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Why Were Britney Spears And Madonna Left Off Our 'Best Songs Of 2008' List?

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 12:11 AM PST

Our Bigger Than the Sound columnist explains his vigorously debated choices.
By James Montgomery

Photo: Jive

By now, I'm sort of used to being called an idiot on a weekly basis. Because that's what seems to happen each and every Wednesday when I publish my Bigger Than the Sound column.

Usually, I get 10 to 20 negative — and angry — comments per column (though if said column in any way detracts from Britney Spears, that number jumps to 40 or 50), and though it would probably benefit my ego not to read them, I always do ... if only because I find them sort of hilarious and inspiring (and because I am a sucker for grammatical errors and ALL-CAPS MISSIVES). What I usually don't do is respond to them.

(Check out James' personal responses to some of those e-mails in the video right here!)

But this week is different. On Wednesday, I published my annual "Best Songs of the Year," and it got a lot of responses. Like, way more than I expected a column that didn't include "Britney Spears" or "Heidi Montag" in the headline to get. Some of the comments took issue with my picks — "I've never heard of half these bands!" and "Kid Rock? Are you serious?!?" being two popular ones — but most were upset with who I didn't put on my list (Britney, Madonna and Rihanna, in particular). So I figured it was time to break from tradition and write an actual response.

Since there were so many comments, I thought the best way to handle this would be to just address the four most basic types of complaints. Hopefully, in doing so, I'll be able to explain the method behind my madness ... why I made some picks, why I didn't make others and, really, whether I should be fired for doing either. To keep the dialogue going, I'd love to hear some of your favorites too. Feel free to leave them in the comments below. Also, call me as many mean names as you see fit — after all, I'm a professional rock-and-roll journalist. I can take it.

Complaint #1: "Where is Britney?!?"
A valid question, to be sure (so valid that it was often asked in ALL CAPS). After all, Ms. Spears certainly had a huge year — triumphant comeback, VMA wins, hit singles, prime-time tell-alls and, earlier this week, a #1 album — and ignoring her on a "Best Songs" list just seems rather odd. But here's the thing: In my opinion, the songs just weren't that good. As I wrote in a column back in October, " 'Womanizer' ... kind of sounds like what would happen if you threw Mike Jones and an air-raid siren into a blender — and not in a good way," and I'm sticking with that, no matter how little sense it makes. Britney is a pop artist, and pop artists live and die by their songs (look at Rihanna — oh, wait, she didn't make the list either ... but more on that in a second). "Womanizer" may have hit #1, but, to me, it's not even one of her top 10 tracks ("Toxic," it ain't). There's no progress there, no tremendous leap forward, no "Oh, wow, what was that?!?" moment. It's basically Britney being Britney — and while that might be good enough for her fans, it wasn't for me. And I think there are plenty of critics out there who agree with me. "Circus" hasn't been out long enough to make much of an impact on me, and though the chorus is catchy, I feel this is just Brit mining the same "The Paparazzi Won't Leave Me Alone" territory that she did on "Piece of Me" (which, come to think of it, is a better song anyway). At the end of the day, nothing I say here will be able to sway the most ardent of Britney supporters, but I figured I'd at least try to explain why I didn't put one of her songs on my list. I'm not denying her impact on '08, just her impact on, well, me.

Complaint #2: "Why isn't (insert name of popular recording artist here) on this list?!?"
This is sort of the catchall category. Readers were really miffed that artists like Rihanna, T.I., Madonna and Usher didn't make the cut — and, again, justifiably so. Each had huge hits in 2008, and they probably should've been on this list. Or at least Rihanna and T.I. should have. Some commenters seemed to think that I used some sort of statistical logarithm to determine who made my list, and I wish I could tell you that was the truth. The simple fact is, most of it was just based on my opinions, though I did try to include factors like critical reception and cultural impact when making my final decisions. That's why Katy Perry had two songs on my list. Whether they loved her or hated her, she at least had critics talking, and both of her songs ("Hot N Cold" and "I Kissed a Girl") made big impacts on the singles chart. Most critics didn't seem to care all that much for Madonna's "4 Minutes," so despite the fact that it landed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and scored a pair of Grammy nods, I left it off my list. I don't think anyone was happy with Usher's output in '08, and when you consider that "Love in This Club" was: A) The lead single from an album that didn't do all that well, and B) Subject to an Internet controversy about whether it was just made up of stock GarageBand beats, I left it off the list too. In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that both Rihanna's "Disturbia" and T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" should have made the cut, so apologies to them and their fans. Pink's "So What" probably should have been on there too.

