Britney Spears
The booming piano chords that kick off Baby One More Time by Britney Spears constitute one of pop music’s great moments. Like the start of Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel or the staccato guitar strums in Faith by George Michael, the Spears intro heralds the start of what is unquestionably one of the genre’s best songs - and one of its last.
Amid all the analysis and reflection on this tumultuous decade as it winds to a close – there’s a powerful interactive trip down memory lane here – there has been a change in contemporary culture, in some ways a sad one, that has gone pretty much unnoticed.
Pop music disappeared.
They say attack is the best form of defence and so I should have expected the very personal attack from Britney’s tour promoter Paul Dainty in today’s Australian.
You see, I was the journalist who wrote on Friday night that fans were walking out of her concert.
``It’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,’’ Paul Dainty told The Oz. ``I’m so angry. We can take heat if there’s something wrong and people can review shows badly - that’s something you have to live with - but to say people stormed out of the show was an absolute fabrication.’’
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Shane says:
I heard about your review a week or so back and though, “hey that’s a bit harsh”, having went to her Melbourne tour last night. (tickets discounted to $60 for stage standing area). Firstly i could only see her 1/3 rd of the time. Secondly her lip syncing was horrendous… Read more »
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Rebecca says:
I don’t know about Perth, but I live in Brisbane and I’ve seen the show twice now. Once from the GA area and once from seats. I had a very clear view of her when I was standing, she was only a few meters away and there was nobody to… Read more »
Whoa whoa whoa! Australia, hold up. Let’s tread carefully here… do we really want to induce another Britney Spears meltdown?
Because that’s what we’re skirting with this teacup tempest over the somewhat faded pop star’s decision to lip synch the bulk of each stop on her current concert tour.
Since kicking off the Australian leg of her 60-date comeback roadshow at Perth’s Burswood Dome last week, Spears has faced a page one Daily Telegraph hitpiece, reports of WA fans demanding refunds (a claim the venue denied in a statement) and the sort of media harassment usually reserved for Dennis Ferguson.
Continue reading "Let’s not give Britney another nervous breakdown" »
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CelebritiesVsthePeople says:
I would reckon that not talking about Britney Spears would actually send her over the edge of a nervous breakdown. She has survived this long in a very bitter world of celebrity on her ability to keep the press glued to every breath she takes. The press is using her… Read more »
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Ian says:
All she has to do is pack up and go home. WE do not want these frauds here anymore. Read more »
The former Soviet country of Turkmenistan isn’t known for its trendsetting qualities. It’s dry. It’s cold and ugly. It exports lots of cotton. Not what you’d call a world power.
But in 2005 it became the first country in the world to take a strong stand, not against fascism, but lip-synching.
Declared a great crime against the culture of the proud nation, the late President Saparmurat Niyazov banned miming in all forms _ concerts, TV, even private weddings.
Continue reading "And in news just to hand from war-torn Britneystan…" »
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Sun says:
Alex Dickinson, have you been to Turkmenistan? I think not. Referring to the place as merely cold and ugly, coupled with references to its long dead eccentric former dictator, shows quite clearly that you wouldn’t even be able to pinpoint it on a map. It’s a beautiful country, mostly desert,… Read more »
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Conan says:
You’re an idiot Dickinson. What sort of person would openly condone this kind of abuse on the music industry? It’s bad enough that we have to put up with Britney in the first place, let alone tolerate cultural retards, such as yourself, standing up an waving the “It’s OK, as… Read more »
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Online journos, read and hope - what Charlie Sheen taught Salon about being original http://t.co/6fyXfvuR via @NiemanLab
@EnoTheWonderdog Loads of laughs. He turned 1 on Tuesday and has a highly enthusiastic sense of humour.
Agree, the backlash seems a bit over-the-top RT @TiffSocialDiary Fantastic article on the Lana Del Rey backlash by Barry Divola via @smh
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