Comments on: Britney Spears In “If I Had (Two More People And) A Hammer”

By: Beautiful Playwright

Beautiful Playwright — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:50:34 +0000

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.

By: Thierry

Thierry — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:04:48 +0000

I guess this is the equivalent of all those MJ tribute tracks, but for Mary Travers?

By: ampersandparade

ampersandparade — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:19:55 +0000

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?

By: k-rex

k-rex — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:11:38 +0000

@Bruno the Fishing Dog: That's the problem. It's not clever. But it should be.

By: Bruno the Fishing Dog

Bruno the Fishing Dog — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:49:44 +0000

@k-rex: R-U-N = "Are you in?" It's an old joke from junior high. Which ideas were "very clever" again?

By: michaela

michaela — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:39:41 +0000

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.

By: k-rex

k-rex — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:14:32 +0000

@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.

By: Bruno the Fishing Dog

Bruno the Fishing Dog — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:04:44 +0000

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…”

By: chachwitablog

chachwitablog — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:31:43 +0000

@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.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:28:04 +0000

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.