Summer Olympics 2012: Closing Ceremony Music Critique

  SUMMER OLYMPICS 2012: CLOSING CEREMONY MUSIC CRITIQUE

   Who is the genius that called Annie Lennox "goth"? I was expecting Joy Division (without Ian Curtis, natch), the Sisters of Mercy, the Cure, or Siouxsie and the Banshees. Instead, we got one-half of the Eurythmics, a great singer with a wonderful '80s band. But not goth, even with the heavy make-up for the occasion.
   Where was U2? Were they not invited because they are Irish and not British? What about a British small-arena band from that early post-punk 80s scene,  such as Simple Minds, the Alarm, Echo & the Bunnymen (without Pete DeFreitas, natch), or Big Country (without Stuart Adamson, natch)?

   The musical theme of the London Olympics closing ceremony could have been Missing In Action or Rest In Peace. One-half of the Who played. One-half of Queen played. One-fifth of Pink Floyd played. Where were 60% of the Rolling Stones, 100% of Cream/Eric Clapton, or 75% of Led Zeppelin? Disappointing. At least the 68-year-old Daltrey of the Who is self-aware enough to have deleted the line "Hope I die before I get old" from "My Generation." What somewhat salvaged the '60s section was former Kinks lead Ray Davies singing "Waterloo Sunset." It's not a shame about Ray.

   In addition to having fragmented rock band legends  of the past perform, certain great if not super-popular movements in British pop and rock were ignored altogether.
   Where was a representative of the punk era? If they could have Queen without Freddie Mercury, why not the Clash without Joe Strummer? The Sex Pistols without Sid Vicious? Wire without their later art-rock sound? 
  Speaking of art-rock, why not a snippet of prog rockers ELP, early Genesis, or Yes? No? What about a slice of British folk with Fairport Convention? What about something more from the glam-rock era than a video-bound David Bowie?
   Where was a representative of the New Romantic movement? Where was ABC, the Human League, Ultravox, or OMD?
   Sure, Britpop of '95 was illustrated by a Gallagher brother and a bit of Blur, but where was a representative of the c86 era? Where were the Reid brothers and the Jesus and Mary Chain? What about Manchester baggy of '89? Where were the Stone Roses or Happy Mondays? Then there's the shoe-gazing movement of the early 90s. Where was My Bloody Valentine, Ride, or Slowdive? 
  I'm sorry. When the highlights of the "music" show are a treacly Brian May guitar solo and a sixty-something Pete Townshend leaping three inches off the ground, there's a problem. Eric Idle of Monty Python fame was fun, but where were Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and John Cleese? It could have been so much better.
  Somehow, a Spice Girls reunion was symbolic of the whole affair: style over substance. Still, there were Ray Davies, Madness, and Eric Idle. I'll take that threesome over Sir Paul McCartney at 70, the music highlight of the opening ceremony, any day. Let it be, Paul.