The problem is, it’s no longer 2001, when Jimmy Iovine conspired to take over the airwaves and promote Enrique Iglesias and Fred Durst alongside the Boss and Neil Young.  That was appointment television.

There is no more appointment TV.  I wait until the next day, to hear what’s good, then I watch it on YouTube.  Kinda like the late night wars.  Why sit and flip through the monologues when you can watch ’em all the next day, having found out which ones are worthwhile.

Time is at a premium.

But I do applaud the availability for purchase of all tracks on Saturday on iTunes.  Sheryl Crow did this unbelievable number on the 2001 telethon, "Safe and Sound".  I had to steal it.  Hell, it was months before you could buy it.  And the eventual studio take, although good, was not quite as exquisite, not quite as heartfelt, not quite as emotionally draining, yet inspirational.  You could feel the pain.

And the aforementioned Fred Durst, the most hated man in music shortly thereafter, did a great duet of Pink Floyd’s "Wish You Were Here" with Johnny Rzeznik.  Had to steal that one too.

Sure, the concert will be streamed online but with so many diverse talents appearing, there are too many tune-outs.  Then again, if you flip the TV channel, you still get the same show, it being roadblocked across a zillion outlets.

But still…

In the future, we will not wait over a week for a telethon.  It will begin immediately online.  You’ve got to strike when the impulse is hot.

I’m not saying that I don’t care.  The devastation in Haiti is awful.  We need to raise funds.  I’m just asking why the entertainment business, supposedly on the cutting edge, isn’t.  Why it’s always so late, and too often lame.

Where was the charity download on iTunes the next day? Where was the torrent?  Where was the excitement?

I hope some great performances occur tonight.  Maybe I’ll record it and fast-forward through.  But you’ve got to remember it’s almost impossible to get everybody to sit down simultaneously for something these days.  And I’d have felt better if this was acknowledged. Maybe we’d have the rock stream and the hip-hop stream and the indie stream, all airing simultaneously.  Otherwise, it’s too much like the 60s, too much like "Ed Sullivan", having to sit through Topo Gigio and Myron Cohen before you get to the Beatles.

Shit, I can dial up the Beatles on YouTube any time I want now.
Where’s the 24/7 video feed of the devastation in Haiti on mtv.com?

Instead of assembling all the winners from different genres, can’t we go deep in niches and aggregate everybody, get everybody to pay attention?

‘m just saying…