I opened up my iTunes this morning to find out that Britney Spears' new single Gimme More was holding down the top spot and I instantly started thinking about how this could be a harrowing sign of Armageddon. How could a woman that just lost custody of her children because she can't stay off drugs and alcohol long enough to drive her kids to pre-school or adequately perform at the VMAs be embraced and supported by so many? But then I realized something: Britney Spears is the Axl Rose/Keith Richards rock star of our generation that people are ready to embrace regardless of any misstep she might take. Unlike in sports where legions of fans will turn on their favorite player at the drop of a dogfighting scandal, music fans are willing to hold faith in their beloved for the duration. Perhaps adoring a lost soul makes them feel better about their own lives or maybe this kind of idolatry can only lend itself to the world of rock stardom where these demigods are viewed as something sub or super human. For what its worth, Spears has my sympathy in many ways as she has been a puppet for conniving mega corporations like Disney, Pepsi, and Sony BMG throughout her teenage and young adult years. She has been stolen of her ability to think for herself and thus lived the greater part of her formative years in a cloud of disillusionment that oftentimes comes with child stardom. Although I haven't been a fan since the Toxic video, I can at least see why people are still hanging on. Perhaps in five years she will experience a renaissance and all will achieve an unforeseen level of success, but for now, she's got a loooong way to go.
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