(The rave-inspired flirtation “Break the Ice” the giddy love song “Heaven on Earth,” a collaboration with the indie-electro duo Freescha.) And even the awful ones – like “Ooh Ooh Baby,” with its brain-battering refrain of “Babe-eh, babe-eh, babe-eh, babe-eh, babe-eh, babe-eh, babe-eh” – are cleverly produced. Some of the other songs are nearly as good. Together they evoke the horror, the exhilaration and (finally) the boredom of the overexamined life. And the producers set upon her like ravenous fans, building her up (by dropping out the bass line) and then knocking her around (by shifting her pitch). Over and over comes a refrain – “You want a piece of me” – that could be an accusation or an invitation or a threat. If that sounds depressing, then you should hear “Piece of Me,” produced by the Swedish duo of Bloodshy & Avant, the same team that produced her 2003 song “Toxic.” Introduced by a sludgy bass line, Spears waxes defensive, in a heavily synthesized voice that’s the main (and sometimes only) instrument: “I’m Miss Bad-Media-Karma, another day another drama/Guess I can’t see the harm in working and being a mama.” As if to taunt all the voyeurs crying crocodile tears for her children, she delivers almost nothing but slithery come-ons and defiant invitations to nightclub decadence.
The album includes four other Danja productions, and “Gimme More” seems to provide the template for virtually the entire CD: The electronic beats and bass lines are as thick as Spears’ voice is thin, and as the album title suggests, the general mood is bracingly unapologetic.
3 on the main singles chart, the Hot 100. 14 on Billboard’s Pop 100 Airplay chart) and, propelled by hundreds of thousands of paid downloads, reached No. “Gimme More” was produced by Danja, a deft protégé of Timbaland who is perfecting his own melancholy, robotic sound. The album’s first single is “Gimme More,” a nifty little electro-pop song that was swiftly overshadowed by Spears’ inept pantomime of it at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. But we don’t know much more than that, and (legal commentary aside) she doesn’t seem to be talking. Her face is on the front, and 12 songs – all of which have surfaced online in recent weeks – are listed on the back. And in that sense, her new album, “Blackout” (Jive/Zomba), arrives in shops Tuesday as something of a mystery. Yet there remains one thing we haven’t really seen Spears do: We generally haven’t seen her in the recording studio, at least not recently. What motivation could possibly be stronger than pure, unimpeded, indefensible curiosity? And, notwithstanding all the rather transparent statements of concern and condemnation, we have watched avidly but rather dispassionately.
The unworn unmentionables, the bobbled baby, the hewn hair, the umbrella attack, the loose lip-syncing, the benders and fender-benders: We have seen it all. It’s starting to seem as if America’s appetite for titillating news about Spears can be matched only by her ability to supply it. “Eat it! Lick it! Snort it!” Such was the legal commentary offered by Britney Spears when she left her latest court hearing Friday afternoon, as reported by “Access Hollywood.” (Actually there was one more imperative phrase, but it’s not likely to appear in this newspaper.) Britney Spears’ new album isn’t bad, but how much is really her? – Orange County Register
0 kommentar(er)