Complaint #3: "Kid Rock?!? Tyga?!? Katy Perry?!? Really?!?"
Yes, really. If you apply the basic "Critics + Culture" reasoning I explained above, there is no way Rock's "All Summer Long" or Perry's two tracks are left off this list. "Summer" was an unquestionable smash, a critical sticking point (both for its source material and its unheard-of "No iTunes" marketing campaign) and a career-revitalizer. Plus, I have the creeping suspicion that it will be the kind of song that packs dance floors at weddings and racing-themed bars for the next decade. I already covered the reasons I included Perry on my list, and in the case of Tyga's "Coconut Juice," well, regardless of what you think of him, you cannot deny that his song was ridiculously catchy, so much so that it was actually voted the "Summer Jam of '08" by the readers of the Idolator music blog. And they're plenty smart.

Complaint #4: "I've never heard of half these people!"
Of all the complaints my column got, this one perplexed me the most (of course, I got the same comments when I did my "Best Songs" and "Best Albums" columns last year, too, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised). I don't understand how "I've never heard of ____" somehow equates to "______ is terrible," and, frankly, I wish our readers didn't think this way. The radio is not your only portal to discovering new music. There's soooo much good stuff out there, and it's just a few keystrokes away. Seriously, how difficult is it to Google "atlas sound + quick canal"? (screw it, I'll just do it for you). Would it kill you to sit and listen to a few Wye Oak songs? Or something from Ida Maria? It's a pretty lazy way of operating, to be honest, and I think that dismissing something because you've never heard of it (or in the case of Sigur Rós' "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur," because you couldn't pronounce it) is pretty dumb. Or maybe you're not a die-hard music fan like me. Maybe you don't like to have your notions challenged or your horizons pushed. Then again, why else would you wade through a 3,000-word column just to leave a single comment?

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The Best Songs of 2008?

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

Singer says 'Ye came up with vocals for her track 'Diamond' overnight.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias

Christina Milian
Photo: MTV News

Christina Milian may be battling great forces in her new single, "Us Against the World," but on her upcoming album, there's one track she thinks people will really be talking about: "Diamond," featuring Kanye West.

"I'm really excited about that. I think he's an awesome artist," the actress and singer told MTV News at the KIIS-FM's Jingle Ball in Los Angeles on Saturday, adding that it was pure luck that led to their collaboration. "It kind of just happened. We happened to be in the same studio. I asked him to come in, and he heard it and got on it immediately. I'm glad I got to have him a part of my album."

Despite Kanye's reputation for being a perfectionist, Milian insisted that working with the rapper was actually very easy. "He's very creative. He can make three beats in one night and hum several different melodies on each record and then from there go back to the record and write the songs," she said. "When he came to my project that's kind of what happened. He happened to be in the studio working on his project. He heard it, he hummed out some melodies and lyrics, and ... the next day he put down his vocals. It's very easy breezy. I'm sure he wouldn't have gotten on it if he didn't like it."

Milian's still-untitled fourth album, due out in 2009, will be her first since being dumped by Island Def Jam and picked up by MySpace Music. She just finished shooting the video for "Us Against the World," a song she called a "love anthem." "It's the first time [I'm] putting out a ballad," she said. "I think it's a representation of what we need in this world right now. There are people that are holding it down for somebody. It's important to have someone that has your back."

For the video, she hooked up with Ray Kay, with whom she's worked in the past on her videos for "Say I" and "Whatever U Want." "We just finished the video [and we're about] to release it soon. I'm excited," she said, describing the clip's setup as "very 'Mad Max' versus '300.' "

"I'm in sand dunes," she explained. "And, I'm out there ... me and my guy, [and] we probably are the last two people on Earth. Really, I'm on my own and I'm searching, and finally he comes to me. I don't know where he's been, and he comes back to me. It's very timeless. When you see it, it's nothing like anything you'd see now. I want to be iconic in every music video that I do. I want to make a mark. This is very different."

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 08:27 AM PST

'I want to thank all of my fans for making my album Circus # 1,' Spears says.
By Jocelyn Vena

Britney Spears
Photo: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/ WireImage

In a new video Britney Spears posted on her Web site, the singer and sons Jayden James and Sean Preston gather together to send a holiday greeting and to thank her fans for making her new album, Circus, a hit.

