SUPER BOWL SPOTLIGHTS MUSIC
Once again, the halftime show spotlighted an aging Boomer icon group, this time The Who, and despite the spectacular stage set, there was plenty of expected carping in the blogosphere.
“This is a band predicated on energy, but Townshend and Daltrey were unfortunately panting on lap one, and that was tough to watch,” opined Digital Music News’ Paul Resnikoff, echoing much of the online blather.
For whatever it’s worth, the Who's newly released greatest hits album was #6 on iTunes this morning, so someone was watching and digging them, despite Pete's wardrobe malfunction (he couldn't keep his shirt buttoned). And, to be fair, almost as many people thought the band kicked ass, which is why, in the immortal words of our illustrious Editor-in-Chief Lenny Beer, they make vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
There were other musical performances, including a pre-game set by Stevie Winwood, a brand-new, NFL-approved rendition of Jay-Z and Rihanna's "Run This Town," as well as Carrie Underwood and Queen Latifah singing the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” respectively.
The commercial spots also featured Kiss (and little Kiss) for Dr. Pepper, T-Pain in a satirical Auto-Tune spot for Doritos, as well as will.i.am and Slash with a re-mixed version of “My Generation” in an intriguing ad for a handheld FloTV which featured cultural milestones of the last 50 years.
Other musical ad interludes included Blur (the Michelob Light ad featuring Lance Armstrong), Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” (Volkswagen), The Heavy (Kia), Daughtry (NBA), the Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” (for the NFL, with all proceeds donated to Haiti Relief), as well as Cheap Trick, which changed “Dream Police” to “Green Police” for the environment-conscious Audi A3. Also featured were ELO (Budweiser), Bill Withers (EA) and KC and the Sunshine Band (Honda).
Not to mention the winning
