2. britney spears, "autumn goodbye"
why here? for all of its greatness, "the love i lost" has a pretty lousy and, not to mention, quick fade, with pendergass ad-libbing and being cut off in mid-sentence. i wanted a song that snapped back quickly, preferably with a spoken or sung intro.
why this song? my current frame of mind dictates a need for melodrama. besides being her second best song, britney's "autumn goodbye" is also her most emotional performance, a howl of pain especially when compared to number four's gentle magnanimity. it also opens up a three-song salute to summer -- back to school commercials always trigger this impulse. but it's not over until i trot out "all summer long."