No One Else Can Understand

James Kochalka Superstar “Britney’s Silver Can” – There is something so strangely iconic and resonant about the relationship and subsequent break-up of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, and even four years down the line, it dominates the way most of us interpret their highly publicized lives. Since celebrity gossip is really just an extension of dishing about your classmates in school, it was almost too perfect when the two were together, a perfect pop approximation of the post popular boy and girl at school hooking up and becoming something like the homecoming king and queen of pop culture for a few years. Justin was (and remains) douchey and doofy, but he is possessed of a charm that makes it easy to forgive even his most embarrassing mis-steps, and Britney is at once warm, simple, shrewd, and unknowable. They both evoke the sort of charismatic amiability of “popular” people, but also the cold calculation involved in currying such favor and maintaining their position of social power, which is alienating but also vaguely sympathetic if you recognize the emotional cost of being a public figure of such magnitude.

In this song from his latest album, full-time cartoonist and part-time songwriter James Kochalka presents his sympathetic, fannish fantasy vision of a post-break-up Britney who stumbles through her life despondently until settling into her current state of oblivion. Before the song breaks into its lengthy, majestic chorus, Kochalka’s version of Britney makes a lonely vow to become “her own best friend” before sadly acknowledging that the only person who can ever truly understand her is Justin Timberlake, Justin Timberlake, Justin Timberlaaaaaake! (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Regina Spektor “Edit” – Fragile and tense, but with moments of courage and grace, this subtle and beautifully composed track perfectly captures the feeling of confronting an extremely sensitive and volatile person, all the while editing and re-editing your words in your head before expressing them out loud. Spektor doesn’t hate the person she’s cornering, and obviously isn’t looking to burn any bridges, but that doesn’t mean she’s unwilling to dig at this person’s confidence. She will not deny this person’s talent, and so she cuts deep into their insecurity with the icy critique “you can write, but you can’t edit,” a line that ought to injure the pride of most any artist. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: My review of The Covenant is up on The Movie Binge.