let's go crazy...

well, it was inevitable. i guess unless the NFL and the networks book the mid-south boys for the super bowl halftime show, some folks are just not going to be happy. and even then, somebody will have something to say if there isnt a piano and organ up there on stage with them.

seems there's quite an uproar over prince's guitar solo during "purple rain" as he closed out his halftime performance. we had a super bowl party at the cottage, but i didnt get to see the show because we ate supper during halftime, and i dont allow the TV to be on during meals. anyway, when i first saw the story on yahoo news this morning, i was really surprised because i hadnt heard anything about a controversy in the days following the game. apparently many are taking offense because, for dramatic effect, a large, back-lit opaque sheet came up from the stage floor while prince was shredding his solo, and in typical guitar slinger style, the neck of his guitar was thrust upward from approximately waist level. the resulting giant silhouette, according to the offended masses, was enough to make even "bob" of enzyte fame, envious.

i skipped on over to you-tube and viewed the video and, well gee, i'm sorry, i dont get what the commotion is all about this time (late-breaking news... i was going to link to the you-tube video here, but it has been removed due to a copyright claim by universal music publishing group). i did happen to be tuned in in '04 for janet jackson's wardrobe malfunction, and i sat there rather dumbfounded, trying to figure out if i really saw what i thought i just saw. and janet and justin's lame attempts of explaining that one away were really insulting, and i thought the outrage was more than justified. i'm not so sure that CBS knew in advance, and i think the financial burden for that should have rested squarely on j&j, but that's water under the bridge now.

this time around, i think at least partly because of what happened in 2004, there are folks who just watch to see what they can nit-pick anymore, and they really had to stretch for this one. in the words of one commenter on you-tube "sometimes a guitar is just a guitar." now dont get me wrong, prince has done and said a lot of things in his career that were more than offensive, and one article i read said something to the effect that many a church group that was hosting a super bowl event got more than they bargained for during "purple rain." i submit that given prince's reputation, they should have turned the TV off long before the very last song in his set if they were so convicted about watching him. i dont propose to tell any church group how to organize their super bowl outreaches (although many of these things arent outreaches at all, they're more like desperate attempts to have some kind of turnout among their own members at their evening worship services on the first sunday in february), but all the ones i know about have some sort of devotional or message during halftime. prince sure wasnt going to be holding a church service on the 50 yard line, but i digress...

i've never been a really big fan of prince, although he had a few songs in the 80's that i liked... "purple rain" being one of them. in fact, the handful of his songs i did care for were all from the "purple rain" album. nobody can deny that he is a vastly talented performer, and much to the surprise of many, a really excellent guitar player. and as far as i could tell from the video clips, thats all he was guilty of sunday... playing the guitar solo to "purple rain" like a musician caught up in the moment.

i am a huge third day fan. i've probably been to 12 or more of their concerts since '95. its really like going to a giant church service with the best worship band you've ever heard. but they also are passionate about their music, and they rock like nobody's business... and they get caught up in the moment just like any artist that's passionate about their music. and i'm not trying to compare what prince does to what third day does (other than it's music they're passionate about), but i got to thinking... if some of these hyper-sensitive whiners who didnt know third day from three dog night ever got a look at these guys in concert, i bet they'd pitch just as big a fit as they did sunday night... the photos below: third day band members tai anderson (in sleeveless shirt) and brad avery (with singer toby mac). a guitar is just a guitar, right??