Arts: Madonna Shakes Her Pomo Pompoms

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Brow Beat Madonna Shakes Her Pomo Pompoms By Troy Patterson Posted Monday, Feb 06, 2012, at 04:16 PM ET Yesterday afternoon, at the supermarket, tossing chips and salsa in the cart for reasons seemingly unrelated to free will, I caught one of the deli guys in an uncommonly unsullen mood. Edgy with anticipation, he said, "You gonna watch the game?  You know who's playing halftime? Madonna! Of all people! Madonna finally decided to show up!" The greatest marketing agent of our lifetime was on duty for a pseudo-eventful 12 minutes yesterday, and she performed well enough to add another Salesman-of-the-Month plaque to her trophy case, despite opening her medley passionlessly, with a regally complacent "Vogue" and a charmless version of "Music." But when considering Madonna, it's safe, here and there, to forget about the songs for a moment: The sets and costumes in evidence at her entrance were arresting in their awesome gaudiness. They presented a wet mess of antiquity hybridizing: Caesar's Palace classicism meets Egyptological pomp. (Was the halftime show sponsored by Bridgestone or by Ozymandias?) They seemed calculated to gratify observers ranging from Camille Paglia (an old-school admirer of Madonna's Dionysian porno-chic) to Esquire's Tom Junod, who, anticipating the performance in a Feb. 1 blog post, referenced the Super Bowl spectacle's "Christians-versus-lions atmosphere of excess." And Madonna's gladiatrix skirt combined with the choreography—the yoga poses, the military-drill steps, the funambulism and un-fun athleticism—to conjure an idea best expressed by Robert Christgau, that there is "more gym than boudoir in the way she pump[s] her crotch." Madonna did ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Who Was That Guy in the Toga With Madonna? And What Was He Doing? The Gutsiest Call in Super Bowl History That Shrink on Gawker Blabs His Patients' Secrets. Are Therapists Allowed To Do That?	Advertisement
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