Let's Argue About the Super Bowl Halftime Show
I thought the Super Bowl halftime show was very entertaining, as did the group of 45-55 year old suburbanites that were at our Super Bowl party. The teens and tweens who were there enjoyed it, too.
The reaction on social media, however, seems to be split.
I'm seeing younger people complaining about the acts all being old or "washed up."
Also seeing complaints from the type of people who think only classic rock bands should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
What say you?
February 14th, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
Kendrick also has THIRTEEN Grammys. So he's not just "popular". You can debate whether Grammys = good, but this isn't a situation where it's just the unwashed masses that appreciate his talent.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:34 PM ^
So it's the unwashed masses and the halfwits who vote for the Grammys. OK.
I have no axe to grind against the guy, like I've said, I have only heard his name. Just because people don't like/don't know his music doesn't make them wrong.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:50 PM ^
Not liking (or not having heard of) a certain person or kind of music absolutely doesn't make someone wrong.
Saying that someone doesn't belong up there, that they're not good (with an objective tone lacking in subjectivity or humility), that they've "never heard of someone" (or "only heard his name") for someone that is so highly acclaimed comes off as telling on yourself more than any reasonable critique of the artist.
(and to be clear, I'm not talking to you directly, just an assortment of the negative feedback I've seen both here and other forums)
February 14th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
He was the only artist on there where my wife and I were like “who is that? I don’t know.” The rest was a decent blast from the past.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
Way too many performers, it should have just been Dre and Snoop. Save Em and 50 for their own halftime show.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
I've been Lowriding since the early 90's, so you know I was digging it.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:37 AM ^
It was the best halftime show I've ever seen
February 14th, 2022 at 9:44 AM ^
The more I read, the more I think we'd get along.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:15 AM ^
Being a 62 year old white conservative I'm pretty sure I don't fit anywhere into that shows target demographic.
That said, I thought it was terrific and enjoyed it very much. As did almost everyone at my party based on the whoops, hand gestures and singing going on while the music played.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
That paints a vision!
February 14th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
close second to when we all got to see Janet Jackson's boob.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:14 PM ^
I really enjoyed it, but it's still behind Prince for me.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
For all the old fat entertainers on the stage (which, is normal in life), Snoop sure looked skinny! What's his secret?
February 14th, 2022 at 9:45 AM ^
Could you imagine Snoop with a gut? I just can't do it.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
Gin and Juice?
February 14th, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^
Tokers know - eat BEFORE you get high, the munchies won't hit as hard
February 14th, 2022 at 9:39 AM ^
Maybe my TV was on delay or something, because…
Eminem kept putting the microphone down to his side without his voice ever deterring. In fact, I felt like most people were lip singing something that was pre-recorded.
Does is matter? Nope!
It is called a halftime show, and it was a show. It was easily one of the best halftime shows I remember. Though, I wish Super Bowl halftime shows were significantly shorter. I’m completely out of the game by the time it comes back on.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:10 AM ^
Em is bad at lip-syncing was my guess. I watched about 5 minutes of the show, because my wife dragged me out to watch it. It was OK.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:40 AM ^
With NWA and Dr Dre being from LA I thought it was cool to have Dre and his acts perform. My first reaction was that all of these guys and their music is really old. But I guess so was Prince and half of the other superbowl halftime acts.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
I kept hoping for an NWA reunion given the location, especially after seeing a surprise performer. Then I tried to rack my feeble brain to come up with a 45-second song chunk that could be played on network TV.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:27 PM ^
Express Yourself would be fine...
February 14th, 2022 at 9:42 AM ^
I like it. It was one of the better halftime shows I’ve seen in years. The stage they performed on was cool (although one side of the stadium got the shaft). Overall, I liked it!!
February 14th, 2022 at 9:42 AM ^
This discussion reminds me of the soundtracks at snow resorts. Unless things have changed drastically in the last year or so, they're heavy on mediocre '80s album rock. (Anyone else have that experience?) I'm sure that's because it's what their focus groups / target customers prefer.
There aren't many things more "focus grouped" than the NFL, so the show was -- as usual -- probably designed to please the largest number of people.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
This man gets it. Know.Your.Audience.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
Ski resort soundtracks match the 80's/early-90's ski movie soundtracks - I can confirm for you this has not changed lol
February 14th, 2022 at 9:43 AM ^
My only negative thought was "Mary J Blige might be too old for those pants." Otherwise, it was good.
Apparently, Eminem was kneeling for symbolic reason; no one I knew even noticed.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
"...no one I knew even noticed."
Which makes one wonder why so much fuss about Kaepernick's protest...
February 14th, 2022 at 9:43 AM ^
My only negative thought was "Mary J Blige might be too old for those pants." Otherwise, it was good.
Apparently, Eminem was kneeling for symbolic reason; no one I knew even noticed.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:45 AM ^
Opinions are like assholea
February 14th, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^
The complaint is that all are black and rap/ hip-hop (I know Eminem, but how I was excited by Mom's Spaghetti and nobody knew the reference). Fuck those assholes.
