This year marked the first time in recent memory that I actually listened to the halftime performance at the Super Bowl. Last year, I tuned out Paul McCartney because I'm not exactly a huge fan. The year before, I was getting some chips and salsa when JT loosed Janet's bare breast for all to see. Before that, I scarcely remember a strange pairing of Gwen Stefani and Shania Twain, U2 in some sort of memorial to Sept. 11, 2001, and the weirdness that ensued from seeing Aerosmith and *NSYNC on the same stage.
But this was the Rolling Stones! Unfortunately, I don't have the $100-$200 to shell out to see them in concert, but if they're still kicking in five years, maybe I'll get that opportunity. Seeing the Stones on the biggest stage for free was going to be great … until it wasn't.
I now see why the people in charge of coordinating the Super Bowl halftime show pick relative up-and-comers rather than tried-and-true artists. There's no energy there when Keith Richards plays the guitar lick on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" for the 100,000th time. At least Christina Aguilera tries to perform and use her amazing voice to belt out "Beautiful." Artists such as Aguilera know they can use a good performance on America's biggest stage to reach out to the majority of the population (yes, the median age in America is still 35, believe it or not) that has never tuned into pop radio and heard her sing. Because the Super Bowl is such a national event, it gives artists unheard-of in culturally aloof nations such as France and China a chance to be heard.
Plus, artists such as Jessica Simpson have songs that at least some of the viewers actually want to hear. If you're going to choose an older group for your attraction, at least make sure they don't play a "single" that no one knows off their new album - which, by the way, is supposed to be "really good." Public relations, marketing and promotion need to take a back seat to giving the audience, a whopping 90.7 million, a show that they won't soon forget.
The Stones could have replaced "Rough Justice" with any number of songs from their repertoire. Mick Jagger made sure to point out that the Stones had been around longer than the Super Bowl. I'm certain their collective catalogue contained another gem that would have elicited more than a little "woo-hoo (thank goodness it's over)" from the crowd.
In fact, I know it. My friend Lee and I spent the Saturday afternoon before the Super Bowl taking in a baseball game at Dedeaux Field and talking about our favorite Stones songs. In top five fashion - a listing method we often employ to categorize everything from our favorite college moments to the best outfielders of all time - we each argued for our top five Stones songs. I was confident that they'd play three from the songs we discussed.
Between the two of us, we agreed on "Satisfaction," "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Beast of Burden." Lee chose "Sympathy For The Devil" as his No. 1 choice, a track that didn't even make my top five, and "Gimme Shelter" to round out his list. I opted for "Get Off My Cloud" and had "Miss You" and "Wild Horses" vying for the last spot. "Paint It, Black" was discussed; "Start Me Up" was not. "Brown Sugar" and "Jumping Jack Flash" crossed our consciousness as well.
Obviously, some of these don't make sense for a Super Bowl halftime show. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is too long, "Wild Horses" too slow, "Beast of Burden" too obscure. Conversely, "Start Me Up" carries such significance and resonance within the sporting community that it was almost a necessity. But "Miss You" has that sweet saxophone solo at the end that would have given the fans something to cheer.
Richards and Ron Wood sure weren't giving us anything to get excited about. And "Sympathy for the Devil" incorporates those undeniably catchy "woo-woos" that would have had the whole stadium, if not the whole world, singing along. "Gimme Shelter" has an ethereal quality about it that I can't seem to shake and, simply put, "Brown Sugar" rocks the house.
All I'm trying to say is that if someone is going to get 12 minutes in front of the largest crowd ever assembled, it behooves the promoters and the musicians to make it good. So if you're not a Stones fan and their halftime show didn't convince you that you should invest some hard-earned money on iTunes, please reconsider. But don't just take my word for it; check out Some Girls, Exile On Main St. and Let It Bleed if you're new to the Stones or interested in expanding your collection beyond Forty Licks.
Unlike Sunday, you won't be disappointed.
-
Dylan-Ernst Schäfer's column "The Needle" runs on Thursdays. To comment on this article, e-mail dtrojan@usc.edu or call (213) 740-6544.
