This is Britney, Bitch?

Yes, I still listen to Britney Spears. The girl usually has some great producers and good tunes (especially to workout/dance to), if you ignore the fact that she can’t sing (anymore – she could when she was a little tike on MMC). Thus I couldn’t resist getting the Euro release of Femme Fatale in advance of the US date. And, well… let’s just say that it doesn’t surprise me this album is out in Europe before the US. It’s an album comprised of derivative Euro club pop, which is fine for grooving to, but is in no way an attempt at evolution for the lady B.
Even though I’ve been amused at what the ‘critics’ have seen as an evolution with her last couple albums (Circus and Blackout to be precise) which were also little more than Euro club pop, they at least explored some new territory for Britney and some of the tunes had decent lyrics -- and weren't overproduced to the point where you wonder who's actually singing. Femme Fatale already has two singles released, and where a third might be found on this album confounds me. (I might choose “Trouble For Me,” because not even Will.i.Am can save “Big Fat Bass.”)
I’m already a little concerned that GaGa is hitting the sophomore slump, and now it looks as though whatever creative team helped Britney power back through countless meltdowns and craziness finally just stopped caring. The beats are decent, the vocals are autotuned with a Cher mic to a scary degree, and the lyrics are even more ridiculous than some of the cheesiest tunes on …Baby One More Time.
There’s a nostalgic part of me that hopes someone will take pity on Britney and slap her back into being a good performer who has decent, obsessively catchy tunes, and maybe even a ballad or two on her next album. Then there’s a realist in me that thinks those people are now backing GaGa, Katy Perry, “Key Dollar-sign Ha,” and some new young thing we haven’t even heard of yet… and I’m actually going to miss Britney when she fades away. I just wish she could fade with a decent album first…


EDIT: As craptastic as this album is, I can't. stop. listening. This, ladies and gents, is the true Crackpower of Ms. Spears.

Crazy Drivin'

"Is there a specific song or band that makes you yearn for the past?"








Interesting this should arise as a writing prompt after I finally caught myself up on Glee for this season. The "Britney/Brittany" episode brought back oh-so-many memories and has driven me to a pop music bender... this also coincides with the impending arrival of one of my oldest and dearest friends who's coming for a visit, and is my long-standing partner in loving pop music.
In high school the two of us got about twenty people in our choir to do shoulder and head rolls NSync style for warm-ups. Every day. For over a year -- and that is only the tip of our Popberg. Any other divulgences might land both of us in societal exile until well into our thirties. Still, I would not have us any other way. I mean, she may be more socially acceptable and even crazier, but there's not a big gap between Lady GaGa and Britney. Just because Justin Timberlake has finally been accepted by the darker-toned musicians he always adored doesn't erase nearly six years of stardom he experienced with four exceptionally talented white boys. Even Mandy Moore whose music has evolved exponentially and transformed almost completely from her popstar days is voicing the main character in a Disney animated film. Just because you 'grow up' doesn't mean you have to grow out of love with the music and culture of your youth.
So yeah, the Freaky Dracula Girl with a penchant for singer-songwriters and Celtic music is a Pop fiend. Pick a decade of the 20th century, and I'll tell you all about my favorite pop songs from that era. For hours if you let me.
It's another reason I adore the British -- they don't shy away from pop music and its cultural effects, they embrace it.
Thus, in honor of this well-timed prompt, my friend's approaching visit, and my Gleekiness, the following is a list of my favorite songs from the Sugar Pop heyday of 1996-2002:

Britney Spears - Anticipating
It's hard to choose just one Britney song from this period, and really anything from her third album, Britney, is poptastic funness. Though this is what triggered the beginning of crazy, scary, weird, bonkers Brit the music is fun and catchy. 'Anticipating' is one of the best jams to get your butt off whatever it's parked on and doing some serious dancing/cardio.

Spice Girls - Stop
A single in the UK but never in the US, this Motown-inspired tune has a dance which I am convinced the choreographer stole from my friend and I. It's eerie how close it is to what we just made up one afternoon jamming to Spiceworld (something I am known to occasionally still do...).

5ive - When the Lights Go Out
British boyband? Yes, please. 'When the Lights Go Out' took all the innuendo in other pop songs of the time and kicked it up a notch. Leave it to the Brits.

Hanson - Where's the Love
Talk about evolution... Hanson's first album contained a few truly Pop gems, but also even then expressed their Rock and Roll meets Motown roots. Their most recent album is a more full-circle endeavor, returning to those roots with a more polished, older sound. Still, Middle of Nowhere remains one of my favorite albums (even if they do sound like chipmunks compared to how they sound now) and 'Where's the Love' stands as my favorite song on that album.

Christina Aguilera - Somebody's Somebody
I picked a slow song! While Christina's first album doesn't contain the gravity of later works (or the dirrt), it's still a great Pop album by a powerhouse vocalist. 'Somebody's Somebody' is one of the most understated tunes on the record and while overshadowed by the dancey tunes like 'Come On Over Baby' (another favorite of mine and a scary earworm), it really showcases Christina's ability to hold steady with that instrument of hers.

