Oh David, David, David. More and more, your blog entries are drifting in an, um, interesting (one might say creepy) direction. Lucky for you that fewer and fewer psychiatrists are doing actual psychoanalyzing these days (or so I hear from the tease for tomorrow's Fresh Air), because a modern-day Sigmund Freud could have a field day with you.

Gotta be more careful about letting us readers view the inside of your repressed, late-50's Boomer psyche. (And I speak from experience!)

[Dear Neil -- Your response made me laugh out loud. I'd be insulted -- but you're too much on the money. And I can't WAIT to hear Eric's take. Meanwhile, anyone out there who wants on chime in, let's go. It's Music Video Analysis Day at TV WORTH WATCHING... -- David B.]

Funny, to me David's Freudian Psych 101 observations were much the same as those I would have made (and none of it is really any different than Madonna 1.0). Wonder what that says about me too.

Of course, as soon as I saw & heard the Miley Cyrus spreading the wings stuff, I imediately though of Rod Stewart's classic from my very precocious adolescence in the 70's. Sorry, but since I was about 5 years old, I just could not help it. And to this day, I think very purient thougts when someone literally sings, "Spread your wings and let me come inside." I guess those with normal brains think wings as open arms, real or metaphorical, and coming inside as letting someone into your life, but for me wings and coming (sp.) are surely something much less mentionable, in mixed company at least.

What I don't get is why these young women, who so desperately crave respect and recognition of their artistic talent, do all this spectacle based stuff. Isn't that the real psychological question worth asking?

I know each and every one of them is very talented and could be very successful without all the spectacle. You only have to hear their words, music, voices and instrumental work to know that. Just close your eyes and listen to the music or see them unplugged and you will soon agree.

But with all this other extraneous crap, they just undermine themselves and make themselves seem far less talented than they really are. But them again, it (sex and spectacle and controversy) sells records, and that is what they really seem to desire, and transforms them from superstars to uber-stars. and I guess that is what we teach here in the good old US of A, that unless you are the number 1 singular best, then you are little more than second best. Never enough to be One of the Greats. It is only acceptable to be The Great One. Sad, very sad.

The real irony of it all is the way they all make such a big deal of all the negative aspects of their being so much in the public eye, even in their music, as if they were all Jesus or Joan of Arc Incarnate, and yet clearly they themselves make every effort to put themselves there. Can anyone say that maybe they are not the sadists and egoists that they often portray in their videos but rather totally identity-less masochists!

I wonder what Freud would say? Of course, Jung would not even waste his time with them. At this point, I am through with them as well. But I do likes me a bit of Katy Perry. She's hot and she's just so neat and oft naked and me likey!

[Fun stuff to read, Greg. I think the difference between Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and the other two videos I selected for Eric to analyze also goes to the difference between her and Christina Aguilera and Miley Cyrus in general. The others are determined to be taken seriously, while Katy Perry generates everything with a giant stage wink and a sense of absurdist fun. Lady Gaga? My guess is that she leans towards the latter, but is being swept away by the former.

And by the way, there's more on this topic to come. Eric is working on his "assignment," while another TV WORTH WATCHING contributor, Tom Brinkmoeller, has weighed in with a whole column making fun of me... for finding the TIME to watch videos. I'll probably run that tomorrow... if I can find the time. -- David B.]