Jeremy Aaron
06/24/08, 02:12 PM
Katy Perry - One of the Boys
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: June 17, 2008
While you can't go wrong with a little hot lesbian action, when you're writing lyrics like "I kissed a girl and I liked it" to get attention, it probably says a lot about your music. It's really quite astonishing how much buzz has surrounded the song "I Kissed a Girl," not only on the web and pop radio, but also within the indie community, which normally shuns novelty nonsense, and even modern rock radio. From the get go, it has all the makings of yet another huge summer one-hit-wonder. So, does One Of The Boys contain anything redeeming that would prevent this from becoming a reality? It's hard to say, but judging from the album as a whole, it doesn't seem as though Katy Perry has any intentions of ever being considered a serious artist or songwriter.
The highly danceable "Hot N Cold" could very well be a hit single. It's actually much catchier than the current single, but in comparison, the lyrics of "I Kissed a Girl" are damn near Shakespearean. This is the actual chorus of "Hot N Cold" (you can't make this stuff up): "You're hot then you're cold / You're yes then you're no / You're in then you're out / You're up then you're down / You're wrong when it's right / It's black and it's white / We fight, we break up / We kiss, we make up."
Caution is advised when listening to this song: one listen could very well get it stuck in your head for the rest of your life. And frankly ... you really don't want this stuck in your head for the rest of your life.
"Waking Up in Vegas" and "If You Can Afford Me" are reasonably good mid-tempo tunes. The melodies are memorable, but not annoyingly catchy, and while they're nothing special lyrically, they're not offensively dumb. The best track is probably the ballad, "Thinking of You." The subject matter is nothing new ("When I'm with him, I'm thinking of you"), and it's been featured on MTV's The Hills, but at least it sounds like it's inspired by something other than the desire to push units. It also showcases that Perry can actually sing and it's a good pop melody.
Katy Perry's music has been billed as mall-punk and riot-grrl, but it's actually a far cry from either. Releasing a record full of pop radio candy actually makes her somewhat of an anti-punk. The point is: Don't get caught up in the hype. This is neither a punk record (or a rock record at all, for that matter), nor is it a particularly good pop record. Like flavors-of-the-week from years past, Katy Perry might be "livin' la vida loca" for the moment, but next year, One Of The Boys will be collecting dust in the dollar bins.
Michelle Branch, Natasha Bedingfield, Madonna
myspace.com/katyperry (http://www.myspace.com/katyperry)
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: June 17, 2008
While you can't go wrong with a little hot lesbian action, when you're writing lyrics like "I kissed a girl and I liked it" to get attention, it probably says a lot about your music. It's really quite astonishing how much buzz has surrounded the song "I Kissed a Girl," not only on the web and pop radio, but also within the indie community, which normally shuns novelty nonsense, and even modern rock radio. From the get go, it has all the makings of yet another huge summer one-hit-wonder. So, does One Of The Boys contain anything redeeming that would prevent this from becoming a reality? It's hard to say, but judging from the album as a whole, it doesn't seem as though Katy Perry has any intentions of ever being considered a serious artist or songwriter.
The highly danceable "Hot N Cold" could very well be a hit single. It's actually much catchier than the current single, but in comparison, the lyrics of "I Kissed a Girl" are damn near Shakespearean. This is the actual chorus of "Hot N Cold" (you can't make this stuff up): "You're hot then you're cold / You're yes then you're no / You're in then you're out / You're up then you're down / You're wrong when it's right / It's black and it's white / We fight, we break up / We kiss, we make up."
Caution is advised when listening to this song: one listen could very well get it stuck in your head for the rest of your life. And frankly ... you really don't want this stuck in your head for the rest of your life.
"Waking Up in Vegas" and "If You Can Afford Me" are reasonably good mid-tempo tunes. The melodies are memorable, but not annoyingly catchy, and while they're nothing special lyrically, they're not offensively dumb. The best track is probably the ballad, "Thinking of You." The subject matter is nothing new ("When I'm with him, I'm thinking of you"), and it's been featured on MTV's The Hills, but at least it sounds like it's inspired by something other than the desire to push units. It also showcases that Perry can actually sing and it's a good pop melody.
Katy Perry's music has been billed as mall-punk and riot-grrl, but it's actually a far cry from either. Releasing a record full of pop radio candy actually makes her somewhat of an anti-punk. The point is: Don't get caught up in the hype. This is neither a punk record (or a rock record at all, for that matter), nor is it a particularly good pop record. Like flavors-of-the-week from years past, Katy Perry might be "livin' la vida loca" for the moment, but next year, One Of The Boys will be collecting dust in the dollar bins.
Michelle Branch, Natasha Bedingfield, Madonna
myspace.com/katyperry (http://www.myspace.com/katyperry)