The Irony of Miley Cyrus (Which Miley probably has no clue about)

I first heard "Party in the USA" while watching the now infamous stripper pole on top of an ice cream truck Teen Choice Award performance. Defending herself against the controversy, Miley stated that the performance's trailer home and the song's lyrics represented her "American" roots. Last time I checked, trailer homes did not represent democracy. Miley sees herself as the stereotypical white, all American, Nashville girl. However, just by looking at her single cover you know Miley represents Hollywood, not Tennessee. From the spike bracelets on her wrists to the Urban Outfitters pseudo hipster top, Miley screams "I'm a product of the Disney Tween Machine." This conflicted persona, similar to Britney's innocent Lolita appearance circa 2001, is exactly what makes her biggest single (thus far) so damn appealing. Dr. Luke, the hit maker who crafted "I Kissed a Girl" and "Circus", combines the country song store structure with Rihanna's "I'm having a great party refrain that has nothing to do with any verses." This juxtaposition of Miley lamenting about how outcasted she feels in Hollywood with her lover for her "song" and "the Party in the USA" works as a perfect metaphor for this identity conflicted teen queen.

A Beautifuly Flawed Echo

A few weeks ago I read an entry on PopWatch about Mariah Carey's rendition of "I'll Be There" at MJ's memorial. The blogger commentated on how because of shows such as American Idol we only see perfect performances as decent ones. We obsess so much over the perfect pitch and the tone, we ignore the artist's emotions. ART IS ABOUT EMOTIONS NOT PERFECTION. Look back on the Ronnettes and Judy Garland. They sounded great but the flaws, the tearful hiccups made them transcend from mediocrity to greatness.

This of course brings me to Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. When Dollhouse first aired, us Brown Coats balked at the granddaddy of modern serial television. (Sorry Lost fans, Buffy did long story arches way before that plane even crashed and Dark Shadows invented it.) How could Whedon give us a show with such a flawed structure and plotline? The early episodes felt like Sci-Fi CSI and when it finally started kicking ass we wondered why it took so fracking long. However, after I watched the unaired "Pilot" I see the brilliance of Joss's ways. Because we suffered through the horrid first five episodes (Eliza the backup singer, anyone?) the jump into the mythology and secrets beneath Echo came as shocking plot details, wheras if we Echo encountered Agent Ballard on the first episode we wouldn't have blinked. The pimples, the cult episode, and over all shittiness actually is what makes Dollhouse one of the best shows on TV. Its flawed, but that's what made season one so fucking beautiful in the first place. Now if only we could have a Susan Boyle on US tv.