Christina Aguilera - Stripped

(hey, what? it's an innocent question!)

Overall a mellow and v. trad R&B wannabe whitney album with a few strikingly out-there moments.

"Walk Away" renders the entirety of Alicia Keys' recorded output completely irrelevant.

Like it needed the help?

on a different note, i'd like to say i think the dirrty instrumental might be hotter than the video. yes.

*giving them mp3s a listen* So far I agree. I guess Dan's right about "Walk Away" as compared to Alicia Keys, but unsurprisingly I'm digging the arrangement more than the histrionics. I'm always a sucker for strings. For something with this much money in it, I'm expecting a lot more than I've gotten so far, though.

Alicia Keys should have known better than to sing with Christina. Having said that, Christina has some HORRIFYING vocal moments where she's belting Bs, Cs and possibly Ds with this strident, teeth-grinding rasp that makes me grasp my throat and wince. She's going to be walking vocal nodes in panties and chaps if she's not careful. Anyway, I like the album a lot more than I thought I would, despite the lack of "Dirrty"-inspired thumpers. (The "Dan Perry Music" tag strikes again, I think.)

*thinks more* And you know? This is what happens when someone aims for state of the art production but thinks that instead of the gimmick-sound effect-hook-blow-yer-mind-contrast in the arrangement as the carrier of the song, it's the actual performer itself that matters most. Which can and does make perfect sense, but I'm really unthrilled with Xtina's singing the more I hear it because I'm not getting any fun out of the arrangements. Everything feels like familiar plug-and-play additions that haven't been fucked with to serve her anonymous nothing of an approach. This really is a very conservative album, Sterling called it, and the more I listen to it the more bored I am with it. The combination of "Loving Me 4 Me," "Impossible" and "Underappreciated" makes me want to punch walls.

Perhaps most frustrating is that a chunk of the interludes or song introductions have the feeling like we're about to get perfect metamush (my own childhood standard is the Anne Dudley string arrangement opening "Careless Whisper"). But most of the time it's just mush without lasers or enough cold sheen that feels like a leap from bad late seventies quiet storm into the present. Dammit. I want surreal polish or contrasts, not pleasant tedium! "Make Over" at least does the contrast thing, it's like most of the album on puree (and it's about the only song that has me laughing at the wonderful contrast of lyrical whine/fame gorgon all over this album -- how intentional was this?)

But on balance "Dirrty" misrepresents this album like "Get This Party Started" did for Pink. It's all a fucking Linda Perry plot! ESCAPE NOW BEFORE SHE KILLS US ALL!

Please could someone tell me ... does Aguilera actually PLAY a guitar - any guitar - anywhere on that album? I don't know if this will mitigate my outrage or not, but I would really like to know.

"Soar" is yet another fucking TV theme song. DIE DIE DIE. Except for the final fifteen seconds.

And I'm with Kate on the cover. Yurgh.

OK, no, I'd probably vomit if I saw Justin posing naked with anything, eeuwwwww. (Bobby G naked with a guitar, however ... hmmmm!) In fact, the only male I can think of that posed naked with a guitar was Prince. Double eeeuuuwwwww. But still... at least Prince is a capable guitarist.

No, I haven't heard the album, and yes, it is sexist to discuss her on the basis of her image rather than talent. But for FUCKS SAKE ... considering that Rolling Stone was on sale, right next to a copy of Total Guitar magazine that had this cover article "Stop Staring At My Tits: Why Don't More Women Play Guitar?"

The arrangements are subservient to Christina's voice because her voice is powerful enough to carry a song, unlike vocal midgets like Britney or Aaliyah.

I always THOUGHT there was a guitar in this photo for some reason:

http://www.thelollies.co.uk/noguitar.jpg

RS is a 'rock' mag and so its OK. rock is dead anyway (it is!!). long live pop!

I hope I'm not implying *that*! Eep! :-/ Not when some like Di can rock the house at full volume. :-)

And now, back to your originally scheduled programming.

You know, I'm fully on this as an idea. Bootlegs, anyone?

The LP dips badly in the "Linda Perry section" in the middle. I'm a Perry fan after "Missundaztood", but her songs here are k-rub (although "Make Over" is amusing - is Xtina trying to be Kurt Cobain here?). Sterling is OTM about "I'm OK" - I'm beginning to wonder now if it's Perry, rather than Pink, who has "issues" in re this whole oh-Daddy-why-did-you-beat-up-Mom-in-front-of-me-when-I-was-little thing.

The Alicia track is okay.

great fuckin album

what else goes on the mixtape with "make over" and sugababes' "Overload"?

What’s the new one like?