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Britney Spears

Oops!...I Did It Again  Hear it Now

RS: 3.5of 5 Stars Average User Rating: 4of 5 Stars

2000

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Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene. She has nothing to do with Lolita and everything to do with Ann-Margret's pink capri pants in Bye Bye Birdie. Buddy Holly called her Peggy Sue, Ricky Nelson called her Mary Lou, the Beach Boys called her Barbara Ann, and her boyfriend called her at Beechwood 4-5789. It's her party and she'll grind if she wants to. Shooting at the walls of heartache, bang bang, she is the warrior.

Britney is a solo starlet working the girl-group shoop shoop, and if she's no Dusty Springfield yet, she's up there with Lesley Gore, Connie Francis and Claudine Clark. Oops! . . . I Did It Again is fantastic pop cheese, with much better song-factory hooks than 'N Sync or BSB get. The usual Swedish suspects provide sugary disco bombast along with guest producers Rodney Jerkins and Mutt Lange. In the terrific title hit, the music comes from Barbra Streisand's "Woman in Love," the words evoke Morrissey circa "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish," but that brutal growl is all Britney, articulating a violently ambivalent sexual confusion her audience can relate to, kicking and screaming for the right to figure out her desires before the world decides for her. She's in the dressing room, trying on various styles of adult sexuality that don't quite fit yet, and her fans know how that feels. As the Crystals used to sing, girls can tell.

You can hear the same fury in her brilliant version of the Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as she vandalizes the words ("how white my shirts could be" becomes "how tight my skirt should be" -- perfect) and snarls in libidinal frustration. Let it bleed, Miss B: Clearly it's just a matter of time before Christina Aguilera strikes back with "Have You Seen Your Mother, Britney, Standing in the Shadow?," followed by Jessica Simpson's "Under My Thumb," Mandy Moore's "Ruby Tuesday" and the Backstreet Boys' "Back Street Girl." That's the great thing about Oops! -- under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition.

ROB SHEFFIELD

(Posted: Jun 8, 2000)

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Review 1 of 2

zanes1 writes:

4of 5 Stars


The title says it all: she's done it again. Working with main collaborator Max Martin and his parter-in-crime Rami, along with Rodney Jerks produce an album that's even better then the last that induces the poppiest teen tracks any star could ask for which hooks of the title track, "Lucky," "Stronger," and the best ballad off the album "Where Are You Now?" "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" and "Dear Diary" fall falt on their faces while the cover of the Stones' "Satisfaction" is just fantastic - and everything else here might as well be.

Sep 5, 2007 22:50:58

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Review 2 of 2

chriseberlein writes:

4of 5 Stars


Britney Spears is a cultural phenomenon not only for spurring the new teen pop movement in the late 90s but also for her impact on global media, of all kinds. Her sophomore release, 2000's best-seller Oops!...I Did It Again, solidifies her status as the new sex symbol for a new generation and pop goddess for a new era. The title track is a slice of pure dance pop-styled perfection, just as tasty and disposable, though a little bit edgier, as her first international No. 1 smash "...Baby One More Time" in 1998. The rest of the record practically follows suit to the brilliant lead single, from the blaring "Stronger," somewhat introspective "Lucky," "Can't Make You Love Me," "What U See" and ballad "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know." The bland midtempo "One Kiss" and pathetic "Diary" are basically the only low moments on Oops!...I Did It Again, which overall is a much more thorough listen than her debut (sans for the incredible first single). Like Madonna, Britney just keeps making her mark in the pop music world and Oops!...I Did It Again puts her much further.

Dec 1, 2006 11:22:34

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