The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Providence_BMP-09

Britney Spears

BRITNEY-BLACKOUTINSIDE
Spears’s fifth studio album is a witchy electro-pop wonder as suspect as those prescription pills photographed in her purse a few weeks ago. Yes, it’s been a bad year for Spears, with that embarrassing VMA appearance, and the even more bizarre performance — the “Eat it, lick it, snort it, fuck it” quip — she let loose outside a courtroom just days after Blackout leaked on MTV.comVH1.com, and LOGOonline.com. The good news is that lyrics like “I’m Mrs. Oh My God, that Britney’s shameless” (“Piece of Me”) aren’t quite that bad. Over a vibrating bass, Britney baby-baby-talks while the Swedish producing team of Bloodshy & Avant play with her pitch and Spears shows a little self-awareness. The disc’s obvious dance singles, “Gimme More” and “Hot As Ice,” are helped by Timbaland protégé Nate “Danja” Hills. (He’s credited on five of the album’s 12 songs.) Spears also takes a stab a Blondie-style new wave with “Heaven on Earth,” the disc’s biggest departure and another pleasant surprise. Blackout may be more a tribute to the skills of the A-list producers who guided her through the disc than to any of her own talents. But at least she was smart enough to accept that guidance.

Latest Articles

090522_monster_lsit

I Monster | A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars

Twins of Evil (2009)
Twins of Evil (2009)
By GUSTAVO TURNER  |  May 26, 2009
090522_cellars_lits

He shall overcome

Amadeus the Stampede keeps on pushing
There’s nothing lamer than articles that lead with cheap metaphors inspired by an artist’s stage name. But I can’t avoid this one: when Amadeus the Stampede rushes, get the fuck out of the way.
By CHRIS FARAONE  |  May 19, 2009
090501_Thorpe_l

The Big Hurt: Jacko solvent! Boyle swelling! Lupus dissed!

MJ's ranch, Hoppus and Wentz on Twitter, and Susan Boyle
If you had your heart set on picking up a gently used chimp tuxedo or a suspicious child skeleton, you're outta luck
By DAVID THORPE  |  April 28, 2009
090424_break-list

Taking the B-boys to School

The Other MIT Crew
You may have noticed, hip-hop dance has gone legit — or at least slightly commercial.
By LISA SPINELLI  |  April 22, 2009
Britney_Spears_Thumb

Review: Britney Spears at the Garden

Britney Spears' Circus Maximus at the Garden, March 16, 2009
"Oh my God, this is going to be so fucking crazy!" screams a teenage girl behind me.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN  |  March 19, 2009
090320_brit_list

Slideshow: Britney Spears at the Garden

Britney Spears, live at TD Banknorth Garden, March 16, 2009
Photos of Britney Spears, live at the Garden, March 16, 2009  
By CARINA MASTROCOLA  |  March 19, 2009
090109_hsm2_list

Scenes 4 tweens

Troy, Gabriella, and the HSM2 crew put the music in them. Now our two quasi-theater critics are trying to get it out.
When I was a teenager, all I ever longed for was to live in a world where it was socially acceptable, nay, a social requirement , to frequently burst into song.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN AND CHRIS FARAONE  |  January 07, 2009
090102_bestowrst_list

Good news, bad news

Fear and loathing? Or happy days? The only thing we know for sure about the coming year is that we're all in this together.
It will be the best of times. Or, perhaps, it will be the worst.
By MIKE MILIARD  |  December 30, 2008
081226_wayne_list

Year in National Pop: New attitudes

Are we fated to pretend?
Are we fated to pretend?
By DANIEL BROCKMAN  |  December 22, 2008
081226_theater_list

Year in Theater: Staged right

Changing of the local guard
It's been a Buckingham Palace season on the local rialto.
By CAROLYN CLAY  |  December 22, 2008
081212_bighurt_list

The Big Hurt: Dr Pepper sickens Axl

Plus Creed threaten to exist again; Camp Freddy awful
Unless we act fast, the darkest chapter in American æsthetic history may soon be revisited.
By DAVID THORPE  |  December 12, 2008
081107_hurt-list

The Big Hurt: Peace capes

Plus Moz yarns, Osmond extensions
The dismissal of the drunk-driving case against Britney Spears has brought a ceremonial end to the downfall that ushered in a new Golden Age of tabloid journalism.
By DAVID THORPE  |  November 10, 2008
081017_fisher_list

