Paul McCartney at The SuperbowlWritten by Peter Cross
Paul's show at Superbowl was an historic event for a number of reasons. We were all watching a living legend in action, a star from 1960's up there on stage acting like a teenager entertaining teenagers in 2005, and audience reacted on most fundamental level. Now I've seen a lot of shows by many rock legends, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Grateful Dead, and many others, and I have to say that Paul's Superbowl show was best short rock and roll show in history.To begin with, I did not fail to notice his choice of songs. He began his show with "Baby You Can Drive My Car", a driving piece of simple rock and roll, and then followed up with two more simple Beatles songs. Of course, Paul can afford best musicians to back him up, and I also did not fail to notice that these expert players stayed true to The Beatles tracks and played them note for note like records. Each song was one that Paul wrote, and they were all straight ahead, simple rock and roll. I also thought it was significant that he chose "Get Back", and that at end of song he asked audience, "Do you want to Get Back?" The audience roared their approval. Now what do you think they all want to get back to? The significance of what he did proves a concept that's occurred to me recently. I believe that cycle of creativity in music is just about over. If you examine human history, creative bursts never remain in any one genre indefinitely. Ever since early 1990's when Van Halen, Alanis Morrisette and Jewel hit charts big time, there haven't been any more rock acts that are capable of sustaining their success in recording studio. On account of this and phenomenon of free MP3 downloading, most record companies are losing money. The old formula of having record company put up well in excess of $150,000 to promote a new act simply doesn't work any more. In order for a record company to recoup their initial investment in recording time and promotion, it's absolutely necessary to have an act that can write and record more than one hit record, and that's missing key. There are no more acts who can do that, and record companies are painfully aware of this. After Paul finished his three Beatles songs, he performed one Wings song - Live and Let Die. I think he chose that one because it has great dynamics which lent itself naturally to impressive light show that accompanied song. But then Paul chose to end his show with "Hey Jude", which is certainly one of definitive Beatles songs. In terms of dynamics of his entire show, it was a natural choice for an ending. I also could not fail to miss that whenever camera panned out over audience, all I could see were young people in teenager to early 20's age group. I would have expected to see old hippies from Paul's generation, but there were none that I could see. Of course, audience adored Paul and did usual arm waving thing and massive lighter thing in dark, and that means nothing because audiences do exact same thing for famous acts with no talent. But point I'm making here is that young people are definitely turning back to real rock and roll, Paul is one of originals, and audience was fully aware and appreciative. There are at least three reasons why young people are turning back to rock and roll:
| | The Lore And Beauty Of TurquoiseWritten by Lee Dobbins
Turquoise has been sought after for centuries for it’s beauty and healing powers. Well known for it’s uses in Native American jewelry and carvings, it has been used for centuries and dates back to ancient Egypt as evidenced by turquoise jewelry found in ancient Egyptian tombs.This popular stone can range in color from vivid sky blue to a yellowish green color and is found in mines all over world. Although quite porous in nature, most turquoise has been stabilized for use in modern jewelry which renders it less apt to chip and protects it from discoloration due to exposure from body oils. Turquoise can be strung as beads, carved into animal fetishes and combined with a variety of other stones to make striking handmade jewelry. Turquoise gem stones are reputed to have powerful healing properties. This stone is said to help with public speaking as well as enhance calmness and creativity. The wearer of turquoise my also notice improved wisdom and honesty as well as a new sense of empathy. It has also been used to help enhance relationships, strengthen bond in friendships and allow one to have a better connection with their inner self. It’s healing properties are associated with respiratory, skeletal and digestive systems and has long been used to cleanse body of toxins.
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