"I want to wish everybody out there a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," she says while standing in front of a giant Christmas tree. "And I want to thank all of my fans for making my album Circus # 1."

In the 16-second video, 3-year-old Sean Preston stands next to his mother, while Jayden James gets a little restless in Britney's arms. "Thank you," she says, "as my son burps!"

Spears attended the "Light of the Angels" tree-lighting ceremony last week in Los Angeles, where she shared with the crowd, as well as host Adam Corolla, her plans for the holiday, "Access Hollywood" reported. "It's family time," she said, adding that she'll "do the tree thing. The family comes over. It's fun."

Britney also got in the holiday spirit earlier this week, when she was seen decked out in Dickensian garb to go Christmas caroling with Ellen DeGeneres, People.com reported. She was taping the December 16 episode of DeGeneres' show, which also features the two dancing with each other.

On Wednesday, thanks to better-than-expected first-week sales of more than 505,000 for Circus and strong initial ticket sales for her 2009 tour in support of the album, Britney added a number of dates to the outing, dubbed "The Circus Starring Britney Spears."

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Usher Welcomes His Second Son

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 12:47 AM PST

Naviyd Ely Raymond was born early Wednesday morning.
By Jocelyn Vena

Tameka Raymond and Usher
Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Usher is a dad again. The singer and his wife, Tameka Raymond, welcomed their second child Wednesday, their rep confirmed to MTV News.

"Usher and Tameka Raymond welcomed their second son, Naviyd Ely Raymond, on Wednesday, December 10th, at 2:33 a.m., weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces," Usher's rep said in a statement. "Tameka and the baby are doing fine."

The couple have one other son together, 1-year-old Usher Raymond V (i.e. the fifth). Usher and his wife got married in 2007 in Atlanta in a simple ceremony, after canceling the original, more lavish wedding. There were many rumors about why they rescheduled, including Usher's mom disapproving of the relationship, claims the couple later denied. Tameka has three sons from a previous relationship.

In September, after rumors started flying that they were expecting another child, Usher wouldn't confirm the news on the set of his "Trading Spaces" video. But with a knowing smile, he spoke candidly about the joys he's found in being a dad to Usher Raymond V.

"Loving it. Loving every aspect of it. My life improved so much in having a child," he said. "I'm very happy. It's a very promising thing to have a child. ... Everybody's saying that [I'm expecting another baby]. There's a lot of speculation."

Shortly after having his first son, Usher sat down with Essence magazine to talk about becoming a dad. "What is the one thing that I would want my child to know if I could just tap him on his head? That I'm here," he said. "That I love him, and he matters more than anything. And I ain't going nowhere."

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'SNL' Star Andy Samberg Recruits T-Pain, Justin Timberlake, Norah Jones For New Album

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 09:51 AM PST

'Ji-- in My Pants' will be first single from Lonely Island's Incredibad.
By Gil Kaufman

Andy Samberg
Photo: Jesse Grant/ WireImage

It takes a lot of, um, guts, to name your first single "Ji-- in My Pants." But that's the plan for the unabashedly raunchy debut album from Lonely Island, the three-man musical wrecking crew led by "Saturday Night Live" It Boy Andy Samberg and his writing buddies, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The disc, Incredibad, is due out on February 10 and will feature some help from an impressive roster of heavy hitters, including T-Pain, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40, the Strokes' singer Julian Casablancas and, of course, Justin Timberlake.

With a mix of songs made famous in digital shorts on "SNL" over the years — including the Emmy-winning Timberlake collaboration "Di-- in a Box," as well as "Lazy Sunday" (co-starring Chris Parnell) and the Natalie Portman-assisted "Natalie Raps" — the album is meant to make you laugh, but Samberg said he wouldn't mind if you nod your head to it a bit too.

"We definitely wanted it to be a classic comedy album, but also one you put on more than once," Samberg told MTV News. "We've gone out of our way to make it musically pleasing. We started on a few songs that were not funny enough, for us, but they sounded pretty cool. And the bottom line for the project was, 'Is it going to be funny first and music second?' I think it's 95 percent music, and we hope people would throw it on and bump it."

The trio, who've been posting NSFW songs and videos on TheLonelyIsland.com for years, shared a home in Encino, California, over the summer and collaborated on the 14 tracks. Samberg said Universal Republic Records had been after the troupe to do an album since the "Lazy Sunday" digital short dropped on "SNL" in 2005. And, as Samberg told MTV News in 2006, the friends always did want to make an album.

