The VMAs, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna and T.I....at light speed!

The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards was, predictably, an ass-kissing festival for Britney Spears and a chorus of other pop stars who sang and danced their way onstage to thank God for their little moon-men statues and their managers, for crafting them into good girls gone bad or celibate virgins, in the case of the Jonas Brothers. There was no edge--even Russel Brand, hilarious in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, was offensive and awkward, speaking so loudly his mic sounded like he was performing stand-up eight feet under the Thames.

There were three stand-out performances, however (of those I watched--I don't need to explain my lack of interest in the entire VMAs): Rihanna and T.I. with "Living My Life," officially the new "Good Life" and most certainly destined to become a number one hit. Like, there is no question. It will be number one within three weeks.

Christina Aguilera (dressed like Lady Gag--er, Marvel Comic's Black Cat, right) did a great job, as well, aside from her horrible lipsynching. Her new song is called "Keeps Gettin' Better," apparently, though that doesn't quite make sense considering the only bit of lyric I understood: "BITCH!" The performance was a burst of fresh air in a night of lackluster performances and ugly vocals. Even Rihanna seemed to struggle on her live performance of "Disturbia"--I've seen Rihanna live, and she never struggled to hit mid-range notes...

P!nk was amazing, but what did we expect? She's a phenomenal vocalist with a brilliant single. She's got attitude, a jagged sex appeal, and an air of authenticity when she hits the stage. Nothing unexpected or surprising--just P!nk.

(Speaking of P!nk, she's officially number one on the list of performers I want to see in the upcoming year.)

(And speaking of seeing performers, I'm seeing Yelle in October and I could almost explode I'm so excited)

Beyond the VMAs, I officially have my iTunes account back and went overboard by purchasing 10 songs that have caught my attention in my recent wanderings. One of these is Brandy's "Right Here (Departed)," a beautiful track with deep emotional appeal. Brandy is an iconic R&B artist--if you are not a fan, listen to "Talk About Our Love," an era-defining slice of piano-driven hip-hop--and her new single comes with quite a bit of baggage attached. For anyone with an actual life (i.e. anyone who doesn't read celebrity gossip), Brandy got into a car wreck a few years ago and killed a man. She wasn't sent to jail, but in the eyes of many is a murderer. That's quite a reputation going into her fifth album.

Regardless, "Right Here" is a powerful track, almost too powerful; I'm certainly not experiencing any heartbreak, but Brandy's emotive vocals almost convince me I am.

I want to keep writing about Michelle William's "Hello Heartbreak," a SICKKK club track, but I'm a bit buzzed on wine and losing my creativity...

Music: David Archuleta should have won

So David Archuleta's first non-American Idol single was released last week, and it's a perfectly engineered piece of pop for a radio audience that all too often embraces music that "fits" instead of music that's simply "good"; a fault, certainly, but I'm not giving Archuleta enough credit. "Crush" is young and flouncy without the froth--Archuleta keeps his lyrics mature and his voice at a low pitch, which serves to separate him from the Chris Browns and Jonas Brothers of the pop stream. The title of the track is misleading; I can relate to the material on an individual level, and I'm no fifteen-year-old. David asks, "Am I crazy/or falling in love/could this be real?" What's best about the track is how unpredictable it is. I mean, everyone knew the AI producers would stick Archuleta with a Jordan Sparks/Miley Cyrus vibe to hit the preteen market, but I don't think anyone knew it would be this good. I highly recommend "Crush," even if its relevance is shorter-lived than Sparks'.

Demi Lovato released a single this Tuesday, which was kind of surprising considering her name first appeared in the pop lexicon a week ago. "Get Back" is another solid preteen pop track; therefore, it is shocking by default. She's got a fantastic voice, in the vein of a young Christina Aguilera, but the instrumentals are faceless and predictable. This is pop, though: It's not as if Fiona Apple ever hit radio because her pianist was famous among the coffeehouse elite of Seattle...

One wonders, though, if Cyrus hadn't made fun of Lovato and her even less important counterpart Selena Gonzalez (or Gomez, or something) in that YouTube video a few weeks back, would I have even given this track a look?

A few cool club tracks have come to my attention the past few weeks as well. "I am the Light" by Yuma and Jeni Fujita is a pulsing retro tune with a sound like Seamus Haji's remix of Moby's "I Love To Move In Here." The track outlives its welcome--I'm so not down with songs that last longer than five minutes--but before it gets corny ("I am aligned with the creative power of the universe!/I am peace, love!") it's a nice break from the crap storm iTunes has been raining on me lately with Mariah Carey remixes and seven versions of Goldfrapp's "A&E."

The Ian Carey Project published (Ian Carey didn't produce the track) a song on a club compilation called "Get Shaky," and it once again reinforces my worship of Moby and his ability to forge trends in the dance genre. (The fact that he's in his mid-thirties, a vegan Christian activist, a close friend of the Dalai Lama and still relevant has rendered him cutting-edge in his own right) The vocalist on "Shaky" is a nice fit for the mid-nineties inspired melodies, beat claps and all. The track is a great example of editing--if only more producers would hold the reigns on thumping beats and synths we'd have, well, a lot more Mobys.

I'm also feeling P!nk's "So What" (thanks to a friends' blog) and Uh Huh Her's "Not a Love Song," but that's for another time.