Etiopien kaldes for både racistisk og misvisende. Er tiden løbet fra Do They Know It's Christmas? Værter: August Stenbroen og Adrian Busk. Medvirkende: Isabel Bramsen, fredsforsker ved Lunds Universitet. Nanna Frank, musikjournalist i DR.

Duizenden boeren protesteerden al dan niet met een tractor in Londen tegen een voorgenomen invoering van erfbelasting bij agrarische bedrijven. Volgens het kabinet van Keir Starmer worden slechts de allerrijkste boeren en grootgrondbezitters getroffen, maar de boeren zeggen dat het gaat om tientallen duizenden bedrijven. Die discrepantie in cijfers maakt een debat nogal ingewikkeld, zeker omdat ministeries het onderling oneens zijn over de cijfers. Het is een nieuw voorbeeld van de gebrekkige communicatie van de nieuwe Labourregering. Ondertussen werpen puissant rijke grondbezitters als Jeremy Clarkson en stofzuigermagnaat James Dyson zich op als voorvechters voor de boeren, terwijl critici zeggen dat ze alleen maar grond hebben gekocht om die erfbelasting te ontwijken.  Ook in deze aflevering Meer dan twee miljoen mensen tekenden al een petitie voor nieuwe verkiezingen. Kan Keir Starmer dat makkelijk wegwuiven? En: Band Aid komt met een nieuwe versie van Do They Know It's Christmas, veertig jaar na het origineel. Ed Sheeran is niet blij dat zijn stem gebruikt wordt. Over Van Bekhovens Britten In van Bekhovens Britten praten Lia van Bekhoven en Connor Clerx elke week over de grootste nieuwsonderwerpen en de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Van Brexit naar binnenlandse politiek, van de Royals tot de tabloids. Waarom fascineert het VK Nederlanders meer dan zo veel andere Europese landen? Welke rol speelt het vooralsnog Verenigd Koninkrijk in Europa, nu het woord Brexit uit het Britse leven lijkt verbannen, maar de gevolgen van de beslissing om uit de EU te stappen iedere dag duidelijker worden? De Britse monarchie, en daarmee de staat, staat voor grote veranderingen na de dood van Queen Elisabeth en de kroning van haar zoon Charles. De populariteit van het Koningshuis staat op een dieptepunt. Hoe verandert de Britse monarchie onder koning Charles, en welke gevolgen heeft dat voor de Gemenebest? In Van Bekhovens Britten analyseren Lia en Connor een Koninkrijk met tanende welvaart, invloed en macht. De Conservatieve Partij leverde veertien jaar op rij de premier, maar nu heeft Labour onder Keir Starmer de teugels in handen. Hoe ziet het VK er onder Keir Starmer uit? En hoe gaan de ‘gewone' Britten, voor zover die bestaan, daar mee om?  Al deze vragen en meer komen aan bod in Van Bekhovens Britten. Een kritische blik op het Verenigd Koninkrijk, waar het een race tussen Noord-Ierland en Schotland lijkt te worden wie zich het eerst af kan scheiden van het VK. Hoe lang blijft het Koninkrijk verenigd? Na ruim 45 jaar onder de Britten heeft Lia van Bekhoven een unieke kijk op het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Als inwoner, maar zeker geen anglofiel, heeft ze een scherpe blik op het nieuws, de politiek, de monarchie en het dagelijkse leven aan de overkant van de Noordzee. Elke woensdag krijg je een nieuwe podcast over het leven van Van Bekhovens Britten in je podcastapp. Scherpe analyses, diepgang waar op de radio geen tijd voor is en een flinke portie humor. Abonneer en mis geen aflevering. Over Lia Lia van Bekhoven is correspondent Verenigd Koninkrijk voor onder andere BNR Nieuwsradio, VRT, Knack en Elsevier en is regelmatig in talkshows te zien als duider van het nieuws uit het VK. Ze woont sinds 1976 in Londen, en is naast correspondent voor radio, televisie en geschreven media ook auteur van de boeken Mama gaat uit dansen, het erfgoed van Diana, prinses van Wales (1997), Land van de gespleten God, Noord-Ierland en de troubles (2000), In Londen, 9 wandelingen door de Britse hoofdstad (2009) en Klein-Brittannië (2022). Over Connor Connor Clerx is presentator en podcastmaker bij BNR Nieuwsradio. Hij werkt sinds 2017 voor BNR en was voorheen regelmatig te horen in De Ochtendspits, Boekestijn en de Wijk en BNR Breekt. Als podcastmaker werkte hij de afgelopen tijd aan onder andere De Taxi-oorlog, Kuipers en de Kosmos, Splijtstof, Baan door het Brein en Welkom in de AI-Fabriek.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight's rundown:  Hey BillOReilly.com Premium and Concierge Members, welcome to the No Spin News for Monday, November 25, 2024. Stand Up for Your Country.  Talking Points Memo: Bill breaks down why the No Spin News continues be the program to watch during these historic times. Who will be the two most powerful figures in Trump's cabinet? Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney joins the No Spin News to evaluate Trump's second-term staff and share insights based on his own experience. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston retracts his statement about using local police to shield migrants from mass deportations. This Day in History: 36 top musicians record Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?"  Final Thought: Check out the latest 'Not Woke' gear! In Case You Missed It: Read Bill's latest column, Reality Check THE ULTIMATE KILLING SPECIAL. Get Confronting the Presidents PLUS the entire bestselling Killing Series. All 14 books for only $325. SHOP HERE. Get Bill's latest book, CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS, out NOW! Election season is here! Now's the time to get a Premium or Concierge Membership to BillOReilly.com, the only place for honest news analysis. Check out the NEW Not Woke Shop! We've got Not Woke t-shirts, polos, bumper stickers, and our signature Not Woke coffee mug. Get yours today and stand out from the crowd! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Qui incarne-t-il dans ce thriller horrifique où il est question de concurrence entre religions ? Quelles questions existentielles agite le film « A different man » avec Sebastian Stan ? Pourquoi le film « Sebastian », en évoquant le sexe tarifé, tombe dans ce qu'il veut dénoncer ? Les découvertes musicales : -PLL – Maya -Julien Doré - Ah les crocodiles -Band Aid - 1 - Do They Know It's Christmas? (2024 Ultimate Mix) -Dwayne Johnson - Can I Get A Chee Hoo -U2 - Beautiful Day Merci pour votre écoute La semaine des 5 Heures, c'est également en direct tous les jours de la semaine de 19h à 20h00 sur www.rtbf.be/lapremiere Retrouvez tous les épisodes de La semaine des 5 Heures avec les choix musicaux de Rudy dans leur intégralité sur notre plateforme Auvio.be : https://auvio.rtbf.be/emission/1451 Et si vous avez apprécié ce podcast, n'hésitez pas à nous donner des étoiles ou des commentaires, cela nous aide à le faire connaître plus largement.

The White House says a ceasefire is closer than ever between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel says there is progress, but it needs to be able to strike if Hezbollah threatens again.And: Treaty talks are underway for a first-of-its-kind legally-binding global treaty on plastic pollution. Talks are focused on what to do with all the plastic the world produces.Also: Forty years after the original smash hit “Do They Know It's Christmas?” raised millions for famine relief in Africa, another new version is coming out. But some old arguments are also resurfacing: that the song is insulting and perpetuates stereotypes about Africa and the people who live there.Plus: Nova Scotia election tomorrow, intimate partner violence, Canada under fire for defence spending targets, and more.

Legendary musician Midge Ure lets us know about Band Aid's 40th Anniversary of Do They Know It's Christmas?, and the new version of the iconic song, out today!Join Chris, Vassos and the team every morning from 6.30am for laughs with the listeners and the greatest guests. Listen on your smart speaker, just say: "Play Virgin Radio." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before Christmas 1984, Harry Belafonte wanted US artists (and especially black artists) to create a charity album to benefit starving people in Africa as the Do They Know It's Christmas single by the days most popular UK bands was a huge success. He teamed up with manager to the stars Ken Kragen to put together the team that would write and record the lead single. Immediately, Ken enlisted his client, Lionel Richie, to write the song. Lionel and Ken knew they'd need all-star producer Quincy Jones to put it all together. Quincy thought it would be a good idea to get the biggest pop star in the world, Michael Jackson, involved and things snowballed from there as Ken brought on legends like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and artists that were popular at the time like Billy Joel, Kim Carnes, Cindy Lauper, Huey Lewis and more. But how would they get all that talent in one room at one time? Ken devised the idea that so many would be in LA for the American Music Awards on January 28, 1985 so that would be the ideal time. But that was 5 weeks away!!! So Ken went about finding the venue and Lionel and Michael worked on the song. It was all kept very hush hush and even the artists didn't know where they were going after the AMAs until they were on the way. And to make the night even more stressful for Lionel, he was hosting the AMAs and was performing twice (not to mention collecting 6 awards that night). The documentary was a fascinating glimpse into one special night where all egos were put aside in order to record a special song for a worthy cause. If you haven't seen it on Netflix, check out The Greatest Night In Pop - it's a fascinating story! Ugly American Werewolf in London Website Visit our sponsor RareVinyl.com and use the code UGLY to save 10%! Twitter Threads Instagram YouTube LInkTree www.pantheonpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your favourite Aunties, AK, Farrah, Nana & Sade are joined by Afrobeat sensation Fuse ODG to discuss his calling out the BBC for supporting a documentary on the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid and how damaging the song has been to African pride and the reputation of Africa being a place unable to self sustain.Along with this week's Enemies of Progress, Candace Owens, The UK press for ignoring British actress & star of Wicked the movie - Cynthia Erivo, and Tyrese.

