Janet Jackson’s breast changed Super Bowl halftime shows, maybe forever, and it was a change for the good. But now the show needs to further evolve.
In something of a knee-jerk reaction to Janet’s “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004, and the subsequent fallout, those charged with organizing the halftime show went old school — I mean really, really old school — with acts that posed zero threat of doing anything that could be perceived as offensive to anyone.
In the last six Super Bowls, we’ve had, in order, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and The Who. The average age of the six frontmen of these acts is 61. Prince is the youngster of this group, at a spry 51.
While I wouldn’t call myself a fan of any of these performers, with the exception of Petty, they’ve all done a reasonably good job playing the biggest sporting event in America. The Who was no exception this past Sunday.
These old guys have, for the most part, been a significant improvement from the multi-star crap shows that preceded them.
Britney Spears, ‘N Sync, Aerosmith, Nelly and Mary J. Blige (the lineup in 2001) on stage together, lip-synching bits and pieces of each others’ songs before painfully transitioning to the next. Those were absolutely dreadful, and we have Janet’s boob to thank for the fact that they’ve gone by the wayside.
But the time has come to move away from senior citizens — after all, Roger Daltrey was probably due back at the old-folks home long before halftime was over on Sunday.
There are, it turns out, other safe alternatives to horrifying pop medleys.
A few established rock bands, who still make records and have some pop appeal, would be solid options. Green Day, for example, or maybe Pearl Jam, Nickelback or Red Hot Chili Peppers, to suggest a few.
Unfortunately, with next year’s game being at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a country performer seems almost unavoidable. Bon Jovi, as my wife has predicted, also is a strong possibility with their endless supply of innocuous pop-rock.
That would at least be a step in the right direction, albeit a boring one (sorry, Mom).
Regardless, the show needs to get younger, and soon.
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2 comments:
Let me first say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Who, and anybody who claims they didn't know who that was is kidding themselves. That was the running joke on ESPN today.
Next, who is the target audience for the NFL? It's guys in their 40s and 50s, the guys who are settled down and married and sit down in front of the TV all day on Sundays, guys who own the majority of the season tickets.
And what type of music do those guys like? They like the Stones, the like the Who and they like Bruce Springsteen. The NFL, as always, is playing it smart by getting acts their target audience would like to see to play the halftime.
Without being crass, do you really think guys in their 50s want to see Britney Spears bounce around the stage lip-synching? How about Lady GaGa? Jay-Z? No, because they want their good ol’ rock and roll.
Well, first I have to disagree Josh that BJ would be boring. If you've ever been to their concerts, they put on an awesome show.
I also disagree that the Who was anything close to good. But then I'm from their generation and listened to their music when they were still young enough to carry it off. They were ok. A friend of mine has a Who cover band and they sound better than the originals do now.
The lip-synching crap of previous years is just bad and I sure hope not to see that ever again.
I also agree that the halftime show needs revamping. It really hasn't changed much over the years. I think it's too long and I've heard players comment much the same but they do need to sell commercial time so I guess shortening it up wouldn't be an option.
Scott is right about the core audience. But the viewing public is much broader than the 40,
50 or even 60 year old guys. I don't think there are any groups out there right now that could bridge the gap between your generation and mine or appeal to men and women.
I know I wouldn't know a Red Hot Chili Pepper from a Black Eyed Pea.
And anyway, halftime is when you eat and do a beer run.
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