I was recently corresponding with somebody who had unkind things to say about Britney Spears’ musical talents. It made me want to post covers of songs by my favorite pop tarts.

The BossHoss “Toxic” (Britney Spears)
Yes, Britney Spears is a freakshow with no discernable talent. She’s not even hot any more. But many of her songs are well-crafted pop tunes written by talented professionals.

This one holds up well to the (literally) galloping country and western treatment by The BossHoss. It freaks me out to think that these guys are German.

Seether “Rehab” (Amy Winehouse)
My wife likes the original version of this song. I think that Amy Winehouse is okay but a tad overrated. The fact that she’s another train wreck meth skank only adds to her appeal. But if you really like young British woman singers Joss Stone has much better pipes.

Alert Reader Dexter pointed out the video of this song to me. I peeled off the audio so I could share it with all of you.

Detholz “Like A Virgin” (Madonna)
The roots of pop-tartdom reach back at least to Joey Heatherton, but Madonna was the first modern (or is that postmodern?) pop tart. Madonna’s early-Eighties persona seems almost quaint today. Now she has to wrest African children away from their parents to get the attention she seeks.

Something For Kate “Genie In A Bottle” (Christina Aguilera)
Rub-a-dub-dub me, baby. A nice earnest acoustic version.

Luna “Straight Up” (Paula Abdul)
Paula Abdul sounded pissed off, this guy just sounds confused. Really great washes of atmospheric guitar float through the whole song.

This comes from the very excellent Guilt By Association compilation CD recently put out by Engine Room Recordings. It features independent artists covering their favorite “guilty pleasure” songs.