Blackout

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with Alexis Petridis' Britney review is surprise enough - but I'm even more amazed that the Guardian has devoted an ACTUAL LEADER COLUMN to go on about how good Blackout is!

In fact, even speaking as someone who really likes the record - the Guardian is overstating things a lot: this is really good, up-to-date, dance-pop and it'll appeal to Europeans more than Americans I guess because of that, but it's not an outrageous sideways step for pop or anything. It's no MORE fresh sounding than Madonna's Music or the first Girls Aloud album or Rachel Stevens' second one were when they came out - coherent, consistent, filler-free pop albums have been a regular feature of this decade, if anything Britney's catching onto that a bit late.*

(I don't necessarily want this to be a big Blackout thread tho cos lots of people haven't heard it yet)

*this is unfair - her last one was pretty consistently good but less coherent I think. Anyway Blackout is better.

Comments

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

FOUR STARS

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I just downloaded the first zipfile Google threw at me which claimed to be Blackout - am getting sent a copy but won't get it until Monday night! But I can't listen to it because of illness, everything sounds underwater right now :( Am really looking forward to it though.

The dance-pop direction might impress USians MORE than Europeans as something they haven't heard done by GA, R Stevens et al for years now. And it's not as if the USA is kneejerk anti-electro sounds - it just takes an artist of sufficient stature (eg Madonna, Kanye; not eg Hilarity) to make them pay attention.

AP's review did make me realise that both Justin and Xtina's last albums, while I enjoyed them at the time, just haven't stood up to repeated listens in the way that Britney's last two have.

How much tabloidy meta humour is there on the album? The more the better for me obv, which is why I luv luv luv 'Hot As Ice'.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Petridis is right basically: it's absolutely all about shagging except for "Piece Of Me" which is a dark electro paranoia song about the paparazzi (self-indulgent but also quite funny).

Funniest title of the year: "Get Naked (I Have A Plan)"

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

I thought it was "Get YOU Naked (I Have A Plan)" but either way yes shared roffles all round. Haven't heard it obv.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I just googled blackout site:zshare.net and lo and behold there it was.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Clearly "Get Naked (I Has A Plan)" would be better!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

There's something v defiantly shameless about someone whose looks have been pilloried for two years and counting devoting an entire album to how hott and sexxxy she is!

[celentari.livejournal.com]

YES! Aside from the pop, this is why I love her, the brazen minx.

(Although I don't love her enough to pay for delivery, thus Amazon cheap-skate rates will see me listening to this no sooner than Wednesday 31st.)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I think the angle is more "I really like fucking" than "Look I'm hott and sexy" - I haven't really homed in on the lyrics tho cos they don't leap out at you much and I've only listened twice. I have never been remotely convinced by breathy sexy Britney before though and this is definitely a step up.

[nicolars.livejournal.com]

I do love that title.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Arrg god if anyone compares this negatively to Justin's album I'll be annoyed. Not cos JT's album was bad - it wasn't at all - but compared to Blackout it's so earnest and eager to please.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

OK I have just popped triple the dose of cold medicine and I am listening to it and OMG PIECE OF ME OMG

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

My very favourite thing about Piece Of Me is the noise at the start that sounds like someone strangling a pteranodon.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

fwiw so far (I'm on 'Freakshow' which has a DUBSTEP BASSLINE) I think this album is sonically far more out there than any pop item since 'Die Another Day'...this is incredible.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Maybe I've just been listening to too much shonky electro bloghouse remixes and have deluded myself that all pop sounds like them now!

"Freakshow" is pretty great. The last few tracks slip from my brain a bit so I'm interested in what you make of them.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Haha they've completely re-recorded the 'Hot As Ice' vocal! OK THEY HAD BETTER NOT CENSOR ANY OF HER SWEARS (3!) ON THE CD.

The martial beat on 'Toy Soldiers' is siiiiiick. NU BRITNEY IS ON A MISSION!

Every song so far has had at least one moment where I've gone OMGWTF.

[koganbot]

OK THEY HAD BETTER NOT CENSOR ANY OF HER SWEARS (3!) ON THE CD.

They had better not engage in such fuckery.

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the Guardian is simply playing catch-up. The Times got the "exclusive" "first review" on Wednesday (Paphides, 4 stars, basically saying the same thing as the editorial + drops in 'The Lex meme' for good measure). This week, it's de rigeur for the broadsheets to praise Britney? [/cynical]

Jeez louise, the first half dozen comments on that editorial... :(

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

wait, whut? "the lex meme"????

lex is a meme now?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

He cites the kidz on the bus!

