The NFL announced this week that Madonna will perform at half-time of the upcoming Super Bowl. Since Janet Jackson's embarrassing "wardrobe malfunction" several years ago, Super Bowl half-time performers have included Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and The Black-Eyed Peas. What do all these acts have in common? If they suffered a Janet Jackson - like "nip slip", no one would care. In fact, exposure of the aged torsos of any of the above would put most Super Bowl viewers face-down in the guacamole.
The exception to that would have been Fergie of the Peas, but most listeners were cringing with eyes shut due to her vocals and would have missed a "wardrobe malfunction" anyway.
Year after year, the Super Bowl Half-Time Show is an over-choreographed, poorly lip-synched disaster. Still, as a 60+ year old music fan, I looked forward to seeing McCartney, the Stones, the Who and the like. I couldn't afford to see them live back in the day and there were no MTV videos then. The potential for personal embarrassment still exists though. I might come up with a reasonable answer when little Timmy asks, "Why is Janet Jackson's top falling off?", but a response to "What did you ever see in these old guys back in the '60s?" would be difficult. I'm working on my response to "Why is that old lady singing 'Papa Don't Preach' and 'Like a Virgin'?"
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