Me Against the Music
"Me Against the Music" is a song by American singers Britney Spears and Madonna for Spears' fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003). It was written by Spears, Madonna, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Thabiso "Tab" Nikhereanye, Penelope Magnet, Terius Nash and Gary O'Brien. The song was released on October 14, 2003, by Jive Records, as the lead single of In the Zone. After bonding with Spears during a night in New York City, Stewart and Magnet started working on the song for her. During rehearsals for the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears played Madonna the track and asked her to do the song with her.
Not to be confused with Against Music a work by Chinese philosopher Mozi."Me Against the Music"
October 14, 2003
2003
3:43
- Britney Spears
- Madonna
- Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
- Thabiso "Tab" Nikhereanye
- Penelope Magnet
- Terius Nash
- Gary O'Bryan
- Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
- Penelope Magnet
"Me Against the Music" contains influences of dance-pop, hip hop and usage of funk guitars. Spears and Madonna trade lines during the verses, and Madonna sings the bridge. Lyrically, the song talks about battling the music and the pleasures of letting go on the dancefloor. The song received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Some felt it was a strong dance track of In the Zone, while others referred to it as lackluster and disappointing. The song was a commercial success, peaking atop of the charts in countries such as Australia, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland and Spain, as well as the European Hot 100 Singles. It also peaked at number two in Canada, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom, and inside the top five in many other nations. The song won the "Hot Dance Single of the Year" accolade at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards.
The accompanying music video for "Me Against the Music" shows Spears and Madonna playing opposites in a nightclub. A cat-and-mouse chase ensues, and Spears finds Madonna in the end, only for the latter to disappear before they kiss. The video received positive reviews from critics, who noted it as symbolic of the sexual roles between the women. Spears has performed the song in a number of live appearances including the 2003 NFL Kickoff Live, Saturday Night Live, 2003 American Music Awards and TRL. She has also performed remixed versions with elements of bhangra music at The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004) and The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009). Spears performed the song on her Las Vegas residency show Britney: Piece of Me. "Me Against the Music" has been remixed by Justice, while the music video was recreated by television series Glee and included an appearance by Spears.
In 2023, Billboard's staff placed "Me Against the Music" at the 19th position on their 'The 100 Greatest Songs of 2003' list.[1]
Composition and remixes[edit]
"Me Against the Music" is a dance-pop and hip hop song with "funky guitar riffs" and "rapid-fire singing".[2][4][10][11] The song features Madonna, but was constructed as a duet after she was added to the track. Spears and Madonna trade lines during the verses, and Madonna sings solo in the bridge.[4] Stewart described the sound as "half-rapping, half-singing" and "beat-driven".[2] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Me Against the Music" is set in a moderate dance beat, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Spears's vocal range span from the low-note of G2 to the high-note of B4.[12] Gavin Mueller of Stylus Magazine deemed Spears's vocals as "sexy and sultry" and compared them to those of Prince.[13]
In the song, Spears and Madonna sing of the pleasures of letting go on the dancefloor, in lyrics such as "I'm up against the speaker / Trying to take on the music / It's like a competition".[4] Spears explained the concept of the song as "basically about just going to a club and letting yourself go and battling with whoever is around you and battling against the music as well."[5] Magnet continued, saying, "Like she was hearing the music and trying to out-dance the track or out-beat the drum or out-pluck the guitar. It's as if she's in the club, losing herself in the music."[2] William Shaw of Blender stated Madonna's verse could be interpreted as her passing the baton to a new talent, as well as "a taunt from the old guard to the uptight youngster."[6]