Savage Garden - I Don't Know You Anymore
Australian hottie duo best known for 'I Want You.' Their Euro-pop sound hit at the right time and though the first album is pretty solid for that genre, it's the second album that elevated their musical chops. The only other ballad on this list, 'I Don't Know You Anymore' is a beautiful piano-driven stripped-down song that shows all the producing and electronica in the world can't really compete with good lyrics, a haunting melody and a steamy voice.

Mandy Moore - Turn the Clock Around
While I still adore 'Candy' as the pop gem it is, and the almost unheard-of 'Your Face' is hauntingly beautiful, Mandy really started to show her deviation from pop towards more folky, deeper music with her self-titled third album. While still very poppy, there's a lot of evolution evident in only two years from her debut. 'Turn the Clock Around' is bittersweet yet upbeat and showcases her ability to blend Pop with strong lyrics at a young age.

NSync - I Drive Myself Crazy (Thinking of You)
Honestly, forcing myself to choose one NSync song is like pulling emotional teeth. There's about four cover songs, several major hits, the entirety of No Strings Attached and a slew of other tunes which I adore more that any of the other songs on this list (except for maybe 'Where's the Love'). Still, when it comes to it, the song I have more versions of than any other and still listen to on a weekly basis is this one. And apologies to Chris, but the European version with JC on leads for the first verse trumps the US recording. However, the video is probably also my favorite from this time period. More than Britney's 'Baby One More Time' or Mandy Moore's 'Walk Me Home' or Hanson's 'Weird' (yes, it was directed by THAT Gus Van Sant). There's so much personality and entertainment value to be had in this video -- proof that the boys never took themselves too seriously which you need in that kind of position. Plus, JC gives a whole new hotness dimension to strapped-down psychos.

Honourable Mentions:
Daniel Bedingfield, Backstreet Boys, Jessica Simpson, Madonna, BBMak, J Lo, 98 Degrees, SoulDecision

Now I'm thinking soon there will be an accompanying list on the evolution of some of these artists (and solo careers in some cases) since their days of ruling Popdom.

Fighting Fire with Music

In an effort to expose a more personal side of myself (no, not like that), and since my intellectual and creative mind seem to have dissipated in the face of SoCal’s current heat wave, I thought it time to indulge readers (and myself) in something not related to writing -- well, not entirely related.
Like many writers I require a musical feed when writing... it’s another layer to inspire creativity. At least that’s how it is for some people. For me, while it is that, it’s also a lifeline to the world and to myself. In my intro coaching session while having to (*groan*) talk about myself, I revealed that I am a human playlist maker, which was sort of an off-the-cuff remark at the time. However, the more I contemplated it, the more I found it really is a major part of what makes me ‘me.’
Stronger than all other obsessions in my life, music causes more of an intuitive, visceral response, and more than any other medium I feel the need to spread those feelings to other people. Embracing music and books/reading for me are basic human needs. I pretty much put both of them before useless things like socializing, paying bills, eating and putting gas in my car.
My natural knack for figuring people out in a very short span of time (usually), also bestows me with the ability to conjure music playlists for people that not only appeal to what they know they like, but bring out aspects of themselves and their musical tastes they didn’t know existed. Granted a bit of my selections tilt toward my favorite musical artists and styles (which is true of everyone who makes playlists for others), but I always try to choose songs and artists I feel will reach into the emotional guts of the other person and stir up a new cocktail they’ve never tried and make them crave that cocktail, because that’s what discovering new music does to me. Yeah, I’m a musical crack dealer (and no, I did not come up with that term for myself; it was bestowed on me years ago).
So as the weeks and months go by, expect a sprinkling of playlists to invade the rants, reviews and randomness. They’ll very in size, scope and reasoning and I’ll try to keep explanation length for each track manageable. And if you ever need a playlist for an event, a friend, yourself, or something your writing, consider me a musical consultant. There are a few musical styles I’m not into (hardcore rap & hip-hop, metal, and grunge to name a few), and my knowledge of folk, country, and world music in all-encompassing terms is limited. However, I’m keen to learn when it comes to music and the taste I do possess (which aides in the whole human playlist thing) is EXTREMELY eclectic. I’m a child of the 80s who grew up on music of the 50s & 60s, who embraced both the R&B and pop revolutions of the 90s while becoming involved in classical, choral and musical theatre, who eventually succumbed to her parents’ love of folk and Celtic music, who finds power, beauty, and value in rock, country, big band, film scores, euro-pop, and who is, admittedly one of the biggest advocates of ‘popular music’ from the 1920s through today you are likely to find.

Oh, and like with literature, movies, tv and pop culture, my musical passions exist in a Snob-Free Zone.


Playlist for this blog (a subsection of my Summer 2010 playlist):
Scissor Sisters - Fire with Fire
Ernie Halter - Gone
Pixie Lott - Gravity
Muse - Undisclosed Desires
Glee Cast - Over the Rainbow
The Beautiful South - Les Yeux Ouverts (Dream a Little Dream of Me)
Rosemary Clooney - Sway
John Farnham - You’re the Voice
Christian Kane - Let Me Go
The Turtles - Elenore
Otis Redding - These Arms of Mine