#2 Britney Spears - Blackout (2007)
I've always maintained to everyone who asks that I love Britney in a completely non-ironic way. I genuinely believe that she's released some pop classics in her career. Singles like Baby, One More Time, I'm a Slave 4 U and Toxic are as good as anything any indie band-of-the-moment can produce. The only problem was that Brit was one those artists inflicted with filler-itis I'd talked about earlier (Youtube Dear Diary from her Oops... I Did It Again! album for an example). Things improved with 03's In the Zone, which was chockfull of radio-ready hits, but it lacked a cohesive sound. In fact, it was anything but cohesive. Dance pop, hiphop, electronica, balladeering, jamaican dancehall - the album was japalang, as Singaporeans would say. Between '03 and '07 came and left K-Fed, a poorly promoted Greatest Hits package, two babies and of course, the unraveling of Britney, all of which culminated in that infamous shot of bald Brit wielding an umbrella against a paparazzo's car.
It was in the midst of her personal turmoil that Blackout was released in the fall of '07. The Danja-produced Gimme More came first. She opened the VMAs that year with this song, and it was a disaster of a performance that she sleepwalked through, a performance that is now iconic, but not for the right reasons. The video was a mess too, especially for Britney, who had always been a great video artist previously. But these misfires cannot take away the brilliance of the song, which is as club-worthy as any first single club banger should be, and as irresistibly sleazy and dark. "Gimme gimme more," she purrs. It's dumb, repetitive lyrics that pop culture commentators can have a field day interpreting --> Britney's addiction to fame? The paparazzi's hunger for her? The public's fascination for building up and tearing down celebs? Whatever it is, it added an intriguing quality to an already addictive song.
This time around, with Danja taking on a huge chunk of production duties, Blackout had a cohesive sound through and through - edgy urban dance pop. Not a ballad in sight. Second single Piece of Me was yet another amazing meta-Britney moment, even if it wasn't self-penned. Follow-up Break the Ice was the piece de resistance. 'It's been a while. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I'm here now," she coos at the start of this Danja production. Such a perfect opening for a comeback first single. If only, you know, she was sane and all.
Recorded during her second pregnancy, Blackout was undoubtedly a producer's album. You can hardly discern Britney's voice throughout the album, what with all the autotune, vocodering and other various effects her voice is put through in the tracks. Even when you can actually hear her, you can feel that she wasn't all that 'there' during the recording process. There's also nearly zero introspection in the album, which you'd expect from a post-divorce album (the nearest she comes is an oblique reference in the album closer, Why Should I Be Sad). It's party time all album long, and almost like she said, "Screw this," popped an ecstasy pill or two, and danced away.
All of these factors combines to produce a feeling of detachment and discombobulation that the album evokes. This somehow works, giving Blackout the cold, cool feel utterly perfect for the modern urban sound. Blackout's about an impersonal an album as you can get, but it's also pretty darn close to pop perfection.
I've always maintained to everyone who asks that I love Britney in a completely non-ironic way. I genuinely believe that she's released some pop classics in her career. Singles like Baby, One More Time, I'm a Slave 4 U and Toxic are as good as anything any indie band-of-the-moment can produce. The only problem was that Brit was one those artists inflicted with filler-itis I'd talked about earlier (Youtube Dear Diary from her Oops... I Did It Again! album for an example). Things improved with 03's In the Zone, which was chockfull of radio-ready hits, but it lacked a cohesive sound. In fact, it was anything but cohesive. Dance pop, hiphop, electronica, balladeering, jamaican dancehall - the album was japalang, as Singaporeans would say. Between '03 and '07 came and left K-Fed, a poorly promoted Greatest Hits package, two babies and of course, the unraveling of Britney, all of which culminated in that infamous shot of bald Brit wielding an umbrella against a paparazzo's car.
It was in the midst of her personal turmoil that Blackout was released in the fall of '07. The Danja-produced Gimme More came first. She opened the VMAs that year with this song, and it was a disaster of a performance that she sleepwalked through, a performance that is now iconic, but not for the right reasons. The video was a mess too, especially for Britney, who had always been a great video artist previously. But these misfires cannot take away the brilliance of the song, which is as club-worthy as any first single club banger should be, and as irresistibly sleazy and dark. "Gimme gimme more," she purrs. It's dumb, repetitive lyrics that pop culture commentators can have a field day interpreting --> Britney's addiction to fame? The paparazzi's hunger for her? The public's fascination for building up and tearing down celebs? Whatever it is, it added an intriguing quality to an already addictive song.
This time around, with Danja taking on a huge chunk of production duties, Blackout had a cohesive sound through and through - edgy urban dance pop. Not a ballad in sight. Second single Piece of Me was yet another amazing meta-Britney moment, even if it wasn't self-penned. Follow-up Break the Ice was the piece de resistance. 'It's been a while. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I'm here now," she coos at the start of this Danja production. Such a perfect opening for a comeback first single. If only, you know, she was sane and all.
Recorded during her second pregnancy, Blackout was undoubtedly a producer's album. You can hardly discern Britney's voice throughout the album, what with all the autotune, vocodering and other various effects her voice is put through in the tracks. Even when you can actually hear her, you can feel that she wasn't all that 'there' during the recording process. There's also nearly zero introspection in the album, which you'd expect from a post-divorce album (the nearest she comes is an oblique reference in the album closer, Why Should I Be Sad). It's party time all album long, and almost like she said, "Screw this," popped an ecstasy pill or two, and danced away.
All of these factors combines to produce a feeling of detachment and discombobulation that the album evokes. This somehow works, giving Blackout the cold, cool feel utterly perfect for the modern urban sound. Blackout's about an impersonal an album as you can get, but it's also pretty darn close to pop perfection.
This scorcher of a song deserved a much better video... :(
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