Just before Christmas 1984, Harry Belafonte wanted US artists (and especially black artists) to create a charity album to benefit starving people in Africa as the Do They Know It's Christmas single by the days most popular UK bands was a huge success. He teamed up with manager to the stars Ken Kragen to put together the team that would write and record the lead single. Immediately, Ken enlisted his client, Lionel Richie, to write the song. Lionel and Ken knew they'd need all-star producer Quincy Jones to put it all together. Quincy thought it would be a good idea to get the biggest pop star in the world, Michael Jackson, involved and things snowballed from there as Ken brought on legends like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and artists that were popular at the time like Billy Joel, Kim Carnes, Cindy Lauper, Huey Lewis and more. But how would they get all that talent in one room at one time? Ken devised the idea that so many would be in LA for the American Music Awards on January 28, 1985 so that would be the ideal time. But that was 5 weeks away!!! So Ken went about finding the venue and Lionel and Michael worked on the song. It was all kept very hush hush and even the artists didn't know where they were going after the AMAs until they were on the way. And to make the night even more stressful for Lionel, he was hosting the AMAs and was performing twice (not to mention collecting 6 awards that night). The documentary was a fascinating glimpse into one special night where all egos were put aside in order to record a special song for a worthy cause. If you haven't seen it on Netflix, check out The Greatest Night In Pop - it's a fascinating story! Ugly American Werewolf in London Website Visit our sponsor RareVinyl.com and use the code UGLY to save 10%! Twitter Threads Instagram YouTube LInkTree www.pantheonpodcasts.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'd love to hear from you! Click here to send us a text. Season 6, Episode 99They said would never happen!  But yes, The Cure has finally released their latest album, "Songs Of A Lost World."  Will the 16 years it took be worth it?  We'll give our thoughts. After that we'll take a listen to the band The Wolfgang Press and their new album "A 2nd Shape."  This band is probably less known, but did we find it worth listening to? In music news we discuss new singles from Danny Elfman, Peter Murphy & Boy George, Pet Shop Boys, a 40th anniversary update of "Do They Know It's Christmas" and a new album from The Farm.  The Cure:https://www.thecure.com/The Wolfgang Press:https://regis-dns.bandcamp.com/album/a-2nd-shape-2Enjoy the podcast?  How about buying us a cup of coffee? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newwavemusicSupport the show

Today's batch smells like the reality of "mass deportations" from Omaha, OPS kids missing a lot of school ("I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob"), the long overdue "Do They Know It's Christmas" rant you never knew we needed, and much, much more!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy® Honoree, Hollywood Walk of FameLet's Celebrate 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame IHonoree Robert " Kool" Bell & Kool & The Gang! Robert's NEW Brand is.  La Kool. lKool had always envisioned having his own brand out of Europe. For many years, he sought out Grand Cru Vineyards from owners that have been selling for generations and decided to work with Paul Berthelot, a Multi-Vintage Grand Cru Producer since 1884. Kool & the Gang, officially launched in 1969, after performing for five years under various band titles, has influenced the music of three generations and the band has become true recording industry legends. Thanks to iconic songs like Celebration, Cherish, Jungle Boogie, Summer Madness and Open Sesame, they've earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits and 31 gold and platinum albumsIn 1969, Kool & the Gang released their self-titled debut album/ It was the introduction to a theme, music is the message, that Kool & the Gang stands by today. The instrumental album was an expression of their deep love of music. It was also an introduction to their signature sound and the fierce horn arrangements created by Khalis, Dee Tee, and Spike. Their debut album spawned their first Billboard R&B charted single Kool & the Gang and later Let the Music Take Your Mind. In 1970, their audacious sophomore set Live at the Sex Machine peaked at #6 on Billboard's R&B chart and yielded three hit singles: Funky Man, Who's Gonna Take the Weight, and I Want to Take You Higher. Next came The Best Of Kool & the Gang Featuring The Penguin, Kool & the Gang Live at PJ'S, Music Is The Message, and Good Times, all of which helped solidify a sound that wowed not only fans but such contemporaries as James Brown and Nina Simone.e 80's would see them dominate the mainstream, starting with the double platinum-selling album Celebrate (driven by the international monster hit Celebration, which spent six weeks atop the R&B chart and became a #1 Pop single). Celebration, which played as the American hostages returned from Iran, remains de rigueur at joyous occasions worldwide. The smashes Get Down On It, Take My Heart, Let's Go Dancing, Joanna, Tonight, Misled, the #1 R&B, #2 Pop giant Cherish and the #1 R&B anthem Fresh (these last three from the multi- platinum LP Emergency) solidified the group's international stardom. Kool & the Gang landed global commercial endorsements, supported countless charitable causes and were the only American group to participate in Band Aid's 1984 Do They Know It's Christmas project for famine victims in Africa. With the explosion of hip-hop in the 90's, Kool & the Gang's incredible catalog of grooves made them DJ favorites. They were second only to R&B icon James Brown as sources of rap music samples. Today, the group enjoys global fame and recognition and a following that spans generations due in part to the groups widely sampled catalogue.© 2024 Building Abundant Success!!2024 All Rights ReservedJoin Me on ~ iHeart Media @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAmazon Music ~ https://tinyurl.com/AmzBASAudacy:  https://tinyurl.com/BASAud

In this interview with Andrew Thomson, a Scottish seasoned professional in the energy sector, we delve into the multifaceted landscape of oil, renewable energy, and their global implications through a personal lens. Andrew shares his journey from working in the oil industry over 20 years to recently transitioning into nuclear and wind energy sectors. Through his experiences, he provides insights into the socioeconomic impact of oil, the challenges of transitioning to renewable energy, and the complexities of global politics that intertwine with the energy sector.Exploring Andrew's experiences working offshore in locations like Nigeria and Azerbaijan, the discussion uncovers the substantial influence of hydrocarbons and the cultural, socio-economic, and safety developments within the oil sector. The discussion delves into the critical role of energy across modern life, impacting everything from education to communication, while critiquing governmental actions on energy policies and advocating for a balanced energy strategy, similar to Japan's where currently works in setting up Wind Turbine Platforms (using much of the same technology as oil rigs). Furthermore, the dialogue highlights the philosophical and challenging practical shifts toward renewables, exploring political and economic challenges in this transition. Through Andrew's perspective, one can try to better attempt to begin to understand the global energy politics, the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches in energy careers, and the shifting dynamics in the energy sector.Time Stamps * 00:00 The Importance of Energy in Modern Life* 01:00 Introducing Andrew: From Oil to Climate-Friendly Energy* 01:46 Andrew's Background and Career Journey* 02:38 Life and Work in the Oil Industry* 07:34 Challenges and Dangers of Offshore Drilling* 10:54 The Culture and Lifestyle of Oil Workers* 20:58 Global Perspectives: Working in Africa and Beyond* 23:58 Corruption and Local Interactions in the Oil Industry* 38:09 A Costly Mistake and Cultural Reflections* 38:54 Corruption and Anti-Corruption Measures* 40:09 Cultural Differences and Acceptance* 41:13 Colonial Legacy and Historical Perspectives* 43:41 Nationalized vs. Private Oil Companies* 45:46 Transition to Renewable Energy in Japan* 46:12 Challenges in the Oil Industry* 48:22 Geopolitics and Energy Policies* 56:43 Experiences with Government Agencies* 01:03:56 Future Prospects and Peak Oil Debate* 01:08:06 Final Thoughts on Energy and PolicyHighlights and Quotes of Interest On Energy Source MixesJapan has a long term vision.It has a vision of a percentage mix of nuclear fossil fuels, renewables, whereas I feel like I'm fairly against it in my home country, in the UK, because we don't have a long term plan. We've had four prime ministers in the last two years. One of them wanted to build eight nuclear power stations, the next one to start fracking. I believe in an energy mix. I think there's a lot of irresponsibility talked about these days in terms of the energy transition. I do think there should be an energy mix.And then the one now wants to quadruple our offshore wind capacity in eight years, which is impossible. It's quite nonsensical. It's quite short term thinking. I'm not anti wind, I'm not pro oil, I'm not anti or pro any, anything. What I'm pro is a science based, long term, non subsidy, non corruption based market solution.On Incentives in Oil Vs “Renewables”So right now, it seems like oil is completely negative and then offshore wind is completely positive. You look at the motivations behind companies putting in offshore wind turbines or the service companies exactly the same as motivations behind all companies.Neither one is doing them. For anything other than to make money. And I think it's simplistic and a little bit silly to think that the boss of an oil company is some sort of J. R. Ewing, person that likes to run over puppies on the way home and the boss of an electricity company or a turbine installation company or whatever is some sort of, sandal wearing saint that doesn't care about money. Everyone in pretty much, I would say any corporation, that statistic about men are CEOs, they're psychopaths. All they care about is money. And I think there are a lot of like there's a lot of talk about subsidies in [renewables] On Oil's Beastly NatureIt only takes, one ignition source and then you're on top of a fireball…potential that the entire thing can blow up underneath your feet. On Life without Oil It's the world we have is impossible to have without oil. Sure. You can reduce it. It's going to run out eventually one day anyway.So reducing it is not a bad thing, but to pretend that you can just press stop and then you can put in a wind turbine is nonsensical. And the politicians know it's nonsensical as well.  