The importance of Christina Aguilera’s new video, for “Not Myself Tonight,” is not in the new standards it will set for videotaped dance choregraphy or costuming (though we’re loving the bondage feel). Its importance is timing. The mainstream female pop music category has, for months, been dominated by a one Lady Gaga. Christina, a former reigning queen of this genre, took some time off to have a baby and put on a deep red lipstick, but returns with a creative video for what’s really a mid-level song. Bubble dresses and cigarette sunglasses aside, we’re pleased to have another thin blonde re-enter the fray.
music videos
The Most Pleasing Thing About Christina Aguilera’s ‘Not Myself Tonight’ Video
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Synnerman
Ooooh, it’s the Christina that vanished after Janet’s tittygate.
Jon
Wow. That was awefully referential…. and product placementy.
Jon B
Ummm… I hope that because it was called I’m Not Myself Tonight, she was intentionally trying to rip off styles of gaga and madonna and stuff… Otherwise, well… she should tell people that was the concept.
Randolph
Bloomberg to ConEd: “Stop Ripping Off New York Families”
(NEW YORK) — Responding to a recent article in the New York Post outlining how low- and middle-income families in New York City are being ripped off to the tune of $970 a year by so-called “stealth taxes” added to their utility bills, New York City Mayor Micheal Bloomberg today called on the largest culprit, electricity and gass company ConEd, to eliminate a $12.78 monthly fee it has been charging customers to pay its property taxes and refund the money to customers “as soon as is possible.”
“Property taxes are not an extraordinary event, they are part of doing business,” said the mayor, who became a billionaire through his founding of media company Bloomberg LLC. “Property taxes are overhead. They are a normal cost of doing business. There can be no valid reason for a company like ConEd to be making their customers pay a $12.78 monthly surcharge for what any accountant will tell you is a normal cost of doing business.”
Calling ConEd “the Leona Helmsley of corporate American,” Bloomberg said the utility company “stands alone” among power companies nationwide in levying a surcharge to customers for its property taxes — “we haven’t found a single power company in the nation that does this other than ConEd” — Bloomberg said the practice “hurts” New York City families, many of whom are strugging to get by working minimum wage jobs in a tough economy.
“I don’t bill my property taxes to the citizens of New York -– although I could — and I see no reason why ConEd should be able to do that either,” said the mayor. “It just makes no sense.”
According to a Feb. 14th story by the Post’s Susan Edelman, a typical New Yorker pays more than $85 each month in taxes tacked onto bills for living expenses like gas, electricity, phone, cable TV and transportation, The Post found. That’s 60 percent above the national aveage.
Taxes add as much as 37 percent to a telephone bill. Taxes and surcharges make up 27 percent of every Con Edison electric bill, and 27.9 percent of cooking-gas tabs, the company said.
“Contrary to popular opinion, I am not an elitist,” said the mayor as he boarded his private jet en route to his vacation home in Bermuda. “When New York families feel pain, I feel pain.”
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/stealth_tax_pain_fnqDzyBLCLczgFpfSew7vO#ixzz0mZLvlqRQ
Jacob
LOL Lady GAGA rip off!!
Gaga is Queen, step aside Xtina.
Mike
Oh go away Christina! Stop ripping off Gaga. Your music is awful!
Jerr Bear
It’s a nice effort I guess. I don’t think she is trying to rip off Gaga. I don’t think she would try. I think we are just living in the presence of a HUGE influence that is bound to bleed into the rest of pop culture. She has a movie coming out later this year that just finished shooting. She probably just wanted to re-enter the business before her movie comes out.
(I am refering to the aesthetic Gaga has chosen, which is heavily influenced by modern art and other icons.) Nobody is original. If you tell her to go away, do you mean only Gaga should ever make music again?
Lamar
Aww come on, Xtina’s for gay rights too, we hardly have gay advocates at our disposal.
TONYD
She’s not herself; she thinks she’s GaGa. First, ripping off Erasure’s album cover, now Gaga’s style? Christina has plenty of talent, but why so insecure to take the low road? After all, isn’t she beautiful, no matter what they say? Why not a sexy Celia Cruz? Charo? Someone got a drag queen on speed dial? Sister in trouble! lol
Devonasa
Oh lord……….NO ONE IS COPYING GAGA…..get over it already, you all are acting worse than Perez Hilton, and that alone should make you want to shut up.
