The other night, I saw a commercial for a new TV show, which is actually a re-make of an older show called "Don't Forget the Lyrics." You can guess the premise: karaoke singers have to try to keep singing without a prompter and hilarity ensues.
Today, I saw this picture of Tom Petty on stage during his recent tour. In between the sound monitors, you see a teleprompter that presumably will keep him from being a contestant on "DFTL."
Bruce Springsteen, another one of my favorite artists, has been using prompters for years. I guess they are becoming the norm now. But, I have to wonder why.
I know these guys have written a ton of songs. When you play them night after night, you might get lost and jumble a verse or two. But, that's kind of what makes going to a concert such a cool experience.
Is this current trend just a nod to technology, or does fronting a band for decades fry the circuits in your brain and make it hard to remember your own poetry?
Anybody got any thoughts on this?
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
