For the Record: Britney Spears Circus

By Kate Xian

For the Record

Circus

Brit Brit has often been a long running joke on JXM among other magazines, talk shows, comedians...and well everywhere really. Admittedly we’ve used her many times as the butt of our jokes or as an example of the slow and painful degradation of youth culture and the heightened female superego. But she returns with her “true” comeback with the release of her latest record Circus along with the MTV documentary For the Record where Brit Brit sets the record straight.

Normally JXM likes to bring the unknown musicians to the forefront, to the people, and stay away from the hype of ginormous acts such as Britney. But no doubt after Britney’s questionable behaviour and seemingly unstable life, Circus is likely going to be one of the most talked about records of the year and we felt that we had to weigh in.

I come from a generation that sat on the threshold of the 90’s Grunge era where music was artistic and groundbreaking from Soundgraden,to Nirvana to Smashing Pumpkins, and simultaneously, on the cusp of the mass-manufacturing disposal of Bubblegum Pop. I was first introduced to music by music that meant something – Pearl Jam, early Our Lady Peace, and Radiohead. Even if that “something” was a little manic-depressive or kitschy, regardless it was music that came from a sincere place of raw human emotion and intelligence. But my generation also saw the rise of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys where kids (literally) were auditioned like cattle until the perfect recipe of five boys or girls would appeal to all personalities of the tween and teen age.

My knowledge of music is what I’ve learned from these two extremes in music. I learned first that music was an artistic outlet that was both cathartic to the artist and the listener. And I also learned that music can be fun and...fun for a buck. So there it was, a hierarchy of music, an egotistical categorization of the value of music. The more radio play it got, the more fans it had, the more merchandise it had, the less artistic it was. Mostly because it made more money than any other kind of music.

And Britney Spears became the first solo artist to be manufactured like a high-end Happy Meal. She was both seductive and innocent, playing both sides with ease. A devil in disguise. As years went on, the innocent aspect to her routine waned and she ate up fame like she breathed air. Her high profile relationship with mega-star ‘NSYNC-er, Justin Timberlake only fueled the size of her vomit-inducing fame and fortune.

Then the perfect couple broke up and she fell to pieces before our eyes.

We all know the incidents – the Las Vegas wedding, the panties-less escapades, the umbrella vs. paparazzi brawl, the pseudo Brit (ha no pun intended) accent, the Federline marriage, whirlwind of kids, the near dropping of her kids, the Timbaland blunder, the disastrous MTV VMA performance, shaved head, the psychiatric gurney, and my goodness the list can go on.

And JXM ignored it all! Until now.

We sat down and listened to Circus and watched the documentary. And what we have to say is not what you would think.

No doubt, the documentary is a blatant marketing tool. As they say in show business – “there’s no such thing as bad press.” And all those bizarre incidents are only helping to market her newest record. But the MTV documentary left me with an incredibly strange and unsettled feeling in my stomach.

She is both puppet and puppeteer. She has this air about her that she believes that she’s in control, yet the bottom line is, the purpose of the documentary is to generate sales for MTV, advertisers, her staff, her record label and so on. It is a clever game of manipulation.

But the one thing I took away from the documentary was that I simply felt sorry for her. Though she makes some preposterous remarks, such as comparing her life to being in jail, I still understand where she’s coming from. She literally can’t make a move without it being exploited by someone. The people that are closest to her are people who are paid to be around her. She can barely indulge in typical female habits such as shopping at her favourite stores without it becoming a huge publicity ordeal.

And it’s easy to lay blame on her as well. She knew what she was getting herself into becoming a celebrity. Right? I think at one point in time, the life she leads is what she wanted, but how long can a normal human being withstand being followed constantly, being exploited? And that’s just it – she is in fact normal. At one point she breaks down in front of the camera confessing that she’s sad.

Money truly doesn’t buy happiness. Her father and two children at this point are the only people in her life who haven’t seemed to have exploited her. At the young age of 27 all she has ever known are people who use her to make money, including her own mother. And her children are thankfully not at the age of money-grubbing egotistical socialite brats from the O.C.

