Don't Hold It Against Me

Snobbery isn't profound, it's just snobbery. I hope that Moby doesn't think that getting called names by Eminem puts him beyond criticism for his ugly comments about Britney Spears in recent interviews. Whether or not Britney makes "music" or just vehicles for marketing is a matter of taste, but unless Moby wants to give back some checks for selling songs from the album Play he really shouldn't open his mouth. (To be fair Moby also singles out Rihanna and Kesha, but does anybody think we'll be talking about Kesha in two years?) I've never been able to stomach the visceral dislike in some areas (usually the comment sections of gossip blogs) for the very existence of too-rich young women who make their living on MTV, but Britney seems to have stabilized her life after having  her virginity put in play as a subject for public discussion (talk about being marketed) and making some shaky choices in men. She'll never return to her former ubiquity, but she has managed to recover from being the butt of jokes during a period of time when Moby's highest-profile release was a book about tea. In her recent performance with Rihanna at the Billboard Awards, I thought Britney carried herself with the air of someone who recognized that Rihanna's high-concept writhing was trying too hard. In other words, there's no topping dancing with a snake.