Britney Spears is a phenomenon in today's culture. You might wonder why. Or you might not care in which case why are you reading this? The objective of this page is to enlighten you about Ms. Spears and give you information which describes and at least partially explains just what is going on here.
There are some strong opinions out there as millions of people are fans and millions seem to have bad things to say but a bottom line is that people have been voting with their wallets and Ms. Spears has generated Billions with her talents. Just what are those talents? Since this website concerns itself with bullshit in our society one might expect that there might be some in this topic and one would be correct! But its not all bullshit. There is talent here too! So here goes...
In 1998 Britney Spears, then just 18 -released her first monster hit "Hit Me Baby One More Time"
Here are the Lyrics: (see if you can follow the words with the background midi!)
Oh baby baby, oh baby baby
Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know
That something wasn't right here
Oh baby baby, I shouldn't have let you go
And now you're out of sight, yeah
Show me how you want it to be
Tell me baby cuz I need to know now, oh because
Chorus
My loneliness is killin me (and I)
I must confess I still believe (still believe)
When Im not with you I lose my mind
Give me a sign, hit me baby one more time!
Oh baby baby, the reason I breathe is you
Boy you've got me blinded
Oh pretty baby, there's nothin that I wouldn't do
That's not the way I planned it
Show me how you want it to be
Tell me baby cuz I need to know now, oh because
Chorus
Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know
Oh pretty baby, I shouldn't have let you go
I must confess that my loneliness
Is killin me now
Don't you know I still believe
That you will be here
And give me a sign, hit me baby one more time
Chorus
I must confess (my loneliness) that my loneliness
(is killing me) is killing me now
(I must confess) don't you (I still believe) know I still believe
That you will be here (I lose my mind)
And give me a sign...
Hit me baby one more time!As far as I am concerned the lyrics are dopey. But remember -Britney was only 18 when the song was released. And many 18 year olds are dopey. So no problem there. As a singer her voice is kind of nasel. The music however, was very catchy -one of those tunes that you notice almost right away and suddenly find yourself grooving to (for lack of a better word). And the video was very entertaining too. At that time Miss Spears was a very attractive teenager and had a wonderful smile and blond tinted hair. Teenage boys were attracted to her and as a result some teenage girls hated her (but wanted to be like her!). You can view the video here on Youtube. The next year she released OOPS I DID IT AGAIN so had two back to back top hits and was launched as a super star. And the cash and fame started to pour in!
Here are the lyrics to Oops I did it again
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I think I did it again
I made you believe we're more than just friends
Oh baby
It might seem like a crush
But it doesn't mean that I'm serious
'Cause to lose all my senses
That is just so typically me
Oh baby, baby
Chorus:Oops!...I did it again
I played with your heart, got lost in the game
Oh baby, baby
Oops!...You think I'm in love
That I'm sent from above
I'm not that innocentYou see my problem is this
I'm dreaming away
Wishing that heroes, they truly exist
I cry, watching the days
Can't you see I'm a fool in so many ways
But to lose all my senses
That is just so typically me
Baby, oh
(repeat Chorus)
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
"All aboard"
"Britney, before you go, there's something I want you to have"
"Oh, it's beautiful, but wait a minute, isn't this...?"
"Yeah, yes it is"
"But I thought the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end"
"Well baby, I went down and got it for you"
"Oh, you shouldn't have"
Oops!...I did it again to your heart
Got lost in this game, oh baby
Oops!...You think that I'm sent from above
I'm not that innocentWell, I guess the lyrics are a bit better but still dopey. The part about dropping the gem in the ocean (from the Titanic movie) is actually quite funny. But again the music was very catchy and the video excellent. The more you watch it the more you like it. I think some of the meanings come out the more you watch it. Again Miss Spears looked excellent this time with a skin tight red leather looking outfit again admired by the teenage boys and the blond tinted hair and nice smile. You can watch this video here on youtube.
