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February 7, 2007

A Princely Phallus

Prince's Super Bowl performance was so exuberant, you may have forgot to be offended! Via the AP:

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."

...

Was Prince's pose phallic?

Forget the AP --how is this not an Onion article?! But wait, the piece is about to break off some history:
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.
Tell us more, grandpa!

Seriously, what's phallic about this?

Posted at 9:26 AM
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22 Comments

Doesn't look like any phallus I've ever seen...or would want to see...ouch! :P

Posted by: mandy* at 02/07/07 10:02 AM  | Reply
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prince did the malfunction properly. he slipped it in and left people wondering what just happened to them. the man crept.

Posted by: ghosthornet at 02/07/07 10:02 AM  | Reply
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Stop. All of you people out there crying phallus. You're hurting America. It's a guitar, and sometimes that's all it is. Move on.

Posted by: Courtney at 02/07/07 10:10 AM  | Reply
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What is wrong with people, can't they just accept the fact that it was the best halftime performance ever. Everything Prince does is sexual!! That is what makes him who he is, maybe granpa got a little aroused by the show and needed an excuse to try to stop this sorta thing from happening again. Next year they can go back to Up With People for entertainment.

Posted by: Buttafly108 at 02/07/07 10:11 AM  | Reply
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Of COURSE it's a phallus. That was the POINT! Rock and Roll has always been about obscenity, challenging the status quo, offensive, lewd sexual conduct and this is no different. Prince is a person that sweats sex. Why would we expect that the man would do anything differently with his guitar than hold it like a glorified penis? If you're offended then good, it shows you were paying attention. Now, listen to every song you ever liked growing up and realize this: They were ALL about sex or drugs, sometimes both. If you're still offended, it should be at yourself for having such a prude expectation of such a hedonistic artform. Build a bridge and get over it.

Posted by: Mike B. at 02/07/07 10:17 AM  | Reply
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**moving to Europe**

Posted by: John at 02/07/07 10:35 AM  | Reply
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**moving to Europe**

Posted by: John at 02/07/07 10:36 AM  | Reply
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Phallus.
Plus Prince has one of Cisco Adler's Balls.

Posted by: matt at 02/07/07 10:42 AM  | Reply
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if you're going to cry phallus, at least use a better shot. My favorite is when he arches his back so you get the full effect of the erecto-guitar shadow.

I want Prince to be my dad.

Posted by: Xlynn at 02/07/07 10:43 AM  | Reply
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I caught it and--is this weird?--was high-fiving people. I'm not what you'd call a Prince fan, even though I own several albums and adore some of his songs, but this was just a spectacular performance. And part of that was due to the cockrockingness of it. On this point, Mike B. says it best! Rock'n'roll = rowdy.

Posted by: gorjus at 02/07/07 10:51 AM  | Reply
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Prince? Between the height and the hair, that looks like Bart Simpson. Do the Bartman!

Posted by: Noah at 02/07/07 11:14 AM  | Reply
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How the fuck else is Prince supposed to play guitar?

Posted by: Aaron B at 02/07/07 11:50 AM  | Reply
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***How the fuck else is Prince supposed to play guitar?***

Agreed. And where was "Get Off" when everyone really needed it?

Posted by: Justin at 02/07/07 12:22 PM  | Reply
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*LOL*

Posted by: Memememe at 02/07/07 12:44 PM  | Reply
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Sex is an aspect of popular music. Get over it. If you wanted something that wouldn't offend people, get Andrea Bocelli or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in there. The NFL wants people to watch the halftime show, and they won't watch if it's boring as hell.

And why aren't people more cranky about the complete craptacular that was the Cirque du Soleil pregame show? It was like a high school colorguard with no common sense and too much budget.

Posted by: Jessica at 02/07/07 1:21 PM  | Reply
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The only thing I was reminded of is what an awesome guitar player he is. I mean, damn.

As far as I'm concerned, the NFL finally gets it with the halftime shows. Over the past few years, they just hire popular acts(McCartney, Rolling Stones, Prince), and let them play a short set.

God, why do we always listen to the most moronic, prudish people out there.
Next up: ban baseball. I mean, "pitchers" and "catchers", and what do you think that baseball bat is supposed to symbolize anyway? I'm surprised it's been allowed to continue for this long.

Posted by: Michael at 02/07/07 1:37 PM  | Reply
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Sometimes a symbol-shaped guitar is just a symbol-shaped guitar.

Posted by: Theo at 02/07/07 2:00 PM  | Reply
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Ugh. Its Prince! Of course it was phallic! Why would anyone expect anything else?

Posted by: anonymous at 02/07/07 3:23 PM  | Reply
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Since when did people come to associate rock with being prudish? This seems like a pretty non-issue. Next week we'll be discussing too much hip shaking on national television. Are we living in 1955?

Posted by: Devin at 02/07/07 4:36 PM  | Reply
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PENIS!

Posted by: mr. tact at 02/07/07 6:21 PM  | Reply
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I am actually surprised that the NFL (No Fun League) didn't have an issue with this.

Posted by: Alex at 02/07/07 11:23 PM  | Reply
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To quote Bill Hicks

"Did you all know that Jimi Hendrix played his cock? He didn't play guitar, he just strung his penis"

Posted by: fletcherrr at 02/08/07 1:37 PM  | Reply
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