I’ve always liked this cover version of the classic Britney Spears song. Plus, I actually got to see these guys perform in London a few years ago!
Here is today’s song of the day.
Tag Archives: Oops …. I Did It Again
Music Video of the Day: Oops! …. I Did It Again, covered by Nouveau Lounge (2018, dir by ????)
Today is National Bootlegger Day!
I know that because I use a site called CheckiDay, which is a really fun site that I recommend to everyone. Now, I’m not sure who exactly decided that today was National Bootlegger Day or why they decided that it should be on this particular date but, ultimately, the why isn’t important. What’s important is that the day just is.
Of course, when we think about bootleggers, we think about the 1920s and Al Capone ruling the streets of Chicago while Zelda danced and F. Scott wrote. The 1920s, which is one of my favorite decades, was a wild time, largely due to the fact that prohibition was the law of the land. I mean, just try to imagine it. Having survived both World War I and the Spanish Flu, Americans were told that they couldn’t even have a drink to celebrate. I mean, I don’t even like alcohol but I can definitely understand why that would piss people off. Bootleggers worked outside of the law and became folk heroes to a frustrated nation. Prohibition may have been passed to for reasons of health and morality but all it really did was show many Americans that sometimes it pays to defy the government.
Of course, there’s other reasons why I love the 1920s. It’s not just the bootleggers. There was also the music and the dancing and the fashions and the fact that we had three great Presidents in a row. (I know some of y’all are going to debate me on that but we’ll have to get into it later. Warren, Calvin, and Herbert for the win!, regardless of what Upton Sinclair may have had to say.) It was just a great decade.
And speaking of that decade, check out today’s music video of the day. This is a cover of Oops! …. I Did It Again, re-imagined as a vintage, 1920s song. The song is performed by a British band called Nouveau Lounge. (Singing is Amanda Davis.) This is a perfect video for National Bootlegger Day, don’t you think?
Now, if you want to know more about Nouveau Lounge, check out their Facebook and their Instagram. And definitely check out some more of their videos on YouTube.
(And if you want to learn more about prohibition, check out Daniel Okrent’s history of the era, Last Call!)
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Oops! …. I Did It Again by Britney Spears (2000, dir by Nigel Dick)
Before The Martian, there was …. Oops! …. I Did It Again!
Oops! …. I Did It Again is one of Britney Spears’s best-known songs and it’s certainly one of the most fun to sing at the top of young lungs when you’re speeding down the interstate on the way to Lake Texoma. (Just ask my sister.) But I think that people forget just how weird this video is.
Basically, we’ve got an astronaut (Eli Swanson) exploring Mars when he comes across an image on a Martian stone, the cover of Britney’s second album, Oops! …. I Did It Again. On Earth, the nerdy NASA guy is impressed while the astronaut wonders if it’s possible that Britney Spears has come all the way to Mars just to play with his heart….
And she has! Suddenly, there’s a stage on the Martian surface and Britney and the backup dancers are performing while the astronaut watches. Eventually, Britney approaches him and proceeds to …. TAKE OFF HIS HELMET! (Britney will not only play with your heart but apparently, she’ll also try to kill you.) For a few brief seconds, it appears that the astronaut’s head might explode but no, he survives. He then hands her the Heart of the Ocean, the extremely tacky blue diamond that was at the center of the film, Titanic. The astronaut explains that he went down to the bottom of the ocean to get it for her and then he took it to Mars for some reason. (Remember, the video makes it pretty clear that the astronaut wasn’t expecting to run into Britney Spears during his Martian exploration.) In one of the most badass moves of all time, Britney says, “Oh, you shouldn’t have” and then walks away. As for the astronaut, he hopefully managed to get home. I mean, if Matt Damon could do it, anyone could do it….
Yeah, yeah, we know….
This video was directed by Nigel Dick, who also directed the video for ….Baby One More Time. During filming, Britney was actually struck in the head by a falling camera and had to get four stitches before she then went to finish the video. Like all great artists, Britney suffered so that you may enjoy.
So, enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 