For those who are actually following this and wonder where #63 went, it’s “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley, which I already discussed at length here. Let’s move on to one of the only artists viewed as being as pretentious as Mr. Henley. Yes, folks, that would be Gordon Sumner, who you know better as Sting. Sting, along with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, was a member of The Police, who recorded the song you find at #62: “King of Pain”. See how it all ties together?
Anyway, there are quite a few Police songs that I wanted to include in here (Side 1 of “Zenyatta Mondatta” might be my favorite side of an album ever), but “King of Pain” gets the nod because it’s the song that best marries the highbrow intelligence of many of Sting’s lyrics to a simple yet effective pop tune. How effective? I was 7 when this record came out and I loved it despite the fact that I had no bloody idea what The Police were talking about. “There’s a blind man looking for a shadown of doubt”? Whaaa???
Anyway, “Synchronicity” is one of only a handful of albums (I can only think of six) with more than one song on this list, a testament to the legacy The Police left in only five short years of making records. Sting saving the rainforests may have muted their impact somewhat, but these were the records that turned me on to rock music. So let’s temporarily forget about the pompous ass-iness, the tantric sex and the cash-grabbing reunion tour (although they were quite good when I saw them) and remember how damn good this song is.
According to Billboard.com, changes might be in store for American Idol’s 8th season. If adding a fourth judge (Kara DioGuardi) wasn’t enough, here are the other rumored changes that are supposed to be announced later on Monday along with my thoughts underneath. (Feel free to add your thoughts below in the comments section.)
Less audition shows and more Hollywood shows.
To me, this is a strong move as I don’t usually pay attention to the goofy audition shows. However, I do know people who only watch the audition shows and lose interest once they move to Hollywood.
Instead of the top 24, there will be a top 36.
I’m not so sure this is as strong of a move. Usually, there are questionable selections in the top 24 and it’s not all that hard to whittle down. You can tell the difference and rarely am I ever surprised with more than one or two that make the final twelve. I wonder if they’re opening it up because they think they’ve missed on a few in the past?
The wild card round will return.
I always loved this idea. There have been some good choices by the judges and some bad ones as well (Carmen Rasmussen anyone?). But it adds a sense of unpredictability to the selections. It also gives the judges a bit of power to put someone back on that America gets wrong.
“Idol Gives Back” will be every other year.
I’m not necessarily a fan of that particular show, but I always thought the idea behind it was great and showed that while American Idol is usually all about American Idol, it can also be about giving back. I think it’s a mistake, but then again, maybe they think they need to focus on the core show this year.
What does everyone else think? The show is very long in the tooth, but it still delivers the ratings. Are these changes good for the longevity of the show?
Our own Paul Lorentz wrote a fantastic review of Britney Spears’ new album, Circus. He loved the album. Here’s a different perspective.
While Britney Spears and her people would like you to believe that Circus is her comeback album, they can’t fool anyone who has heard, or bought Blackout, which was released last year. Blackout was an attempt to get Britney back on the music scene despite her already existing place on the pages of Perez Hilton and other gossip sites because of her out of control behavior. Britney herself didn’t even really promote it, and while it wasn’t a good album, there were good things about it. With a bit of promotion it probably would’ve sold much better than it did.
Is Circus better than Blackout?
I’d say yes, but barely. They had a money in the bank single sitting in their hands, but it was never released to my knowledge. Break The Ice was a supreme banger and had it been released to the clubs, I’m sure it would’ve been a huge hit. There’s no song that matches it on Circus, but the album as a whole is probably just a tad bit more consistent.
But what stands out as the difference between the two albums is Britney herself. On Blackout, she sounded like a robot. She was Robo-Britney. Her singing, while never her strong point, was flavorless and emotionless. She sounded sedated. But on Circus, you can hear the energy back in her voice. If anything, she sounds like someone who is at least faking some happiness.
About the music …
At this point, I think Britney’s music is going to sound similar in sound and feel no matter who produces it. The hottest producers will try to catch her ear with thumping production and thus, nothing really stands out. For some reason, Womanizer is being lauded as a great comeback single, even though they were saying the same thing about Gimme More last year. (I think I’d take Gimme More by a nose.) I think the press is buying into this comeback business just as much as the fans. Circus is actually the much better single because your ears aren’t ringing after listening, but also because it shows a little bit of the sexiness and teasing that her music is famous for, rather than the straight up bedroom talk that she’s been moving towards of late.
The mysterious Unusual You is sensual and yet at the same time, a little disturbing. This could either simply be the world of Britney Spears, or the writers thought it’d be an interesting take on her love life, but the song is about Britney expecting to get her heart broken, but doesn’t and this is unusual. It’s as if she’s simply unable to be loved. But it’s also the biggest surprise on the album. There’s a certain quality in both the production (Bloodshy & Avant) and in her singing that stands out and is missing from most of the rest of the tracks. If U Seek Amy is built as a “guilty pleasure” track, except, after first listen, I figured out the gimmick and the pleasure was gone for me. If you say the phrase “if you seek Amy” and think of letters that would stand for the words, you’ll understand the gimmick to the entire song. Now, I’m not sure how many records Britney sells to young girls anymore, but if mothers and fathers bought their young daughters this album without first listening to it, they’re in for a surprise. And it’s a really unnecessary track.
Mmm Papi is hilariously bad, but at least you can tell she’s having fun with the track. And it’s the one song that she actually receives a writing credit. I wonder if she wrote the squeals in herself or if they were improvised. Out From Under is a very straight laced Britney ballad. You get the feeling that she’s probably done this song at least five other times over the span of her career. Mannequin is one of the few throwaway tracks. There’s nothing original about it at all.
Look but don’t touch, unless you want to lose your innocence …
That line is from Lace And Leather and I’m probably nit picking the heck out of her at this point, but that line is from a 27 year old woman singing to who you’d imagine to be 27 year old men. I think that if Britney wants to achieve an adult career, her direction needs to go away from trying to pretend that she’s still 18 years old. While the young teenage girl really carried her career early on, her image also catered to this older guy demographic who saw a young sexpot. I guess you should try and cater to any and all demographics when you’re trying to be the biggest star in the world, but it always bothered me that she was so young and yet was pushed with this beyond sexy image. Nowadays, she’s old enough to push whatever image she wants, but let’s stop trying to pretend that she’s still a teenager.
And the extras …
Depending on which version of the album you have, you may or may not have the bonus tracks. If you have Blackout, you already have Radar so I’m not sure why it’s included again as an extra track on the new album. Phonography is another song that tries to play on words. She says that she’s into “phonography”, but it really sounds like she says she’s into “pornography”. So really, it’s a song about phone sex without really saying phone sex. At this point, Brit having phone sex with someone is probably much better than her doing the real thing. I just thought the lyrics were silly. Rock Me In is nothing special, but Amnesia has a Cyndi Lauper she-bop kind of feel to it that makes it a fun record.
Don’t believe the hype. If you’re a Britney fan and you want to hear her happy again, this is right up your alley. But don’t be persuaded by those who think this is an enormous leap over her previous record. The music is almost exactly the same. She just sings it in a little more of a happy voice.
For those who are actually following this and wonder where #63 went, it’s “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley, which I already discussed at length here. Let’s move on to one of the only artists viewed as being as pretentious as Mr. Henley. Yes, folks, that would be Gordon Sumner, who you know better as Sting. Sting, along with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, was a member of The Police, who recorded the song you find at #62: “King of Pain”. See how it all ties together?
