Song One: ...Baby One More Time

 The first single Britney (and hey this is my second post so we are on a first name basis now!) released is also the name of her first studio album.  It is ...Baby One More Time.  Not Hit Me Baby One More Time!

Anyway why don't we have a listen to the song.

The official music video has been blocked from being used in Australia by the corporate wolves Vevo so I am posting this version.  You can see the official music video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKo4fFVymqk
So what is it all about?  Well I remember back when I was in High School and we were analysing William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies.  Many people had different opinions about the novel, Golding himself said he just wrote a story, but there is a lot you can think about even when with the words of a song.

But what did Britney think the song was all about?

So Britney says it's about a guy she wished she had not broken up with.  Is there anymore to it than that?

Well let's look at the lyrics.  The song was written by Max Martin who lately has written Teenage Dream for Katy Perry and Raise Your Glass for Pink.  Born in 1971 he is certainly older than Britney and this may show us something as well.

Oh baby, baby

Oh baby, baby

Oh baby, baby

How was I supposed to know

That something wasn't right here

Oh baby, baby

I shouldn't have let you go

And now you're out of sight, yeah

Show me, how you want it to be

Tell me baby

'Cause I need to know now, oh because

[chorus:]

My loneliness is killing me (And I)

I must confess, I still believe (Still believe)

When I'm not with you I lose my mind

Give me a sign

Hit me baby one more time

Oh baby, baby

The reason I breathe is you

Boy you got me blinded

Oh pretty, baby

There's nothing that I wouldn't do

It's not the way I planned it

Show me, how you want it to be

Tell me baby

'Cause I need to know now, oh because

[chorus:]

My loneliness is killing me (And I)

I must confess, I still believe (Still believe)

When I'm not with you I lose my mind

Give me a sign

Hit me baby one more time

Oh baby, baby

Oh baby, baby

Ah, yeah, yeah

Oh baby, baby

How was I supposed to know

Oh pretty baby

I shouldn't have let you go

I must confess, that my loneliness

Is killing me now

Don't you know I still believe

That you will be here

And give me a sign

Hit me baby one more time

[chorus:]

My loneliness is killing me (And I)

I must confess, I still believe (Still believe)

When I'm not with you I lose my mind

Give me a sign

Hit me baby one more time

I must confess

(My loneliness is killing me)

That my loneliness

Is killing me now

(I must confess, I still believe)

Don't you know I still believe

That you will be here

(When I'm not with you I lose my mind)

And give me a sign

Hit me baby one more time

The first thing to mention which is not about the lyrics, but the music is how good the beat is, it really does have a good feel about it.  In someways it sounds a bit slow and there are remixes which speed it up somewhat, but it is certainly a good beat and her singing voice is very good as well, smooth and slickly produced, and accused of being like candy, but even if it is somewhat manufactured it is perfect pop.

So the words.

I was amused to hear that Justin Bieber's song Baby mentions the word Baby 54 times.  I personally don't have Bieber Fever, Britney mentions the word Baby twenty five times.  I wondered when was the first time baby was used in a song to talk about the love of someone's life?  I managed to find a song from 1912, but I wonder is there an earlier song.  All comments on this are appreciated.

 The first verse is regret, regret for the loss of someone a loved one, her baby.  

I shouldn't have let you go.  The wrong decision  was made, and she is sorry.  It is kind off strange when you compare the lyrics with the actual music video, in some ways it does not seem to match.  Britney did look fine in the video though.  Ha Ha!!

The next line of note is "My loneliness is killing me" on one level this is real teen heartbreak stuff, a whole Romeo and Juliet scenario where teens who really don't understand true love make it into life and death and not about what love essentially boils down to in the end tea and toast.  

However there is something in that loneliness does kill and so many people are dying in their own loneliness.  We have never had so many ways to connect on the social network as right now and yet so many people have pretend friendships and are inside dying of crushing loneliness.

This then is a very insightful line.  



In the Bible Jesus said to the Pharisees who were demanding a sign Jesus laid into them look at this from Matthew chapter 16

The Pharisees and Sadducee's came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Sure again there is probably no connection but the idea of demanding a sign being a clue to a person who really doesn't believe and being adulterous is something worth thinking about?