But lets be honest here. Britney is not a very good singer. She sings through her nose! So why did she sell 38 million records? It could be the school girl uniform and bare mid drift in video number one or the red skin tight cat suit in video number two. Or maybe it was the really catchy tunes. She has an exceptionally nice smile. It was something. Whatever. It worked.
Then there was the awesome Pepsi commercial at the Super bowl of 2002. That was pretty darn good and again showed off the catchy tunes, bleached hair, perfect smile and a totally fit body. See it on you tube here. Imagine the number of Pepsi cans they had to sell to pay for that! But fair is fair that was a heck of an impressive commercial thanks to Miss Spears. I suspect that video will prove to be one of the high points of her musical career. I also suspect the film dudes enhanced every frame because nobody is that perfect. If you note the skin in the close-ups you will see what I mean. Nevertheless it is one of the most impressive commercials ever produced. I counted seven smiles in the video -how many do you get?
Eight years have passed and Britney is now 26 and looks older- not 17 anymore. She looks good but not as good as she looked as a youngster in the videos she made and not as good as she looks after all the make up is piled on. She has gone around the block so to speak. A few times. She is beginning to look like one of the characters in Trailer Park Boys, And the American media continues to go apeshit over her. You need to ask yourself why and I think I have discovered the answer!. But first a comparison with our Miss Lavigne. I'm offering a brief comparison because both entertainers started out at about the same age (17-18) but had quite different lives and its sort of interesting to try and figure out why.
Lets look at the break out tune from Avril Lavigne a nice Canadian kid from Napanee Ontario from her song Complicated. Miss Lavigne was about the same age with her first hit but that's about where the similarity ends. -here are the lyrics.
Uh-huh,
Life's like this
Uh-huh, uh-huh
That's the way it is
'Cause life's like this
Uh-huh, uh-huh
That's the way it is
Chill out,
What you yellin' for?
Lay back, it's all been done before
And if you could only let it be
You will see
I like you the way you are
When we're, driving in my car
And you're talking to me
One on one
But you become
Somebody else
'Round everyone else
Watchin' your back
Like you can't relax
You're tryin' to be cool
You look like a fool
To me
Tell me
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're
Acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this, you
And you fall and you crawl
And you break and you take
What you get and you turn it into
Honesty Promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
No, no, no
You come over unannounced
Dressed up like you're something else
Where you are and
Where you sat, you see
You're making me
Laugh out
When you strike a pose
Take off all your preppy clothes
You know
You're not fooling anyone
When you become
Somebody else
'Round everyone else
Watchin' your back
Like you can't relax
Tryin' to be cool
You look like a fool
To me
Tell me
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're
Acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this, you
And you fall and you crawl
And you break and you take
What you get and you turn it into
Honesty Promise me
I'm never gonna find you fake it
No, no, no...
Chill out,
What you yellin' for?
Lay back, it's all been done before
And if you could let it be
You will see
Somebody else
'Round everyone else
You're watchin' your back
Like you can't relax
You're tryin' to be cool
You look like a fool
To me, to me
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're
Acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this, you
And you fall and you crawl
And you break and you take
What you get and you turn it into
Honesty Promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
No, no
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're
Acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this, you
And you fall and you crawl
And you break and you take
What you get and you turn it into
Honesty Promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
As you can clearly see Miss Lavigne has much more content (i.e. meaning) in her lyrics than Miss Spears. Miss Lavigne is also a better singer. And Miss Lavigne went on to do several more songs each of them slightly different all without showing as much skin as did Miss Spears. She also had several excellent videos. And she sold over 38 million albums. Now how did she do that?
