In Michigan, Britney Is Still Spinning
From Britney deep cuts to Kesha concerts, Steven’s picks reflect a listener who is just as invested in the stories, eras, and context surrounding music as much as the songs themselves.
Steven (@freakshow._.vinyl) joins us for the June 16 to 20 prompts as someone who more often than not never experiences music in a vacuum, instead it’s always surrounded by its context. The eras, personal journeys, cultural moments, and life experiences surrounding the artists he loves are just as present as the music itself. His selections move between pop icons, LGBTQIA+ artists, wedding songs, chaotic album covers, and records that help him unwind.
The prompts offer a closer look at the many ways Steven connects with music beyond the songs themselves. One answer celebrates an LGBTQIA+ artist whose growth he has followed since the early days of viral internet fame. Another centers on a wedding song and becomes a reflection on love, commitment, and a relationship ten years in the making. A different prompt explores one of pop music’s most infamous eras through the artwork of a favorite album, while another revisits an artist whose music has remained a source of joy, resilience, and personal connection for nearly two decades. The final prompt slows things down with an album that transforms the end of a long day into something softer, warmer, and a little easier to leave behind.
Which LGBTQIA+ artist are you into these days?
Back in mid 2019, you couldn’t scroll through TikTok without coming across videos with sound bites from the song “STUPID” by Ashnikko. In some clips, you can hear her laughing psychotically progressing into the beginning of the song. In others, you get her rapping the first verse stating “I know you think about me in the shower.” This was all the exposure I needed to pique my curiosity and make me dive into her music catalog (which wasn’t very big at the time).
In the time spanning between mid 2019 and January 2021, I leaned into their EPs Hi, It’s Me, which garnered another trend in mid 2020 with “Working B*tch,” and “Unlikeable,” with the song “Invitation” being an absolute banger from that EP. Leaning also into the song “Pancake” by Jaded featuring Ashnikko, these morsels held me over until she was ready to release her first full length project.
DEMIDEVIL was released in January 2021, which garnered two more viral moments with the songs “Daisy” and “Slumber Party.” In the following years, they’ve released two more albums WEEDKILLER and Smoochies, which “Liquid” is an absolute BANGER if you ask me. They are also the only artist I personally follow that has released multiple Halloween themed songs that we absolutely stan all year round in this house.
Ashnikko announced to the world back in 2019 that she was bisexual, but retracted the statement in 2020 where they stated pansexual was a more fitting term to identify their sexuality. In years following, they also shared in interviews that they identify as gender fluid and nonbinary using she/they pronouns. You can hear themes of her sexuality in songs such as “Slumber Party,” “Miss Nectarine,” and “She’s So Pretty” while songs like “Chrysalis” explore themes of her nonbinary identity.
There’s something magical about, not only, watching an artist gain traction from their humble beginnings as a SoundCloud artist, but also being able to watch them grow as a person coming into themselves and living their truth. I’ve been hooked ever since 2019 to the lyrics, symbolism, production, and stage presence that Ashnikko brings in everything she does. If you haven’t checked her out, I highly recommend her. If you happen to be able to catch her live, you are in for a treat. You will have the most amazing night where you’ll forget anything going on in the outside world and feel so safe and loved surrounded by a fanbase and an artist that truly have a loving relationship toward one another. The energy is unmatched.
Which song would you play at your wedding?
As today is the day that I am officially getting married to my now husband, the song I would play (if we were doing a traditional wedding) would be “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” by the Princess of Pop herself, Britney Spears.
The song was originally released and performed by singer J'son in 1996, but Jive Records A&R felt it was suitable for Britney, who was new at the time, and had the song reworked for her vocals. In 1999, it was released as an international bonus track for her debut album ...Baby One More Time as well as becoming the b-side for the single “(You Drive Me) Crazy.”
Throughout the song, as she sings, you get this feeling of intense love and admiration for the person she’s referring to expressed more extreme with each verse. In verse one, she’s expressing her feelings in a sweet, innocent way explaining that the way she feels for her partner, it’s going to last forever.
Going into the second verse, while doubling down on her feelings from the first verse into the chorus, her description of her feelings gets more extreme, creating a physical world analogy for her feelings. Creating a world-ending disaster image, expressing that no matter what, she’s going to love that partner until the end.
Playing her way through a sweet, innocent chorus once again, we hit the bridge, which is where all the intensity of the song hits you right in the chest. Her belting about her love for her partner existing past this physical world into multiple lifetimes and still not being enough time, in three simple lines, leads you into the last chorus where the intensity is apparent and you’re feeling your heart burst with love for that special someone.
Marrying my partner today, after 10 years together, gives me this overwhelming feeling of love and intense fire I feel for him that can only be described by this song. Ever since I heard this song, I’ve dreamt of having this feeling, and it’s taken a long time, but I’ve finally found it.
So to my husband, just know,
“I’ll make you this vow, and promise you now, until forever, I’ll never stop loving you.”
Which album cover feels chaotic in a good way?
To answer this question, I refer to my number one album of all time. Considered by most to be the Pop Bible, “It’s Britney, B*tch,” Blackout by Miss Britney Spears. The darkest and most experimental album in her discography created around such a taboo time in the young stars life.
The road that lead to the release of Blackout wasn’t easy on Britney Spears. Following the release of her fourth studio album, In The Zone, she embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour. Due to an injury on the set of her “Outrageous” music video shoot, nearly half of the tour had to be cancelled.
Britney and Kevin Federline got trapped in a whirlwind romance following the cancellation of her tour in mid 2004. This resulted in the couple getting married days before “My Prerogative,” a cover of the Bobby Brown song, was released as the lead single for her first compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.
In mid 2005, the five episode miniseries Britney and Kevin: Chaotic was released on television. Along with the DVD, a special bonus disc was included which rendered the single “Someday (I Will Understand)” and the official release of “Mona Lisa,” which in the fandom was supposed to be the lead single the shelved album Original Doll.
Within the following year, Britney gave birth to Sean Preston in September 2005 and Jayden James in September 2006. Unfortunately for the star, two months later, she filed for divorce from her husband. This set off a chain reaction of awful happenings to follow in the next year.
Following her divorce, paparazzi and tabloids were even more obsessed with her than before. Living under a microscope couldn’t be easy, especially juggling a public divorce, two children under 18 months, and postpartum. All of this mixed with her own depression and anxiety, the beginning of 2007 began with what the press would label a “mental breakdown” once she left a small stint in rehab.
Before the release of Blackout in late October 2007, Britney was in the news almost every day, she had shaved her head out of rebellion, and gotten a few tattoos. Still, released for the first time on August 30, 2007, “Gimme More” blessed everyone’s ears as the lead single for her upcoming album. A little over a week later, she performed a controversial performance of “Gimme More” on the MTV Video Music Awards.
After this, in September, the photoshoot for the album was taken. In the beginning of October, it was announced the album would be named Blackout. Unfortunately at the same time, she had lost physical custody of her two sons to her ex-husband. She pushed through, getting the album released internationally between October 25th and 30th. It was originally slated for a November 13th released, but due to internet leaks, the record label pushed up the release date, which also caused a bit of a messy rollout.
Donning a white fedora, a black wig, a feather boa style skirt, and some crazy background hypnotic imagery, Britney stands fierce on the cover. Portraying the complete opposite of how the world had always viewed her, the album cover is giving the statement of “I’m not that innocent” but times a thousand. Giving this very dark, bad girl persona to match the dark, electronic, club pop theme and sound of the album. Behind those eyes hid a world against her, her family gone, and social pressures from the music industry. The behind the scenes was chaotic, but on this album cover, stands a strong determined woman trying to cope and overcome the worst years of her life.
Which artist never fails to hype you up?
In 2008, a little song called “I Kissed a Girl” was released as the lead single to Katy Perry’s album One of the Boys. Weeks later, the music video dropped for the song, and in the background of that music video is the subject of this story. Featured in the video, dancing next to Katy Perry, is a pre-fame Kesha living her best life completely unaware of the absolute bangers she was going to drop in the years to come.
Uncredited in the song “Right Round,” in the beginning of 2009, this feature started her trajectory into fame. In mid 2009, she released her debut solo single “Tik Tok” and by the beginning of 2010, she was a household name with the release of her album, Animal, which shot to number 1 right off the bat. Following Animal, she released the EP Cannibal later that same year creating a double album essentially.
Between these two cohesive projects, you have absolutely crazy material to get any day hype right off the bat. From the big singles like “Blow,” “We R Who We R,” “Take It Off,” and of course “Tik Tok” to other songs like “Backstabber,” “Party at a Rich Dudes House,” “Sleazy,” and the recent viral hit “Cannibal.” Just this list of songs can get any party started.
