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Britney Spears | I'm A Slave 4 U

Britney vs. The Neptunes.
CDS, Jive/Zomba

Tekst: Nathalie Claeys

Publicatiedatum: 24 september 2001

Britney Spears?!! Why not a Björk droolfest? We are, after all, indie fans with a slight interest in pseudo-experimental pop. Not I. Why? Because Björk makes glacial sex. Icecubes, sadly, don't make me hot. Teenpop has been going strong for a couple of years. For the most part, we indie kids were unaware of it. Sure, we dabbled in r&b in the form of Destiny's Child and Missy E. But that was only ironic. So what's the dealio with our Britney fascination? A few weeks ago, the VMAs took place in New York. Every year, MTV promises to serve a defining pop moment. The first year it was Madonna frolicking around in a wedding dress, singing 'Like A Virgin'. About two decades later, there's the same duality in the form of Britney Spears and 'I'm A Slave 4 U'. But the package is slightly different. Or not? The change Britney is making is multi-faceted. She wants to have another hit. In 'I'm A Slave 4 U' "U" equals the music business. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it. Pump up my breasts? Sure. And, of course, wearing skimpy suits that seemingly clash with my 'Just say no to sex' philosophy." But then, 'I'm A Slave 4 U' can also be interpreted in a more succint way. Looking at it from a Freudian angle, the snake La Spears was carrying around was sex. Just like other female teenpop stars, Britney Spears always used sex in her game. There is rock, and there is pop. Both are about sex. In rock, sex is on the surface. Not only lyrically, but also in the way the guitar is upright in the air. In pop, it is merely a hint and a wink. Or a permanently exposed navel if you are Christina Aguilera. When Britney raced to the top of the charts, she was the antithesis of Alanis Morissette (Remember her? No? Don't worry, nor does the rest of the nation.). She was the pure pop product: perfection incarnate. A fresh doll that is in more ways than one virginal. We want our fantasy for ourselves, untouched. At first, Britney was the Lolita, unaware of the effect she had on our raging hormones. The last time she had a big hit, it was her '... Baby One More Time', her debut. That was how many years ago? About two centuries in pop history. In the song she pontificated about hanky panky. Of course she denied it. But who cared? She wanted to hit you there one more time. We would be damned if we would let her reality crash our (pop) fantasy. That was, however, then. This is now. Britney Spears wakes up to her own sexuality. 'I'm A Slave 4 U' equals sex. So there you have it: sex. It always boils down to the same thing: bump'n'grind. She wants to dance with you. But, as we all know, dance is just foreplay. Not since Donna Summer has a song sounded like one prolonged orgasm. We already saw it happen with *NSync with their dirty 'Pop', a 2step-influenced pop gem. The link to Britney is quickly made. Not only via Justin Timberlake, her boyfriend, but in the form of The Neptunes. This production act supply her with a coming - or would that be cumming? - of age song entitled 'I'm A Slave 4 U'. The song conjures up Prince in more ways than one. There is the title itself. Of course, The Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Brilliant would have gone all the way and entitled it 'I Am a Slave 4 U'. The Neptunes' production also recalls Prince in the multi-layered sexy sighs and coughs over the programmed drums and synths. So what's the verdict? The usual Neptunes ingredients are present. So we all have heard it before. But what makes this song so much more interesting is the protagonist, i.e. Britney Spears. She's growing up. Let's hope the world is ready for her.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/britney-spears/i-m-a-slave-4-u/1023/
Meer Britney Spears op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/britney-spears