Anyone see the great game and half time perfmance by Mr. Springsteen?

thought it was fine. I read a Yahoo blog about his 10 sins during the performance, but I found it fine. he's the perfect act for the All-American Super Bowl- doesn't get any more American than The Boss (in terms of having music about the American dream, ay of life, struggles, etc.) Well, he and the "poor man's" Boss, John Mellencamp.

One of the better performances for the Super Bowl. Glad he played his early stuff.

And it was one of the better games too. I was hoping for overtime though.

Gold: Prince, 2007
Silver: U2, 2002
Bronze: The Boss, 2009

At the party I attended, we discussed the fact that they're kind of running out of Rock Legends to do these things. Besides Johnny Cougar M., there aren't that many obvious halftime candidates left--the Who and Stevie Wonder are all I could come up with. There are a lot of people who are of the right stature, but whom I seriously doubt would do it--Page & Plant, Bowie, R.E.M., Pearl Jam. I'm sure the NFL doesn't want Metallica, or Madonna, and I think we can rule out Radiohead. My best guess is that we'll have frickin' Coldplay within a couple of years.

Schleuse,

You know more about R.E.M. than anybody here, but that's who I was thinking would be the next most likely candidate.

Others???

Coldplay seems to be a virtual lock.

Stevie Wonder has done it before and also was the pregame act in Detroit for SB 40.

Britney Spears comeback?
The Police?
Elton John?
Eric Clapton?
Billy Joel?

I doubt they'd go with Britney Spears. The Janet Jackson thing would make them nervous about overtly sexual performances, and after the horrible N Sync/Aerosmith tradeoff several years ago, I'm hoping they've learned current pop acts are bad choices.

They seem to be in a pattern of acts with long established popularity who are still popular. They'll definitely look at Coldplay really soon. REM maybe, but I'm not sure their biggest songs strike the tone they want for the Superbowl.

Guns N Roses might eventually get a nod if they continue to release albums at a pace quicker than one per fourteen years. The White Stripes if they get more mainstream crossover hits. U2, yes.

I just hope his crotch is OK after sliding into that camera. Maybe he was wearing a cup?

He’s from Jersey; I doubt that’s the worst groin injury he’s ever had.

Further thoughts: you want someone who could fill an arena if they had to—even though the filling the arena part is pretty well taken care of by, you know, the game (by the way, is this the first time we’ve had really good games in the SB two years in row? seems like it).

By that criterion, R.E.M. might have made sense during the period when they were—bizarrely—the biggest arena band in the world (the Monster tour, basically). But BillAdama’s right: I can’t really see “Losing My Religion” or songs about Andy Kaufman going over big. Also, I seriously doubt they’d even want to do it; of the three remaining members, I think only Mills even cares about sports.

I forgot that Stevie had already done it.

Regarding Paul and Bill’s suggestions: The Police are a good call, and I think they’d be up for it. Elton and Billy Joel together also seems like a natural, although it would suck. Guns N Roses are now a copyright, not a band. The White Stripes: my guess is no.

Also, come to think of it, I’m sure we’ll see Van Halen one day.

(My off-the-wall pick if the NFL commish is ever feeling puckish: Gorillaz.)

The Foo Fighters aren't doing anything right? They could work.

God, now that I think about it, there are a few. I haven't checked if these people have done it before, but bear with me.

RHCP
Green Day
John Mayer
Kanye West
No Doubt
Pearl Jam (doubtful if they would do it)
Robert Randolph & The Family Band (personal favorite)
The Roots (when the Super Bowl goes back to NBC)
OutKast

I just wish they'd stop throwing the old rockers out there. It's fun but it's a slap in the face to all bands that are making great new rock music. The White Stripes would be a good halftime show. I'm not a huge fan of Coldplay but I admit they'd be perfect for the Super Bowl. Radiohead would be sweet but I know they'd alienate half the crowd. Jay-Z or Kanye West would be good ones but the No Fun League probably won't let that happen.

Sean: I'm glad it didn't go into overtime. NFL overtimes give one team a huge advantage based on a coin flip!

RHCP is another great choice.

There are plenty of good new rock bands out now, but the ones that are good don't have much of a following, except for Coldplay and Radiohead.

My Morning Jacket would make an effing awesome halftime show. So would The National, and probably Hold Steady. But not enough people know about them.

I agree Bill, NFL overtime rules suck. I was really surprised to hear that the Super Bowl has never gone into OT before though.

To me, Pearl Jam, U2 (I'd bet on them next year) and Foo Fighters are the most natural choices. Pearl Jam would do it I think, Eddie Vedder is not the same as in 1993. Coldplay does seem like a popular choice, but they don't really jibe with football IMO. (Maybe the Champions League final could use some halftime entertainment.) Radiohead, heck, they filled Giants Stadium circa 2001, but I don't think anyone who watches football listens to Radiohead, or vice versa, except me. Where I think they will go is towards safer pop musicians (Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, etc.) They can't keep going with the stars of yesteryear much longer.

U2 played the super bowl in 2002.
can they play it again next year if they already played it? And even if they can, I doubt they'll be picked as they've already done it.

If I had to say who's performing next, I'd say Elton John, maybe Guns N' Roses, Bob Dylan, or R.E.M.
Just my predictions.

I tried to avoid naming artists already mentionned (in each category, they are ranked by preference... FOR A SUPERBOWL SHOW!! ;) ) :


I: "Classic / Mainstream / Consensual" artists
1-Santana
2-Bob Dylan (with his more "rock n'roll" repertoire)
3-Elvis Costello
4-CCR
5-Fleetwood Mac
6-Lou Reed

II: "Reunion" gig :
1-Brian Wilson + The Beach Boys
2-Ray Davies + The Kinks (are they still alive?)
3-Abba
4-Van Halen

III: More "recent" / 90s-00s / Still consensual / Mainstream artists
1-Daft Punk
2-Beastie Boys
3-Beck (would he do it)
4-Oasis
5-Dr. Dre + Eminem
6-Red Hot Chili Peppers
7-Smashing Pumpkins

IV: Artists that may become possible contenders (mainstream or classic enough for a superbowl)in the next decade or so.
1-Franz Ferdinand
2-Arcade Fire
3-The Strokes
4-M.I.A. (would they let her in the USA?)
5-Missy Elliott


ML

I think there has been a lot of overstatement of the popularity of more recent rock artists. It's hard seeing many of them at this point being popular enough. Probably the Red Hot Chili Peppers would be (although I suspect the League would want to pair them with, say, the Foo Fighters). For the time being, they're going to stick with the Boomer friendly acts.

Frankly, at this point, the putatively controversial rappers that were big in the 90's and early part of this decade will be more likely to get on the stage. Prince wasn't a likely act when they first announced him, his recommitment to religion notwthstanding. I would have to imagine the League was pleased with how that went over. I remember in the late 90's, many people were turning to other channels that ran targeted counterprogamming during halftime. They don't want that to happen again. If Jay-Z can perform at the inaugural ball that was televised on national network TV (as hip as our new president may be), then the No Fun League should be able to put him up there for halftime (lyrics about pushing indo and 'caine excised, of course) and he'll get much more of a response. Keeping it in the family, a Destiny's Child reunion would go over well, also.

They'll probably do a mainstream country halftime soon... I could see a Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Taylor Swift medley or some such.

And ML... clearly a Daft Punk halftime show would be the greatest moment in American television history... but I'm guessing the league is not going to let two French robots enter the realm of Hank Williams Jr. screaming "Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!!"

And M.I.A. is back to living in Brooklyn. I was really looking forward to seeing how the Grammys handled her, but she is apparently due to give birth right at that time, and so won't be performing.

All in all, I enjoy the bloated bombacity of the Super Bowl and its halftime show... but I'd be really pissed off if UEFA incorporated it into the Champions League final. Real football is meant to be much purer than pointy throwball.

After further review, the call is reversed: The Super Bowl halftime show should be The Who. Touchdown! The best live band ever, coming out and playing Baba O'Riley, with Pete windmilling, would be nothing less than amazing. That's on top of football. It would work, they can still sell out arenas, they rock, and they're one of the greatest rock bands ever.

isn't the kind of act viewers want to see at a Super Bowl. May as well just have a mime troupe play at the event, if that were the case. And she's far from being a revered musical performer, so I'd think they'd steer away from that- she made her guest appearance during Aerosmith's set years ago, anyways.

Madonna may be a bit too edgy for the NFL (and you know she wouldn't have apologized if her breast popped out during a performance). However, she's demonstrated that she can put on terrific shows, even without boundary-pushing, so, perhaps a consideration.

Billy Joel would be a good selection.

The Who are half dead.