Two interesting, but different, views about the Super Bowl performance: don’t miss any of them.
There was everything present in a great rock show. But it wasn’t scripted. It unfolded, warts and all, right in front of us. Springsteen faded, his performance just another unmemorable commercial for a product. In this case, a concert ticket as opposed to a snack food, but what’s the difference? Selling is selling.
Lefsetz Letter (read full article) by Bob Lefsetz
Springsteen recognizes that there’s a difference between the performer and audience, but he creates an emotional connection over the course of the night that reaffirms the common humanity of every single person in the building on that night – for the band and the audience. It’s that affirmation of a common humanity – its joys, struggles, pain, fun, heartbreak and possibility – that makes a great Springsteen show so transcendent. And it’s what makes him so much wiser than the mistaken and misguided spokesmen for authenticity and cool who criticize him for his soulful, and sometimes corny heat.
A Deeper Shade of Soul (read full article) by Ben Lazar