No Malfunction As Prince Rocks Halftime & Lefsetz's Take On Prince
Posted: February 4, 2007

MIAMI (AP) -- Phew! CBS got through the halftime show without a "wardrobe malfunction." The Artist Formerly Known as a Munchkin of Wardrobe Dysfunction began by singing "Let's Go Crazy," but he didn't.

Prince, who became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-1990s, no longer wears yellow, butt-baring pants as he did at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards (prompting Howard Stern's send-up at the '92 VMAs). The closest thing to a fashion statement Sunday night was an odd kerchief on his head. So the NFL had no repeat of the 2004 Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake show, which happened the last time CBS broadcast the game.

The 48-year-old Prince, who rose to stardom in the '80s with his distinctive fusion of R&B, funk, soul and rock, once looked androgynous and produced songs that (lest we forget) drove Tipper Gore nuts (and made her a fat target for anti-censorship types like Frank Zappa).

Musically, the diminutive, erstwhile prodigy from Minneapolis kept it old-school, rockin' the house with "Purple Rain" and other golden hits.

He delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows -- ever. Consequently, he didn't come across as a painfully safe choice -- or a has-been, the rap against the previous couple of Super Bowl halftime acts, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones.

"Hey, look me over
Tell me do you like what you see
Hey, I ain’t got no money
But I’m RICH on PERSONALITY!"

Fuck the Revolution, fuck Kanye, certainly fuck Justin Timberlake. While we were reveling in the best Super Bowl in years, because of the weather, Prince took the musical slot, which was previously fumbled by everybody from Aerosmith to the Stones, to the point where it's become a joke, and made the game IRRELEVANT!

Oh, U2 did a good job. But they're from IRELAND! What the fuck do they know about football, the American version thereof? And they're supposedly credible. It's not about show, but meaning. Whereas Prince comes from a long tradition of black musicians, who first of all want to get paid, who don't have to play by the rules, since they've been fucked over by the man FOREVER!

I'm categorcally against playing the Super Bowl. It makes you small. You appear desperate. But I guess rules are made to be broken, because the execution in this performance evidenced all the rock, all the roll, all of the soul absent from music day. Fusing the opposing colors of the human spectrum in a way that Michael Jackson tried to but never could, Prince united us, showed us it was all about the joy, the feeling, the rush, that we're all in it together. That we want and need leaders, but they've got to have charisma, we've got to believe in them. And we believe in Prince.

Oh, he hasn't had a hit in eons.

But he looks just the same.

And the do-rag seemed affected. But the choice of material excused the headgear.

"Proud Mary"? "All Along The Watchtower"? Without all the stunting we usually see at an event like this, no appearance by Tina Turner or John Fogerty? Shit, Prince suddenly gives narcissism a good name.

Yes, it's all about Prince, but he's doing it for us, to entertain us, to blow us away.

"Let's Go Crazy"?? Could there be a better opening number?

And you KNEW he was gonna close with "Purple Rain". It just FIT!

But the inclusion of the covers, and the album track "Baby I'm A Star", those were unexpected, those touched our hearts, reminded us of when music still counted, brought us right back to the advent, the HEYDAY, of MTV.

MTV fumbled. All they could do was show the titty of someone who didn't have much musical talent to begin with.

The Stones? They've got no excuse. As Jake says, that's where they USUALLY play, STADIUMS! How could they be so bad? Hell, they couldn't even nail SATISFACTION!

Aerosmith fucked up by sharing the stage with others.

We no longer believe. And just when we've given up, a saviour comes in to rescue us.

The game is now unimportant.

If we're lucky, Steve Jobs will stun us in the final half.

But today we learned, it was proven, that NOTHING compares with music. No sport, no video game. There IS no competition for the entertainment dollar when music is done right.

It hasn't been done right in a long time.

But it was done right tonight. The choice of material, the turquoise outfit, even down to the shoes, and the orange shirt. The ripping guitar solos. The vocals. It was the complete package.

I don't know who should be ashamed more. The labels or the public. For straying so far from the essence, for losing the magic touch.

Prince was an inspiration. He took all the spectacle of the Super Bowl, all the glitz and the glamour, and RAISED THE BAR!

The marching band, the explosions, the stage, it was PERFECT, and it was all in service to the man. Who was in service to the music.

Shall it live forever on YouTube. Shall you buy tickets and experience the essence. Shall you be overjoyed by the power of music.

Inspiration not manipulation. Prince didn't cowrite with Diane Warren. No exec told him what to record. None could contribute to the plan in his head, which he executed so perfectly tonight.

Shall artistry, and rock and roll, rule FOREVER!

Damn.....did :eye: WRITE that?

That was incredible...

Who the hell can top that next year????? NO ONE!

It was perfection....beginning to end...

peace

Ditto, nice article!