Extra Credit Opportunity 1 - "Listening 2 Britney: ...Baby One More Time" by Switched on Pop
For this extra credit opportunity, I decided to listen to Switched on Pop's most recent podcast episode titled, “Listening 2 Britney: …Baby One More Time.” This episode started off with the discussion of the timbre of Britney Spear’s voice. They first describe it as “weird” but not in a pejorative way. More specifically, she brings force to every syllable of her words in a unique way. They then proceeded to play a segment of her hit song “Baby One More Time,” but they stripped away the backing and production effects. I found this to be revelatory because I never noticed the ferocity and vehemence with which she pronounces her words. She articulates each syllable of each word, which results in a more percussive element to her pronunciation that is galvanic to say the least. The hosts later proceed to analyze another one of her hit songs titled, “Oops I did it again.” They discuss the variety of styles of music that she incorporates into this song. I had never noticed, but there are various elements of orchestral symphonies, funk slap base, and DJ effects all within a short segment of the song that they play. It makes her music much more intriguing and much more entertaining to its audience. Other artists, such as the Backstreet Boys, even began to copy the synth buildups that are in her songs. They conclude this podcast with the discussion of the various characters that she takes on in her songs. They relate it to looking at mirrors in a fun house, which I thought was an ingenious simile. In each of her songs, she’s able to manipulate her voice to provide her audience with a different character, and it makes the imagery of her songs so much more powerful.
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