[ Earlier this week I was exchanging some thoughts with Allen Jones, a great friend and a great thinker. The subject was the Super Bowl: the ads, the game and then the halftime show by The Who. It prompted a reminder of an older post about our musical choices for Super Bowl halftime shows... Seems like an appropriate week to revisit that thought for a bit... ]
The Who put on a terrific, electric show last Sunday. And while I really liked the fact that The Who provided the halftime entertainment, I wasn't surprised that they were chosen to do so because the band runs consistent with performers of recent years: Last year it was Springsteen. The year before, Tom Petty. Before that was Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain and U2.
What's interesting is ever since the birth of online music, whenever we need an entertainer for the masses, we still reach back to performers who were popular before digital music arrived.
It's an interesting thing to ponder...
Over the course of modern music history, we have had GIANTS. People who, no matter what your individual favorite performer was at the time, everyone can agree is great: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Madonna and all the aforementioned Super Bowl performers. Giants who defined their times.
But today, with the splintering of music such as it is, we have very few giants. We have people who are great in their genre, but very few entertainers who critics and mass amounts of consumers alike both get behind and champion.
Perhaps because of this, when it comes time to choose a performer for a TV event that draws 106 million American viewers we find ourselves looking back into the past to find someone that most people will enjoy. There's only so long that can go on.
So, while we're becoming a society that champions individual
preference, we're resigning the notion to draw together for common
likes. We're becoming more ingrained and defined by our own clubs.
Which is good. But if we can't come together and unite around common
things, are we creating a watered down culture that is undefinable for
future generations when they look back? Elvis defines the 50s. Hendrix
the 60s. And so on. Who will be the key musicians to define '10-'19? Things to ponder, I suppose.
The interesting thing for society is that mega stars, for the most part, unite us. We can all appreciate The Beatles, Elton John and Prince. But we don't collectively unify around today's leading artists as much as we did entertainers like these. Which makes me wonder, when it comes time to entertain 135 million Americans in 2020, who we gonna choose to do it?