The sheer scale of, Hydrocarbon involvement in our modern industrial life is so incredibly difficult to untangle. There's literally nothing more important than our energy because it ties into the availability of education and medicine and travel and communication. Right, without. some form of mass energy production. We're right back to the medieval ages.On The British State I speak from a very UK point of view because it's my country, it's my home. I feel As ever, the British state works against the British people, not for the British people, which is a contrast to some of the countries that we may look down our noses on a little bit more as not developed, where, and Japan is a great example of this, where Japan seems to do things for the benefit of Japanese people, which seems to be a controversial idea back home. Learning from Travel This is part of, traveling. You see so many countries where people are so proud of their country. Nigerians were some of the most proud people I think I've ever met, and it's the same in Japan. And I worry the direction our country's going, both the UK and the US, when we were raising a generation of children who are being taught to be embarrassed by where they come from. Though I really feel like in the West we've made a mistake over the years in trying to impose our way of looking at the world on other cultures.Post Interview Notes / Links from AndrewHere are some relevant links that might be of interest:"Empire of Dust", a fascinating documentary widely referenced online, but with no major release I don't think, that shows interaction between a Chinese contractor and locals in the DRC. It's a perfect example of culture clash, the strength in the documentary being there is no western-style narrative, it's simply two very different cultures interacting honestly with each other. The film-maker is Belgian which is particularly interesting given their colonial history in the DRC.Watch @ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5gdfm4I can particularly recommend Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness if you're interested in the dark side of colonialism, or any history of DRC or Zaire as it was. One of my favourite films is Apocalypse Now, which along with the book perfectly makes the point I was trying to, which is how these cultures are manifestly different from ours, and any attempt to convert or run these societies in a western way will ultimately end up in failure, unless it's done by complete dominance, which of course, is wrong. It's a subject I find really interesting, and my experiences in Africa really changed how I view the world.On Energy Prices “Strike Prices” and Renewables Some links explaining the Strike Price for electricity set through the CfD (Contract for Difference) mechanism that guarantees a specific rate for electricity to renewables companies.https://www.iea.org/policies/5731-contract-for-difference-cfdhttps://www.eurelectric.org/in-detail/cfds_explainer/ It's quite hard to find a non-biased article explaining this, but the basic mechanism is:What isn't always mentioned is the "top-up" when the price falls is paid to the generators by the consumer, in the UK at least, in the form of a levy on the electricity price. Which is fine in theory to have a set electricity price, but currently the UK has the 3rd highest electricity costs in the world:https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-electricity-by-countryOn British Embassy Support (Weapons:Yes / Hydrocarbons: No)UK government ending support for oil and gas sector abroad:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-the-uk-will-end-support-for-fossil-fuel-sector-overseasBut no issue promoting UK weapons manufacturers:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/3/15/uk-spent-1-3m-on-security-for-worlds-biggest-weapons-fairSubsidies provided to the oil and gas industry in the US: (this can be complicated to assess because the IMF considers environmental and health costs after production as an effective subsidy, whereas the OECD and the IEA do not)https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fossil-fuel-subsidies-a-closer-look-at-tax-breaks-and-societal-costsCorrection on Refinery Capacity in NigeriaI was slightly mistaken, there is some refinery capacity in Nigeria, in fact it's the highest in all of Africa, however it is still around half of what Houston alone produces per day.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13203-018-0211-zOn Oil Piracy / Theft (Discussed During Interview as Another Source for Danger / Volatility / Environmental Damage) Oil pipeline theft still seems to be a problem in Nigeria sadly:https://www.pipeline-journal.net/news/explosion-nigeria-oil-pipeline-kills-12-shell-blames-crude-oil-theft-tragedyOn Working in the Pubic SectorI was thinking about one of your last questions afterwards, whether I'd ever work for the government. You know, I would actually love it, to be able to make some type of positive impact, I'd really enjoy that much more than my current job, it's just that what I would advocate is so far in the opposite direction of the UK foreign office and civil service's ethos (non-judgmental promotion of UK interest and people without imposing change on other countries) that I wouldn't get the opportunity. The British sitcom "Yes Minister" captures perfectly how the UK establishment works, it's from the 80s but still very relevant. It works to ensure the continued existence of the establishment, not the general population.AI Machine Transcription - Enjoy the Glitches!Andrew: The sheer scale of, Hydrocarbon involvement in our modern industrial life is so incredibly difficult to untangle.There's literally nothing more important than our energy because it ties into the availability of education and medicine and travel and communication. Right, without. some form of mass energy production. We're right back to the medieval ages.Leafbox: Andrew, thanks so much for making time for me. I know you're a busy guy. Yeah, I really appreciate it. Actually, when I first met you, I was actually fascinated with your work because you're one of the few people I know who has jumped from the oil sector to a climate friendly energy sector, I call it, so I was very curious about your perspectives on both. Having, your wife told me that you lived in Baku and that alone, it is probably a book's worth of questions. Andrew, why don't we just start tell us who you are, where you are, what's the weather like in Fukuoka? And where are you from?Andrew: Well, the most important thing the seasons in Japan seem to follow rules like the rest of Japan. So it's got the memo recently that it's not summer anymore, which is great because summers here are pretty brutal. And it's cloudy and rainy, which from someone from Scotland is nice and familiar.Yeah, I guess be brief biography. I'm Scottish from the North of Scotland. This is usually the point where someone says, well, you don't sound Scottish, but that's because I was born down in England. But moved up Scott, two parents from very remote rural part of Scotland. And we moved up when I was about six.So I went to the local university Aberdeen which at the time was the oil capital of Europe. So with a passion for engineering and a desire to Just have adventure really as a young guy wanting to see the world. Also oil is always historically been very well paid. Probably along the lines of, I don't know, market wise, your career options, lawyer, doctor, that sort of thing, which was never really my interest in an oil worker.So anyway financial motivations, adventure motivations, just an interest in big, heavy engineering pushed me in that direction. I joined, graduated, I took a master's in offshore engineering graduated and joined Halliburton about six weeks before 9 11. So this was in the year of of Dick Cheney, of course then I eventually ended up working offshore.For a company that worked on drilling rigs, doing directional surveys, so you would run drilling tools down the well and that was quite life changing, really very exciting. A lot of. Pressure. This is all gonna make me sound very old, but pre smartphone days. So you were a lot more on your own in those days.I did that for four years. Then I ended up running operations in Lagos, Nigeria. Did that for three years, joined a Norwegian company, worked for them in Aberdeen, and then again, oil service. And ended up running their operations in Baku and Azerbaijan. Then COVID came along and like for a lot of people turned the world upside down.So with the low oil price ended up being made redundant and Really struggled for about a year or so to find work and then it wasn't ideological either one way or another in terms of the energy transition, it's quite heavily marketed these days but I'm not overly convinced that it's as easy as politicians seem to say it is but I took a job for a company drilling offshore foundations.And I was working on a nuclear power station, the cooling shafts for a nuclear power station. And then I simply got a job offer one day an online recruiter to come to Japan to work on offshore wind which has some, Close. It's basically the same things I was doing, except it was in nuclear.So yeah, none of it's been a straight line or a plan, but just the opportunity came up. We really wanted to have another period abroad. So we took the move and then I find myself on a beach speaking to yourself after about a year or so. Leafbox: So Andrew, going back to university time, exactly what did you study? Was this petroleum engineering? Or Andrew: It was no, it was mechanical engineering. But being in it was Robert Gordon university in Aberdeen, but being in Aberdeen, it was very heavily oil influenced at the time. I was actually. obsessed with cars and motorbikes, anything with an engine. So I really wanted to do automotive, but I didn't have the grades to go to a lot of the bigger universities down South.And I was 16 when I went to university and didn't really want to go too far. So I did mechanical. And then that led on to a degree in offshore engineering at the same university, which was completely oil focused. Leafbox: And then Andrew, can you tell me a little bit about the makeup of, the demographics of when you entered the oil industry and especially in Scotland and what were these offshore platforms like, you have engineers with high degrees and then what about the workers themselves?Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. So, your average rig is made up of a lot of different job functions. At the top or guess with the most responsibility. So you've got your company that own the rig. They're the drilling contractor and they have their personnel the guy that manages the rig, and then they have all different personnel, including all the deck crew and all the roughnecks raised about, but then you have the oil company that contracts them.And they have someone offshore running it, but they have a lot of engineers. And then you have all these like service companies, which is what I've worked for that come in and do things. So you typically have on the oil company sides. You'd have someone with, degrees, you'd have like their graduate programs, you'd have young people coming offshore, their first time offshore, but they'd be quite high up relatively.And then you would have your deck crew, mechanics, electricians, which typically weren't university educated. And the guys right at the very top who'd be like, Oh, I am like the rig manager generally, especially in the old days, wouldn't be university educated, but they would just have worked offshore for a very long time.So that they'd be very knowledgeable and skilled in what we're doing. A lot of them took degrees as, technology increased. And it became, more important to have a degree, but especially in the old days, although I think at that level in that job, people wouldn't have had degrees, but you do have, it is a big mix between like I said, your deck crew and the people that are more like the, engineers, geologists, et cetera.And I can't speak for every region, but you do find that you've got, so say the comparative salary or career prospects of a welder, or a mechanic or somewhere you've suddenly got someone who could earn, I don't know, in the U S but in the UK, maybe Twenty five twenty twenty five thousand pounds a year.Maybe, like three years ago in their offshore making like 60, and it's I think it's the same thing in the U. S. you have people from very poor areas that can go offshore and just, quadruple more there their salaries and it's a, But there's a reason why they're, there's a reason why they're getting paid that is because it's a lot more difficult and dangerous when you're away from home and stuff. It's a strange old mix in a lot of ways. Leafbox: And then can you describe for people just what the actual dangers are? Give people an image of what these platforms are like to be on them and how to build them and the complexity of these devices.Andrew: There's so you have there's a lot of different forms, but basically you have a drilling rig. which can be like a semi submersible which floats or a jack up which legs are like sitting on the ground or you could even have a ship that comes like, it all depends on the the depth of the water depth usually.So you'll have this vessel that drills a well and then eventually, so they'll drill a number of wells and then you'll have a platform which is fixed to the seabed usually and then that can that has like a. A wellhead that connects all the wells and then takes the hydrocarbons on board and then it might pump it to another bigger platform or it pumps it to some like somewhere where it's processed and then it's pumped on shore.There's different. There's common dangers. Everything from there've been a number of helicopter incidents over the years. Generally, a lot of these rigs are so far away that you'll take a, you'll take a chopper backwards and forwards. And it's been well documented of things like gearbox failures and stuff.You're probably one of the biggest, I don't have the HSC statistics in front of me, but one of the biggest injuries are probably slips, trips and falls. Because, your average drilling rig has maybe four or five levels to it, and you're up and down stairs all day with big boots on and a hard hat and glasses and stuff, and people tripping on themselves.Obviously drilling, you've got well you've got a lot of overhead lifts, a lot of people get injured with the fingers getting caught between loads roughnecks, raced abouts on the drill floor when they're handling drilling pipe. I've met a lot of people over the years that have got one or more fingers missing, because it's very easy to get your finger nipped between two things are being lifted, especially when people put their hands on to try and direct them.And then obviously the pressure of the hydrocarbons look at deep water horizon, for example the oil and the gas, It's funny listening to your podcast with Jed about oil being sentient that the pressure that the oil is under.So when you tap into, obviously it wants to go, it wants to go up and out. And then that could literally rip a rig apart if it's not if it's not controlled. And then obviously you've got the ignition risk, which, you've got Piper Alpha in the UK and you've got, like I say, Deepwater Horizon, there's been a number of rig explosions and then going back to what I said about platforms.So Piper Alpha was a platform and that was processing gas. So you have 100 and 170, 200 odd people working and living. on a structure offshore where there are like an enormous amount of gas that's being pumped. extracted and pumped like underneath their feet and it only takes, one ignition source and then you're on top of a fireball.And I remember being offshore when they're flaring, which is a process whereby they burn off excess gas and just being stunned by the ferocity of the noise, nevermind the heat of the, that it's just like a primal hour, you, you can stand a couple of hundred. Yards away from it and you can feel it on your face, it's just, it's very different.I've been offshore on a wind turbine installation vessel, which has the same offshore industrial risks in terms of lifted injuries, slips, trips, and falls and suspended loads. But you don't have that. You don't have that like potential that the entire thing can blow up underneath your feet.Leafbox: So with this danger and this kind of. wild beast underneath you. How did the men and women respond? You had in your email, a little bit of this kind of cowboy culture. I'm curious what the culture of these workers are like, and maybe in Scotland and what you've seen around the world. If these people aren't usually they're more working class or what's the relationship with them and the engineers and yeah, tell me about that.Andrew: It's it's a very, it's a very masculine environment. That's not to say that there aren't women offshore in the industry. There, there absolutely are. And there, there are more and more these days especially in certain countries, like in Scandinavia, for instance But it's a very, especially when you get down to the deck crew, it's a very, the recruits are very masculine, very like macho environment.It's quite a tough environment. It's a very hard working environment. The it's not that people I wouldn't say a matter of fact to say the opposite in terms of people having a cavalier attitude to safety. There have been a number of incidents over the years in the industry and each incident spurred along quite a lot of improvements in health and safety.So I'd say probably in terms of. Industry, it's probably one of the safest industries, well, it's probably one of the industries with the best safety attitude. I'm sure maybe nuclear is probably up there as well, but people are aware offshore of the risks. There's a huge QHSE industry.There's a, most companies have some form of a HSE system, which allows anyone from someone who works for the camp boss, like someone who changes the sheets, the cleaners, the cooks to like the driller can stop operations if they think that something is dangerous and there can't be any comeback, and stopping operations offshore is a big deal.Because the average. Rigorate is, it fluctuates, but the average is, I don't know, a few hundred thousand, I don't know what it is at the moment, but let's say up to maybe a half a million more for the biggest rates, biggest rigs per day. That's what, 20, 000 an hour. So if you see something that's dangerous and you stop it for a couple of hours that's a lot of money.So it takes a lot of nerve to do that, but the industry has been pretty good. They have these systems called stop cards. Like I say, Different companies have different names for it, but it gives the ability to It gives you authority for someone not to be forced into doing something that they think is dangerous.So overall, I actually think the health and safety culture is quite good. But if you look at Deepwater Horizon, that was a classic example of even at the corporate level, people being frightened to say no and frightened to halt operations. So that does still persist due to the sheer amount of money involved.Leafbox: And then tell me about in your email, you had a quote line about, these workers spending their money, maybe not as wisely. I'm curious to describe and understand the cowboy. I have this image, my father worked for Exxon for a long time. And his biggest problem was piracy. They had so much issues with piracy, but this was in the Caribbean. So it's just constantly people stealing oil from them. So maybe yeah, tell me how it is now after I guess 2000s, how it's changed. You're describing this very safe sounding MBA driven culture, but I have trouble.Yeah. Tell me what it's like around the world. Andrew: So that's the sort of the day to day attitude offshore, which is pushed very heavily by the oil companies. It's a lot of recording. They record lost time statistics which also not to get sidetracked, but that has a slightly negative effect as well in terms of if a rig has, say.That they'll, quite often rigs will have a big display when you arrive and it says this amount of days from the last accident and if they go like a year without any LTIs, everyone on the rig could get like an iPad or some sort of bonus or something and it's a big deal not to have incidents that cause a loss of time and that, by that if someone has to go to hospital, someone has to leave the rig, but that also does encourage it can encourage hiding of things, someone maybe, they've smashed their finger, but can they just maybe report it, but maybe just go on like light duties or something rather than go to the hospital before, before their shift change sort of thing which does happen and it's not healthy.But anyway, to get back to your point I think it comes from, as I say it's, a way for someone who would have no other avenue to earn the amount of money that they would get offshore by taking on the additional risk and being away from home. So say an electrician, your average construction electrician wages are probably pretty good these days, but if you take someone working in, some rural place in, in the States who is like a car mechanic or something, and then they go offshore And they're multiplying their salary, but they're multiplying their salary, perhaps coming from an environment where no one's ever had that type of money.They're coming home with maybe try to think of some people I've known, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year when their salary may have been I