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

a-haaaaaaa, that lex meme :)

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Times review here (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article2718710.ece). They do seem to be writing this off as her swansong, scarily.

[koganbot]

And you look to the news links on the right and the first hed says "Humanity's very survival at risk."

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

"Blackout - an unfortunate choice of title, given the nature of Spears' recent travails"

Whuh? It is a GREAT title!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

(bvgger pressed 'post' before I'd finished)

Even tho I haven't heard Blackout yet, the title seems extremely fitting: it doesn't strike me as a 'noes I have fallen unconscious due to my latest binge', more of a 'batton down the hatches and prepare for WAR' even tho I'm sure Brit doesn't have that frame of reference.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Gah, so many people beat me to this line.

[gingermint.livejournal.com]

i really wish she'd called it "Down Boy" though. "Blackout" is...pretty meh.

[koganbot]

an unfortunate choice of title, given the nature of Spears' recent travails

A TREMENDOUS title, given the nature of Spears' recent travails. We had a long convo on rolling teenpop a while ago about who is being the better rock star - Lindsay, Paris, or Britney - and girlboymusic argued convincingly for Britney. I'd have to say that Britney wins it (even though this album, good as it is, isn't as good as Paris).

The album sounds way more hip-hop inflected than anything I've heard by Rachel Stevens or Girls Aloud.

[koganbot]

xpost

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Maybe so but it sounds a lot less hip-hop inflected than Britney did - I'm registering it as dance-pop not hip-pop.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Though looking at the Britney tracklist I have NO idea where I'm getting that from.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yeeah it's a great, great title, though I am still disappointed she didn't use the Lohan one.

Also: OMG 'HOT AS ICE' WAS WRITTEN BY T-PAIN

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

the fuck-you all-over-the-place defiance and unexpectedly sharp wit I'm hearing on Blackout is making me think of America's Sweetheart - except a thousand times more listenable than most of that.

[koganbot]

You see. I was right in my interpretation of her Webpage. (Unfortunately she's taken down the brilliant anti-Hilary jibes and the umbrella fake apology, just has a link for advance orders of the album.)

OK, finished listening to it now

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

That was SENSATIONAL. Well done Britney! Album of year, popstar of year, rockstar of year, media presence of year, person of year. Round of applause!

And now I am going to listen to it all over again.

Re: OK, finished listening to it now

[koganbot]

I think it flags a bit towards the end, though that's hardly a big problem; given that I always end up reordering and choosing what I play from albums. Insomniatic is still easily in my top spot (and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend number two, but I haven't listened in several months). I still don't own the Tisdale - I remember it as very uneven from the AOL listening party back in February, but having two of the great singles of the year certainly puts it in contention, even if she isn't remotely as interesting as Britney. (Depending what they choose next, Britney too could have two of the great singles of the year.) Also, surprisingly good new Veronicas album has just leaked, with only one bad song at the most, though ultimately I'll probably find them too shallow to compete with Britsky or A&A.

Re: OK, finished listening to it now

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

I didn't much care for it on first listen, Piece of Me is fantastic but I can't help but find the whole album a bit one-paced.

[koganbot]

Also, though it's not in the same genre, its scratchy murk reminds me of Kelly Clarkson's My December (a mostly excellent album which got relatively savaged from the reviewers, like shouldn't Kelly know better than to challenge her listeners!). I was saying to skyecaptain over on Bedbugs that if Britney'd ended with a coda of her mellower lounge-blues outtakes (which were also quite good) this and the Kelly album'd be a nice match.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Was it Dave who said that analysis of Kelly C on My December depends on which songs the record company wanted her to ditch, and which they wanted her to keep? About half is brilliant, but the other half isn't so much challenging as just...soggy and puddingy.

[koganbot]

Well, challenging doesn't always mean good. But in general I just end up pretending the stuff I don't like doesn't exist. I think the Brit album is more consistent than the Kelly.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

My problem with a lot of the Kelly album wasn't the sound or the grit - some of the riffs she packs in are astounding, tight stuff - but the lyrics; they were occasionally great ('Never Again', 'Hole') but in places, and especially on the tracks which didn't pack so much of a musical punch, they just came off as rather standard therapy-speak. Which is fine when accompanied by a musical punch, but rather shown up when not.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Kelly can fall in for some really awful lyrics -- her "curious cat" line in "How I Feel" drives me NUTS.

[nicolars.livejournal.com]

The lyrics are what let Kelly down the most -- the self-analysis/therapy stuff can really grate.

Gack

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

I feel a bit like I'm fourteen chasing the cool kids in school by d/l-ing this... oh well. guess there's no question who'll top last.fm charts this week :)