What was song title  with line, "live on TV you can watch them die"?
Waaay back in the mid-80s there was a song with the refrain, live on
TV you can watch them die.  It was *not* making light of tragedy. I
thought it was perhaps making the observation that "we" would sit in
living rooms watching world events (war, famine, flood, etc) unfold on
our TVs with a degree of disconnect and inability to empathize.

I thought the song might be from the group "Japan" but I was unable to
make a positive match.
In today's nomenclature the music genre is called Retro but in the 80s
we called it NewWave.

Hello Grthumongous,


The title of the song is  ?Live on T.V. (You Can Watch Them Die)", by
the Montreal  band The Box in 1984.

Here are part of the lyrics of the song:

Live on T.V. (You Can Watch Them Die)

?Freedom of speech!
News can't lie,
as one must see
all the truth on T.V.

Some hotel burning,
airliner crash...
or another Vietnam,
to entertain you all...

You can watch them die...
live on T.V.

You may view the complete lyrics at the following link:
Google Groups http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22live+on+TV+*+*+*+them+die%22&hl=es&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&c2coff=1&selm=v1828d4te3h555%40news.supernews.com&rnum=1


The Canadian Bands website provides a biography of The Box 

 ?The Montreal music scene during the early '80's was vibrant,
bursting with the energy of some of the country's hottest new sounds.?

?It was around the same time a chance encounter with Marc Durand,
who'd produced MWH's debut smash earlier that year that their fortunes
would turn. The band changed their name to The Box in time to win CFOI
Montreal's 'homegrown' contest in the spring of 1983.?

They mention that the music is new-wave.


?The new-wave power of the first single "Walk Away", hit the airwaves
that spring and critics and station managers alike took notice. But it
was the second single "Must I Always Remember" that broke the band
nationwide.?

?The inclusion of "Quand Le Roy" insured a strong sales base in their
home province, staying on top of the Quebec charts for four weeks.
Backed by the support of the all-out party-hardy "Weekend", Dancing On
The Grave" and the social commentary of "Live On TV" and "War Going
On", the album was considered by many to be one of the best of the
year.?

Canadian Bands
http://www.canadianbands.com/Box.html
http://www.80sxchange.com/bios/box.html


THE BOX (1984)

Tracks:
Must I Always Remember
Dancing On the Grave
War Going On
Go Down Alone
Weekend
Live On TV
Walk Away
The Great Summer Fair
Checkmate
Quand Le Roy

Source :Canadian Bands 
http://www.canadianbands.com/Box_CDs.html



Search Criteria:
"Live on TV * * * them die"
?The Box? Montreal
The Box ?Live on TV?


I hope you find this helpful! If anything is unclear with my answer,
please ask for clarification.


Best regards,
Bobbie7

Superlative work Bobbie-7. And thanks for the followup.

Thank you for the tip and five stars!
Best wishes,
--Bobbie7