Xtina's Beautiful Video -- How great is this?

"Okay, everybody take your places. Where are my uglies? Shooting starts in 5 minutes people."

(The preceding post would have fucking slayed me if it had said "Where my uglies at?")

At least, that was my take.

How so?

And that's some serious gay tongue action going on.

Anybody not pick up that MTV thinks gays, punx, lesbians, anorexics, robo-ho's, etc. are people too? Sorry, the "theme" of this video feels super-redundant after all those true life specials and sex docs. I'd give props to Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch's discovery that growing maturity doesn't mean increasingly frank sex-obsession, but they suck.

Also, she still (fittingly) sings like a Star Search contestant. She's a fine disco diva but the slow stuff...If you're gonna trill...trill happy! Play this girl some Donna Summer.

I don't get the nobody-will-sit-next-to-mohawk-guy-on-bus scene. I thought the whole POINT of dressing absurdly aggro was that people get upset and scared. You're clothes are supposed to challenge our middle class values, dude. Don't get all sniffly if Granny won't sit next to you! He took Lydon's "We Only Wanted To Be Loved" moans on "Fodderstompf" waaaaay too seriously.

The punk I mean.

I refuse to give credence to an opinion that (in my eyes) states that the ability to forcefully deliver a tune is the mark of a BAD singer.

CHRISTINA DOESN'T DO THAT.

I'll admittedly agree, an overstatement. But it conversely doesn't mean that said singer will still connect with a listener because of said ability (though we've had this conversation before...).

I will admit that part of my ire comes from the fact that I'm a singer who has had some training and my entire performance context is in an arena that DEMANDS technical proficiency; my entire background is going to cause me to rate vocal proficiency higher than the average listener.

Having said that, the thing that struck me about _Stripped_ more than anything else is that Christina's showboating tendencies were refocused in service of the songs she sings on the album rather than just as a platform to showboat her vocal talents (which is precisely what ruined every single she released between "Genie In A Bottle" and "Dirrty"). I can completely understand not being overly impressed by the songwriting on _Stripped_ because a lot of it is pedestrian and uninvolving. HOWEVER, Christina sings the shit out of every single song on that album and delivers everything with more conviction than I would have thought possible. (Compare to the new Craig David single, which is so phoned in I want to punch the radio every time I hear it.) Her performance is so strong that the songs where the songwriting/arrangement IS interesting ("Dirrty", "Make Over", "Beautiful", "Walk Away"), she's just phenomenal.

Sort of the trick, though, isn't it? Are we judging conviction on some sort of fixed scale as heard in the performance or...? I mean, I'm taking it to say that 'conviction' doesn't necessarily have to equal 'intensity,' since otherwise it would always be the loudest singer and the loudest band and so forth to get credit when comes to technical training and delivery.

A strong performance surrounded by weak everything else = ultimately a failure for me, maybe a small one and maybe a huge one. But either way it's a case of 'what's the point?' It's a bit like the whole Eminem/Eric Clapton thing I was outlining last year -- yes, they're technically gifted, but there's nothing else I find interesting or compelling, there's no there there. I can't even take "Beautiful" on a campy level, I read it as too earnest, too x = x.

The way that she sings the songs on her new album speaks to me beyond technical proficiency. I get a strong sense that she is very connected with what she's singing, something you couldn't really say about "Lady Marmalade" or "Come On Over". Part of it is the fact that she varies how she approaches each song; in "Dirrty" she holds back most of the power of her voice except for the chorus, while "Beautiful" is crooned throughout except for the bridge and "Make Over" features the most muscular singing on the album (and no melismania).

And you are. :-)

This is starting to remind me of the Madonna thread now, though, in that there's a question over how the artist treats the material and how that is interpreted. You're catching a connection I'm not necessarily feeling here, but we're both down on some songs and an album that Vic et al are worshipping for being all about Madonna's gift for connection/conviction/ability to portray something. Having heard the album a couple of times, I'll grant you Xtina might (might!) well honestly feel something strong about the songs, but that's still not enough for me -- if you want a comparison, consider dear ol' Rage Against the Machine. There's a case where clearly Zac was connected with his material but it inspired nothing in me but cool, clear and unalloyed hate.

The point about variety in approach is well taken, though. Is "Make Over" that one freaked out moment where everything happens at once? Best song on the album because it pureed the album.

CASTING:

Christina Aguilera music video ''Beautiful''
Director: Jonas Akerlund
Interview Date(s): Tuesday-TOMORROW (11/5) and through the week !!!!
Shoot Date(s): Friday and Saturday 11/8 & 11/9 (MOST ACTORS WORK ONE DAY ONLY)
Shoot Location: LA
Pay Rate: SEE BELOW

Submission Instructions: NO E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS PLEASE!!!

PIX AND RESUMES IMMEDIATELY-
HURRY, HURRY, HURRY TO:

xxx xxxxx

This song is a ballad..the scenes that accompany Christina's performance footage will all be beautiful vignettes....all different types of COMPELLING people, in many different situations, going from feeling their own personal sadness to realizing that they, and their life, are truly "Beautiful".....These roles ALL require excellent actors.

