But we aren't so serious we can resist a pix of man about town Justin Bieber, tousled hair, topless, a hot tat near his right nipple, and the sounds of a million teenage girls somewhere in the background furiously enjoying him.
And why should we?
Teen boys leading young girls to the joy of self stimulation is as much a part of rock and roll as misogynistic middle aged men lording it over confused young women -all roads lead to sex… or Freud… or something. And of all the things Bieber has done, what he has done best is maneuvered himself from Altar Boy youngster to physically charged stud in waiting.
Indeed, his post "Baby" career has been a lesson not just in kidz bop but in Kids BOP. From his frankly sexual relationship with Selena Gomez-an anything but innocent presentiment, to his swag swag swagger, his modified hip hop bad boy tastes, and spoiled brat reputation,, he seems to swerve into sharp curves in the road. Musically, "Boyfriend" is his "Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman", all percolating desire.
Of all this, Bieber's relationship with Gomez is the masterstroke. Even better than Swift's endless line of heartbreaks, keeping Justin in a monogamous relationship with a member of his peer group is genius. While it seems a little counter-intuitive that having Bieber tied up frees him it does.
1. It allows him to grow into manhood in public without being a manwhore. He could be sexy but not slutty. Am object of desire but still not quite threatening.
2. By giving him only one lady love, it allows his girl fans to imagine having only one competitor, only one body to jump over which makes him, ta-dah, more accessible.
And that leads us to accessibility and social media, where the pix above first showed on his twitter. Twitter is the ultimate fan fantasy… it provides something that doesn't exist: proximity.
Put them all together and you have Justin Bieber on a bed with his shirt off flashing a tattoo of a Crown. A tattoo he is earning Bieliber by Bieliber!