Word: mariah
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Case in point is "Honey," the opening track, which not only boasts a buoyant rhythm track, but also shows a charming lack of ego. Mariah's voice slides so smoothly into Puff Daddy's drum machines that she almost erases herself inside her own song. But the song boogies, and so do we. Who loses...
...word "bubblegum" has stuck to Mariah for much of her career. In particular, the last few months of Lilith worship have opened up bounteous opportunities for ridiculing her brand of breezy pop. Sure, she will never touch a Joan Osborne or a Cassandra Wilson for innovation or craftsmanship, but she is just as capable in her element as Jewel or Sarah "I-will-remember-you-will-you-remember-me?" McLachlan are in theirs. Back off, you coffee-shop snobs...
...Mariah as Sharon Stone. Where Mariah falls down so dispiritingly is in so consistently forgetting that Less can be More. Forget for a moment that an artist this established should not need a bare midriff to keep moving units (so to speak). Her one-album-a-year regimen keeps her fans happy, but might quality control not improve through a little more discipline...
...Mariah as Melissa Etheridge. Worse, many songs on Butterfly offer minimal accent on the same lamentable themes of self-objectification ("I wanna be your babydoll"), self-abdication ("You can have me when you want me") and self-sacrifice ("I'd risk my life to feel/Your body next to mine"). Few women in music mention themselves so frequently only to marginalize themselves so cruelly. Indeed, Butterfly starts to sound whiny at best, and a lot like masochistic masturbation at its worst. Stand up for yourself, Mariah. And put some clothes...
...Mariah as Drew Barrymore. A surprisingly lovely track on Butterfly is "Close My Eyes," a hushed, low-register meditation on (believe it!) her own immaturity and poor self-image. Scary how remembering a messy childhood can force spareness, honesty, even eloquence on an unlikely source. She describes the "woman-child" she feels "falling inside," and the chorus acknowledges, "Still I feel like a child when I look at the moon/Maybe I grew up a little too soon...