So. That was quite a closing ceremony, in some respects. Lot of music to comment on. I took notes:
*The ceremony opens with Wormtail chomping on a cigar?
*After all of the success that Great Britain had in the games, I'm sure a lot of national pride went into their singing of "God Save the Queen" in the beginning. So it seemed like a totally classy move for NBC to cut right from that... to a monkey riding on a toy ambulance.
*Madness? Whoa. Where did they dig these guys up? "Our House" was one of those 80s songs that I could either appreciate a little or really hate depending on my mood when it came on MTV. Pretty obvious the singer isn't so used to the singing anymore.
*And then the Pet Shop Boys? I'll admit - they were a guilty pleasure in college. Catchy melodies, and anything with a strong beat to it appeals to my inner drummer. But if you saw the costumes they wore you'd understand why they were a guilty pleasure.
*I like seeing the athletes all come out together. I hope everyone in that group, whether they medalled to their personal satisfaction or not, is walking in there appreciating the experience they've had and is taking in the moment. I hope that even if they've devoted themselves to their particular sport, they have enough balance in their lives to embody what the Olympic spirit is supposed to be. Would you see this kind of joy and enthusiasm from the whole of the NFL, or the NBA, or the NHL or MLB walking out en masse? I think not. A pretty telling statement made by these athletes.
*NBC - I get it: You want me to watch "Revolution." I will not. But I give you credit for using one of my favorite songs from the new Linkin Park album in your promo.
*I swear Great Britain is making a case to have John Lennon's head added to Mount Rushmore.
*It's a good thing they put George Michael's name on the screen when he came on stage, just to make sure people didn't think Bono had wandered into town from 2004.
*It makes sense that David Bowie is the soundtrack to the segment about British fashion, but coming from someone who dresses in as many neutral shades as possible because I cannot be trusted to dress myself without constant threat of embarrassment, this couldn't interest me any less than it does.
*Annie Lennox. I've held a grudge against her for nearly twenty-one years. Get her off my TV. Plus I'm pretty sure she's lip-synching.
*Say what you will about Ryan Seacrest, but I'll give the guy credit for knowing enough to stay quiet and not just yammering on like a Costas to fill the perceived informational gaps of the show.
*I don't know who this guy is singing "Wish You Were Here," but he's doing the song justice.
*Russell Brand? Seriously? I suppose there are few people better equipped to represent psychedelia.
*I know I'm out of step with a lot of popular music. But at what point did our culture decide to start considering DJs to be creative musical artists? This bothers me.
*Jessie J. I remember her from SNL last spring. Decent voice, and I'm liking the costume. But I don't know why we need ten minutes of her.
*The Spice Girls. You know what, these ladies should be thanking every couple that's ever gotten married because I think the only time anyone ever hears their songs anymore is at wedding dances. Am I really the only person who remembers they were nothing more than the female variant of the millenial pre-packaged boy band?
*There are a lot of Union Jacks on display here, in the background, the costumes, all over the place. This begs the question: Where is Def Leppard??! Let's remember back to 1983, for those of you who were around back then. Nobody did as much for Union Jack fashion as Def Leppard did. They were owed a spot on the bill tonight.
*Oh my.... and the show is absolutely stolen by the Ghost of Freddie Mercury. Dead nearly twenty years and he still has the crowd of 80,000 people in the palm of his hand. I literally got chills. And then here comes Brian May playing.... seriously??!? They're having him play the Brighton Rock guitar solo?!? That solo was one of my favorite songs in high school! Not the whole song, but just the live version of the solo, the extended jam he played, harmonizing with his echo-delayed self for about eight minutes on Disc 2 of Queen's "Live Killers" album -- one of the few cassettes I ever played to the point of wearing it out. There really could not be a better Official Guitar Solo for the London Olympics. And then to lead that in to "We Will Rock You?" Seriously. What other song are you going to play in a stadium. That song is the reason God created stadiums. This is all so perfect I'm almost willing to overlook that Jessie J is back onstage for the vocals, because if they were going to bring someone from earlier in the night back out for an encore to join them, there is only one real possible successor to Freddie Mercury, and he's even performed already! Missed opportunity times ten. (I'd also like to point out that Queen did NOT roll right into playing "We Are the Champions" after "We Will Rock You" even though doing so at the Olympics would have been appropriate enough. Because they are two separate songs.)
*And where exactly was Muse?