"We finally had the free time to do it this summer," he said. Though some of the "SNL" songs have become instant classics, Samberg thinks there's an added value to the ones that never appeared on the show "because Jorma and Akiva aren't castmembers, and our songs normally require three dudes with very specific rap skills."

Though he was skimpy with the details, not wanting to ruin the surprise, Samberg did reveal that the album is heavy on hip-hop beats but has some of the signature new-wave goodness of songs like "Space Olympics" and the island vibes of "Ras Trent."

"Jorma makes a lot of the beats, but because we knew we had a set amount of time on this, we asked for any and all beats we could get," Samberg said. That resulted in a combination of homebrewed rhythms and professional help from reggae legends Sly & Robbie on "Ras Trent," as well as a few beats from Jurassic 5 turntable master DJ Nu-Mark and underground producer/DJ J-Zone, who has worked with everyone from Gnarls Barkley to Biz Markie and Pete Rock.

Samberg said he's particularly proud of the thump on the first single, "Ji-- in My Pants," which made its debut on the show last week with cameos from a mop-wielding Timberlake, checkout girl Jamie-Lynn Sigler and club hottie Molly Sims. "When I first heard that beat, it sounded like a Timbaland beat," Samberg said. "My first reference was a Missy Elliott club jam, and then we threw some generic Euro Brit dudes on top, because, to be honest, we don't have the chops to crush a Timbaland beat." The video, which features Taccone rapping alongside Samberg, was shot a week before the current "SNL" seasons started, and Samberg said he had "no intentions" of the Universal-funded clip making it onto the show, but once it played in dress rehearsal, the reaction demanded that it make it on air.

While Samberg admitted the three have an affinity for dirty jokes that end somewhere south of the equator, he said they tried not to make the album all locker-room humor. "I would hope that isn't our theme, but it was getting harder and harder to deny," Samberg said. "When we did 'Di-- in a Box' — and that's what most people know us for — it's an uphill battle from there."

Samberg promised that the album's T-Pain song, "I'm on a Boat," is "straight hip-hop," while the Jack Black tune, "Sax Man," finds the Tenacious D frontman singing his heart out. He also revealed that mellow torch singer Norah Jones (who appears on the tune "Dream Girl") is a "goofy girl" who loves comedy, and his normally dour buddy Casablancas shows some comedy chops that might surprise on "Boombox."

The record is also slated to feature Bay Area hip-hop legend E-40 on the song "Santana DVX," as well as the songs "Who Said We're Wack," "Punch You in the Jeans," "We Like Sportz," "Shrooms" and the "SNL" classic "Iran So Far" with Maroon 5's Adam Levine. There will also be an accompanying DVD, but Samberg said he couldn't talk about what would be on it yet because the terms are still being negotiated.

Samberg would love to take the show on the road, but for now, given his hectic schedule, that remains to be seen. "Some of us are more anxious to do it than others," he said.

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 08:43 AM PST

'I think she got caught off guard,' Holly Montag says.
By Jocelyn Vena

Holly and Heidi Montag
Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Since "Hills" stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt eloped last month in Mexico, no one involved has been more outwardly shocked or outspoken about the news than Heidi's mom, Darlene Egelhoff. In an interview with Us Weekly, she expressed deep concern about the wedding, suggesting that Spencer drugged Heidi and gave the marriage an expiration date of six months.

But, now Heidi's sister, Holly, is coming to her mom's defense. "I think she got caught off guard because it was the first interview about the wedding," she reportedly told Hollyscoop.com. "She had a lot of raw feelings and she kind of let loose about it.

"I think she's kind of remorseful about what she said in retrospect," she added. "We all understand and everybody understands. I think the wedding was a spur-of-the-moment thing and it wasn't premeditated, so that could have something to do with it, not wanting the drama."

Holly, on the other hand, is willing to support her sister's decision, even though she said she was "hurt" about not being included in the ceremony. "I support anything Heidi wants to do," she said. "She's an adult and I just want her to be happy, and she seems sublimely happy.

"I was initially a little hurt not being able to be a part of it," she said. "But it's her choice and it's a special thing between those two ... so whatever they want."

She also told UsMagazine.com that Heidi's longtime frenemy, Lauren Conrad, called her about the nuptials. "Lauren actually called me right when she found out, which was the same day I found out," she said. "She was just checking on everybody and making sure the family was OK."

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