Dirty little girls: Last night I heard Aaliyah's "Rock The Boat" for the first time. What an absolutely lovely song! The video alone is captivating; beautiful Caribbean scenery abounds as modestly-clad-by-modern-video-standards Aaliyah and dancers boogie on the world's largest catamaran and the world's sexiest beach. Through it all, the song burbles and bubbles like a drowsy sex kitten, setting up a melt-in-your-mouth gorgeous groove with Aaliyah crooning like a spoken-word poet in heat about the joys of heavy petting. It's really amazing, particularly since the songwriting itself is so abstract that I'm amazed that the record company had the courage to pick it as a single. Emotions are compounded by the uncomfortable knowledge that this slice of sexual bounce was the last thing she did before her fatal plane crash. At some points, I felt like I was watching the world's most beautiful snuff film.

In a similar vein, I felt like I needed to wash my brain out with soap after seeing the video for Britney's new single. With "I'm A Slave 4 U", Britney sheds the last vestiges of the naughty schoolgirl that has followed her since "Baby One More Time" and stampeded onto the scene as full-on club girl unafraid of getting down and dirty in the name of the all-holy beat. The belly-dancing, the groping and licking, the womanly figure bending and twisting and promising anything in the world as long as the music is playing... it's astonishing. Working with The Neptunes was quite possibly the best thing Britney could have done as far as shaking up her image is concerned. This is the first song of hers I've heard that didn't sound like it came with an implicit "Approvbed By Radio Disney!" stamp on the cover. I won't say it's more adult (although it CERTAINLY is more sexual), but it's the first single she's released that I've liked instantly.