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What's behind the Justin Timberlake backlash?

Timberlake must be wondering what went wrong. Because, truth be told, there's nothing egregiously bad about either Man of the Woods or his Super Bowl performance. They're just... slightly disappointing.

The backlash feels bigger than a commentary on his music. There's a mockery and a cruelty that feels personal - as though people had a lingering resentment towards the star, and they've suddenly been given licence to express it.

For some, it goes back to his relationship with Britney Spears. After they broke up, he made music and videos that traded on their story and told several interviewers he'd taken her virginity - a personal detail that wasn't his to share.

For others, it's about his failure to support Janet Jackson after exposing her breast to millions of TV viewers at the 2004 Super Bowl.

Timberlake's half-hearted acknowledgement of that moment at this year's show did not go unnoticed.

"He chose to perform the song Rock Your Body, during which the famous wardrobe malfunction took place, and yet he didn't mention Janet: He didn't shout her out, and he stopped the song right before the line during which he ripped off her costume," pop critic Ann Powers told NPR. "It was almost like he was trying to erase what had happened in the past, but that is just not flying in 2018."

"The Super Bowl performance invited people to reflect on the time Justin threw Janet Jackson under a bus, and what that said about race and gender," agrees Peter Robinson, editor of Popjustice.

As The Pop World Seeks Accountability, Justin Timberlake Seems Lost In The Woods

You say "not right for this moment." Explain what you mean by that.

Justin Timberlake's entire career and art is based on his ability to be smooth — his ability to be easy, to create music that seduces us with references to the past, with appropriations, with artful mixes, and never quite shows any struggle. But we are living in a moment of struggle, and we want our pop music to also reflect that struggle. And frankly, Timberlake now embodies that phrase so often spoken today: white male privilege. It's just not a good look for 2018. And it's really, in some ways, not his fault — it's just who he is.

Why Prince fans are bashing Justin Timberlake's Super Bowl halftime performance

In a 1998 interview with Guitar World magazine, Prince was asked directly about the use of digital editing to "create a situation where you could jam with any artist from the past." He was not a fan.

"That's the most demonic thing imaginable," he said. "Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing ... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon. Also, what they did with that Beatles song (Free as a Bird), manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave ... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control."

Last one could plausibly form the basis of a tech-related submission, although it is a little late.

It's half past nine and, as enjoyable as schooling you lot is, I've got other things to do today. If I don't have tons and tons of messages when I get the time and inclination to argue some more, I'll try and get everything that warrants it a response. If there are too many though, I'm probably just going to mass delete them and watch some anime instead.

[ Update: You folks really didn't want replies, I take it. ]

Paul Ryan, our Speaker of the House, shared some tremendous news. About the massive Tax Cut we gave our Middle class. Which means so many can now afford those things they only dreamed of before. "A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week. ... she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year." Amazing!

"'I have heard time and again that the middle class is getting crumbs, but I’ll take it!'
twitter.com/APBusiness/sta…" https://twitter.com/PRyan/status/959519794138509312

Army: 2 deaths, 60 hospitalizations blamed on vaping oils

The U.S. Army is warning about the dangers of vaping synthetic cannabinoid oil after about 60 soldiers and Marines in North Carolina and 33 troops in Utah experienced serious medical problems in January. In a Monday public health alert, the U.S. Army Public Health Center said military personnel have suffered headaches, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, dilated pupils, dizziness, agitation and seizures.

All the symptoms are associated with synthetic cannabinoids. Two Marines have died in accidents blamed on synthetic cannabinoid-induced seizures.

"This problem has the potential to spread quickly across the Army," the alert said.

Army regulations ban the use of so-called CBD oil or any products derived from marijuana, so some soldiers are using synthetic replacement oil.

Vivo’s Xplay7 may be the first Android smartphone with 10GB of RAM

Sub it when it's no longer a rumor.

Previously: Samsung Announces 12Gb LPDDR4 DRAM, Could Enable Smartphones With 6 GB of RAM

Amazing speech, airing now! On all channels. #TrumpTV

Somebody please inform Jay-Z, the very foolish owner of the BADLY FAILING Tidal, that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER! He needs to DUMP his failing businesses, buy himself a good suit and tie, and find a real job. So many of his people, of our wonderful African Americans, did. I did.

Russia's Navalny detained as protesters point to poll fraud threat

Russian presidential elections: Navalny freed after day of protests

I think I won it today. I managed to single-handedly fend off the communist and socialist hordes with logic and reason, only garnering a very few disagreements remotely based in reason and none that could not be refuted.

I'm done with that article now though. I can't be spending all day educating the ignorant. That and it's nap time.

Found this comment while I was searching for NASA GOLD stuff.

Zuma!