Good Clean Fun

Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I thought the Super Bowl Halftime Show was great. Am I biased? Yeah, I am. But, the four songs that Paul McCartney played were some of the best and most memorable tunes of the the last 40 years. All were penned by him (in spite of 3 of the 4 credited to Lennon/McCartney due to a verbal deal the two of them made as lads.) Drive My Car: pure, simple Rock N Roll. With its driving bass line and just a wink of an innuendo, it's a perfect example of the art form. Get Back: Not a great song in my estimation, but without a doubt, one of the most recognizable of McCartney's songs. For me it just conjures images of the 4 Beatles (plus Billy Preston) up on the roof at their studio in London "performing." I can't help but be reminded of what the movie Let It Be was supposed to be. The project's original title was Get Back and Paul wanted it so badly to get the four of them back out on the road, performing as a band again. John just thought Paul was insane. So their last public performance as a group was up on that roof. Next came Live and Let Die. Pure McCartney through and through. And then add in the pyrotechnics; it was great. By the time this came around, it was obvious that we were'nt going to hear a medley. He was playing complete songs and he'd only have time for one more. Which one? I guessed Let It Be, but after he sang "Hey Jude....", I thought, "Of course, this is the Super Bowl! Hey Jude ends with a climatic build up. It's the obvious choice." He cut out one verse, but I doubt many noticed. A couple of thoughts on the "Cultural" aspects of the story as it relates to last year's fiasco. Was McCartney a "safe" choice for the NFL? Yes, it was. But is was safe because it placed actual content on the stage. After all, Paul has been arrested several times for Pot, the aforementioned innuendoes of the Drive My Car song, in Get Back, Jo-Jo leaves his home for some "California Grass," and Live and Let Die? Well, not exactly a morality poem. Again, my point being that it worked because there exists such a thing as song. And, some songs are good and some are not. We don't have to analyze too deeply to know when we hear a good one. And gyrating on stage doesn't improve the song if it's no good in the first place.

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