After the huge success of her first major projects, Kesha has gone on to release 5 other projects since 2010. With each album, comes even more bangers to add to the Kesha playlist. Songs like “C’mon,” “Learn to Let Go,” “My Own Dance,” “Boy Crazy,” and “Die Young” keep the party rolling and the day shining with a smile on your face.
Of course with any artist, every album has its ballads or more meaningful songs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get you hype in other ways. Songs such as “Praying,” “Supernatural, “Delusional,” “Resentment,” “Only Love Can Save Us Now,” and “The Harold Song” hit you in the feels exploring different themes of love and heartbreaks.
No matter what mood I’m in, there’s always a Kesha song. Whether wanting to dance in the club, cry my eyes out, be silly, or rip an enemy’s head off, Kesha has a track for that. I’ve been an OG fan since the beginning, having seen her in concert 8 separate times throughout the years. Every time I see her live, emotions just pour out and I’m brought back to that freshly independent, freshly out, nineteen year old who all he had was his music to keep him going in a rough world. Kesha was there making everyday feel like a party; even when the feeling of the world crashing down around me, she was there.
I saw her recently in The Freedom Tour and the tears just flowed with how happy I was to be there. With an artist that has been through so much, while you yourself have been through so much, feeling that connection of “hey, we are both finally free and happy and life is ok” feels full circle. So if you want to see me act a fool and cheer me up all in one, throw “Blow” on and see what happens.
Which album helps you wind down after a long day?
Coming home after a long day can be the most euphoric feeling especially if you’ve been hustling and bustling all day. Some people wind down with a good book, maybe a puzzle, or some video games; but for me, I prefer to relax with some music being spun on the turntable. From there, the best album to ease your mind from the day’s troubles and get you ready to have an amazing sleep, absolutely, is Bedtime Stories by Madonna.
Bedtime Stories was released October 25th, 1994 giving fans a more R&B sound to the Madonna we all know and love. The lead single “Secret” set the tone for the album in September 1994, showing a smoother sound for Madonna after the hyper-sexual upbeat sounds of Erotica a few years prior. Upon release, the album was met with favorable reviews from critics and fans alike, again praising the new mellow sound against the hard hitting sounds of her previous album.
In the next year, three more songs were made into singles: “Take A Bow,” “Bedtime Story,” and “Human Nature.” “Take A Bow” stayed a number-one hit for seven weeks and “Bedtime Story” was a number-one dance club hit. While “Human Nature” wasn’t as successful, it was also a direct unapologetic song to the critics who mocked and attacked her for her previous album.
Through this album, there is just a chill, dreamy R&B vibe that puts you in a totally relaxed mood. Songs like “Inside of Me” and “Sanctuary” just give you a warm hug to just come down from the days high and mellow yourself out. This album may have been a step back from the provocative forward album Erotica but Madonna definitely keeps you hooked through this whole album.
After working a long day, this album just brings me into a world where I feel calm, relaxed, and ready for bed. Putting this album on the turntable is like a treat, a little morsel of warmth after such a stressful day. If you close your eyes, the rhythms, the lyrics, and the whole mood just take you into a dream world where you have no control. So how about it, “...let’s get unconscious, honey.”
For Steven (@freakshow._.vinyl) music is always tied to something else. A shift at work, a night at home, a mood that needs shaping, or just the general rhythm of a day. “Music is everything to me,” he says, and it shows up less as a statement and more as how he moves through it all. It shows up in different ways depending on the moment, never really staying in one shape for long.
That openness carries into how wide his listening actually goes. “There’s just so much good music out there, it’s hard to just stay to one genre,” he says. Britney on repeat, then something heavier like Slipknot or Disturbed, then suddenly Anitta or Lana Del Rey. It doesn’t feel like switching genres so much as following feeling. It’s less about genre and more about whatever the moment pulls him toward.
Most of it is also just built into how he lives with music day to day. Headphones on at work whenever he can, then vinyl, CDs, and cassettes at home when the pace slows down. Sometimes it’s something shared with his husband, playing in the background while everything else gets quieter. Somewhere in between, there’s always Britney, still spinning somewhere in the week like a record that never really leaves rotation.
A Michigan collector and traveler who listens everywhere life allows, from shifts at work to quiet nights at home, with Britney, Madonna, Janet, and Mariah always somewhere in rotation.
