Prince and Football

I watched the Super Bowl half time show and was taken by how well the spectacle so often associated with Prince worked in that setting. After the past overly produced shows from previous years it was nice to have an artist whose musicianship took center stage. Playing guitar in the rain was itself interesting. It was obvious that he was singing and playing live. His musicial authority cut through all the spectacle. His guitar playing actually elevated the energy level.

It was interesting to see how the media covered it the next day. Yearning for controversy they of course picked up on the androgynous thread. His phallic silhouette was certainly good news. But all that I remember was that at one brief moment the only sound was the entire stadium singing together -- Purple Rain! -- in the rain.