- "From the Bottom of my broken heart" is a song from her first album in 1998. About first love...High School...Music video made up of a lot of cliche high school romance moments...sitting in the middle of the football stadium at night with the lights on...
- "...Baby one more time" hit song of album. Slightly more promiscuous than previous video. Upbeat song...lyrics are more aggressive...different vocals...lots of background singers...her voice is less singing...
- "Your drive me crazy" lots of oooohs and ahhhhs...more about boy-girl relationships...girl thinks about boy a lot...
- "oops!...i did it again" background vocals...girl toying with boys emotions...still about relationships...more "girl power"
- "Stronger" girl being strong and independent...doesn't need a boy around...upbeat...harder voice..."I don't need nobody, not anybody."
- "I'm A Slave 4 u" sexier voice...lots of seductive sounds...oooohs and ahhhhs...song about becoming a woman..."I know I may be young...but i need to do what i feel like doing..."
- "Boys" bhangra background sounds...more sexy talking and less singing...girl power "And when a girl is with one [boys] she's in control."
- "Toxic" very different by incorporating violin...bu-bum-bum bu-bum-bum beat...very sexual video...song is about how intoxicating a guy is but the video shows a typer of 'superwoman' villain that kills the guy...one outfit looks like she is wearing almost nothing...
- "Gimme more" takes place in a strip club...very seductive tone...vulgar language...lots of bass...less pop than other songs.
As for fan sites, they range from positive to negative comments. mostly are positive and are mainly used to update on Britney's current news, such as her legal struggles, tour dates, new sites and wallpapers, and her new album. I am hoping to find a way to get in contact with some of the fans to see the age range of her current fan base and see if they are new fans, or have been for the past 10 years.
Looks good so far, Allie. I like how you are tracking the progression of themes and sounds in her music over time. I also like how you focus in on "the music itself" - the actual sonic materials of the music. A lot of people leave this out of their analysis.
ReplyDeleteYou note that parents have reacted strongly to the explicit content of some of her more recent songs. However, as we discussed in class, parents were already concerned with the content of some of Britney's earlier material. Perhaps her recent legal and personal troubles have only enhanced this response from parents. This is certainly something to explore.
Allie, I like how you broke the songs up into their time of release. You chose some very thoughtful and accurate words when describing her music, specifically "Oops I did it again." I think, specifically with Britney Spears whose musical talents have been questioned it is important to begin with analyzing the "music itself." I think it is important also that you listened to the songs in the order of their production so you can feel a sense of her development as a performer.
ReplyDeleteFinally, I like that you visited several sites that had different perspectives about Britney, her merit as an artist, and her musical talents. This is especially interesting because so much of the media has been focused on her downfall, and now she has been definitely trying to make a comeback. Good luck; it looks like you are off to a great start!
Hey Allie, I like your new, more focused topic. I think it would be interesting to talk to people who have been fans of Britney for over the years and see if and how their perception of her and her music have changed throughout the years. Also, I'm curious to know if Britney has a lot of new fans. I guess I feel that because Britney started out as a tween/teen sensation, new fans would also be in that age range, but not necessarily. Without any prior research, I would think that tweens/teens would tend to listen more to artists like the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift (that's what my sister listens to).
ReplyDeleteI'm also doing a fan-based research project, so we'll probably have a lot of similar ways to get information from fans. Do you think you'll look at certain websites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and music streaming sites, to find fans? I think on Facebook, there are probably lots of fan groups that you can inspect and gather info. Good luck!
Allie -
ReplyDeleteI think Britney makes a great topic. Good choice! Besides your own analysis of the progression of themes in her hit songs, which I really liked, you could possibly also look at reviews by major magazines for each of her C.D.s and what they think about her changing style. You could also look up interviews in which Britney herself has talked about her music and image and why it's changing. I feel like a lot of magazines have tried to answer the question about exactly what it is that has made Britney such a pop icon and their ideas could help you in your analysis.
Great start!
I agree - I'm excited about your new, focused topic. I definitely feel like the progression you're illustrating here is highly relevant to discussing Britney's fan base. Instead of perpetually appealing the same age group, she has really embraced her own growing up or changing focus in life and consequently, has retained a lot of her fans. I, for one, appreciate this quality of her music because I feel like I've almost grown up with her (although I will say I'm not too sure how relevant some of her experience is to me... heh).
ReplyDeleteShe was on the cover of Rolling Stone pretty recently and I remember they tackle this theme of change/metamorphosis/transformation.
I think you could easily find Brown students to interview on this topic, which (I think) would be a great age group to investigate in-depth because, again, I think youth our age have listened to and been affected by Britney at a variety of points in our adolescence.
Your focus on "the music itself" is particularly refreshing with Britney, simply because so little attention is actually paid to her songs in comparison to her personal goings-on (in my opinion).