Disclaimer: Due to my procrastination, this is going to be a very shitty blog. Have mercy. It probably won't have any quotes from the text either. My sincerest apologies.
Ah, where to begin, where to begin? As usual, I read something. That something was titled "The Cosmic Significance of Britney Spears" by Tom Perrotta. (The title is in pretty pink, bubbly letters) Anyways..................So............ Perrotta's essay describes the enigma that is Britney Spears. He compares her to Elvis, Madonna, and Cobain in an attempt to point out her similarities with these artists, and her differences. Basically, (as I percieved) the essay is about Britney Spears being a product of corporate america, and how that product represented the overall state of the union at that time. I don't know, some bullshit like that. It's 10:31, I got class at 11, this is due at 1, I'm getting sidetracked, I guess now, I can add my 1 and 1/2 cents.
Well, what do I think of the essay? Well, the author does a good job explaining what he thinks about Spears, and what she is all about, but I believe that Perotta is not harsh enough. Maybe it's just me but Perrotta seems like he has a level head on his shoulders, he just seems like a literary wimp. Nowhere in the essay does he point out the fact that Spears, and artists like her are the reason why music is getting worse at an exponential rate with the current growth of the cancer that is pop culture stardom. Yes I enjoy cleavage, but I also enjoy music that makes sense. Ok, yes Spears sings songs about teasing and heartbreak, and all other kinds of bullshit, but she doesn't write the lyrics or the music, people write the bullshit for her. She is a puppet for the record companies, and an icon on a soapbox of gibberish for the billions in this country, foaming at the mouth for something catchy to listen to. Perrotta compares Spears to Madonna, Madonna sings about some ridiculous shit that I don't really care about, but atleast she writes the crap, and takes the blame for the crap. (Plus she adopts foreign children on a regular basis. She is super spectacular in my book.) I have no fucking idea where I'm going with all of this. I am upset that I had to read about Britney Spears, the fucking joke to the musical community. But at the same time, as of today, the joke would be on me, all the cool people listen to Spears, and her musically inbred cousins of artists. I would have loved to have read a piece on a woman who influenced music in a positive way, rather than waste my time reading a piece about an authors inner struggle to understand "the largest pop star in the universe"
Suggested Listening: Neko Case. This lady has some real talent. Even if you don't like it, you should respect her, and her music because she works hard to write and perform things that evoke feeling and emotion. The only feeling and emotion that Britney Spears music evokes is false hope in impressionable young girls, and boners in adolescent and grown men.
Bottom line: Fuck Britney Spears, and fuck the paper wasted to print this god-awful essay on.
Sorry for being so rash Coop.
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1 comment:
Funny! Alas though, Perrotta makes an interesting point, or at least attempts to - that no matter how you (or me or anyone) may disdain a superstar, their superstardom says something about the lace and time in which they exist. Perrotta's claim then becomes: the fact that Spears is a phenomenon reflects a lack of fear and inner struggle in the late 1990s in the USA. So here is where you can take issue with his ideas (as I did in class) - that other artists, making widely popular music at the same time, would tell a very different story about our country. Remember, the subject matter may just be a specific example of a more general idea - thus it's your job to uncover that idea, even if you find the subject dubious.
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