don't know, sub six figures, but they don't come from an environment where that sort of money is common. So you then have a situation whereby they are the one person in their family or town or their local bar.who has loads of money, who's been away from home for four weeks, but he doesn't have the most stable relationship precisely because they're not at home, but yet they've got loads of money and loads of time. You can see how that can encourage perhaps resentment. Or just a feeling of alienation from that community.That sort of person, say they have a lot more money than their friends, maybe they want to buy them drinks, but then do they want to have to do that all the time? I've known people that have been divorced multiple times, that have bought boats and all sorts of things that they never use and they end up with, paying for There are families that they never see, the families that get remarried, the kids that they never see.I've worked with directional drillers that I've got a wife in one country, an ex wife in another country, kids that don't like them, and they just pay for all these families. They get onshore and then they spend the next couple of weeks with some, teenage prostitute blowing all the money on that drink for the rest of the month and then they're back offshore.the shakes and then they decompress over the month and then the cycle repeats itself. So in the one sense, it's a fantastic opportunity for social mobility, but it also can leave a lot of chaos behind it. And I'm certainly not at all. And having come from a work class background myself, I'm not certainly saying that.It shouldn't be there. I think it's a positive thing and it's up to these people what they want to do with their money. I'm just saying it's an interest in social observance that it's, you don't get that many working class people that can leave school and have a manual trade and can go and be a lawyer or a doctor or a CEO but you are all of a sudden getting these people in situations who are making the same amount of money, but without the family structure.Or the societal structure that can prepare them for that.Leafbox: Jumping to the next topic, I'm curious, you first mentioned Dick Cheney, what was your relationship, you're in Scotland, and how does that fiddle in with the Middle East? oil wars and just the general kind of, I feel like when my father worked in oil, there wasn't that much of a hostility in the general environment.It was just people drove cars and you worked in the oil industry and it wasn't that. So in post 2000, I would say things change both from the climate perspective and then from the kind of American imperialist association with oil. Andrew: It's changed massively in terms of hostility. Just, it's just like night and day. So when I graduated, I remember being at school in the early nineties and there was, I don't think it was climate, no, no global warming. It was called then. So there was discussion of it.But the greenhouse the ozone layer was the big deal. And there was environmentalism, Greenpeace was quite big at that time. But. The, there was no stigma like whatsoever into going into the oil industry. And you could see that in terms of the courses at the time they were called there was like drilling engineering courses, offshore engineering courses petroleum engineering.You go back to the same universities now and it's like energy transition. I think you'll struggle to find that many courses that have got the words petroleum or drilling in it. And also it was very easy to get a job in those days in the industry. The, yeah the Gulf War, so the second Gulf War at the time working for Halliburton, I was very conscious of, it was very interesting to me how the company was structured.So you had Halliburton Energy Services and you had KBR, Kellogg, Brennan, Root, and they were the company that won the uncontested contract to rebuild in Iraq. But the way the company was structured. Was that they were that they were split up basically. So if one of them had gone down the toilet for any of these issues, they were separated.I was very happy to join Haliburton. It was a big career wise. I thought it was very good. I look back now, it's funny how I look back, like inside, I look back on that whole Iraq war with absolute horror now, but I had grown up with Free internet with, what at the time were considered authoritative news sources with the BBC and British newspapers.It might sound naive, but you believe that people are doing the right thing. And I just thought at the time that, that, we were going into Iraq because it was a very bad person there. And I look back now, with I look at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and all the things that have happened with absolute horror.But at the time it just seemed quite straightforward. My, my view on the oil industry hasn't changed in terms of, I, I believe in an energy mix. I think there's a lot of irresponsibility talked about these days in terms of the energy transition. I do think there should be an energy mix.I don't think it should be any one source of energy. But I feel like we're in the same position that we're in before except instead of it being everyone's desperate to make money out of oil. I think everyone's desperate to make money out of renewables these days. Leafbox: Well, before we jump to that point, I want to I think that's a big topic we'll go to, but tell me about your jump to Nigeria.You're still naive then, or eager help, Nigerian oil industry or what you get assigned to Nigeria. What's that like? Andrew: Well, so I so that four years of us, so the three years I worked for that company originally was on it was on an ad hoc basis. So basically I would be at home. I'd get a phone call.And I could, I had to live within 45 minutes of the airport but I usually got at least a day. Sometimes it wasn't, it will, it was literally a day. Sometimes it was like a week, but I would get a call and then I could go anywhere in a region was Europe, Africa, Caspian. So I could go anywhere.Most of it was in West Africa. So I would go and work offshore in the Congo. Not the DRC, but the Republic of Congo Gabon, Nigeria, but all over Europe and occasionally like the Far East. So I had a lot of experience of Africa at that point. My very first, one thing I did want to, I was thinking the other day, one thing I did want to mention was when I first went, in terms of naivety, when I first time I ever went to Africa was in the Congo.And I'd grown up in the eighties where we had Live Aid was basically anyone's kind of opinion of Africa. And I remember at school we used to be forced to sing Do They Know It's Christmas, like every Christmas. So that was everyone's opinion of Africa was like just basically starving children. And I arrived in the Congo.They've got quite a decent airport now in Point Noir, but when I arrived it was literally a concrete shed with arrivals on one side and departures on the other and just like sand on the ground. And I can't remember coming out of that totally by myself just with my Nokia phone with the local contacts phone number and all these little kids appeared like Tugging it, tugging at my trousers asking for money and I was absolutely horrified I'd never seen like poverty like that and I felt horrible that I couldn't help them.But it's funny how You not that I don't care about children, but you harden yourself to what the reality of life is like in places like that. And I did that for three years. I was in Angola rotating for a year. In Cabinda, which is a chevron camp. And then I I got the job in Nigeria.And actually my father passed away just before I got that job. So I was a bit rudderless at that point. I really enjoyed it got to me in the end, I was there for three years and I started to get very frustrated when I was at home, that's when I thought I need to make a change.But there's a sort of happy level of chaos, I found. It's. in Nigeria, where things are, they don't work in the sense that they would do in, in, in what you'd call, developed countries. You can't rely on things to work. You can't really rely on people in a certain sense, but there's a sort of happy, it's difficult to explain.Like it's just, It's a very chaotic place, a very noisy, chaotic place. But once you accept that it's quite a good laugh actually. I have some quite happy memories from working there. Leafbox: So Andrew, when you enter in these places you first described your kind of exposure to Congo, but how do you conceptualize the interaction between the Western oil companies and I guess the local developing country?Do you think about that? Or are all the workers local? Or is everyone imported from all over the world? And Andrew: There's a big move towards localization in pretty much any location I've been which is, which has changed over the years. So when I first started working say in Africa, as an example.Pretty much all of the deck crew, all of the roughnecks were all Africans or locals from whichever ever country you're in. But once you got to the upper levels, like the Western oil companies, you would have, so you'd have like drill engineers, which weren't. You might describe them as like project managers of the drilling operations.So there you would have kind of a mix of locals and expats, but you pretty much always find once you went above that to like drilling managers. You'd find all what they call company men, which are the company's representative offshore, pretty much always expats. That has changed over the years, which I think is a very positive thing.A lot of countries, Azerbaijan's like this, a lot of countries in Africa, Nigeria is like this. They put within the contracts, like a local content. So for a company to win the license and which is then cascaded down to the subcontractors, you have to have a percentage of local employees and you have to have a system for replacing your senior people, training up locals and replacing them over time, which I think is very positive because after all, it's there.Oil is their resources. There are in certain locations with certain companies, a pretty bad history. Shell Nigeria, for example. You can your listeners can look all this up, but there have been, various controversies over the years on the whole, I think on the whole, I think.that it's a positive for these countries because I look at it in terms of a capitalist sort of capitalist approach that, you know and it's almost like the thing that I was saying where you have like someone who comes from a family or a class where they are not exposed to money and all of a sudden they have a huge amount of money where you could say the same thing with some tiny country where by a that they've had a level of civilization and a level of like income over the years and all of a sudden someone discovers oil and there's no way you can reasonably expect a society to just, you can't take somewhere that goes from like tribal pre industrial revolution conditions and make it New York City overnight.It's just, it's not going to happen. And just expanding that slightly, I was in Papua New Guinea in the eastern part And up in the highlands on a well site a while ago. And that was fascinating because Papua New Guinea is still, it's a country, but it's still very tribal. So once you leave Port Moresby you're really, it's not like you're going to call the police if someone tries to assault you or call an ambulance or something.It's very much like I say, pre industrial revolution, tribal. societies, but they're sitting on billions of dollars of gas. So you get these little pockets of on the shore drilling rigs. And they're just pumping millions and billions of dollars worth of gas out from under your feet, but they pay the locals.And the site that I was on right at the top of the hill overlooking it was a big mansion owned by the who, as soon as he started drilling, he would get 10 million. And then, as I was informed, would probably disappear down to Australia and, enrich the local casinos and stuff. But, who is to say that is, would it be great if he built a hospital and built a school and improved the lives of everyone around him?Oh, of course it would. But who's to say morally that we Chevron should be, I understand the point that maybe Chevron should be building these things, but who is to say that the condition should be attached to what that chief spends his money on. