Saddle Creek Records, Cursive and their publicist finally have given details on Mama, I’m Swollen, the band’s new full length. The release date is March 10 on Saddle Creek, of course (did you ever doubt?). The album was recorded last summer at ARC. According to the press release: “Wrestling with life’s miseries and mysteries, Mama, I’m Swollen is an album brimming with the universal, questioning the human condition, social morality, and the ‘Peter Pan Syndrome’ of grown men.” Not sure what that last part means, but I assume it’s PR-speak for “It rocks!” The band’s headed back to NYC in early March and then out west for a few shows, and of course, SXSW.

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My thoughts on the Super Bowl: Arizona’s defense choked on that last drive; and the bizarre pick for a touchdown at the end of the first half was nothing less than the Hand of the Football Gods making their wishes known.

As for halftime, I thought Bruce’s performance was fine, a bit cheesy, but fine. I would have placed “Working on a Dream” in the middle and closed with “Born to Run,” but Bruce seemed to know what he was doing (I also could have done without “It’s Boss time!” but that’s quibbling). So the list goes, Springsteen this year, before that, Tom Petty, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and then the infamous Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson’s tit debacle. U2 played it in 2002 (the Super Bowl, not Janet’s nipple). The full list is here.

Who’s left? Well, there’s Dylan — imagine how that would go over with the Super Bowl crowd. Zeppelin would be a natural, but that’s out. That leaves Elton John/Billy Joel, Madonna, AC/DC, Metallica or someone from the C&W world. My suggestion: The Flaming Lips — though completely unknown to the average football fan, Wayne Coyne could put on a spectacle that would never be forgotten. Instead, if Fox is broadcasting the game next year (I’m not sure who has the rights), look for an American Idol medley of “stars.” Ugh.

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