We hung out with a bunch of 30-45 year olds and they all loved it, because they are normal Americans.
Also, "I mostly like classic rock" = code word for white power (and I love most classic rock, but mostly mid 70's +)*
February 14th, 2022 at 9:50 AM ^
wow.....
so everyone that likes classic rock is a white power racist?
FYI: you just joined the group you're criticizing
February 14th, 2022 at 10:09 AM ^
Reread my post and then comment. The code word for racists is that they only/ mainly like classic rock. I didn't invent this bullshit, they did (and not that it matters, but I love classic rock).
February 14th, 2022 at 10:26 AM ^
i reread it..... in your opinion, if someone didn't like the halftime show they aren't normal americans....
Nice.....
do you have an official arian nation dictionary or something???? I have personally made the statement "i mainly listen to classic rock" when I was younger.... because I actually did mainly listen to classic rock. I might not even be alone!!!!!
February 14th, 2022 at 10:39 AM ^
Sorry, I re-read your post and it sucked the second time also. Maybe even more than the first.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
"Normal americans" weak social commentary. I'm 57, grew up on classic rock and it's my first choice of music. I didn't like or dislike the halftime show. I don't care for hip hop or rap, but I'm not part of the target audience either. But even suggesting that classic rock fans are about white power and racism is more than closed-minded and ignorant.
The show was fine, but I don't watch halftime shows, I come for the football.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
Can I just like music without being labeled? If I love both rap/hip-hop AND classic rock, does that make me a self-hating white Uncle Tom or something?
February 14th, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^
So I’m a white power racist? I grew up enjoying the music around me, just like everyone else on this board, but that doesn’t mean we all were exposed to the *same* music. Keep your opinions about the correlation of musical taste and passing judgement on others to yourself, bub.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:16 PM ^
Wow, there’s some serious projection going on in this post.
If people didn’t like the show, whatever, it’s music. I don’t like all types of popular music either.
I thought the show was fine because I grew up with some of these songs, but if I hadn’t, I’d probably be pretty meh about it. The sound was pretty bad, as is typically the case for SB shows.
February 14th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
You tried to make a point, but worded it so damn poorly you almost come across as having the opposite opinion. it's almost comical how bad that post is.
Also, "I mostly like classic rock" means "I mostly like classic rock" to 99.9999% of the people who say it. If you think it means something else, you're hanging out with the wrong 30-45 year olds
February 14th, 2022 at 5:35 PM ^
I love that those who want to call certain groups racist seem to know all the god whistle's and secret signs by heart, but everyone else has no idea what they are talking about
February 14th, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
Dude, a lot of us were too old when rap came out. We were teenagers when Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rush, and other rock bands before, they were so called "Classic". Then through the 80s, I was all hard rock. I did like the rap music from the late 80s and 90s when I was in my 30s. As a kid I loved the Motown sound. So, how can you call anyone racist because they like rock?
February 14th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
One thing that you can always predict about the superbowl halftime show.... 1/2 of the people will complain about it, the other 1/2 will love it..... no matter who the performers are.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
Needed a cameo from Ice Cube. Dre is probably the greatest hip hop producer of all time. It's crazy how many artists he put on the map.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
He's easily the Barry Gordy Jr. of his generation. When he sold Beats by Dre to Apple, he made some serious coin, too.
I loved his close-out with the "still got it?" lyrics. Perfect.
February 14th, 2022 at 10:39 AM ^
Dre is in a class by himself at this point. Premier, DJ Quik, Timbaland, Scott Storch etc have all put out their share of bangers too.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
Gen Xer here. It was fine. It isn't really my favorite genre, but I like In Da Club and Lose Yourself. I've lived on the west coast for the past 6 years so I always make dinner during halftime, so I don't pay super close attention anymore.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
I liked it. It was cool and nostalgic. I don't think it was the greatest super bowl halftime show ever because there were times were it felt it was a little slow but it wasn't as much of a show of lights and pyrotechnics as years past and was more about just the music.
February 14th, 2022 at 9:49 AM ^
41 year old here, and I thought it was amazing. If it seemed dated to today's youth, that's only because it was long overdue for these performers to get their recognition. But, the Super Bowl generally uses older "washed up" performers. They had Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Who, Prince all way past their prime. When they try to go "modern" (Justin Timberlake, The Weekend, Shakira/JLo, Maroon5) the performances are "so-so".
For my money this was arguably the best halftime I've watched. I know many will say Prince was better, I've just never been a huge fan of his.
February 14th, 2022 at 11:21 AM ^
Michael Jackson in 1993 at the Rose Bowl was still by far the best halftime show ever.
Last night was probably in my top 5 though, maybe even top 3. Prince was up there as well. The only other show I remember much of was the Janet/JT incident and only for...you know.