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I I think I place a lot of responsibility on hydrocarbons are located.I do think there have been a lot of very negative practices by By all companies over the years, and they absolutely have a duty to maintain the environment. But I think it's a bit hypocritical. I see a lot of rich Western countries, especially now saying to a lot of poorer, undeveloped countries that they shouldn't be drilling or they shouldn't be, should be using the money differently.And I think, well, it's their resource. I look at it more from a capitalist point of view, rather than, like I said in my email, I'm quite anti interventionist in that sense. So historically I'm going to, this continues now, but there have been issues with literally, so they put these big pipelines through people's villages and the way that a lot of these things are organized is like I said, about Papua New Guinea they'll contact, the tribal chief and we'll pay a rent or some sort of fee to, to put these big pipelines through, through these small places.But there are some times when, I haven't, I, the right tribal chief or they've not paid enough or there's some sort of dispute and you will get villagers literally drilling into these oil pipelines with drills and buckets to steal the oil. And of course someone's doing it and they're smoking or there's some sort of ignition source and the whole thing erupts and, the village is burnt and it's a horrible, tragedy but it's just it's a funny, again, it goes back to the theory of what I was saying, the juxtaposition of that very valuable resource with a very, with a civilization, with a community, probably better way of putting it, who has never had access to that amount of money.So you're literally pumping these, this thing through their village that is worth more money than they'll ever see in their lifetime. And obviously the temptation to try to take some of that. is there, almost like understandably, but then again it quite often results in a lot of death and destruction.So that's yeah, it's just it's part of the whole industry in a lot of ways. And other industries, when you look at things like lithium mining and diamonds and stuff, you have a very high value resource That has been, by pure chance, located in a very poor part of the world and it results in these tragedies sometimes.Leafbox: I was going to ask you about the processing of oil. So when export the raw crude. Mostly the oils and process somewhere else. You were, you're taking the oil from Nigeria. Like Venezuela, they have to ship it all to Houston or whatnot to get turned into different solvents and gasoline. And, Andrew: This is probably when I'll need some fact checking, but my recollection of the time in Nigeria was that they weren't processing the oil on shore.I stand corrected if that's wrong, but my understanding was that they weren't, or at least there wasn't very many refineries, so it was basically all, like you said, extracted and then sent abroad. To be refined. That's certainly the situation in in Papua New Guinea. A lot of it is turned an LPG there and then shipped abroad.I guess I would guess, I would assume that would be the situation in a lot of West African countries for a lot of reasons, you have an established. Supply chain, you have established skill set in other places, then it comes down to cost and then you have the security of, you can imagine the enormous amount of investment you would need in a refinery.And would you rather do that in a place that's had a history of civil war, or would you take the cost to ship it abroad and do it somewhere else, Leafbox: no, it's understandable. I think that's important for listeners to understand that. The refinery in Louisiana or whatnot, or, it's so massive, it's billions of dollars and it's such a dangerous place to work also. Right. Those are just like literally atomic bomb sized potential energy. Andrew: The one thing that, there's always been, say in Scotland, there's been a little bit of resentment towards, Aberdeen and they're all like rich up there from other places in Scotland, but I think that there is, people are aware of Deepwater Horizon and Piper Alpha, et cetera, but I do think that there has been an underappreciation of the, just the Crazy risks that are involved when you're working offshore and handling hydrocarbons.Like I said, you take a helicopter to work with all the risks that I had in, in tails, and then you spend a month or so working on top of something that is effectively, a bomb if if things aren't handled properly. And you're, how far away are you from like emergency services?There are supply vessels and stuff, but. It's very much an environment where you have to just be very careful and very aware of dangers, which I think the industry now has got very good at. But yeah, the wages are high, but they're high for a reason. It's not it's not an easy, it's not an easy job in terms of that.And like I alluded to before, in terms of family stability, working away and coming back is not really conducive quite often to, to a healthy home life.Leafbox: Going back to Angola for a second I read an account of the Chinese are very heavily in Luanda and Angola, and they had the terrible civil war.But one of the things that really stood out to me is that all the Chinese use Chinese labor. So their oil boats are all Chinese workers and they often use ex felons, which I thought was interesting. But there's, I guess they, all these ex felons in Angola, I don't know if you saw this, I wanted to confirm it, but there's a lot of half Chinese, half Angolan children now because all the Chinese roughnecks.They're all men. So there's a booming Angolan prostitution and it just was so wild. Angola think Luanda is the most expensive city in the world. But then the most violent too, so yeah, just what's your general impressionAndrew: I I've been in Luanda in total, probably just a couple of days.Most of my time was spent in a, so Chevron Texco have this place called Cabinda. Which is actually, technically speaking, if you look at the map, it's not actually connected to Angola, you've got Angola, then you've got a little gap, and then you've got Cabinda, which is the little gap is part of the DRC, I think but Cabinda is where all the onshore processing of the oil is.It's part of Angola and it's like a prisoner of war camp and you go up there and you can't leave pretty much until you've finished your work. But my impression of Lulanda wasn't great at all. I remember driving into it and there's these massive shanty towns on the edge of the city with just like literal rubbish tipped down the side of these hills.And then you get into the city and it's just a. massive continual traffic jam with Porsche Cayennes and Range Rovers and G Wagons. And it just felt in the way that I was describing Lagos and even Port Harcourt, which has a pretty bad reputation as a sort of, chaotic, but fun sort of chaos.I felt and this is just my personal impression, I felt Lwanda was chaos, but dangerous chaos. Not you wouldn't stay in a staff house there and you wouldn't go out for a drink anyway. You wouldn't even really go out for lunch much. You just stayed in. It looked to me like as if you'd taken a European city, which I guess it, that's how it was built.And then you just start maintaining it from like 1960s onwards, but then you'd add it in a civil war and I appreciate the civil war was like a proxy civil war and then just didn't repair any infrastructure and just peppered the whole place with like bullet holes.It wasn't, it was not particularly, it's not a place that I would recommend to be quite honest with you. In terms of the Middle East, the comparison with the Middle East I've not really worked that much in the Middle East, to be quite honest with you. I guess my closest is the Caspian, which is more Central Asia, but that was way more structured.Yes, there's massive amounts of corruption, massive amounts of poverty. But yeah, absolutely more structured and less chaotic in that sense. Leafbox: Andrew, what's the relationship in Nigeria, there's famous activists who, like the Shell, they polluted so heavily, but then I guess the military tribunals would erase or disappear people.Maybe this is before you worked there, but what, as, what was the relationship of the company men with the government? Was there open kind of corruption or? What was your general vibe of is the manager's job and kind of getting these contracts. Talk to me about that. Like Deanna, how did the, you know, Exxon versus Armco or whatever it is, whoever's ever getting these contracts, there's obviously backdoor dealings.Andrew: Yeah, in terms of, actual drilling licenses I was never near or even remotely near the people that will be making those sort of decisions. And I'm certainly not going to allege corruption at that level. And I don't have any evidence, but what I would say, and again, all of this is just my personal opinion.It's, I'm not disparaging any one particular place in general, but the level of corruption. that I would see was so endemic that I just came to feel it was cultural which again, it's not really don't want to make that sound like it's a slight, to me it was an understanding of I really feel, and just briefly going back to the whole Bob Geldof Live Aid thing, I really