"i'm emily, and i'm sad sometimes!"

yeah...

kinda.

but i really like the part in britney's song where she says, "i sent you to vegas with a pocket full of paper," in "Why Should I Be Sad?" it's a reversal of the typical, masculine hip hop song that puts the man in position of financial (and sexual) dominance. here brit-brit, as crazy as she may "be"in real life, is asserting her independence (within a certain constraints, sure) and sending the man on vacay, buying him shit, and asking for a good relationship in which he doesn't cheat on her. actually part of why i really love Blackout as an album is for this reason; its atypical assertion of female power, sexuality, and even some reflections on britters being a superstar. it's also pretty good dance music. i'm not saying that this music is some work of genius or pure, soul-searching creativity--partially because i want to disrupt those qualifiers for "good" or "valuable" music and other arts--and partially because, as i learned from my classmate spencer earlier this year, pop music simply isn't that. it's collaborative by nature, 'trendy' meaning responsive to new types of technology in music, and built on different principles than, say, indie rock or experimental avant-garde noise music. it totally challenges the weight we place on the author which i'm not totally sure what to do about yet.

'the death of the author' to come later, as widely referenced that is. barthes, i think?

i was going to post a picture of a sad puppy, but i can't get blogger to work right now.