Eugene David<br>...The One-Minute Pundit

The SUPERMANNING OF AMERICA continues as five thousand people all but engage in fistfights booking "musical" acts for the late-night plugfests.

OR:

Sullivan had a keen understanding of what various demographic segments of his audience desired to see. As an impresario for the highbrow, he debuted ballerina Margot Fonteyn in 1958 and later teamed her with Rudolf Nureyev in 1965; saluted Van Cliburn after his upset victory in the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow; and welcomed many neighbors from the nearby Metropolitan Opera, including Roberta Peters, who appeared 41 times, and the rarely seen Maria Callas, who performed a fully staged scene from Tosca. As the cultural eyes and ears for middle America, he introduced movie and Broadway legends into the collective living room, including Pearl Bailey, who appeared 23 times; Richard Burton and Julie Andrews in a scene from the 1961 Camelot; Sammy Davis Jr. with the Golden Boy cast; former CBS stage manager Yul Brynner in The King and I; Henry Fonda reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address; and the rising star Barbra Streisand singing "Color Him Gone" in her 1962 debut. Occasionally, he devoted an entire telecast to one theme or biography: "The Cole Porter Story," "The Walt Disney Story," "The MGM Story," and "A Night at Sophie Tucker's House."

The Civil Wars, Foo Fighters, Janelle Monae, Lady Gaga, TV on the Radio, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Animal Collective, Prince, Kesha, Mana, Mindless Behavior, Far East Movement, David Guetta, Fitz & The Tantrums, Freddie Gibbs, Charles Bradley, Gang Gang Dance, Gogol Bordello, Cake -- yes, I'd say that's a pretty fair trade.