feel like in the West we've made a mistake over the years in trying to impose our way of looking at the world on other cultures.And what I would see in most West African countries was it was just an accepted way Of living, accepted way of dealing. So you would go to the airport. We used to have these boxes that would have electronic equipment in them. And we had to hand carry them cause they were quite fragile.And then you would go to the check in desk and they would be like okay, well we have to get some stairs to lift this into the plane. So that's an extra 50. I'm not sure you actually own this equipment. It's got another company written on it. You give me a hundred dollars.Sometimes it's not quite said, you'll just get so much hassle and you'd see other, you'd see some people there that would freak out in case thinking that they were gonna, arrested or something. They just open their wallet and hand over loads of money. The, but it's not it's not like some under the table nefarious plot it's just like the checking guy is getting paid next to nothing He sees someone who's obviously got all my money and he has How can I get that money off him and it's at every single level my I mean I suppose I would say I was wise to it, but even I would make naive mistakes.I remember on a leaving day when I left Nigeria I had this driver who I'd still consider a friend. I messaged him on Facebook sometimes, and he was a really nice young guy who would go out of his, literally out of his way to help me. And I made the silly mistake of handing in my bank card on my like, leaving due.I'd had a little bit to drink and I just thought, surely it'll be fine. And of course I get back to the UK, I check my statement and there's a couple of hundred dollars missing or a hundred pounds missing. At the time I was like, that must be a bank error, surely not. But I look back in it now and I just think, again, this isn't, this honestly isn't even a criticism, it's just the culture is to try and hustle.And if you, if it doesn't work, well, I tried. It's just, it's endemic in that sense. I don't doubt that there most likely have been over the years some very shady practices on the behalf of Western oil companies and Western governments. You only have to look at the history of, BP and the UK government and Americans in Iran and coups to get oil and all these sorts of things.But I'm just talking about like the corruption that I've seen, it seemed, Cultural in that sense. It's just everywhere. The one thing that I would say is that companies I've worked for within the contracts is very heavy anti corruption. So the FCPA, if I'm remembering that right, in the US. The anti corruption laws are very strong to the point where if a company official from a country, say like Scotland, is a manager and he signs off on a bribery expense, he can actually, if I'm right in recalling this, he can end up going to jail himself for that.So a hundred percent, I'm sure it's happening by at the same time legally, there are some very strict laws against it. Leafbox: When they just outsource to local sub providers, that's what I would imagine they do to get around that. Andrew: I think it's a case of well, just don't tell me sort of thing.Leafbox: Yeah. Andrew: I'm pretty sure that, that's why. Well, Leafbox: I think people don't understand if you haven't been to these countries, it's just it's just not Norway. It's not. Yeah. It's a very different. Yeah. Andrew: And. I, sorry to interrupt you, but I've done quite a bit of work in Norway and I have found that some countries and some cultures seem to have a difficulty accepting that the world isn't the way that they are.And I think that that, not to, not to boast or to my trumpet here, but I think that one thing that I've learned over the years is that some places they just are the way they are. And it's, of course you don't want to encourage. Corruption, you don't want to encourage mistreatment, but I don't believe it's your right.Like I'm like, I live in Japan now and some things, a lot of things about Japan I absolutely love, but there are also some things about Japan that just don't seem right to me. But it's not my place to come in and say, right, you're doing this wrong. You should be doing this the other way. It just isn't, it's not my country.And I felt the same way in Africa. There's loads of things about Nigeria that I was like, this is absolute madness. But it's their madness, it's not my madness, and I'm a guest in their country. Leafbox: What do you think the difference, in your email to me, you wrote about the colonial being British, how's that relationship been for you?You've, non interventionist now, but you wrote about, your forefathers or previous generations having quote, good intentions. Maybe tell me about that. Andrew: I think that I know that there's a lot in the UK as with America now that's quite, there's a lot of attempt to be revisionist within history and question history, which I'm a big fan of people questioning history.I just think once again, that we are tending to look at things from a very Western point of view without taking into account like global history. I know believe, through my experience of traveling, I now think, well, exactly like what I just said, I don't think it's our place to change countries to mold them in our ways, but I do have a more charitable view of a lot of our maybe not every one of them, certainly not every country's colonial adventures, but I do think that some of them were more motivated by, as I said, a Christian desire to end certain barbaric practices.If you look at, the I forget what the practice is called, but the practice of people burning their their wives on the husband's funeral pyre in India and the whole slavery, which, yes, Britain was a part of but it's quite clear that, the British Navy was very important, effective in, in, in ending the global slave trade.So I'm very proud of where I come from and I'm proud of my ancestors. I don't deny that They were put that they, there weren't some, as I said, some negative aspects and atrocities, but I just think that again, when it comes to, and I think about this more because I have kids now.So I think about how I want them to feel about the country going forward. This is part of, traveling. You see so many countries where people are so proud of their country. Nigerians were some of the most proud people I think I've ever met, and it's the same in Japan. And I worry the direction our country's going, both the UK and the US, when we were raising a generation of children who are being taught to be embarrassed by where they come from.Leafbox: Going back to oil for a second, Andrew, the colonial legacy is impossible to digest in a short interview, but do you have, what's the general like Pemex or the Venezuelan oil companies or the Russian oil companies? What's your general impression of nationalized oil companies versus the private?Andrew: Yeah. I so I guess my biggest experience is in Azerbaijan, there's a company called Soka which is the national oil company. And of course all these national oil companies, a lot of them have shares in international like private oil companies.So it's not always a clear divide of either one or the other, but I guess I, as someone who really. believes in capitalism. I think that in terms of efficiency and certainly in terms of safety, in terms of environmental compliance, I think that the private oil companies are much more answerable to activism, to just a sense of corporate responsibility than private oil companies.And if you're in somewhere like Russia, like you say, Venezuela and the national oil companies is polluting the water. Well, What are you going to do about compared to a private oil company who has, a much more, it has shareholders and I guess more of a global footprint. But I also come back to the point, as I was saying about localization that these resources are the country's resources and I think it's quite right that companies pay.I wouldn't say prohibitive amounts of tax, but I think it's quite right that companies pay a lot of money in tax when they extract the hydrocarbons, and they have local content. I guess the ideal for me is private, but with a level of public ownership. But not actually running the operations because I think as soon as you take away, as soon as you take away that meritocracy, you end up with health and safety risks, you end up with just waste, and when it comes to something like with the large amounts of money involved That just ends up taking money away from the actual people.I don't think it's, I don't think it's generally a great idea, but I think a sort of public, a bit like you see a lot here in Japan actually, a public private mix, if done properly, is probably the way to go for a lot of utilities. Leafbox: Great. So Andrew, maybe it's time to jump to the oil and energy diverse mix.Tell me about what brings you to Japan. First, you work on nuclear and now wind. Andrew: Yeah. For me, I can't claim any sort of high minded high minded drive to change from one industry to the other. It was purely, I had a mortgage and a new baby and I desperately needed a job. So that was how I made that jump.The one thing I have experienced over the years, it's certainly the place I've worked. It's very, Unless you're in a region that has like a national oil company, it's even then I guess depends who you are. It's very meritocratic, but it's quite cutthroat. So oil companies, service companies, as soon as oil price drops, it's very cyclical.People just get made redundant. People, I saw people at Halliburton had been there for literally 40, 50 years being made redundant just because the share price dropped a few points. I've been made redundant twice myself. And yeah, it's just horrible. And there's nothing you can do about it because it's an economic decision.It's nothing to do with your performance. And that happens to, it's probably very few people on the street that hasn't happened to It's the downside of the high salary really. So coming into wind it was really an opportunity to, as I say, we wanted to live abroad again for a little while.And opportunities to live in Japan don't come by very often. And it's interesting. It's interesting. It's very different. It's interesting from an engineering point of view. It's a lot of heavy lifts. And Japan, I think Japan has a good attitude towards offshore wind, because everything else, Japan has a long term vision.It has a vision of a percentage mix of nuclear fossil fuels, renewables, whereas I feel like I'm fairly against it in my home country, in the UK, because we don't have a long term plan. We've had four prime ministers in the last two years. One of them wanted to build eight nuclear power stations, the next one to start fracking.And then the one now wants to quadruple our offshore wind capacity in eight