Britney Spears - Blackout

I'm really sick of this concept of "handlers."

i'm so excited

I'm really sick of this concept of "handlers."

I'm really not sure if she has handlers, but she certainly has a personal trainer, and voice training, and a number of people's careers whose success are somewhat contingent on hers, yet she still fails to perform. And what's wrong with handlers if they're there? You've got 15 year olds who suddenly have access to exorbitant amounts of money, it's expected they'll get investment advice, why not some degree of watchfulness. I know it's kind of unfair, but young people aren't that responsible, and young people like Britney Spears who has been a money generating machine since she was a child, are probably not learning a whole lot other than how to perform. That said, I don't follow this stuff at all, and am probably terribly off base.

my fear that someone will google this thread is costing me sleep

Hey John I handed someone this ancient Quito Ecuador QSL card in Pittsburgh and told them to take it to you, did you get it?

Now an amateur radio operator or shortwave enthusiast might find this and be even more confused and put off :D

i plan to get this album why because it looks intertsing

She seems incapable of being a mentally healthy human being you mean? Her handlers are unable to keep her in shape and off of drugs. She's only genuine because she spiralled out of control. I don't have a problem with that, I just think it's funny that one of the only 'honest' seeming pop stars is a result of a demeaning media parade of her constant fuck-ups.

I mean that -- for whatever reasons -- Spears isn't a polished, sterile pop star anymore, and she's a more sympathetic figure as a result. I have no desire to see more misery worked on her. To the contrary, I want her to get her act together and succeed. If you're implying that I'm rubbernecking in the hopes of being amused by Spears continuing to embarrass herself, you're wrong and I don't know how you'd get that from what I said.

trashthumb,

You're correct in the main, I think. I was speaking more generally to the idea that a pop star has "handlers" that are the puppet-masters to her artistic decisions & public face.

i find the sympathetic aspect of the whole debaucle interesting. i have felt it strongly, and am intrigued to find that others have as well.

If you're implying that I'm rubbernecking in the hopes of being amused by Spears continuing to embarrass herself, you're wrong and I don't know how you'd get that from what I said.

I'm not, I'm just saying that the reason that she's in a position to be honest is because of all this awful stuff happening to her. Didn't Mariah Carey's music become more personal after she had problems? I was just observing, not accusing you of schadenfreude.

I'm just saying that the reason that she's in a position to be honest is because of all this awful stuff happening to her.

---

That would actually have me MORE excited about the new album.

Imagine a record full of claustrophobic Neptunes-produced paranoia/anti-paparazzi songs.

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, July 28, 2007 6:03 PM

I was just observing, not accusing you of schadenfreude.

Understood.

a record full of claustrophobic Neptunes-produced paranoia/anti-paparazzi songs.

That might be the first pop album I'd listen through the entire way. As fun and interesting as a lot of the production is, I can't get past the feeling that these songwriters can't really magically transmit sincerity into the pop stars. Even if Britney just 'co-wrote' the tracks (even if that just means telling a lyricist about events, how she felt, etc) that would give them more credibility than another sexual single that even if its true, was probably just handed to that artist because they're hot.

yeah noone has ever written an album about how fame is hard and it sucks to be photographed before. can't wait for that artistic barrier to be broken. should be thrilling.

yeah noone has ever written an album about how fame is hard and it sucks to be photographed before. can't wait for that artistic barrier to be broken. should be thrilling.

Sorry for not having familiarity with something. I think just the amount of information about Britney's collapse/personal life alongside an album like that would be an interesting document, even if it's been done before. 'It's been done before' isn't something I'd consider qualitatively when someone is addressing a massive ordeal in their lyrics. Love has been done before too, but seeing other peoples perspectives on it is still interesting. But please keep being needlessly snarky

I can't get past the feeling that these songwriters can't really magically transmit sincerity into the pop stars

They often can't. That's why so much commercially-successful music sounds so bloodless, even the bouncy/urban or beat-oriented stuff (some of which, in fairness, I like very much). But of course, I'm primarily partial to the indie-rock churned out by amateurish "young knowledge workers" from fashionable towns in the West/Northwest, so take my comments for what they're worth.

yeah noone has ever written an album about how fame is hard and it sucks to be photographed before.

not produced by the neptunes.

but then they've been cold a while, wtf am i thinking anyway.

But of course, I'm primarily partial to the indie-rock churned out by amateurish "young knowledge workers" from fashionable towns in the West/Northwest, so take my comments for what they're worth.

You mean insipid drivel by repressed angry young men who refuse to dance? Hahaha you really need to check out Britney Spears back catalogue, maybe you'll finally be able to see your blackness reflected in her.