Still crazy after all these years

The Force is with Carrie Fisher in her one-woman show Wishful Drinking
Since Dorothy Parker died, in 1967, Carrie Fisher is probably the most hilarious screwed-up person alive.  
By CAROLYN CLAY  |  October 22, 2008

Thugs on parade

Letters to the Boston editor, October 10, 2008
I would like to commend Anne Elizabeth Moore on a fantastic job of reporting from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.  
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS  |  October 08, 2008
081010_rotten_list

The Big Hurt: Rotten butter

John Lydon spreads it on thick. Plus, intrusive devices and CGI pissoirs
John Lydon spreads it on thick. Plus, intrusive devices and CGI pissoirs
By DAVID THORPE  |  October 08, 2008
080928_newkids_list

Hangin' Tough

New Kids 4-evah!
This article appeared in the September 9, 1999 issue of the Boston Phoenix .
By JASON GAY  |  September 26, 2008
080912_fallopian_list

Fallopian follies

While celebrity sages salivate over Hollywood babies, Beltway pundits are spinning the latest wave of ovarian escapades. Have girls really gone wild?
Speculating on celebrity baby “bumps” is Hollywood blood sport.
By KARA BASKIN  |  September 10, 2008
080912_edit-list

The right stuff

Senator John Kerry has it; challenger Ed O’Reilly doesn’t. Plus, Sarah Palin’s Hannah Montana equation.
Politics is often a matter of perspective.
By EDITORIAL  |  September 10, 2008
080905_tote_list

Dawg days

The 2008 campaign is turning out to be our first-ever American Idol election
Despite gains by blogs, podcasts, and social-networking Web sites, television is still our dominant mass medium.
By STEVEN STARK  |  September 03, 2008
pandj.jpg

Over and out for Opie

Newsman takes a walk rather than embrace tabloid lexicon
Jim "Opie" Hummel has been among the handful of local wild and crazy reporters who consistently come up with solid, aggressively pursued, and flashy stories.
By PHILIPPE + JORGE  |  August 06, 2008
080719_bighurt_list

Vicious squircles

The Big Hurt: grave errors and virtual disappointments
Someone has made off with Ian Curtis's gravestone.
By DAVID THORPE  |  July 15, 2008

Baby mama drama

Diverse city
I’ve been working to kick my heavy diet of mainstream media programming.
By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY  |  June 25, 2008
feat_gitmolist.jpg

A night in Guantánamo

Staying in a replica cell, with no waterboarding included
I’d volunteered to spend the night in the replica cell (which is modeled on the ones at Gitmo) because we’ve all heard stories about unlivable conditions at Gitmo but can’t come close to imagining what it must be like.
By JEFF INGLIS  |  June 18, 2008
080613_cusack_list

Interview: John Cusack sounds off on War, Inc.

Say everything
Most filmgoers recognize John Cusack as a brooding sexy, sometimes sardonic leading man.
By PETER KEOUGH  |  June 11, 2008
Ascent_Centerlist

State of the art

RISD grads share their visions
RISD’s annual “Graduate Thesis Exhibition” could be just the place to glimpse the future of art, as predicted by the school that U.S. News & World Report recently said has the best master of fine arts program in the country.
By GREG COOK  |  May 28, 2008
00000_thisjustin

How private are your medical records?

Technology watch
Let’s face it: the worldwide Web is making privacy obsolete.
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO  |  April 30, 2008
080502_madonna_list

Who’s that girl (now)?

Madonna pulls some Hard Candy from her purse
I’d wager that Madonna is not much of a fun person.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN  |  April 29, 2008
080418_baldwin_list

Just the two of us

Nat Baldwin lugs his bass into your heart
I almost slept over at Nat Baldwin’s house once.
By CAMILLE DODERO  |  April 22, 2008
080411_thorpe_lsits

The Big Hurt: Clubbing baby seals: not okay

This week in social activism
Pop icon RICKY MARTIN paid a humanitarian visit to Cambodia recently in support of victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
By DAVID THORPE  |  April 08, 2008
yaellist

Yael Naim

Atlantic
I can’t understand half of what Yael Naim is singing on her homonymous sophomore release, and her inscrutability only adds to her charm.
By SHARON STEEL  |  April 08, 2008

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group