Start Me Up, baby!

Superbowl-40 just proved the mantra, “you’re never too old to rock and roll,” as the Rolling Stones (average age = 62+) whipped the crowd in attendance into a frenzy on a Yah-yah tongue-shapped stage at Halftime.

Thankfully, the Superbowl sales team had the presence of mind to sell the sponsorship to Spint instead of heading off into a tasteless direction.

(After all, Boomers still represent the bulk of discretionary spending in our economy.)

Two out of the three songs the Stones performed last night caught the 5-second delay editor’s trigger finger. In "Start Me Up," the word referencing a woman's sexual sway over a dead man was killed. And in “Rough Justice,” the lyrics’ synonym for a rooster also was electronically excised.

The closest thing resembling a "wardrobe malfunction" was Mick Jagger’s hip-hugging pants slipping dangerously low as a robot cam followed when he bent over to address fans on the floor of the stadium. Shades of Plumbers’ Helper!

The sound of the halftime show was raw and precise…like I like live performances. You could hear what was there. You could hear a couple of wrong notes…you could hear a missed downbeat…but it was real. Actually, there was more passion in their performance Sunday night than you hear on their most recent album, “A Bigger Bang.”

Maybe it’s worth a listen on the roadshow tour. According to Wilkipedia, since the end of the year (2005), the Stones’ A Bigger Bang tour had made $162 million, so a lot of people are liking what they hear…or at least want to catch the band while they can.

By the way, the Stones have broken their own North American touring revenue record, which they set during their 1994 Voodoo Lounge tour, which grossed about $120-million. The North American leg of the A Bigger Bang tour still has fifteen confirmed show dates remaining. Ticket prices are averaging about $200.00 for a single seat.


My favorite Superbowl ads last night were from Ameriquest, (we won’t judge you too quickly) Budweiser (cleaning the gutters) and General Motors’ Hummer division (Roboto + Godzilla).

So that’s where H-3’s come from!