years, which is impossible. It's quite nonsensical. It's quite short term thinking. I'm not anti wind, I'm not pro oil, I'm not anti or pro any, anything. What I'm pro is a science based, long term, non subsidy, non corruption based market solution.Obviously you've got environmental aspect of climate change, et cetera, which needs to be taken into account. But I found, I find a lot of the attitude towards renewables and towards the energy mix quite histrionic and not really based on facts. Leafbox: Do you ever think about, geopolitics as an engineer in terms of, where these pressures are coming from.Europe particularly seems so against oil and hydrocarbons, but if you do any scientific research, you just, there's the capacity of hydrocarbons to produce energy is just unparalleled in terms of the input to output. And wind is just not a realistic option. Andrew: I think that, I think there's a general I would say it's a mistake, but I think it's done on purpose, but there's a general attitude that seems to be portrayed in the media that you can have one company or one industry is virtuous and everything they do is virtuous and there are no negative connotations or motivations behind what they're doing.And then the other is just all negative. So right now, it seems like oil is completely negative and then offshore wind is completely positive. You look at the motivations behind companies putting in offshore wind turbines or the service companies exactly the same as motivations behind all companies.Neither one is doing them. For anything other than to make money. And I think it's simplistic and a little bit silly to think that the boss of an oil company is some sort of J. R. Ewing, person that likes to run over puppies on the way home and the boss of an electricity company or a turbine installation company or whatever.is some sort of, sandal wearing saint that doesn't care about money. Everyone in pretty much, I would say any corporation, that statistic about men are CEOs, they're psychopaths. All they care about is money. And I think there are a lot of like there's a lot of talk about subsidies.You just touched on it, I think. And people talk about subsidies and oil when they're talking about subsidies and oil, what they're talking about is the The fact that when you drill an oil well, which can be anything between, I don't know, 30 and like upwards of 100 million, you basically get to claim that back off the tax.Now the tax in the UK is, it was about 75 percent on the oil that they extract and profit from the oil they extract. But if you have that say 100 million cost, how many companies can drill three or four wells at 100 That you're going to get anything out of that. Very few companies can afford to take that risk.I don't think it's a bit rich to call that a subsidy when you've got the whole CFD process for offshore wind, which effectively guarantees the strike price of electricity. So you imagine if you had that for oil, you would have, You would have countries buying oil off the oil companies when the price dropped, and they don't have that, they don't have that, that, that mechanism, but you simply wouldn't get offshore winds without a decent strike price, which you've seen recently in the auctions when no one bid on the licenses in the UK, and I think it was the US as well.Leafbox: So in essence you prefer just like a free market, totally. Not a totally free market, but in the sense that a clear transparent market. So if that really incentivized the right incentives, like you're saying in Japan, they have that mix of nuclear and hydrocarbon and wind and solar. And in Japan, I always feel like they're just burning trash.That's their real power generation. Andrew: It's funny that it's such a funny place in so many ways, but you've got this island, which has, a lot of geothermal resources. But in terms of mineral resources, it's not in a great position yet. It manages to be so incredibly self sufficient in terms of industry, in terms of fuel price.Like they, they said to me when I arrived here, Oh God, it's so expensive electricity. It's like about 60 to, to a month for the electricity in your house. And it's a four bed house with five air cons on 24 seven. I'm like, geez, you just see the price UK. You'd be like, 10 times almost. So they managed to make it work, but like everything else here, like I said, it's a long term, long thought process.And Obviously, I guess we haven't really talked about it, and I'm not, I don't feel qualified even to talk about it at all, to be honest with you, but in terms of climate change, I am very much meritocratic and capitalist in that sense that I think the market will identify the most efficient.way of providing energy, but I completely accept that there needs to be a level of environmental regulation because going back to what I said, CEOs, I think of any company would do anything if it made them money. And I've seen, I saw this in Azerbaijan. You go out, you're back, he's an absolutely beautiful city, but if you look back through its history of being part of the Soviet Union, the level of just pollution was unreal and it still suffers from a lot of that, especially out with the main city. So I 100 percent agree with environmental regulations. I think that, I think there's a lot of politics behind climate change. I'm quite skeptical of international NGO organizations, especially with the last few years that we've had.But I think that the yeah, I think that Japan's got it right. I think we need a mix and we need to not. Pretend like we are doing in the UK at the moment that for instance, the electricity price in the UK is doubled since 2019. And it hasn't here in Japan, and there, there tends to be a thought of, well, we just need to do all this because climate change is going to happen.It doesn't matter that, that people are suffering now, I don't think, I think people tend to. tend to maybe forget the, it's like the, the just stop oil extinction rebellion types. It's the world we have is impossible to have without oil. Sure. You can reduce it. It's going to run out eventually one day anyway.So reducing it is not a bad thing, but to pretend that you can just press stop and then you can put in a wind

What happens when catchy tunes mask unsettling and problematic lyrics? Join Matt and Samer for a candid and thought-provoking journey through music history as we uncover the dark realities behind some of the most popular songs. We start with the Black Eyed Peas' "Let's Get It Started," originally rife with offensive language, only to be cleaned up thanks to the NBA's intervention. We then discuss Cher's "Half-Breed," reflecting on her series of similarly themed songs and how they shine a light on evolving societal standards and the need for mindful consumption of music.In this episode, we tackle the dissonance between melody and message by dissecting Sublime's "Wrong Way" and Benny Mardones' "Into the Night." Catchy, yes, but these tracks come with disturbing themes that raise serious ethical questions. Our exploration doesn't stop there; we also critique Genesis' "Illegal Alien" for its outdated portrayal of Mexican stereotypes and take a closer look at the flirtatious yet potentially coercive undertones of the holiday classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Through modern reinterpretations, we examine how the song's lyrics resonate—or don't—in today's context.Rounding off our discussion, we analyze the cultural insensitivity and lack of research that plagued pre-internet era songs like Band-Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and George Jones' "The Poor Chinee." Misguided intentions and offensive stereotypes are laid bare, prompting us to question the responsibilities of artists and platforms in handling such content today. https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/cancel-these-songs/pl.u-8dqGjTZrAMJ1. Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas2. Half-Breed - Cher3. Wrong Way - Sublime4. Into the Night - Benny Mardones5. Ur So Gay - Katy Perry6. Illegal Alien - Genesis7. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin8. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town - Kenny Rogers & The First Edition9. Turning Japanese - The Vapors10. Hey, Little Tomboy - The Beach Boys11. Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid12. The Poor Chinee - George Jones Support the showVisit us at https://www.superawesomemix.com to learn more about our app, our merchandise, our cards, and more!

What's up, dudes? They say the sequels are never as good as the first. I think The Empire Strikes Back proves them wrong…but Band Aid II doesn't. I have music journalist Alex Rawls from The Twelve Songs of Christmas and My Spilt Milk with me to talk all about the second version of the charity song done in 1989! Spoilers: it's not as good as the first, but it's still fun!On Friday, December 1, 1989, Bob Geldof called Pete Waterman to ask if he would consider producing a new version of “Do They Know It's Christmas.” Waterman was part of The Hit Factory, a production team made up of himself, Mike Stock, and Matt Aiken. They were known for hi-NRG or Eurobeat style, with tempos usually somewhere between 102-140bpm, four-to-the-floor kick drums, staccato hi-hat, and bass lines frequently looped with fast eighth or sixteenth notes doubled at the octave. In fact, they produced 13 UK #1 singles and 3 US #1s. Waterman even postponed his wedding and rallied several artists together.Subsequently, on Sunday, December 3rd, the assembled artists recorded at PWL Studios in South London. Bob Geldof and family were present. On Tuesday, December 5th, the updated version was played for the first time on London's Capital Radio, 95.8 Capital FM. Advanced sales reached 500,000 copies, and the single was officially released on December 11th. It spent 3 weeks at #1, though Band Aid's original hit spent 5 weeks at #1 and sold over 2 million copies (which was approximately $24million in sales).Kylie Minogue? Check. Bros? Yep. Cliff Richard? A little out of place, but he was definitely there! So grab your denim jacket, put on an uptempo kick drum backing track, and jam out to this episode all about Band Aid II!The 12 Songs of ChristmasFB: @TwelveSongsofChristmasTwitter: @MySpiltMilk IG: @myspiltmilkGive us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

Tig and Rob are silent laughers. Comedian Tig Notaro joins Rob Lowe to discuss their shared obsession with the song “Do They Know It's Christmas?” by Band Aid, her foolproof method for testing potential TV show titles, her love for drama and despair, her podcast “Handsome,” and her new comedy special, “Hello Again.” Plus, Rob reveals a bit of White House trivia he learned shooting “The West Wing.” Got a question for Rob? Call our voicemail at (323) 570-4551. Your question could get featured on the show!