“It was curiously flat.”
What halftime show was music industry critic Bob Lefsetz watching? For those who wanted to see guys stand there and churn away on guitars, there wasn’t much there for you, but it was so relentlessly over the top that it was hard not to be entertained. Gladiators? Check. Thor’s helmet? Check. Tightrope b-boy? Check. 53-year-old push-up? Check. Cheerleading with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.? Check. Cee Lo Green and a choir? Check. World Peace? All in fewer than 14 minutes.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyfdoZldrS4[/youtube]
In his largely mean-spirited commentary on Twitter, Piers Morgan wrote, “But at least I’ve found that I have one common ground with Madonna: neither of us have sung live at the Super Bowl.” But her set was also a great summary of Madonna’s art in a way that most Super Bowl spectacles aren’t. The Who seemed adrift on the giant video screen/stage while Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers refused the moment and just stood there. Madonna embraced the spectacle to add levels of nuttiness; “World peace” as a punctuation mark made me laugh out loud.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ-MBTC7LBk[/youtube]
Lefsetz uses Prince’s great halftime show in the rain as a measuring stick that, admittedly, few will live up to, but then he writes, “Sure, everyone still likes to party, but you got no impression that Madonna wanted you up on stage, celebrating with her. If anything, you felt if you ran up, you’d get kicked off.” Did he think Prince radiated “join me” when he walked away from the band for dramatic, very solo visual moment when he played the “Purple Rain” solo?
If you want to argue that there’s a shallow heart to Madonna’s art, I won’t argue. It’s always felt like her need to be famous outweighed any other values she might espouse, but maybe that made her uniquely suited to a task that left the Rolling Stones looking very old and very desperate. Lefsetz writes, “Great performances are about that little something extra, something indefinable that touches your core. And that’s what was missing here. There was no sense of majesty, no soulfulness, just a middle-aged woman trying too hard to impress.” The latter might be true, but touching your core, majesty and soulfulness is a narrow definition of greatness that almost automatically excludes many types of artists. For me, Madonna was a pop star embracing being a pop star in the most enthusiastic, imaginative way possible given the parameters posed by the Super Bowl. In fact, I suspect that show will likely be more satisfying than her upcoming concert tour, which comes to the New Orleans Arena Saturday, October 27 (tickets go on sale Monday, March 5 through Ticketmaster and LiveNation.com).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeOBvpxRvCQ[/youtube]
