Well played, Britney. Well played.

I was just thinking the other day that over a month after it's release, I am still playing Circus like a brand new record. I really do like it. It's catchy, dance-around-town-fun and produced in the best way. If Britney is "only as good as her producers" as some reviewers have stated then, the wide range of talent represented on their behalf on Circus makes a win for Britney.

Yes, of course, there are better songs than others and a couple of hiccups if you listen to the album in the original track order, which mainly makes for some awkward transitions between ballads-rarely Britney's strong suit-and beats.

My favorite song off the album is "Unusual You" which is a bit different from Britney's more pop-infused style but a welcome departure. Other top picks, besides the first single, "Womanizer" which has a video by the same director who did the flashy videos for "Stronger" and "Toxic" which I both love, include: "Circus", "Shattered Glass" (or "Shattered Gla-e-aaass" as I and some others like to refer to it), "Rock Me In" and "If U Seek Amy" which is apparently suggestive of quite the little narrative.

Since I have been listening to the CD for a month, I was surprised to learn something new about the lyrics for "If U Seek Amy"-even though lyrics aren't really the first thing I pay attention to. Rolling Stone reports that The Parents Television Council claims "Amy" is a bit more naughty than she would appear.

The members of this organization are "livid that Britney Spears‘ cunningly titled “If U Seek Amy” is getting radio play, despite the fact that the title and lyrics essentially say “F-U-C-K Me.”...American parents are lining up to demand radio stations cease playing the song between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. as it “violates the broadcast indecency law.”

My favorite quote:

“There is no misinterpreting the lyrics to this song, and it’s certainly not about a girl named Amy,” PTC president Tim Winter said.

PTC is calling for a radio ban on the song during certain hours and some stations have already begun to edit the tune or insert random names over Amy's.

Am I completely clueless as to not have noticed this? Did anyone else notice it before reading this? Maybe I'm just not tuned in to that sort of criticism. Maybe Britney (or her producers) are just one up on me on the clever-scale. I had a feeling there might be a double meaning somewhere-you know, like "Tina" is code for Crystal Meth-but didn't make this connection. I just thought she really wanted to find Amy.

I had a best friend named Amy once. She was nice. I wonder where she is...