I'm back!! And yes, that happened during the Super Bowl halftime show. So after the "wardrobe malfunction", the bowl de grande decided to only go with older, "safer" acts like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and this year Madonna. I can only wonder what the fallout will be from this one. Damn Justin...if you'd have only kept your hands off of Janet we could be enjoying music from current, popular and relevant acts. Who is M.I.A. anyway? Did she think that this gesture would propel her name into the mainstream and thus result in more record sales? Or was she simply emphasizing her "I just don't give a shit" line in the song. Sure we were all Madonna fans back in the day (even if we won't admit it), she wrote great pop hits and always pushed the envelope...from her groundbreaking and controversial "Like a Prayer" music video to her performance of "Like a Virgin" on the MTV Video Music Awards. Every time she performed we anticipated a spectacle, but never really knew what to expect. So when I heard that she'd be doing the halftime show, I figured she'd do a medley of hits a'la Prince, Petty or Springsteen that would have the crowd dancing down memory lane. But what we got was a lame lip synched performance that relied heavily on guest spots. Do LMFAO, CeeLo, Niki or MIA really hold a candle to Madonna? Did including them make anything relevant to the youth of today? Prince didn't need anyone else...nor did Springsteen. I really think she should have gone solo..and with more songs...she has 12 minutes, couldn't she have done a 6 song medley? Instead we get LMFAO carrying her around (ok, the mix was kind of cool)...CeeLo in a sparkly Snuggie...Nicki doing her ballistic rap thing and M.I.A. trying to be tough by flipping off the camera to let us know she doesn't give a shit. I would have much rather been talking about the outrageous outfits that Madonna wore (cones anyone? maybe a bridal gown? or how about a Lucky Star throwback?) instead of the subpar performance highlighted by a no name rapper flipping us the bird. But hey...I will say that the stage was really cool! The graphics and images were awesome..and HOLY CRAP to that dude who was on that high wire kind of thing..awesome stuff for sure!

On to the positives!


Kelly Clarkson totally nailed the National Anthem! A great rendition that included live drummers and a background chorus. She didn't go all Christina with it..or tried to mix the song up..she simply sang it how it was meant to be sung and didn't draw unnecessary attention to herself. One of the better anthem performances that I can remember. Way to go Kelly!


Additional props to Blake and Miranda! I'm definitely NOT a fan of country music, but this couple practiced and did a tremendous job with America the Beautiful. I've seen Blake Shelton on a few talk shows as well as The Voice and he seems like a really great guy. I was happy to see that they were out there holding hands and pulling off a great song amidst the pressure of a 100 million plus audience.

And of course congrats to the NY Giants!! I was not a big fan of a 9-7 team making it to the playoffs, and originally wanted the Patriots to win the game...but after watching the pre-game stories of players...I found myself liking a TON of the guys on the NY Giants. They seem like great people with a loyal and dedicated fan base. Maybe one day they will challenge my Steelers for most Super Bowl wins (6) ;)