If Prince's last-minute addition to the Coachella line-up was a desperate attempt by the event organizers to lend buzz to their festival's fairly indistinguishable line-up, they succeeded. The music blogosphere quickly lit up with accounts of how Prince stole the show, and no track from the Purple One's set attracted more buzz than this leisurely but impassioned cover of Radiohead's "Creep."
Surely a consummate entertainer like Prince knew his audience and thus knew that this song would kill regardless of how he spun it, but watching the video footage of the performance, it never feels like Prince is pandering. He seems to have a genuine respect for the track, never milking the cover for novelty kicks, and he puts his own, unmistakable touch on it, lending a touch of soul and showmanship to the alt-rock angst. Please let this guy do the Super Bowl Halftime show again next year.
