Singing in Tongues

Spears' new album dropped this week — and who knew that it should have come with a thesaurus and a primer on Carl Jung? We couldn't make anything of confounding lyrics like ''cold as fire'' (''Hot as Ice'') or ''Im'a hit defrost on ya'' (in ''Break the Ice''). So we turned to three anonymous experts.

THE SONGWRITER
''What's amazing is how difficult it is to talk about these lyrics, because they're lighter than air,'' he says of the album. However, ''lines like 'If you've ever been to heaven/This is twice as nice' in 'Hot as Ice' are more boastful than 50 Cent. It's gutsy.''
THE ENGLISH PROFESSOR
''The poetry of confusion'' is how he sums up Blackout, adding, ''The major existential dilemma in 'Gimme More' is, Exactly who is turning down the lights? The need to exhibit herself conflicts with the irritating social taboo of sex.''
THE PSYCHOLOGIST
''Blackout's lyrics are about a woman who needs attention...from a man to feel alive,'' he says. Multiple references to the hereafter (in ''Heaven on Earth'' and ''Hot as Ice'') reveal an ''element of escapism. Earth clearly hasn't been kind to her lately.''