A number of remixes were commissioned by Jive Records to accompany the release. The Australian CD singles included remixes by artists such Peter Rauhofer, Rishi Rich, Passengerz and Terminalhead.[14][15] The US CD single also contained remixes by Trak Starz, Gabriel & Dresden, Bloodshy & Avant and Kanye West.[16] The Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix was later included in the track list of In the Zone. The remix removes the original melody of the song and adds a clattering backbeat and Punjabi shouts. Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called the remix "excellent", noting that it is "so frenetic you barely notice Ms. Spears and Madonna – it's odd to hear two such ubiquitous figures sounding so anonymous."[17] There are two remixes released which do not feature Madonna; the Bloodshy & Avant's Chix Mix was released on Spears's first EP accompanying the Britney Spears: In the Zone video, while the DragonMan Remix appears on the Dare for More Pepsi promotional CD,[18] the New Divas 2004 compilation album and the Japan Tour edition of Glory. Spears had also contacted Outkast to remix "Me Against the Music" but the remix was not released.[19]
Music video[edit]
Development[edit]
The music video for "Me Against the Music" was filmed over three days in October 2003, at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, New York.[50] It was directed by Paul Hunter, who revealed that the concept was setting Spears and Madonna apart, hence Spears wore a black outfit whereas Madonna sported a white suit.[5] Kevin Tancharoen was the choreographer of the video.[51] The vehicle used in the video, a Mazda RX-8, was autographed by Spears on the hood and auctioned off to benefit the Britney Spears Foundation.[52] In 2009, Hunter talked to MTV News about the video, saying, "Madonna is an icon of an earlier generation, and then Britney of the newer generation. She was at her peak at that point [...] So it was a challenge to kind of bring both of the worlds together. I wanted it to be a bit of a cat-and-mouse sort of game and a little bit of a foreplay between Britney and Madonna and just sort of tease the audience."[5]
Synopsis[edit]
The video starts with Spears parking a silver Mazda RX-8 and going into a New York nightclub.[53] She enters a wooden room populated with 'cool kids' flaunting pink and purple hair while taking whiffs from an oxygen tank. Madonna, who is in a room filled with men smoking cigars, observes her from television monitors throughout the club.[53] She wears a white trouser suit and carries a cane, signifying a position of moneyed power. Her suit is also notably fitted, especially in the waistcoat, revealing
Madonna's body to be female and not masculine.[54] Although the areas are separated by a wall, Spears and Madonna sense their presences through extrasensory perception and dance in synchronicity.[53] Julie Andsager in Sex in consumer culture (2006) noted that the video hints at a same-sex relationship between the two.[55]
This is followed with Spears performing a dance routine inside a blacklight paint graffiti room, and the two women dancing around a metal bedframe.[56] Spears then begins chasing Madonna in a wooden-like maze, and the latter enters a room covered with fallen leaves and stands in a swing. Once Spears finds the room, Madonna is nowhere to be found.[53] Throughout the video, Madonna gradually loses her symbolic power, paralleled by her disposing the cane and jacket, becoming less phallic and more noticeably female biologically and more feminine socially. Although it ultimately seems that Spears becomes the dominant figure, Madonna recovers her phallic power in the form of a cigar from an onlooking male.[54] Spears appears in Madonna's room and throws her against the wall, and Madonna vanishes just as they are about to kiss. The video ends as Madonna's laugh is heard in the background.[56]
Release and reception[edit]
The video premiered on television on Making the Video on October 21, 2003, at 23:00 EDT.[53] Its online premiere was on Yahoo! Music. It was viewed more than 2 million times in its first five days.[57] The video reached number one on the AOL Music Top Video chart in November 2003, with 3,356,007 million streams.[58] In January 2004, the video topped the same chart again with 1,198,920 million streams.[59] Jocelyn Vena of MTV said, "It was the changing of the guard – or at least the meeting of two of the most influential pop musicians of all time. [...] The superstars tantalize the audience (and each other) throughout the flirty video."[5]
Julie Andsager stated the 'fantasy-fulfillment' strategy of Spears continued with the Madonna kiss and the "Me Against the Music" video, but added that "she has, perhaps, taken her sexuality to its extreme – for network television, at least – at the age of 21".[55] Laurenz Volkmann said that it showcases an entire range of different female roles between 'older' and 'younger' sign systems.[60] Author Judith Ann Peraino commented, "In 1963, Judy Garland presented Barbra Streisand as her protégée as songstress and gay icon; in 2003, Madonna instated Spears as her protégée in same-sex erotica and icon of polymorphous sexuality."[61]
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of In the Zone.[84]
Recording
Personnel