janelle
02-12-2004, 11:16 PM
Posted on Thu, Feb. 12, 2004
It was 40 years ago this week when the Beatles shook up America on "The Ed Sullivan Show." I thought about that Sunday night on CBS. Then I thought about another recent Sunday night on CBS -- when Janet Jackson popped her top.
In both cases, it was huge news.
In both cases, the artists received worldwide "exposure."
In both cases, you had young people saying it was no big deal and old people wringing their hands as if the world were about to end.
The difference, as I see it, is the music. The Beatles, to be honest, were tame in their performance on the Sullivan show. They wore suits. They smiled. They did less jiggling than Elvis had done eight years earlier. The thing that made the audience scream was their hair, their cuteness and, yes, the fact that their songs were hotter than a brush fire.
In Jackson's case, I've already forgotten what she was singing. It wasn't new. It wasn't hot. The audience on the field was simulated, the way they are now at every Super Bowl, with young extras hired by the host committee to act as if they're really, truly enjoying the show.
Am I starting to sound old? Well, the danger in growing up, musically, is that everything new seems lousy and everything old seems great. Much of this is because old people -- meaning older than 25 -- are irrelevant when it comes to music sales.
But comparing the Beatles and Janet Jackson, it's the music that is the relevant topic.
The Beatles were controversial because of their music and style. Jackson was controversial only because she went semi-naked.
And I guess that's what saddens people my age. We truly connected to the songs of our artists -- because we didn't have video. They didn't play the Super Bowl. If the song couldn't stand on its own musically, it disappeared. Stripping didn't help it.
Times change. But time has a way of putting things in perspective. Forty years from now -- maybe when all earthlings walk around half-naked -- people will chuckle at the fuss we made over Jackson's strip.
But I doubt anyone will be singing her songs.
Meanwhile, if I start a line from one of the tunes the Beatles did on "Ed Sullivan" 40 years ago, I'm pretty sure you can finish it. How about, "I want to hold your...."?
Those of you who said "breast": Please leave the room.
It was 40 years ago this week when the Beatles shook up America on "The Ed Sullivan Show." I thought about that Sunday night on CBS. Then I thought about another recent Sunday night on CBS -- when Janet Jackson popped her top.
In both cases, it was huge news.
In both cases, the artists received worldwide "exposure."
In both cases, you had young people saying it was no big deal and old people wringing their hands as if the world were about to end.
The difference, as I see it, is the music. The Beatles, to be honest, were tame in their performance on the Sullivan show. They wore suits. They smiled. They did less jiggling than Elvis had done eight years earlier. The thing that made the audience scream was their hair, their cuteness and, yes, the fact that their songs were hotter than a brush fire.
In Jackson's case, I've already forgotten what she was singing. It wasn't new. It wasn't hot. The audience on the field was simulated, the way they are now at every Super Bowl, with young extras hired by the host committee to act as if they're really, truly enjoying the show.
Am I starting to sound old? Well, the danger in growing up, musically, is that everything new seems lousy and everything old seems great. Much of this is because old people -- meaning older than 25 -- are irrelevant when it comes to music sales.
But comparing the Beatles and Janet Jackson, it's the music that is the relevant topic.
The Beatles were controversial because of their music and style. Jackson was controversial only because she went semi-naked.
And I guess that's what saddens people my age. We truly connected to the songs of our artists -- because we didn't have video. They didn't play the Super Bowl. If the song couldn't stand on its own musically, it disappeared. Stripping didn't help it.
Times change. But time has a way of putting things in perspective. Forty years from now -- maybe when all earthlings walk around half-naked -- people will chuckle at the fuss we made over Jackson's strip.
But I doubt anyone will be singing her songs.
Meanwhile, if I start a line from one of the tunes the Beatles did on "Ed Sullivan" 40 years ago, I'm pretty sure you can finish it. How about, "I want to hold your...."?
Those of you who said "breast": Please leave the room.