It's weird that few will give Britney Spears' "Blackout" the accolades it deserves

“Blackout” is a killer album. It’s one of the best records of 2007 and easily the weirdest and best record of Britney’s career to date. Yet with all this weird paparazzi culture and the fashionable celeb-bashing, few people are going to give that record a fair chance and a decent listen. Let’s talk about it!

“Blackout” is a hell of a record. The production, which is totally bonkers and amazing, is by Timbaland’s protege, Danja - and makes it perfectly clear that Danja’s probably been THE force behind Timbo’s recent round of synth-heavy jobs. It sounds at times like a Daft Punk record, a Ministry record, an Aphex Twin record.

It’s also a pretty dark record - there’s very little in the way of bubblegum, and even on the effervescent “Heaven on Earth,” the whole thing coasts along on a distorted snare and synths straight out of the Al Jorgensen songbook. While the first single “Gimme More” was a snooze, people are starting to hear “Piece of Me,” the next single, which is so robotic and auto-tuned, chopped up and ducked that it sounds like it could have been on that Justice record that everyone went gaga over this year. “Hot as Ice” is my personal favorite, which is just funkier with a great chorus, but “Freakshow” is the most daring - if you haven’t heard the hype, it’s basically a dubstep or grime track with both Britney and Robyn (whose excellent 2005 record is about to get a U.S. re-re-re-release) trading off sex raps over a nasty wobbler and some weird demonic pitched-down vocals. “Get Naked” similarly goes for the screwed-and-chopped route, with Britney singing over her own Darth Vadered vocal hook.

Totally amazing and daring record.

Have you ever seen the Bills play at home?

What is the surface they use in Ralph Wilson Stadium?

I’d support the album if the people who were mainly responsible for its sound were listed as the artist, rather than Britney.

What, did she pull an Alanis Morrisette on us?

Hey, no reason to drag an innocent football team into this.

Actually, I had also heard that this disc was a lot better than anyone expected, and was actually some pretty good music. The genre is not my cup of meat, but the stuff I’ve read seems to agree that she kicked out a pretty decent disc.

This is the most brilliant unexpected post I’ve ever seen.

I gotta agree with the others. It doesn’t sound as though much of the inventive, daring stuff was inspired by Spears. But maybe it was. How would I know? I’m currently kicking a Super Bowl-winning field goal in snow-covered Ralph Wilson Stadium.

I don’t think it’s weird that when evaluating the * potential * value of an album or any other intellectual/artistic product, the consumer would consider the reputation of the person behind it. Maybe Britney should change her name for the next one.

Interesting that the title is “Blackout” which is apparently what she’s been experiencing lately and is also a nice nod to what might possibly be the end of her career, or life, the way she’s going.

Oh, god, I just had a flash of what it will be like if Britney dies of an OD any time soon. The horror of the media coverage just washed over me. I feel sick.

I don’t really hear anything daring or inventive, and I’ve never been able to handle her voice. But it is competently-done club music. If I were at the deesco, I’d dance to it. If I danced.

As far as whose name is on it, give me a break. If I were the greatest person ever to get behind a mixing board, I’d want Spears’s name on, not mine. She sells records, and I gotta eat.

I actually really like “Gimmie More.” It’s not all that exciting, but it’s cute. It’s no “Oops, I Did It Again” but you can dance to it. Now, if we can just get the image of Ms. Spears dancing to it out of our heads…

But the magical Spears name isn’t selling this record… that’s kind of the point. Even though it’s been reviewed well, a lot of people don’t want to buy it because it’s Britney Spears’s record.

Believe it or not, I do understand the point. My point is that the producers, engineers, arrangers, sidemen, etc. do not, as a rule, sell records under their own names. They may be disappointed that the record isn’t doing all that well, but I doubt they’re gnashing their teeth saying, “My name should be on that record.”

Are you sure the reason is because it’s Spears, BTW? It did get to #2 on the Billboard 200 before falling back rather quickly. Maybe the opinion of people who listen to that sort of stuff is that it’s not all that great. I really don’t know.

Of course I’m not sure, but I do know quite a lot of people who have stated they wouldn’t buy the album if it meant putting money in her crazy little pocket. :stuck_out_tongue: Of course, these same people may or may not have downloaded it illegally. It’s getting good reviews and it’s on a lot of ‘best of’ lists. Even I have to admit that I really liked “Piece of Me”… I just listened to it on YouTube until I got sick of it. ha

I am not a fan of Britney’s, but recognize that she is a little deeper than some might give her credit for… she appears to be familiar with the concept of the Jungian Shadow:

If Britney wrote any of the words of the songs on that album, I’ll eat a bug.

I’m more inclined to believe she had songwriter credits negotiated as part of her deal.

I’ve been digging Britney’s album, and I’ve never cared for her previous albums. (On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed some of the more heavily chopped remixes of her dance tunes in the past.) I’ll admit liking the album mostly for the production work, but what matters is-- I like the album. It’d got some great dance tunes.

Acquaintances with whom I’ve discussed the album can’t separate her personal life from her career; a shame, because with an attitude that you can only give someone’s work a chance if their personal life is up to snuff, you theoretically can’t enjoy a lot of movies, music, and literature.

Maybe the dance music scene will give her a more fair shake than the pop scene’s given the album.

It was prominently talked-about on the ‘Best of 2007’ music segment on Fresh Air (NPR).

Maybe it’s good. Maybe it’s better than Timbaland’s effort this year (that wouldn’t be hard). But fuck anyone who says it’s the best album of 2007. Yea, it’s not my kind of music, but I can be at least somewhat objective, and objectively there is no way. Maybe best pop album of the year - pop is something I don’t know.