This entire Britney Spears thing is a mystery to me. The American press seems to delight in dragging her and her problems out for all to see. We have a case of a young singer with some singing talent but not a lot who has achieved great success but is being slowly destroyed in the press. But there is something about her which is unique and which people find very compelling. I think it might be that smile which is really very pleasant. A smile is one of the most effective methods of communications known to mankind. Some people have absolutely fabulous smiles and Ms. Spears is one of them. In my own case I know three friends who have fabulous smiles and its amazing to see their faces change when those smiles come out. Its odd to me that I haven't seen any references to Ms. Spears smiles as being a factor in her popularity. Just shows you how everyone else can be wrong. Or stupid. Or both. I didn't get to where I am today by being either!
Britney also has an excellent sounding name. "Spears" is strong sounding"not foreign" and one syllable. Britney is strong and classy sounding with only two syllables. Together -other than the fact her initials are BS the name works very well and its her actual name too not a stage name. Britney also shortens up to the very cool sounding "Brit" and the industry is using that in "Brit Watch" to describe the constant scrutiny she is under by hundreds of press hoping for a story or picture that will make them rich.
Here is what I think the other reason is for Miss Spear's popularity and rise to fame and the addiction the US press has with her every movement. Its the American Dream. Miss Spears is the American dream.
The T-shirt may have tipped me off! There might be some sort of subconscious message there that others may not have noticed. I am more observant than most so you may not have noticed it. The American dream would appear to be that a person- in this case a girl will be attractive, young, blond, fit on the skinny side, have nice teeth and boobs, a fabulous smile, be filthy rich be famous and have the adoration of her fellow citizens. The American dream then becomes a role model and the press reports their every move to a public with unfathomable desires to know everything about them. I am not sure why.
This places considerable stress on the role model and in order to cope they purchase huge estates to hide out in and hire bodyguards and take drugs or drink. They tend to socialize with fellow role models so the situation with the press gets even worse. The public then ends up knowing so much about their role model that when something bad happens they feel bad because they feel they know the person as a type of virtual friend. The public even comes up with nick names for them. Miss Spears has become "Brit" Miss Jennifer Lopez has become "Jay Lo" Miss Lohan has become LiLo etc. The public will collect anything with the role models image on it and will buy any product they market. Its odd but that's the way it is. By way of comparison to our Canadian kid again I don't think Miss Lavigne has a tricky nickname. She is called Avril or Miss Lavigne or more properly now Mrs. Whibley. So this nick name thingee must be an American thing. I guess.
Its interesting again to bring Miss Lavigne now Mrs. Whibley into this. Avril is not the American Dream -because she is Canadian. She achieved star status at about the same age as Miss Spears but did it with her own unique style without playing the bare mid drift and boobs route. Avril went on and continued to develop with age and generated a variety of top hits. She settled down and got married with a nice Canadian rocker and they seem to be living the happy life. Avril actually can sing. She also can play music (piano and guitar and drums) and write it and act and dance and most important to a Canadian she played hockey as a kid. Its just interesting to compare the two. I am not saying that one is better than the other and obviously based on their performance to date both are excellent. Except that Miss Spears can't play hockey and Mrs. Whibley can. If you are one of our American cousins reading this you may not fully understand the significance to a Canadian of not being able to play hockey. I guess the closest thing to not being able to play hockey in the USA would be somebody that lost a couple of legs in an auto accident, was blind in both eyes and could not hear. And had the flu and just got fired. Its' incomprehensible to a Canuck that a person is unable to play our game or doesn't like to watch hockey.
At this point in time Miss Spears is having "issues." Her marriage fell apart her kids were taken away from her, her ex is suing her big bucks for support. Like any human being she is loosing her youthful body. And worst of all to the public she is loosing the American Dream. Or it is loosing her. Her fans are wishing that she was the same as she was back in 1998 because for one reason if she has aged this much so have they!
Now you may ask at this point where is all the bullshit in this? Its hard to say. It looks like part of it is the American Dream at least how it has been applied here. A dream is a dream- a dream is not reality. When we attempt to live a dream we are going to be disappointed. As close as we get to it -we will not achieve it. Miss Spears got pretty close to it. And she got burned by it.
before and after...
