Good lines

An excerpt from New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones’s take on the Neighborhood Ball:

[R]ight before Denzel Washington introduced the biggest rock stars of the night, who strolled out as if they only had maybe one or two other balls to hit. Mr. Obama was in black tie, Mrs. Obama, Jason Wu. Quite reasonably, President Obama asked the crowd, “How good-looking is my wife?” Nations melted, seas calmed, hostilities paused. More to the point, every other First Couple understood that notice had been served. Even you, Mrs. Bruni-Sarkozy, will have a tough time outshining an Obama.

The Obamas danced to Beyoncé’s version of Etta James staple, “At Last.” I didn’t expect this to be my weepy moment, but it was. These two gorgeous people were doing something so specifically American, sweet, mudane, and unprecedented. It was America’s first real prom, the dream of soda pop and radio for everyone. That said—this is still the music business, and performing an Etta James song is still cross-promotion when you’ve still got your Etta James picture in the theatres. Good going, B.