Had the character in the song Britney was singing about not just ended the relationship but also been cheating?

It is at this point thinking way too deep into the lyrics but you know there is something worth thinking about when you demand a sign off someone what are you really demanding and why?

The next part I want to discuss is the whole verse which surrounds the adage love is blind.  She says the reason I breathe is you, that is either a massive hyperbole, a toxic commitment, or the deepest love you can ever have.

In this case I don't believe it is the real deal especially when it is followed up by 'Boy you got me blinded'  He has fooled her?  Or her own feelings for him have fooled her?  Whatever way this is saying 'love is blind' and it can be, it really can, a famous positive quote says 'love covers a multitude of sins' love being blind though is the negative extreme of that sentiment and that is where toxic relationships can really develop.

Form that point on the song basically repeats itself and then fades out and in the video you get Britney giving that smile.  This is real Mona Lisa stuff here, what does the smile mean?  I'd love to know what you think that smile means?

Over all it is a very good song, it is a slickly produced piece of pop music and in some ways it is like a bit of candy, but I think there is below the surface some ideas which can really get you thinking about relationships and about what you would demand out of others and what you think love really is.
 
I'm going to score this song out of a maximum of ten - 

I recommend it to listen to, as a piece of pop music and as something you can think and talk about. 

So What's all this about then?

Britney Spears - just the mention of her name and you have a range of responses from people, possibly as many responses as people you mention her name to.
  
Britney's first single, ...Baby One More Time was released in the USA on October 23 1998, and was a number one hit around the globe, from that point on it seems she has rarely been out of the news
.

Everyone loves (Or does not love!) Britney!  Everyone it seems has an opinion on her. 


Some say she started out the innocent every-girl teen and then slowly went down the road to overtly provocative music and a matching lifestyle.  Others claim she was provocative right from the beginning.  She has been praised and blamed for changing the fashion agenda of what we now call 'tweens' and even used as an example either of the moral bankrupt nature of our society or how the paparazzi can cause so many problems for such a young person.


She has always been regarded as someone who is very physically attractive, and there is no denying that she is certainly very beautiful and her music has been very influential to many others.

It has been over twelve years since she hit the scene and like many of us Britney has had highs and lows, the only thing for her is that her highs and lows have been viewed through the eyes of an adoring, skeptical and hateful public all at the same time.   

She has faced pressures most of us would never dace and had moments called controversial that for us would be just life.  There has been much said and covered about her life. Who could forget the emotional tears of Chris Crocker begging people to leave Britney alone!   It is right here now if you want to re-watch or even experience it for the first ever time.

This one video has had over thirty-six million people watch it, almost the entire population of Australia watching it two times each.  That is amazing!

There has also been parodies and whilst most of them are pretty poor some have actually been amusing.  Here's a parody of Britney's hit song Oops I did it Again by Weird Al Yankovich.  Very base humour to be sure, but very funny!.

Ultimately however it is all about the music and with Britney due to release her seventh studio album in 2011 there has been quite a bit of it, and so with this in mind I have decided to go back and look at Britney and to be honest as a person who has not listened to a lot of her music to explore the phenomenon that is Britney Spears.

So I will be going through her career song by song and seeing what we can make of these songs.

People have analysed the words of poets for centuries, today some people say it is not about the words but the beat of the song and how people dance, but short of songs like Barbara Streisand by Duck Sauce or the (in)famous Get Get Down by Paul Johnson  (Let me remind you of that one.  Virtually the only word in the lyrics is Down. )  words of songs can be thought about, and Britney's words may make us think about things.  It has been said that what someone says can be interpreted and be meaningful to people in different ways.

So without further ado, let's return to late 1998 and where it all began.  Each blog will reflect on one single Britney song.  I hope the ride will be interesting and I hope you can join me and share your thoughts as we look at Britney Spears in this the Britney Spears Project.
So since I am going to cover her songs I won't leave you with a song but I'll leave you with Britney singing in this awesome Pepsi commercial, and it rare that you will hear me say commercial and awesome in the same sentence.