WTF?

I watched (some of) the MTV Video Music Awards last night. I was most interested in seeing Britney's opening performance. I expected the poor lipsyncing. I expected the hyper, highly animated back-up dancers undulating and grinding all over the place. I even expected the slightly risque (yawn) choreography.

I did not expect Britney to shuffle around the stage like she was wearing flip-flops in some backwater gas station ladies room. It was like she was moving in slow-motion while the dancers were moving in real time.

She seemed disoriented and at times appeared to be reading the teleprompter. Not just reading it, but studying it. It was sad and strange all at the same time. I'd hoped that she would've given the performance of her life, but unfortunately she wound up phoning it in.

The rest of the show was boring and predictable. Except for the guy who turned his back to the camera and pushed his face up against the wall when Kanye West passed him while performing. That was refreshingly strange. It looked like the last scene in the Blair Witch Project. Also, I enjoyed the 2 minute snippet of Gnarls Barkley and Foo Fighters covering Prince's "Darling Nikki". That sounded fantastic. I would definitely buy it if they release it as a single.

Anyway...Britney disappointed me greatly. What has happened to all our gay icons from the late 20th Century? Britney's a mess, Christina's all married and respectable now, Kelly's latest album is a tribute to her own creative egotism and Mandy turned all crunchy granola on us. I guess we'll just have to be happy with Beyonce and Kathy Griffin.