Yet.

And as many jabs as she takes from the media, she does appear to be much more down to earth than any of those irritating O.C. socialites. Years and years ago I remember a television interview with Britney where she said something surprisingly profound. “[With fame and money] it’s not you that changes. Its the people around you that change.” Its a sad realization for a teen, someone really still in their formative years to come to such a conclusion, knowing that from here on out, that people will always be ‘different’ with you. Maybe they really do like me? Or maybe they want something from me? And someone with as much fame and money and power as Britney Spears, you wouldn’t expect her to be as candid as she was. Though often times, the doc was edited in a frustratingly vague way – it was hard to pinpoint what she was referring to exactly – she was quiet, subdued and self-aware. And she may not be the most eloquent, or put-together in that camera-ready type of way, but she’s definitely not the dumb blonde.

But how can her strange behaviour be explained then? I think she simply acted out, rebelled, did everything she could to do the exact opposite of what she was feeling. She likely carries around a huge weight of emotions with her, the sensitive, artistic, self-aware kind. And as much as we want to say that her eyes are blank, lifeless, they are in fact full of emotion. Her behaviour comes down to simple human psychology – self-destruction is bred by pain.

During my teen years her life appeared envious – she had it all – youth, success, fame, fortune, love. And I bought into it. I thought her life was perfect, and taken for granted.

But as I aged with Brit Brit, she seemed like so many people I know in a world that is likely not really for her. Lost and trapped at the same time.

And so her music too should mature along with her. Without doubt, Circus doesn’t have the same Bubblegum Pop sound of the late 90’s, but then again neither does Miley Cyrus. So the question becomes, has her music become more artistically inclined?

Unfortunately the answer is no. Both the song and video to her first single Womanizer is very typically pop. The video directed by longtime music video director Joseph Khan, should have been a sure-fire way to bring Britney Spears back to life. He did after all, direct the music videos for all the huge acts of the Bubblegum era.

The release of Womanizer is in my personal opinion, a marketing miss-step. The release of the second single Circus, released simultaneously as the record, was bigger on all accounts. The title track has much more bang – melodically, rhythmically, and lyrically. The video too was much more grand. With beautiful silhouettes, framing and production design, Circus just seems like it would be a natural fit as the first single to bring in the hype.

The record on the other hand was rather disappointing. Though I wasn’t looking for cool artistic endeavours such as the music I grew up with. I was, however looking for a good pop record. Circus, is in fact one of the strongest tracks of the record if not the strongest. Musically the tracks are muddled and blend together. The heavy use of distortion on Britney’s voice is a bit much combined with the complicated layering of synths. Track after track they all began to sound the same.

And if it weren’t for the Britney factor, the record is likely to fall by the wayside as being a mediocre record. There are a few tracks that are Britney-esque – fun and poppy with a bit of a club/dance feel such as Amnesia and Lace and Leather.

Of course there are no shortages of strong pop ballads such as Out From Under, Unusual You, and My Baby, which is likely the weakest of the three – the most reminiscent of the Bubblegum sound, syrupy, slow and dripping of love.

Circus starts off strong, a great mix of tracks, first with the tease, Womanizer then the big sound, big beats of the title track, followed by a softer takedown with Out From Under, but the balance seems to slip away after that. The following tracks are a blur until they come to random spurts of a variety track such as a ballad or simply, a different beat.

Overall, it’s not a bad record. But it’s not a great record either. Sure there are some fantastic tracks but as a whole, I felt it slipping away. I’m all for Britney to come back on top and no doubt she will. And for someone who carries such emotional and artistic weight inside her, I honestly wanted something more evolutionary, something more honest, but that’s a big can of worms and wounds that can’t be closed once opened. Its true what they say about bad press, after the past couple years of what Britney’s gone through, fans will hoist her up and hold her there till she’s back on her feet regardless of what sound she pumps out.

Circus Release Date: December 2, 2008