Did anyone else have deja vu last night while watching the Grammys?
There was that fantastic tribute to James Brown, which actually seemed more like a combination of Brown and Michael Jackson.
Those Jackson intimations, which were definitely there, set me up for the soon-to-follow Justin Timberlake singing a hot duet with a sexy African American singer (the dress stayed on), who was the winner of the 15 minutes of musical fame contest. She was approprately introduced by ex-Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson, who has stretched her 15 minutes into a career of some note.
Then, if that were not enough to suggest a past Timberlake duet, up popped an ad for the Super Bowl half-time show, in this case last week's non-wardrobe malfunctioning show in the non-purple rain of Miami.
And this was all on CBS to put the final element in place, which reminds me, the oral argument in the Janet Jackson case should be coming up any decade now.
Did CBS do this on purpose as a guerilla nose-thumb at the FCC. Unlikely, though conservative content crackdown counterinsurgence seemed to be the watchword of the night, given the Dixie Chicks multiple gramophones. Certainly they seemed to read their wins as a reaction against the chickophobia spurred by Bush-bashings that are, I believe, even older than the Jackson tempest in a D-cup.
By John Eggerton
