Eight days ago, during a brief respite in the middle of the Seattle Seahawks complete and utter domination of the Denver Broncos, Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage at Metlife Stadium to provide us with some cheerful halftime entertainment. For the most part, it went off without a hitch; Mars pulled some MJ-esque dance moves, while Anthony Keidis mugged for the camera while singing the Peppers 1991 hit "Give It Away." It all seemed like a great time for everyone involved.

Then, as the days wore on, there were some rumblings in the internet world about the authenticity of the performance. See, the Chili Peppers instruments weren't plugged in! It was all a lie! How could they do such a thing! The answer was simple: that's what every band does every year.

What the Chili Peppers did at the Halftime show last Sunday was hardly anything new. Every band plays to a pre-recorded track during the Super Bowl Halftime show, with only the vocals being truly "live." Springsteen did it. Tom Petty did it. Prince and the Stones and Paul McCartney did it. One would guess the outrage over the RHCP miming was mostly because people didn't now that was how this worked, with a little extra because the Chili Peppers weren't particularly good at pretending to play their instruments (maybe they should get some miming advice from the Heartbreakers).

But all of this controversy about nothing begs a more pertinent question: what the hell do we really need to the Super Bowl Halftime Show anyway? What good does it do to have some band from 20-years go take to the stage and mime some songs that were big 20years ago? At least when Beyonce performed last year, we knew most of it was fake, and we didn't care because it's Beyonce. But having bands go out and do this just feels like a rather pointless exercise.

Who exactly is the Super Bowl Halftime Show for? It certainly isn't football fans, who would likely prefer to see the third quarter just start already instead of sitting through an extra 10 minutes. Presumably, it's for people who don't care about football - it's the league's attempt to create viewing interest for those who don't already have a need or desire to watch the game. And I can understand that, especially since I spent weeks before the Super Bowl trying to talk my non-football loving friend into tuning because she loves the Chili Peppers. If you're wondering, it was the only part of the game she enjoyed.

But really, all the concern over the RHCP miming their instruments shouldn't cause a backlash against them, as they were just following orders; it should just make us question this entire decadent, pointless process. The Super Bowl is the biggest football game of the year. Instead of hopelessly decorating it in ungodly amounts of frosting and glitter year after year, which serves only to distract from the game it self, why don't we just enjoy the game for what it is and cut back on the trimmings a little bit? And if the non-football loving watchers don't like it, they'll still have the commercials.

A sleek and stellar new single from Atoms For Peace's more than "much anticipated" upcoming album, Amok (Feb 19), has come spinning onto the web. Ghostly, paranoid, and rhythmically adventurous, "Judge Jury and Executioner" carries all the haunted characteristics of a classic Thom Yorke song. The track also contains contributions from Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, Flea, and longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a forthcoming Red Hot Chili Peppers album, their 10th overall and their first since 2006's Stadium Arcadium (an album was disappointing to me, personally). It is also their first recording with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer following the departure (for the second time) of John Frusciante. Titled I'm with You, the album showcases a new direction for the Peppers after their two previous releases had found their sound getting stale. It technically hasn't been released yet (it's coming out Tuesday), but the album was recently made available at www.itunes.com/rhcp as a free stream.

After several listens, I'd give the album a solid 3.5 out of 5. It's certainly nowhere close to their best effort, 1991's bonafide classic Blood Sugar Sex Magik, or even their second-best, 1999's Californication, but was anybody really expecting it to be? Vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, and drummer Chad Smith are nearing 50 years old (newcomer Klinghoffer is somewhere near 30). If any of you diehards were hoping for a rebirth of the same heroin-influenced mayhem present on '80s albums like Freaky Styley or The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, you'll have to give up on that far-fetched wish.

With that said, the album is a great listen, and its highlights outshine anything on Stadium Arcadium or 2002's By the Way. The first four songs are all fantastic. Opener "Monarchy of Roses" goes from an atmospheric, plodding introduction to a funky, upbeat verse section to a driving, climactic ending. That is followed by "Factory of Faith" (my personal favorite song on the album), which has many creative transitions from section to section and an incredibly danceable ending. Next, "Brendan's Death Song," written for the recently deceased L.A. punk icon and close friend of the band Brendan Mullen, is an emotional ballad that took me a bit longer to appreciate - I found myself humming the catchy refrain later on in the day.

"Ethiopia," the fourth track, lives up to its name by showcasing African percussion sections and polyrhythms; the 7/8 time signature and jazzy chords are indicative of Flea's spending his time off enrolled in music school at the University of Southern California. The song pulls off an impressive feat - remaining catchy despite its odd time signature.

Another highlight is Flea's fantastic bass solo on track nine, "Goodbye Hooray," where he shows that his name still warrants mentioning in any discussion of rock music's best bass players. It seems that he is back in the driver's seat in terms of songwriting, taking the reins back from the departed Frusciante, whose giant creative persona may have had too much control in his last years with the group. Now, song structures progress more organically than the standard verse-chorus-verse-bridge format that the band had fallen into on previous releases.

To the many dedicated fans who are hoping for the best album of all time, take it for what it is: the 10th studio album from a band that is much, much closer to retirement age than you probably are. Though there are definitely tracks to skip, the best moments outweigh the worst, and the band's new sound represents a refreshing change.