Britney Spears’ new Max Martin-assisted single “3″ premiered this morning, and what do you know, it’s a song about engaging in a ménage à trois that has an awkward reference to folk trio Peter, Paul, & Mary and a beat that sounds like it was inspired after way too many listens to Flo Rida’s unstoppable 2008 song “Low.” Britney doesn’t sound like a potential flesh-and-blood sex participant here as much as she sounds like an artificlal-intelligence-enhanced Real Doll, but I guess “post-human” is the asthetic that radio programmers are really into these days. Clip after the jump.
Britney Spears - 3 [Zomba Label Group]
That… wasn’t very good. But at least it wasn’t a Mamas & The Papas reference, am I right? Right?
“Post-human”, indeed. Does this bode well for Tokio Hotel’s new angle then? Oh, GOD. :( They’ll never take me alive.
Melodically, I like everything but the chorus, which is a pretty big thing not to like (agreed, also, that it sounds like an interpolation of “Low”).
And as for the production — isn’t she in a bit of a rut, with this Danja/post-Timbaland sound she’s now been milking for three albums?
@Chris Molanphy: I disagree with you there. I think it is exactly the Danja sound she NEEDS to be “milking,” to the exclusion of stuff like this. It might be a fine line but this sound is a far cry from the mastery of Blackout/Circus highlights like “Get Naked,” “Break the Ice,” and “Kill the Lights.” (And maybe I’m just missing the Low similarities on this) Maybe Britney should drop Max Martin for a while?
I agree with you otherwise - I like everything but the chorus. I LOVE the bridge. But the chorus just doesn’t really do it for me. I guess I’ll give it another listen (or twelve) though.
I’m a Britney lifer, and upon first listen I didn’t love it. A bit disappointed, actually. But 30 minutes on the treadmill later (and about 12 spins of “3″ in a row), it’s officially a grower.
Yes, the chorus is the biggest let-down. Yes, the repeated synth line recalls “Low” (probably why Jive loves it so much; they only support urban Britney).
I also agree she should take another sabbatical from Max Martin. Danja and Bloodshy & Avant took her to new heights; she should have stayed there rather than this weird new Max Martin path: lyrically too risque for the teen-pop sound to which he’s returned her.
@Christopher: I couldn’t agree more. I actually re-listened to it 2 more times after my previous post, and it’s getting stuck on me. I’ve learned to tolerate and accept the chorus, and the verses, pre-chorus, and middle 8 make me want to keep re-listening to hear them again. Whoever wrote “you and me….or three…or four…on the floor” is very clever.
Otherwise, though, she needs to pull a Nelly/Justin and do an all Danja album. Followed by an all Bloodshy & Avant affair.
how are we going to explain to future generations that she wasn’t actually a porn star?
“you see, back then, there was this thing called ‘pop music’ and you could make a pretty good living at it…”
@Bruno the Fishing Dog: We could start by showing them some actual porn.
This seems to follow a bit too closely, lyrically, in the tradition of If You Seek Amy. Some very clever ideas that don’t quite flesh out much of the time. Is there a hidden message in the letter lines ( R U N? I M) this time? And was “Peter, Paul, and Mary” really the best thing to rhyme with three? It really sounds like this song wasn’t so much finished as out of time.
I totally dozed off/got distracted/forgot I was listening to Britney. Sad.
Oddly, the chorus (I dare not call it a “hook”) is still rattling around in my head. Bleeeegh. Make it go away.
@k-rex: R-U-N = “Are you in?” It’s an old joke from junior high. Which ideas were “very clever” again?
@Bruno the Fishing Dog: That’s the problem. It’s not clever. But it should be.
What a deflation, I’d been sort of looking forward to this. It further disappoints me that “Toy Soldier” was never made a single off of ‘Blackout.’ That song is a corker. This is competent filler. I’m still not sure I understand why a hits collection is coming out now, though, considering she’s still actively promoting an album with a tour. Don’t these types of filler promotions usually serve as stuffing between long-separated album releases?
I guess this is the equivalent of all those MJ tribute tracks, but for Mary Travers?
It’s bloody awful and irritatingly difficult to fully listen to. Britney, I’ll admit unabashedly, is someone whose music I am actually fond of. ‘Break the Ice’ is gorgeous, ‘Gimme More’ is hypnotic, ‘Womanizer’ is smart and ‘Circus’ is pretty damn cool. The lyrics, dear me, could not be more incompetent or uninspiring. That’s all.