Christina is doing what she has always done, trying to shock and awe with her image…hence the name Xtina.
If she wanted to be GaGa then she would walk around talking about how her generic dance pop is some form of art, all the while making videos that have seemingly no concept, nor refernce to the song, and wearing some short-bus inspired fashions.
Thank you Christina for coming back and giving us someone else to enjoy….now Beyonce & Britney please do the same.
TONYD
@Devonasa: I’d believe that, if she didn’t get so upset her Madonna kiss didn’t stir up so much press like Britney and she didn’t bark at someone coughing during her interview; she’s insecure.
J.Thomas
That was kinda interesting, I liked it. Made me think of Madonna’s human nature mixed with the express yourself video… I say go on and have fun Christina; honey write your story as you see fit! ^_^
AlwaysGay
I like the video, the songe is much better. Christina was on the music scene years before Lady Gaga and played with extreme looks like her video for ‘Fighter’.
Rashid
If she says “I’m not your bitch, don’t hang your shit on me,” instead, you’ll think it’s Madonna singing ‘Human Nature.’
Pip
christina was never a “queen” of the female pop genre. She’s pretty much always been a b-list act, with some inexplicable longevity. Her voice is ok, but her songs aren’t all that great.
sam
She has a great voice. the song’s alright.
But sweet jesus, that was d erivative as all hell. one of her dresses in it is literally EXACTLY what Gaga wore. There’s a post on (shudder i know) perez hiltons blog with a comparison, and there’s just too many almost identical mis-en-scenes to be coincidence. Hopefully it was very purposeful, given the name of the song… but i can’t help but think that she’s running scared of gaga’s surprise success, like her producer said…
what’s worse, it’s just a terribly m ade video clip. it’s not sexy, it’s not shocking. it’s just tacky and desperate. she doesn’t even look hot in most of it, which was really the whole point.
TONYD
@AlwaysGay: Years? It wasn’t that long ago. Peculiar, how someone can be a “legend” after 2 years, make a “comeback” after being out of the press for a week, or “pave the way” after snatching an idea from an earlier generation. You got to let some of these people ripen, take the auto-tunes away, see how history remembers them in say…20 years? Remember Color Me Badd? Vanilla Ice? Mc Hammer?
Ricky
I’m glad she’s back in the spotlight. This is pop music, everything is recycled and regurgitated to seem fresh and new… that’s just the nature of the pop-beast. Lady Gaga isn’t exactly brimming with originality either as it takes more than freaky (but I do love it) dressing to be more than just a typical-updated-pop act. Until she has a few more albums (the Fame-Monster doesn’t count) under her belt, she will still be viewed as a novelty act by some.
jason
Yawwwwn. Female pop singers dressing up in bondage gear and showing their boobs is so yesterday. What are they trying to do? Pretend that they’re gay guys at bondage night at the local bar?
Flush Christina, flush Britney and flush Lady Gaga. Give me La Roux’s Bulletproof over these attention twits anyday.
zxc
At least she sell her own product and it’s NOT A BURGER. BTW she looks great in latex/bondage/dominatrix outfits. One hot mama.
The Artist
YAWN!
SSCHIEFRSHA
Visually pleasing although I gasped when those two dancers graped her breasts. Is that even allowed on television nowadays? I said to myself: “those guys better be gay”
Jazzlow
Wow…. what a rip off of Madonna’s Human Nature and Express Yourself videos. They just combined the two.
Pip
@Jazzlow: haha my thoughts exactly
Martin
It’s fine to say the video is good Queerty, and she definitely sounds great, but to call it creative is kind of a joke.
I’m loving the Express Yourself homage the most myself. Nothing wrong with homage, but at least recognize it for what it is.
MissLaWanda
This is so racist.
Michael vdB
So many Madonna references. I am getting tingles. lol Christina is back!
Jeffree
@Maxim Abramovich Campbellov: How she capable to impose the double standards if no longer she is popular like heyday? Only big superstars can to do such things. She need to make musikCD using only the male male dancers with much kissing to improve reputation!
Soupy
Jeffree Bigorovich Rightsky: I only agree. If it was to Jason and Maxim to appear in such video, it be helpful.