LEAST SURPRISING NEWS OF YEAR: TOM PETTY SALES BUMP

Yep, both CD sales and digital tracks surged following Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Half Time Show performance. That's great: it shows that older fans are reaquainting themselves with the band, and also new people were turned on to the band after seeing them perform.

I remember last year, when John Mellencamp was promoting his latest album, the interviewer asked him about why he let Chevrolet use his new song, "Our Country," in their ad (he also sold them "Now More Than Ever" a few years earlier). He had, like Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and very few others, always refused to sell his music to sponsors. He asked the interviewer if he had heard Petty's then-new solo album, Highway Companion, and asked if he ever heard it on the radio. The interviewer agreed, there wasn't much awareness of the album. So Mellencamp says, "And my album isn't as good as Tom Petty's!" Basically saying that, having a good album isn't enough anymore if you want people to hear it. So, even though I'm not really a football fan, I'm glad Tom agreed to do the Super Bowl.

I'm just forward to: his upcoming tour, his reunion album with Mudcrutch and a new Heartbreakers album.