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| Katy Perry - One of the Boys | Katy Perry - One of the Boys
Capitol Records
June 17, 2008
A college student with the attention span of a preschool infant, I usually greatly appreciate albums jam-packed with hit after glorious hit. In fact, it rarely bothered me when an artist’s release sounded more like a shoddily compiled greatest hits disc than an album. Yet Katy Perry’s potential anthem fest – that would be One of the Boys – so entirely neglects to develop any sort of cohesiveness that even I can’t stomach it from it’s beginning to the bitter end.
Upon first hearing “UR So Gay” last year I lost my proverbial cool. The track was down-tempo but it somehow made me want to dance. There were hints of reggae while still maintaining an undeniably pop vibe. The lyrics were atrocious yet I couldn’t help but smile as I listened. Not loving anything this girl released from here on out literally didn’t seem possible at the time.
My adoration for Ms. Perry only intensified when I heard her first chart-topping single. The most basic beat in the history of music pushing Katy’s wonderfully hellish cries and simple guitar work made “I Kissed a Girl” an anthem for essentially every type of music fan. Yet again I found myself whole-heartedly ignoring ridiculous lyrics due to the outrageous infectiousness of the track. The elements of pop, dance, and rock made the cut irresistible to the vast majority of the United States, myself included. Katy Perry was quickly becoming a legend in my book.
Sadly, everything changed when I first spun her full album. It’s not that Katy Perry dropped off and couldn’t deliver the bombs she dropped with her first two post-Katy Hudson efforts. Instead, I found myself struggling to figure out what exactly was happening in the disc. One moment the listener’s screaming along to “I Kissed a Girl,” the next they’re drumming and whipping about an air guitar through “Waking up in Vegas,” then Katy’s got them bumping and grinding to the gentle synths of “Hot ‘N Cold”, and finally her fans hop and skip to “I’m Still Breathing.” This isn’t to say that any of these tracks isn’t good – on the contrary, I’d be extremely happy to hear any of them on a party mix, in the car, or during pretty much any other compilation of one single after another – but rather that they (and, in particular, their ordering) allow for little to no coherence as an album.
Nothing in particular stands out as the reason One of the Boys doesn’t work as a project. Katy’s voice is quite nice, guitar work excites at times while providing a sturdy background at other, and percussion and bass lay down a solid foundation for almost every song. Yet until proven otherwise I’ll have to consider Katy Perry a creator of outlandishly good singles but sadly mediocre albums. With all earnestness, here’s to hoping Ms. Perry manages to produce a more solid full-length while maintaining her ability to crank out one hit after another next time around. Only a fool wouldn’t see the potential smothering One of the Boys. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 15 of 49. |
08:03 PM on 07/06/08 | Thumbs way down for reviewing this album bro. What were you thinking. | | |
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09:12 PM on 07/06/08 | Thumbs way down for reviewing this album bro. What were you thinking. |
Thumbs way down for using the word "bro" and avoiding a necessary question mark.
Or, if you don't fit the mold of the average review criticizer, thumbs way down (on my part) for missing the sarcasm. | | |
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09:27 PM on 07/06/08 | It could be a bowling site. Thumbs way down for reviewing this album bro. What were you thinking. |
That it is part of his job, maybe? | | |
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11:40 PM on 07/06/08 | every moment bleeds into one agreed, 10000 percent.
good review. | | |
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02:54 AM on 07/07/08 | Thumbs way down for using the word "bro" and avoiding a necessary question mark.
Or, if you don't fit the mold of the average review criticizer, thumbs way down (on my part) for missing the sarcasm. |
haha... excellent rebuttal | | |
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02:57 AM on 07/07/08 | All that wander are not lost Katy Perry is not ok. The end.
Well written though | | |
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03:12 AM on 07/07/08 | i like this record a lot, don't care who she is and don't mind a lot for the singles, but the rest of the record is a good mix of pink-a-like songs (same producers) and theres also a butch walker track.
really good. | | |
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03:13 AM on 07/07/08 | ...and i disagree about the lyrics; if I were a girl i'd be loving this shit | | |
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03:27 AM on 07/07/08 | Katy Perry is not ok. The end.
Well written though |
Damn skippy. | | |
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04:06 AM on 07/07/08 | I like this album. But I do see where you're coming from on the cohesiveness. I felt there needed to be more pop on there as opposed to the Kelly Clarkson-esque tracks. | | |
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04:13 AM on 07/07/08 | You are a better man than I am. There is no way I would be able to tolerate this record long enough to review it. | | |
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06:09 AM on 07/07/08 | I think there needs to be a discussion on this forum, (at least if there has not already) about the importance of cohesiveness within an album. I bought this album the day it came out and it has since grown on me. I do understand the validity of your points regarding it not making sense as a whole, but why does an album have to be cohesive? I mean, I see a definitive correlation between the majority of the songs bashing an ex-boyfriend...just read the lyrics to Ur So Gay, Mannequin, Hot N Cold, One of the Boys, and even I Kissed A Girl.
Additionally, I don't really see any reason to bash Katy Perry's lyrics. Ur So Gay's "You're so sad you should buy a happy meal" and "you're so skinny you should really super size the deal" are phrases that I text my friends on various occasions. No, they aren't deep. No, they don't change the world. But they comfort and relate to the teenage drama that is (well, hopefully was) mine and many others lives...messy break-ups. | | |
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06:16 AM on 07/07/08 | Good review, props to Travie for bangin' that out though, g'damn. | | |
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06:20 AM on 07/07/08 | The average USER review of this album is 76%?
gah. | | |
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