Actors will be asked to lip synch a little bit of the song at their audition....some actors will also be asked to cry on cue. Please have them come prepared. Christina's album is already in the stores it's called "Stripped"."

Jonas Akerlund is the multi-award winning director of
Madonna's "Ray of Light" and U2 "Beautiful Day" videos and the FEATURE FILM "SPUN" ....and the list goes on!

ROLES:

Teenage Girl with Braces: ALL ETHNICITIES - TEENS.....She is beautiful, compelling and interesting, MUST BE A STRONG
ACTOR and MUST HAVE BRACES!! $350 + 20%/DAY

Mom of Teen Girl: All ethnicities- 33-45...She is beautiful, compelling and interesting...must be a strong actor!! $350 +
20%/12 hour DAY

Anorexic Girl/Woman: All ethnicities 16-35.....Must be extraordinarily skinny.....must look anorexic....must be a strong actor!!! $350 + 20%/12 hour DAY

Mexican Man: 42-55....he is expressive and compelling...must be a strong actor. $350 + 20%/12 hour DAY

Hip-Edgy-Sexy STRAIGHT Couple: 18-27, male and female
ALL ETHNICITIES...don't have to be a real couple...DO HAVE
TO BE hip, edgy, sexy, beautiful, and completely comfortable passionately kissing a person of the opposite sex in the video.
Must be a strong actor!!! $350 + 20%/12 hour day

Hip-Edgy-Sexy GAY MALE Couple: 18-30, ALL
ETHNICITIES....don't have to be a real couple...DO HAVE TO
BE hip, edgy, sexy, beautiful, and completely comfortable passionately kissing a person of the SAME sex in the video.
Must be a strong actor!!! $350 + 20%/12 hour day

30-something GUY: (30's) ALL ETHNICITIES He is very handsome, hip and cool. The guy who loves to go out and have a great time on a Saturday night....but, parties a little too hard. Must be a strong actor! $350 + 20%/12 hour day

Older Woman: 50-85. She is beautiful with an incredibly interesting face. She has seen many years and many things...extremely expressive and excellent actor here is mandatory!! $350 + 20%/12 hour day

Thin Teenage Boy: 13-18...He is slightly awkward but still really adorable and kind of cool in his own way...he works out, ''pumps iron'' trying to build his physique..must be a strong actor!! $350 + 20%/12 hour day

Street-Hooker: 27-40...All ethnicities...She has fallen on hard times (duh, she's a hooker).....once very beautiful, her looks have become somewhat worn and faded....$350 + 20%/12 hour day

White Trash Shop Clerk: 40-55, Caucasian... FEMALE...not a
charicture, not comedy...think ''Gummo'' or ''Bully''...works at a truck stop.....from the ''armpit'' of Florida so to speak...$350 + 20%/12 hour day

White Trash Dad: 40-55, Caucasian, not a charicature, not comedy...must be a strong actor....from the ''armpit'' part of
Florida so to speak. $350 + 20%/12 hour day

Hip-Hop Guys: 18-25, Male, All ethnicities....They are
urban,young, hip, with total hip hop style...must be strong actors.... $350 + 20%/12 hour day

Punk Rocker: Male or Female, early 20's.....Hard core....spiked hair or something equally Punk Rock...no fakers no fauxhawks....want the ''real deal''....good actor hugely helpful!
$350 + 20%/12 hour day

Lesbian Women: 40's, all ethnicities....should appear instantly ''feminist''...I know not all feminists are Lesbian, TRULY I DO...but do you get what we're going for here? Thanks! Strong actors a must!!$350 + 20%/12 hour day

Christina Aguilera ''Stand-in'': 18-29....Looking for a very close visual match... will get her exact measurements ASAP...but, check out one of the thousands of photos of her on line if you don't know what she looks like...she's very petite!!! $200 +
20%/per 12 hour day

Yeah, that's the one, and if "Dirrty" isn't the best song on the album, "Make Over" is.

On Xtina -- I agree with tracer that there's something almost scary in her conviction, terribly egotistical, but that's part of what makes the song great.

At any rate, the entire "Xtina is hammering home the MTV party line on tolerance" argument is somewhat silly because nobody on MTV (besides tATu) is making videos feature gay makeout sessions, let alone paired with mae/female body image self-loathing, punk isolationism and overweight people getting pummelled bloody.

Dan, point taken. I'm not trying to say that Xtina is doing something new and radical, I'm trying to say that she isn't doing something useless, which is how most of the criticism of the video is coming acorss to me.

As it is, I was thinking more about Xtina and this song and all the intent of it and it hit me -- this is such a Michael Jackson move, isn't it? A lot of "Heal the World" messianic 'SEE! See how much I CARE!' type stuff, if you will. The motivation may be perfectly fine on all parts but the end result does not work, for me at least.

"There should be world peace because I'm so beautiful!"

How did you know I was the expert on the matter?

Spot on. Speed the song up, give it a shuffle beat and strummy guitar, and voila!

I'll stop tilting.

*revs engine of tricked-out SUV, drives off blaring "Authority Song" by John Cougar Mellencamp*

Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah