Britney Spears celebrated her 31st birthday yesterday, which means that every single one of us is so old. But guess what isn't old? These five underrated Britney songs that I find myself playing more than any of her singles. Feel free to contribute your favorite B-sides below, but I think this is a pretty divine quintet. I particularly love the last one and it's gurgly weirdness.
(And yes, you can add these tracks to my "9 Acceptable Reasons to Love Britney Spears" list)
"Born to Make You Happy"
To be honest, I didn't know this had a music video until last night, but "Born to Make You Happy" is surely the first under-the-radar Britney track that stands the test of time. It has the hopeful teenage sweetness of "Sometimes," a song that I LOVE AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, but it's got more firepower in its choruses. Forgive what appears to be extremely bad dubbing in that video.
"Cinderella"
I love when songs are dated in just the right way. Like, if you listen to the Backstreet Boys' cheese-tastic "We've Got It Going On," it's just zippy, ridiculous, and supercharged enough to be addicting as opposed to face-palsying. This also works for Britney's "Cinderella" off the transitional Britney album. The slap-around beats sound like a B-side off of Michael Jackson's Dangerous, but Britney's nervy effort makes it fun.
"Breathe On Me"
In The Zone was a somewhat experimental album that gave us Britney's magnum opus "Toxic" and a few awkward failures, especially that infamous collaboration with Madonna, the songless spazz of "Me Against the Music." But the most sinister triumph of the album is "Breathe On Me," a steamy, yet icy affair that recalls the naughtiness of Kylie Minogue's "Breathe" and "Confide In Me." The pulse is libidinous, and the whole track should be playing constantly in every Armani Exchange. That's the kind of aloof, mall-brand hotness going on here.
"Toy Soldier"
If Britney could be considered a virtuoso of anything, it's the baby voice. Here's a whole song rendered in the Rugrat coo that has always suited Britney most. Love the lolling beat, the unintelligible swagger on the verses, and bad-ass percussion of the chorus. Katy Perry wishes she could nonchalantly achieve this level of obnoxiousness. But no. Her obnoxiousness will always be labored at best. Britney, you're in the lead here.
"How I Roll"
"How I Roll" is a mysteriously un-beat-driven Britney gem that sounds like a hybrid of two unlikely sources: Janet Jackson's "Strawberry Bounce" (off the mostly grim Damita Jo album) and Liz Phair's "Whip-Smart." It's the poppiest, bubbliest, gurgliest, gumdroppiest, jump-rope-iest Britney song possible, and it chugs along on catchy carbonation.