I'm just saying that in light of Lindsay Lohan's "Rumors," that Mel Gibson-produced <i>Paparazzi</i> movie, and the otherwise pretty good new Kanye song marred by the nazi/paparazzi rhyme, I'm unconvinced that it's subject matter that would make for good art or even just won't manage to make the artist sound like a spoiled douchebag. And it's not Britney not writing her own songs or addressing her personal life that's holding her back from making music of quality and distinction, it's that she's a lousy vocalist and performer on every possible level.

I can't get past the feeling that these songwriters can't really magically transmit sincerity into the pop stars

They can't. If the singer isn't charismatic him/herself, it's not a good track.

You mean insipid drivel by repressed angry young men who refuse to dance?

A Place To Bury Strangers dance.

I think it's safe to say that most people will never feel sympathetic toward celebrities whose complaint is that the cost of never having to punch a time clock again is too dear

nor "interested" by said celebrities' great barbaric yawp

+ 5 for use of my favorite phrase

I think it's safe to say that most people will never feel sympathetic toward celebrities whose complaint is that the cost of never having to punch a time clock again is too dear

I can't really argue that, and I'm certainly not the "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE" guy. All I'll say is that -- given her very public difficulties -- I now find Spears a much more compelling person.

Lots of people sympathized with, say, Princess Diana, and she certainly was a celebrity whose biggest complaint was "that the cost of never having to punch a time clock again is too dear."

Lots of people sympathized with, say, Princess Diana, and she certainly was a celebrity whose biggest complaint was "that the cost of never having to punch a time clock again is too dear."

Princess Diana was a philanthropist whose public identity was tied in to people's nationalism too. I agree that Britney Spears is more compelling, but I don't know if it's not a result of feeling like cosmic justice has been served and a high margins person was briefly dragged through the mud, and if that is the case, I guess I should feel guilty too.

Good points.

Princess Diana = proper blue-blooded royalty and not to be compared to common trash celebrity scum whores.

That said, Britney is hotter.

Also, not a corpse, yet.

shaddup, everyone.

ban fuck little lord fauntleroy

Princess Diana = proper blue-blooded royalty and not to be compared to common trash celebrity scum whores.

That said, Britney is hotter.

-- little lord fauntleroy, Sunday, 21 October 2007 04:52 (4 hours ago) Link

Also, not a corpse, yet.

-- little lord fauntleroy, Sunday, 21 October 2007 04:53 (4 hours ago) Link

max r 2

HOOS with the eternal question: ban or fuck?

BANFUCK LOUIS JAGGER

FUCKBAN probably worse.

enough

I think it's safe to say that most people will never feel sympathetic toward celebrities whose complaint is that the cost of never having to punch a time clock again is too dear

nor "interested" by said celebrities' great barbaric yawp

Shevles and shelves full of celeb gossip magazines in the UK would beg to differ.

Not really, it's 'OMG must watch the car crash' rather than genuine sympathy.

Who in their right mind wants sincerity from Britney anyway? To be honest, releasing an album mid-breakdown is a bit of misstep anyway, you want a returning triumph over adversity in two years' time, all plastic pop and no demons in sight.

Which makes me think that the Kylie album will absolutely trounce Blackout (even if the single is a bit rub) and surely no one thinks that will be full of introspective songs about coming to terms with cancer.

Shevles and shelves full of celeb gossip magazines in the UK would beg to differ.

-- ledge, Sunday, 21 October 2007 09:39 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

This explains all the smash hit singles Pete Doherty has had in the past five years oh wait

Has anybody bothered to listen to the clips or leaks if so opinions please.

no noone has bothered because the engine of the Britney train is celebrity, and it got up such a head of steam that the "also makes music" car detached and now nobody gives a shit - this is rather a "made your bed, lie in it" proposition for our Britney

i give a shit i'm just lazy and will buy the actual album

I listened - the beats are actually really fun. I'm not a fan of Britneyper se but I love Toxic and these clips show promise..

OMG "Heaven"

I don't get the love for "Toxic" at all. I like some other Britney songs, but that one, which seems to inspire particularly obsessive love on ILM, is an overstuffed nightmare. It's like dance-pop produced by John Zorn: 300 ideas in three minutes, and none of them good.

I wouldn't describe "Toxic" as overstuffed...I've always heard it as one clever idea. You have these three different cinematic string sounds (the psycho murder scene, the barren saloon showdown, and the sci-fi battle), and each one recalls some sort of physical struggle. That's what Britney's lyrics revolve around, and that's why the song works as well as it does.

I don't get the love for "Toxic" at all...It's like dance-pop produced by John Zorn

Phil has made his disdain for Zorn pretty noisy.

"Which makes me think that the Kylie album will absolutely trounce Blackout (even if the single is a bit rub) and surely no one thinks that will be full of introspective songs about coming to terms with cancer."

Well, Kylie is also on a hot streak (3 great albums and countless good b-sides), while Britney's recent material has been pretty lame. I would not put it past Kylie to pull off a song about coming to terms with cancer.