"Sad." "Why don't they get someone who's had a hit in the last 30 years?" "Man, they're old." "Frankly, I thought they sucked."

Yes: those are the comments that greeted me from friends and colleagues over the news that Pavement will be one of the headliners at the Coachella festival.

Not really. Joke time!

Those were in fact remarks I heard after the Who's medley at halftime in the greatest Super Bowl ever.

I'm not sure why reaction was so negative. I sorta enjoyed the Who, myself, and I definitely thought they were better than Bruce or the Stones during their respective halftime shows. Yeah, they are old, but it's also true that at least they have enough hits to fill up twenty minutes. Do you want to see 20 minutes worth of Daughtry? Beyonce? I thought not.

First of all: consider the demographic of the average person who can afford to attend a Super Bowl — or that at least has a vested interest and disposable income in the television audience. You think the NFL is gonna hire LCD Soundsystem? Of Montreal? Some gangsta and hope he goes all PG with his rhymes? Radiohead? Hot Chip?

No: you're gonna be stuck with Who-like acts forever.

If you want Vampire Weekend, well, go to Coachella.

As for Old Pete and Old Roger, I thought the medley was representative and nicely arranged. I also thought Old Pete looked very hip in the context of his age and, oh, yeah, the let's-not-forget-the-fact that he stinkin' wrote Quadrophenia and Tommy and Who's Next.

It's true that I don't like "Who Are You" — I think it's one of their worst songs — but, by God, "Won't Get Fooled Again" is going to be great and amazing long after all of us are dead.

Two questions:

1. What did you think of the Who's appearance?

2. Have you ordered your Saints Super Bowl champs merch yet?