alocispepraluger102 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 Prince's boffo Super Bowl show a bit too 'phallic' for some Feb. 6, 2007 CBS SportsLine.com wire reports NEW YORK -- In the sensitive post-wardrobe malfunction world, some are questioning whether a guitar was just a guitar during Prince's Super Bowl halftime show. Prince's acclaimed performance included a guitar solo during the Purple Rain segment of his medley in which his shadow was projected onto a large, flowing beige sheet. As the 48-year-old rock star let rip, the silhouette cast by his figure and his guitar (shaped like the singer's symbol) had phallic connotations for some. A number of bloggers have decried "Malfunction!" -- including Sam Anderson at New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer. Daily News television critic David Bianculli called it "a rude-looking shadow show" that "looked embarrassingly rude, crude and unfortunately placed." CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said Tuesday that the network has received "very few" complaints on Prince's performance. CBS last aired the Super Bowl in 2004 when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "wardrobe malfunction" sparked criticism and a subsequent crackdown on broadcast decency from the Federal Communications Commission. But this time, it was the NFL that produced the halftime show (MTV had in 2004). Spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has received no complaints. Prince's odd guitar created some silhouettes that offended a few. (Getty Images) Prince's odd guitar created some silhouettes that offended a few. (Getty Images) "We respect other opinions, but it takes quite a leap of the imagination to make a controversy of his performance," Aiello said. "It's a guitar." The majority of the reaction to Prince's performance has been laudatory, including positive reviews from the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today -- all of which noted the lack of controversy in this year's halftime show. AP Entertainment Writer Douglas J. Rowe wrote: "He delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows -- ever." For decades, the electric guitar, by nature, has been considered phallic. From Jimi Hendrix's sensual 6-string swagger to Eddie Van Halen's masturbatory soloing, the guitar has often been thought an extension of a male player's sexuality. Was Prince's pose phallic? "The short answer is, of course it is," says Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Gavin Edwards, who points out that on Prince's Purple Rain tour in the mid `80s, he performed with a guitar that would ejaculate, squirting water out of its end during the climax of Let's Go Crazy. "All that said, it didn't seem like a sniggering little puppet show," adds Edwards. "I think it was one of those things because a guitar at waist level does look like an enormous phallus." By enlarging his shadow, it's possible Prince intended to accentuate this aspect of his solo, but it's just as likely it was accidental. (You can find videos of the halftime show at YouTube.com.) A message left with Prince's publicist Tuesday wasn't returned. The late-night shows have taken notice. On CBS's The Late Late Show on Sunday night, host Craig Ferguson said of Prince: "He was obviously very happy to be there, wasn't he?" Stephen Colbert reacted with mock outrage on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report Monday night: "They knew that they were dealing with a lustful, pansexual rock 'n' roll deviant," said Colbert, who joked that the sheet hid (not enhanced) Prince's "demonic guitar phallus." In recent years, Prince has scaled down his performances, which were once renown for their gymnastics. His mini-concert at the Colts-Bears game in Miami included parts of Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, Baby I'm a Star, Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower, the Foo Fighter's Best of You and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary. The Minnesota native has attracted controversy before. Tipper Gore launched a campaign to place a warning sticker on his 1984 album Purple Rain because of the lyrics to the song Darling Nikki. Though his musical style has been expansive, he's best known for funky, sexually charged songs like I Wanna Be Your Lover and Get Off. Prince's previously most talked-about performance came at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, where he donned yellow, butt-baring pants, (a stunt later spoofed by Howard Stern). Always eccentric, he famously changed his name to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, then to simply a symbol and finally back to Prince. He also became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-`90s. But Prince's halftime performance, though celebrated, came in a much different cultural environment, where even the fleeting outline of a man and his guitar could, for some, suggest shaded depravity. "If people want to be hypersensitive, they can be hypersensitive," says Rolling Stone's Edwards. "Those trombones are phallic, too. What are you going to do?" AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service Copyright 2005-2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 Sometimes a guitar is just a guitar. Quote
Joe G Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 (edited) Sometimes a guitar is just a guitar. But in the right hands it's a GIANT PENIS!!! Prince is going to ruin Ted Haggard's recovery. Edited February 7, 2007 by Joe G Quote
DukeCity Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I thought that move was hilarious. I assumed that at least some people involved in the production were aware of what that bit of staging would look like. What I'm still wondering is whether all the tight-ass types at the network got it, or knew it was coming (so to speak). Quote
mikeweil Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 You see what you want to see, dontcha? Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I think the only answer to the Super Bowl's recent half time woes is to ressurrect Lawrence Welk and have him stage the entertainment. Wait, that might be too gay. Quote
Dan Gould Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I saw this report, but having no use for Prince (and rapidly losing interest in the outcome of the game) I did not watch the half-time festivities. Any pictures of this so-called "phallic" shadow? Quote
brownie Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 Prince and his guitar at Superbowl half-time: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250581,00.html Quote
7/4 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I saw this report, but having no use for Prince (and rapidly losing interest in the outcome of the game) I did not watch the half-time festivities. Any pictures of this so-called "phallic" shadow? Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 What is the answer? I think most sensible would agree that we need to ban the guitar from music. Quote
kh1958 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 The sounds coming out of the guitar were the part I didn't like. Quote
7/4 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 What is the answer? I think most sensible would agree that we need to ban the guitar from music. This!...from someone who plays the "organ"in a group called "Organissimo". Quote
Joe G Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 What is the answer? I think most sensible would agree that we need to ban the guitar from music. Okay, Mr. "Tulips on my organ". Quote
J Larsen Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 What is the answer? I think most sensible would agree that we need to ban the guitar from music. The only way to really solve this problem is to go right to its core and ban the penis. Quote
7/4 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 What is the answer? I think most sensible would agree that we need to ban the guitar from music. The only way to really solve this problem is to go right to its core and ban the penis. Sounds hemispheric to me. Quote
J Larsen Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 Well, it is something most of us can find in our neighborhoods... Quote
Scott Dolan Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I think the only answer to the Super Bowl's recent half time woes is to ressurrect Lawrence Welk and have him stage the entertainment. Wait, that might be too gay. Up With People! Quote
Matthew Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I love it! All these High School football players ingesting a ton of steroids, imitating NFL players, and the NFL is worried about Prince! Quote
7/4 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 I love it! All these High School football players ingesting a ton of steroids, imitating NFL players, and the NFL is worried about Prince! they need strong role models . Quote
Man with the Golden Arm Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 all the gals at my house were giggling so i guess he made his point. Quote
Dan Gould Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 (Hope its OK that I've posted his "demonic guitar phallus" on a family board) Now that I've seen the picture, the silly-quotient is even higher. I mean, first of all, compare that to Jimmy Connors shoving his racket between his legs and stroking it. Quote
Joe G Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 Actually, the silhouette in that pic looks like some kind of a giant spear-wielding Christmas elf. Quote
7/4 Posted February 7, 2007 Report Posted February 7, 2007 Actually, the silhouette in that pic looks like some kind of a giant spear-wielding Christmas elf. they should be banned too. Quote
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