List of the Day: Who Should Play the Superbowl Halftime Show

After a break from blogging to facilitate my midterm homework/exam rush, I have returned with another great List of the Day:

The Black Eyed Peas performance at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show was a disaster. Between Fergie's mic not working properly, the absurd costumes, an awful appearance by Usher, and the confusing presence of the two non-Fergie/will-i-am members who were little more than boring hype-men.

This performance got me thinking about all of the great bands that would be great to see out on the 50 yard line halfway through next year's game, but first I had to establish two rules:

1) Among average Americans, the artist needs to have some level of name-recognition. Not everyone needs to like the artist, but a good number of people should at least know about them.

2) The performer needs to be relatively inoffensive, so as popular as Eminem is, the Superbowl-music-halftime-show-selection-lowest-common-musical-denominator-committee-people who are still gun-shy from Janet Jackson's malfunction would probably not be okay with him being on stage.

3) The artist needs to not be retired or (if a band) needs to not be broken up.

Who Should Play the Superbowl Halftime Show:

5) Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys could absolutely destroy the Superbowl stage, Licensed to Ill alone has enough hits to make an amazing setlist, and when you thrown in other classics like "Sabotage" and maybe a more recent cut like "Ch-Check It Out" plus some matching sweatsuits, you would be guaranteed a show you couldn't turn off.


4) Coldplay
Say what you want about Coldplay, but they know how to make awesome, stadium-ready pop songs.

3) Jay-Z
If the event organizers ever get around to including some real hip-hop, Jay-Z would be far and away the best choice. Less risky than either Eminem or Kanye West (who would be an awesome choice), and more talented than Lil Wayne (and more conventional), Jay-Z could also incorporate an impressive set of featured guests.

2) Rihanna
The best pop star making music today deserves a spot on one of the most popular television broadcasts in the country.

1) David Bowie
I'm kind of breaking my rule about retired artists on this one, but with no official announcement I'm going to count The Thin White Duke as an active rock star. Not only is the Superbowl halftime show a hot-spot for classic rock, but Bowie also has an incredibly strong discography to back him up. (Rebel Rebel, Changes, Let's Dance, Space Oddity, Suffragette City, Five Years, Ziggy Stardust, etc. etc. etc.)