Canadianbullshit.com has a suggestion for Brit Watch people. Leave the poor Lady alone for a year or two. Go and get a hobby. Do something else! Take up fishing or sailing or drinking or anything but "Brit watching". I think the kid has had enough of you. Stop looking at the tabloid press and watching the tee vee programs on Miss Spears. Soon the message will get out. The problem could be solved in a day. But will it? Absolutely not!
Its all bullshit! The American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare. Even Miss Spears unfortunate initials; BS seem to offer a clue. It seems there is more coverage some days of Britney Spears latest faux pas than the economy or the war in Iraq. Its all become very silly. Even the Canadian press is getting into it. Its crazy.
And the monster that is the American Dream seems to demand a constant source of fresh blood. Its not unlike some pagan rite where youngsters are allowed a period of brief success then marched into the jaws of some monster and the high priest removes their still beating hearts and waves it around to a screaming public. The latest recruit is the 15 year old sensation Miss Miley Syrus aka the Disney character Hannah Montanna. She is in that rising to the top stage now and soon -too soon the high priestess will appear. Kids are absolutely in a trance when it comes to Miss Syrus and tickets to her performances are all sold out and being resold for several hundred dollars or more. It usually takes about three years to go thru the first part of the cycle. I note that the press is already sharpening the knives as a leaked report came out about Miss Syrus in a bikini and Miss Syrus "in a provocative pose" "eating some liquorish with a girl friend". Unbelievable! The kid is 15! Its just going to get worse. And it is so predictable. But back to Miss Spears.
Best wishes to the young lady behind the Dream and we hope all goes well for her in the future and that she can escape the nightmare and live a normal happy life! Miss Spears entertained millions around the world and left us with songs and videos that are exceptional. She has worked very hard and deserves to live the good life and I hope she does. Millions of people truly like her and why not.
Perhaps the best thing -would be if Avril took over a couple of hockey sticks and a ball and showed Miss Spears the rudiments of street hockey. A couple of hours of that with a beer chaser and a slice or two of pizza and then a couple more hours of hockey repeated a few times a week and I think she might snap out of it. And if she can graduate to skates and a puck on a rink at at frozen lake- all will be well. Canadians have discovered that its impossible to be a in a blue funk when you are trying your best to put the puck in the net. I know that our American cousins may not understand what I am talking about. Trust me eh!
March 31/08 Update Apparently Ms. Spears has turned a corner and is on the mend and millions of fans are glad and hoping it will continue. You may as well count me in there too. I think it was the smile in the Pepsi commercial and all that energy that got me hooked. Ms. Spears really is the American Dream. Its not an easy dream but somehow she is pulling it off and she is taking her generation of fans with her music and images permanently imprinted- along with her. How many people can go through life and say that they have accomplished as much as Ms Spears has? Not many is the answer. And she is still way under 30. So even if you are not a fan show some respect eh!
August 16/2008 It seems the "comeback" process which began back at our last report in March is continuing and a new album is in the works for release in approximately 9 months. The "story" in the press is all about "the comeback" so they continually show images of when Ms. Spears bottomed out. This is a classic in American media - a person falls from grace and makes a comeback into success to the collective cheers of all. Rises from the mud so to speak. So again she is intertwined with important aspects of the American Dream. And again the public is using her and her life to define theirs. And for entertainment. The Christians and the Lions come to mind. The cheering crowds. And such.
Its Ms. Spears wonderful and haunting youthful smile, her signature music and the knowledge that she like all of us are aging and moving through life that lingers on. We all want her to succeed because in succeeding we too succeed. Common Baby -one more time! I can hear the music now! Can you?
Britney Spears is an industry -she generates revenue for thousands and thousands of people -and entertains millions. Not bad for a young woman considerably under 30!
Hit Me Baby one more time! -please take me back to the index
and pass me that pepsi eh!
