I have a tee-shirt that I found at an OnCue bookstore in Athens, Texas. It is black with a bright-red logo silk-screened onto the front in a font that makes it look as if blood is dripping from the words.
The shirt reads, simply, ’’SPEAR BRITNEY’’ - my sentiments regarding this pop superstar.
Britney Spears’ ’’Baby One More Time’’ album annoyed me to no end - especially when my little sister’s softball team were busily singing the title track on the field while they were supposed to be playing the game.
’’Baby One More Time’’ is the sort of hot, erotic, get-yourself-worked-up song that most guys can like. I for one find it to be a disgustingly crude track, one that the world would be better without. Then-minor Britney Spears reportedly stayed awake all night prior to recording this single because she wanted to give her voice a more sultry undertone. It worked: Millions of ’’excited’’ guys still pin her poster up on their walls and listen to her records.
Personally, I think Britney’s voice borders on grating. It can range from high to deep and sultry: This in itself is fine, but the slight nasal quality is enough to make me want to vomit.
The rest of ’’Baby One More Time’’ is basically the same thing: Britney selling sex. Funny, she was a minor when this record was released - how do the fans think ’’jailbait’’ would work as a nickname for the pop star?
I think it goes to show that the pop/boy band/girl singer world has stooped to an all-new low. As long as you can sing beat-laden, upbeat songs saturated with verbal images of sex and erotic fantasies, you’ll do fine. It doesn’t matter if you are too young to drink, get married, or have sex according to many state laws in America: As long as you can sell records, you’re a well-paid star.
Personally, I view it as a sort of betrayal to my youthful culture. Besides which, it is an outrage that young women are dressing up, grabbing microphones, and prostituting themselves on record and in music videos. Who in the world authorized this sort of neanderthal behavior? Her parents? Where were they? Off to the sideline collecting the profits?
Give me a break, America. Just because Britney happens to be a very talented singer doesn’t mean she should sing about adult-related material. It doesn’t mean she should prostitute her body and image for the world to partake of. And it certainly does not mean that America and other countries must eat it up out of her hand.