MCCARTNEY GIVES US 'FEEL-GOOD' MUSIC

Our Monday morning quarterbacks report on what happened Sunday between
the plays and at halftime. The ads played it safe, Paul kept his
clothes on -- and the Patriots won (again)

You were expecting "Why Don't We Do it in the Road"
perhaps?

Not on your life. Paul McCartney is now 62, a British knight and the
picture of feel-good wholesomeness, rather than a subversive,
pot-smoking rebel who once sang "Do it in the Road" on the Beatles'
"white album." Unlike Los Lonely Boys, who were booted off the
pre-Super Bowl concert series because of their drummer's
marijuana-related arrest last month, McCartney got a pass from the NFL
despite a past rife with reefer. Though pot possession cost him 10
days in a Tokyo prison in 1980 and a fine in 1972, McCartney now is
the entertainer the NFL has entrusted with restoring its
family-centric dignity after last year's Janet Jackson wardrobe boo-boo.

He delivered, and then some, with a performance perfumed by nostalgia,
fireworks and marketing savvy (the performance as advertisement for
his forthcoming tour). McCartney and his bass guitar stood on a
checkerboard stage, surrounded by a four-piece band, and knocked out
the Beatles' "Drive My Car" and "Get Back." At the piano he led a
bombastic "Live and Let Die," with enough pyro to light up the Florida
sky, and a sing-along "Hey Jude" with the audience as enthusiastic
participants.

As halftime spectacle, it rivaled U2's performance at the 2002 Super
Bowl -- the last time a single act was allowed to hog the halftime
spotlight. There's something to be said for allowing a seasoned
entertainer to put together a brisk, 12-minute mini-set rather than
jump-cutting among a menagerie of ill-matched acts for 10-second
cameos. It's called playing it safe: no new songs, no surprises. It
has nothing to do with rock 'n' roll, and everything to do with
post-wardrobe-malfunction prime time TV.