A Hand for Brit Brit

I have a confession to make.

Going against all I believe to be good music, I find myself curiously addicted to the sticky, sweet, overdubbed current single of Britney Spears, "Womanizer." <click here to listen>.

Now, I would not call myself a Britney Spears fan, but it's not her fault. When she first appeared on the scene as a pop princess (post "Mickey Mouse Club"), I was a senior in college listening to the post-folk folkies like Ani DiFranco, Sarah McLachlan and Dar Williams, chock-full of thought-provoking lyrics and girl power. I had moved out of the age of pop years before. To me, Britney's music focused more on synchronized dancing and thumping rhythms rather than actual singing. I didn't mind her insistent display of her personal sexual revolution - that's her prerogative (so to speak.) But that's all it seemed to be - there was no substance and that bothered me. I did give her a chance by watching Crossroads (yep - I did, but because a friend made me do it) and "Toxic" caught my attention. Just for a fleeting moment.

Thanks to non-stop pap coverage, we had the luxury of watching her train fall right off the tracks...down a steep embankment...plunging headfirst into a ravine. My heart goes out to the girl. With the controlling efforts of her father, the train has been pulled up and placed upright, although still mud-covered and dented. I didn't watch her special on MTV this week, but saw clips and she still seems miserable. We think she's doing much better because we don't get to watch her make a fool of herself anymore. For as famous as she is, we have to remember - she's still human.

Today is Britney's 27th birthday, and the release of her latest album, Circus. I sincerely wish her a happy day and a better year ahead. Her song (and probably her album) will put her back on top, but hopefully she'll be able to enjoy it on her own terms this time.