subject: Creep Lyrics | Criminal Lyrics [print this page] Of all the songs in Britney Spears' Femme Fatale track list, Criminal would undoubtedly be the most refreshingly different.
A regular Britney Spears listener is normally used to hearing a saturation of synth and driving club beats in most of her recent work, yet the song Criminal set out to change that entirely. The song adopts a flute solo and a folk, Turkish-style, relaxed melody that, according to many critics, serves as a surprising and welcome change of pace.
The Criminal lyrics for Britney Spears' album Femme Fatale were written by a handful of staff songwriters. Criminal was her fourth-released single, after she took a poll from fans on which songs she should release as singles.
The music video for Criminal, according to Britney Spears herself, is about a girl of high social privilege who goes out of her way to experience something new and risky to get out of her shell. The video star her then-boyfriend Jason Trawick, as her love interest.
The music video stirred some controversy in the UK, with certain organizations claiming that the video supports gun use. The video was also shot in a neighborhood in London that was heavily affected by the recent riots.
The Creep lyrics were written by lead vocalist Thom Yorke and bassist Colin Greenwood. The sudden success of Radiohead's single Creep almost made critics dismiss them as one-hit wonders.
The song Creep would also get covered by several high profile artists, including Macy Gray and Kelly Clarkson. A cover of the song also appeared in the trailer for the 2010 film Social Network, which is sung by a choir.
Oddly enough, the band decided not to play Creep live until 2001, when technical difficulties arose during a concert in the UK.
Radiohead has ridden an unusual wave of success in its career: after the great success from Creep, they developed an indie cult following despite their waning popularity with the mainstream.
It wasn't until Radiohead's third album OK Computer that more music critics began to pay much closer attention to them. The album appears on a plethora of year-end Best Of lists, most notably taking the first place spot for Top 100 Best Songs of the 1990s.
The notoriety of Radiohead also centers on its rather unusual frontman, Thom Yorke, whose performances were once described Johnny Lyndon meets comic actor Martin Short. He's also known as a moody perfectionist who drives the band towards creating truly complex work.
