Madonna's Super Bowl performance

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Is M.I.A. famous in America?

N.O.

Quote :

I'd never heard of her until today, even though she's British. Maybe she's bigger in the States than she is over here.

I think I've seen the name before, but that's it. She's no break out artist over here.

I found out that she did a song I knew from the SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE soundtrack, but I never knew who the song was by or even its title, come to that - it's just one of those tunes that one knows of because it's often on TV and one hears it at the gym and wherever ("Paper Planes", it turns out it's called).

I'm very surprised I'd never heard of her, though, because it does appear that she's been making quite a splash on both sides of the Atlantic over the past few years. Being in my late thirties, I haven't followed new music for years (the last time I got into a new band it was probably Oasis in 1994), and my musical tastes are stuck firmly in the 1980s and 1990s.

That said, though, I do still glance at the music press and I think I generally get to at least hear the names of most of the new acts on the block, so my not knowing until today who M.I.A. is seems rather like walking in a rainstorm and not getting hit by a single raindrop - it's doable, on paper, but unlikely to happen.

Anyway, here's an interesting Guardian piece about her from a couple of years ago:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jun/13/mia-feature-miranda-sawyer

Madonna's getting a bit old to be playing the part of the sex symbol, and the guest stars were universally unnecessary, but the show had scale and energy on a level that the Super Bowl show hasn't had in quite some time. Definitely one of the better halftime shows that have ever existed (and seriously, if you consider the halftime show track record, the vast majority of them have been just awful).

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

It simply can't be that difficult to find major talent out there willing to do the Superbowl without having to lower oneself to the level of Madonna, Cee "F*** You" Lo, Nicki "Stupid Hoe" Minaj, and MIA.

Care to suggest a few names that qualify as "major talent"?

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

I think the "gay vibe", which works well at New Years Eve parties in Key West, don't work as well at the Superbowl. It's a totally different audience.

I thought the point of the halftime show was to appeal to the audience that's not already interested in the football.

"Lower oneself to Cee Lo"? Have you heard his last album? Cee Lo is great.

Also, this year's halftime show was awful. Gimme Janet Jackson's tit over a 53-year-old Madonna lip-synching and gingerly doing cartwheels across the stage. At least the visuals were great, though. (Well, except for this one.)

Jack Wade wrote:

"Lower oneself to Cee Lo"? Have you heard his last album? Cee Lo is great.

Also, this year's halftime show was awful. Gimme Janet Jackson's tit over a 53-year-old Madonna lip-synching and gingerly doing cartwheels across the stage. At least the visuals were great, though. (Well, except for this one.)

I agree she was performing "gingerly". It was clear that this is an older Madonna no longer capable of doing the moves she could 20 years ago. But that's where talent usually helps an artist. If you can sing you can get away with not being able to do cartwheels. If you can't sing, you surround yourself by 812 other singers, a tightrope walker, some scantily-clad slaves, and hope no one notices.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

I agree she was performing "gingerly". It was clear that this is an older Madonna no longer capable of doing the moves she could 20 years ago.

Not to me it wasn't. It would seem that's she's still extraordinarily fit and athletic.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

But that's where talent usually helps an artist. If you can sing you can get away with not being able to do cartwheels. If you can't sing, you surround yourself by 812 other singers, a tightrope walker, some scantily-clad slaves, and hope no one notices.

Of course Madonna can sing, but she's never been a virtuoso singer. She's not Susan Boyle or Aretha Franklin or Dusty Springfield or whoever you care to claim has a really terrific voice. But that's okay. Some acts are about virtuosity and others are not. For instance, if Jimi Hendrix were still with us and playing live, most of the audience would be there purely because of his guitar playing. If you're listening to Led Zeppelin, you're mostly listening to the drummer (I am, anyway). But you don't go to a Pet Shop Boys concert to marvel at the way the keyboards are played or how the singer manages to hit impossible notes - with an act like that, the songs and the showmanship are the attraction. Horses for courses.

With Madonna, it's never been about the technical brilliance of her voice. Even if she was miming at the Superbowl (and I've no idea whether she was or wasn't) it hardly detracts from the power of the show. In terms of spectacle she really delivered.

