Editor's Note

Dear Heights readers,

We welcome you back to Arts & Review from a long summer break. I hope that you found ways to entertain yourself without. The summer entertainment scene surely provided its fair share of opportunities. (For The Scene editors' take on the summer entertainment season, see Page 12.)

This semester there are many exciting additions to The Scene. First, check out our sleek new layout. It's designed to make the magazine more readable and more attractive. Next week will bring the addition of our new Page 12, featuring a brand new fashion column with a panel of rotating contributors, as well as a revamped gossip section. In the coming weeks, we will debut a new Scene blog on the Web site and offer up opportunities for you to see movies free in Boston.

The news of the hour is, of course, the expected announcement from MTV that Britney Spears will appear on the annual Video Music Awards show Sunday. MTV Networks Music President Van Toffler told People, "Britney has done everything from perform with a snake, lock lips with Madonna, and prove that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas. I can't wait to see what she does to kick off this year's show." That's the point - Spears' appearance in Vegas didn't stay there. It sucked so badly that it reeked across the earth. Sources are telling media outlets that Spears won't sing again, killing all buzz of a comeback.

Spears' presence at the VMAs as a nominee this year is an interesting one. She goes into the show sporting three nominations - Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, and Video of the Year - for her "Piece of Me" video, which was directed by Wayne Isham ("I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"). The song is amazing, yes. That's why Rolling Stone named it among the top 15 singles of 2007. The video is relevant, too, because it's the first full video Spears completed in her post-sane career. But, as a whole, it's a torrid mess. In comparison to the videos from her heyday, Spears looks aged, larger, and essentially stands around instead of dancing. She's being honored for pulling off a video, which isn't much because there is a slew of starving artists with five times the talent walking the streets.

Spears is the perfect example of what the music industry has become. It packages beautiful people and turns them into stars. Like Spears, many aren't talented. And yet, we worship her. We always will. Her music is like a religious experience for some of us; it is toxic. And her life gives us a reminder that we are all a bit more sane than we think. I'll tune in for Britney on Sunday night and not much more.