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"In This Skin" reviewed by mim3@mim.org July 12, 2004 It's tough to come up with any thing to say about this album of silly love songs. Most of what is going on here is the same old "beautiful people" thing--fame based on looks. Jessica Simpson is getting a lot of TV and movie parts including James Bond girlfriend material. Her MTV reality series "Newlyweds" is a case in point. She's good on camera. The Houston Chronicle reported her greater than 2 million sales for this album this way: "Jessica Simpson says it's OK if you call her a ditsy blonde. "'It doesn’t really bother me, because enough people are seeing beyond that. I’ve admitted that I am definitely ditsy,' says Rolling Stone's reigning Housewife of the Year. "'I am the one who went and sang at the White House in front of President Bush and messed the words up to God Bless America,' Simpson says." (1) She only thinks it would be going too far to compare her to Anna Nicole Smith. No wonder she sings at Republican Party fund-raisers.(2) It goes to prove MIM's line that contented romance culture music goes along with contented politics. Sure, she does have a great voice. With a great voice and great looks, one does not even need a band to make money. Her "newness" comes from being the right age--24-- to appeal to the right demographic groups. Her lyrics are only a tad more adult than the teenybopper Hilary Duff. Yet despite such a targeted appeal, it appears that her sales would be nowhere without MTV. Jessica Simpson is clearly mentioning sexual contact in this album, but the porno quotient is way lower than in J. Lo or Britney Spears. She markets herself as having been a virgin before marriage. Her leadership in these questions and the rewards she receives for acting on leisure-time related questions are why MIM sees her as an example of a gender bureaucrat. She is basically filling in a paid official conformist role in the monopoly capitalist entertainment empire. The first song is about "Angels" and carries itself with a gospel sound which is in much of the album. "Take My Breath Away" is getting a lot of air time and is typical in being the standard "love your boyfriend" formula for pop divas. There is not a note of discontent with anything in this whole album. It should fare well with Christian Republicans.
Notes: MIM has explained that one might even "like" this music while knowing rationally that there is something wrong with it, maybe even profoundly wrong and evil. Being a Maoist means being a revolutionary scientist and that means having the ability to question everything that we like.
See MIM Theory on feminism and gender issues. Read Mao on politics in all literature and art
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