I think Naomi Wolf is onto something here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/06/madonna-hating-we-superbowl

Loomis wrote:

I think Naomi Wolf is onto something here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/06/madonna-hating-we-superbowl

What a load of arse-licking nonsense. "Serious artist" "Nietzschean creative woman"?

Typical Guardian fluff piece.

Yeah, that Guardian piece is way off-target.

Loomis wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

I agree she was performing "gingerly". It was clear that this is an older Madonna no longer capable of doing the moves she could 20 years ago.

Not to me it wasn't. It would seem that's she's still extraordinarily fit and athletic.

If you couldn't see she was off by a step or two then it's because you don't want to see it. I mean, relatively speaking, she did well for 53 years of age, but there's no doubt that if you compared her dancing ability in the half-time show to performances she gave 20 years ago, she's missing a beat. She even tried to step up in one dance sequence, couldn't make it, and had to try stepping up again (it was noted in most reviews of the show). That's not saying she has to be perfect, but I'm sure that 25-30 years of dance takes its toll on the knees, and it clearly did in the show. On the other hand, a defense of her could be made that she was trying to restrain herself for the mass viewing audience (which is something she's not used to doing) and therefore wasn't in her usual comfort zone dancing.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

On the other hand, a defense of her could be made that she was trying to restrain herself for the mass viewing audience (which is something she's not used to doing) and therefore wasn't in her usual comfort zone dancing.

You may be right there. Huge live gigs kill any sense of intimacy with the audience.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

If you couldn't see she was off by a step or two then it's because you don't want to see it.

I'm quite happy to see anything. I'm not a Madonna fan, own none of her CDs and have no particular interest in defending her, but I'm just giving credit where I believe it to be due.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

I mean, relatively speaking, she did well for 53 years of age

No kidding. I'm fifteen years her junior, don't drink or smoke, go to the gym at least three times a week and consider myself in relatively good shape, yet Madonna would seem to wipe the floor with me in terms of fitness and athletic ability. I can't do a single cartwheel.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

but there's no doubt that if you compared her dancing ability in the half-time show to performances she gave 20 years ago, she's missing a beat.

Perhaps, but so what? It was still an amazing show, and you could argue that the missteps made Madge seem more human and real and made the whole thing seem more "live" as opposed to over-polished.

Sharky wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

On the other hand, a defense of her could be made that she was trying to restrain herself for the mass viewing audience (which is something she's not used to doing) and therefore wasn't in her usual comfort zone dancing.

You may be right there. Huge live gigs kill any sense of intimacy with the audience.

When did Madge last play a small, intimate venue?

My buttocks, Jan 1999.

Your arse is as small and intimate as Wembley Stadium.

And as well attended.

People are very keen to visit my arse but I am trying to keep them out.

Sharky wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

On the other hand, a defense of her could be made that she was trying to restrain herself for the mass viewing audience (which is something she's not used to doing) and therefore wasn't in her usual comfort zone dancing.

You may be right there. Huge live gigs kill any sense of intimacy with the audience.

Perhaps, but I meant more along the lines of she was trying to hold back from, like, you know, flashing the audience, cursing at the audience, doing some of her more obscene gestures or dance moves. She didn't wear a gold bra or crotch-less pants. In other words, it wasn't a typical Madonna performance.

Santa wrote:

People are very keen to visit my arse but I am trying to keep them out.

I claim squatter's rights.

My arse is CLOSED. For the time being.

Anally retentive. I knew it.

Pony up enough cash and I may change my mind.

Bollocks.

A Bacardi Breezer and you're like the Blackwall tunnel

Loomis wrote:

Sharky wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

On the other hand, a defense of her could be made that she was trying to restrain herself for the mass viewing audience (which is something she's not used to doing) and therefore wasn't in her usual comfort zone dancing.

You may be right there. Huge live gigs kill any sense of intimacy with the audience.

When did Madge last play a small, intimate venue?

2009 was her last concert tour.

She's starting a new tour in 2012.

I just got 4 VIP Tickets to it from the VIP MEMBERS ONLY PRE-SALE that started this morning, before it goes on PUBLIC SALE!!

http://mdna.madonna.com/
:cheers: