Britney/Kanye

Two pop albums,due out sometime this week-leaked few days ago,and I've had time to listen to both of them and I think they're both quite fantastic.I'm not so much a genre bloke,I listen to pretty much everything and have gone through all sorts of phases to realize I just love music,regardless of its form.There have been a lot of albums I really looked forward to this year,but came out disappointing and the following two were part of the bunch I sought uncertainly and turned out good.


Britney Spears-Circus.Due december 2,her sixth studio album.I like the whole circus theme the album and her recent photoshoots have carried though the cover's a bummer.I've never been a big fan of hers but I'm glad she's cleaned up her shit,all her past albums have songs that all sound the same and could've been hits if it were still the 90s.Fortunately,Circus has enough variety and hiring a whole lot of different producers really pays off. Here's a quick track-by-track evaluation,with my /10 mark for each except for the slow songs/ballads all of which I don't like (just not her forte).

1. "Womanizer" K. Briscoe, The Outsyders – 6/10
   
2. "Circus" Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke – 9/10
   
3. "Out from Under" Guy Sigsworth
   
4. "Kill the Lights" Danja, Jim Beanz – 4/10
5. "Shattered Glass" Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly – 4/10
   
6. "If U Seek Amy" Max Martin – 8/10
   
7. "Unusual You" Bloodshy & Avant – 8/10
   
8. "Blur" Danja – 9/10
   
9. "Mmm Papi" Let's Go To War and Nicole Morier – 6/10
   
10. "Mannequin" The Underdogs – 5/10
    
11. "Lace and Leather" Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly – 7/10
12. "My Baby" Guy Sigsworth
    
13. "Rock Me In" Greg Kurstin, Nicole Morier – 10/10
14. "Phonography" Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch – 9/10

Kanye West-808s and Heartbreak.The album's excessive use of auto-tune (in place of the usual rap) and drastic change of style has garnered mixed responses,as rapper Common put it:

"I love it. Let me tell you, as an artist, you wanna be free. You gotta do what you feel. You can't just cater to the audience. You gotta say, 'Hey, y'all, this is where I'm at.' For him to do an album called 808s and Heartbreak, you know that's where he is at this moment. I heard some songs, and I think it's fresh. I think the people are ready for it".

Also,some have said the album's heavy emotional themes (ie separation,loneliness) reflect the personal aftermath from his break-up with his fiancee and his mom's passing in '07.All of that is BS to me,because the album's fantastic and thats all that matters.The last album was blown-up and too commercialized to be taken seriously (hello,there was duet with fucking Chris Martin),though Flashing Lights and that take on Daft Punk will forever have a warm place in my heart.808s and Heatbreak sounds radically different and is a major departure from typical Kanye (for one,don't his album covers usually have that big bear?),but its the first album that actually feels like his own.As the case with Britney Spears,I've never been a fan of his but this has made me a convert.

1.	"Say You Will" -3/10
2.	"Welcome to Heartbreak" (feat. Kid Cudi)-6/10
3.	"Heartless" -9/10
4.	"Amazing" (feat. Young Jeezy)-3/10
5.	"Love Lockdown" -9/10
6.	"Paranoid" (feat. Mr Hudson)-8/10
7.	"RoboCop" -10/10
8.	"Street Lights" -7/10
9.	"Bad News" -6/10
10.	"See You in My Nightmares" (feat. Lil Wayne)-5/10
11.	"Coldest Winter" -10/10

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