Song of the Day: “Piece of Me,” Britney Spears

“I’m Ms. Bad Media Karma/Another day, another drama,” electro-purrs the tabloids’ favorite target. It’s the closest to actual introspection Britney Spears gets on this muddy-synthed salvo at the world of haters. Add in a metallic reverb, an airy breakdown near the climax, impeccably Pro Tooled vocals, and lyrics that imagine Britney’s diary if she were literate and vindictive, and you’ve got a sneering, sarcastic kiss-off and come-on that still gets toes tapping.

Britney Spears: Piece of Me

Song of the Day: “Billie Jean (Remix),” Michael Jackson and Kanye West

It’s not quite as exciting as its title should make it. There’s no semi-corny, semi-classic raps from Kanye Tooda, and there’s no small diminuition of the dramatic peaks and valleys of the original; instead, we get “Billie Jean” reinvisioned as a cleaned-up, slowed-down stomper, a rearrangement of the strings and some jungle drums backing the timeless Jacko paranoia. It’s pleasant enough, certainly no abomination, and I can definitively assert MJ isn’t denying a chair is his son. But there’s a vast abscess of emotion here that the mercurial Quincy Jones production had by the boatload; “Billie Jean” is a singularly unimpeachable tune, not to be trifled with lightly. That said, if Kanye doesn’t drop a verse-laden version in the near future, I’ll be shocked.

Michael Jackson and Kanye West: Billie Jean (Remix)

Song of the Day: “On Sum Chrome,” Three 6 Mafia ft. UGK

It’s now a haunting track for two of the South’s three best groups, but it might also be the last goodbye to UGK’s late Pimp C. Dueling with tinkling synths from Tchaikovsky (“Nutcracker Suite,” one time!) and the requisite thunderstorm drops, Trey Seis and Houston’s finest group not named Geto Boys remake an old UGK hit with significantly more Tennessee flavor. Because of that, it’s almost impossible to understand the chorus, believe one thing for sure: Pimp C is shining brighter than some halos.

Three 6 Mafia ft. UGK: On Sum Chrome (Download)

Song of the Day: “Tech Game,” Kia Shine

The Memphis rapper isn’t breaking any lyrical ground with his largely name-dropping verses, though he’s certainly in touch enough to ride a beat that features a million grasshoppers giving you tinnitus. He stockpiles half a Best Buy, with a PS3, an HDTV or two, and the omnipotent “Crackberry” for his pocket; then he rattles off the Big Three To Reference on the Interwebs (MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube), and throws in Gmail for good measure. The idea of a tech game will likely outlast its chrome-worthy rapper, sure, but Kia Shine gets credit for flossing with Bluetooth first.

Kia Shine: Tech Game

Song of the Day: “Reptilia,” The Strokes

Introduced to this song by “Rock Band,” I was only expecting The Strokes’ typical guitar-and-bass virtuosity; instead, it’s got its own character, a bass-heavy fusillade with some awe-inspiring rising and declining guitar. And that fits, because the story, of one night “in a strange part of our town,” is the kind of jerky ride that deserves the musical pyrotechnics. It roars in and roars out, Julian Casablancas’ addled warble straining to rise above the storm; the song is a rush, the archetypical Strokes tune of detachment.

The Strokes: Reptilia

Fire Is Hot: “Black Mags,” The Cool Kids

Nearly as sparse as the prior post’s production, a clap echo and a distorted note here and there anchor this Detroit Pistons-repping duo’s homage to two wheels. It’s a stripped-down sound in line with The Cool Kids’ ethos: they seem to be all about the late ’80s vibe. And it shines through again in the retro flow that forgoes legerdemain for a ”MacGyver” reference and some bare-boned, old-school narrative.

Song of the Day: “Vans,” The Pack

The most insidiously catchy song of 2006 has a spiritual sequel of sorts, and you’ll be hearing about it very soon, but, for now, the song du jour is the original model. If the tambourine-tapping, revving-keyboard chorus were any more hypnotic, the CIA would eschew torture. The verses, which are mostly there to support the paean to the titular skate slip-ons, aren’t much, but there’s a inherent, languid snobbery that makes it eminently obvious the Bay Area boys are definitely the cool kids in class; their song is almost as icy, the most detached enthusiasm possible. It’s “My Adidas,” writ subdued, for the millennial generation.

The Pack: Vans

Song of the Day: “Kiss Kiss,” Chris Brown ft. T-Pain

It relies on a couple of 2007’s finest musical cliches in T-Pain’s vocoder-laced quirky je ne sais quoi (see: Billboard charts from April onward) and nearly incomprehensible urban terminology (see: Soulja Boy’s career), but the smoothness of “Kiss Kiss” makes it an undeniably artificial confection. Sprinkle on a magnificent T-Pain come-on (“You rollin’ shawty?/Let’s hit McDonald’s!”) and the first and perhaps only mention of Tappahannock, Virginia in a song to spend time atop anything but a pile of flaming folk CDs, and you have an unconventionally catchy hit.

Chris Brown ft. T-Pain: Kiss Kiss

Song of the Day: “Still Alive”

How incredible is the idea of finding one of the year’s best songs, equal parts somber, comic, and earnest, in the credits of a video game? If you’ve played “Portal,” it’s not incredible, just true. “Still Alive,” written by Jonathan Coulton and performed by Ellen McLain, the deadpan voice of the game’s narrator, is infectious, with tinkling piano, soft guitar that creeps in at the first chorus, and about the funniest congratulatory message ever: “I’m not even angry/I’m being so sincere right now/Even though you broke my heart/And killed me/And tore me to pieces/And threw every piece into a fire.” It’s very hard to listen to with tapping a foot or bobbing a head, and nigh impossible not to smile as McLain’s vocoderized computer warbles about cake and science. As a single, this would be manna for the offbeats everywhere; as an in-joke, it’s perfect.

From credits of “Portal”: “Still Alive”