Katy Perry bombs in terms of sentiment on ‘One of the Boys,’ which features her offensive single ‘Ur So Gay.’ (Photo by Michael Elins)
|
REBECCA ARMENDARIZ
Friday, June 20, 2008
Katy
Perry,
a
sort
of
teeny-bopper,
Avril
Lavigne-infused
Lily
Allen
look-a-like,
makes
her
debut
with
“One
of
the
Boys,”
a
23-year-old’s
attempt
at
sounding
like
a
badass,
edgy
teenager.
However,
she
only
manages
to
showcase
her
immaturity.
Her
appeal
is
obvious
—
Perry
has
zeroed
in
on
a
look
that
all
kinds
will
find
sexy.
The
pale
skin,
dark
hair,
red
lips
and
vintage
high-waisted
trousers
mirror
the
style
of
a
clothed
Dita
Von
Teese.
But
like
her
style,
the
album
pushes
too
many
calculated
boundaries,
coming
off
manufactured
and
unoriginal.
The
title
track
starts
things
off
with
a
typical,
inoffensive
and
catchy
radio
rock
beat.
Her
voice,
a
sweet
combination
of
Gwen
Stefani
and
a
watered-down
Alanis
Morrisette,
helps
to
mask
the
offensive
and
downright
stupid
lyrics.
The
whole
conceit
of
the
song
is
that
Perry
doesn’t
want
to
be
seen
as
one
of
the
boys.
She
wants
whomever
she’s
pining
after
to
see
her
as
a
pretty
lady.
In
conveying
that
sentiment,
however,
she
manages
to
use
the
worst
stereotypes
imaginable
in
characterizing
both
sexes.
“I
saw
a
spider
/
I
didn’t
scream
/
‘Cos
I
can
belch
the
alphabet
/
Just
double
dog
dare
me
/
And
I
chose
guitar
over
ballet,”
she
sings.
After
seeing
how
classically
beautiful
she
is
and
realizing
her
age,
it’s
tough
to
decipher
whether
she’s
serious
or
exaggerating.
But
if
it’s
the
latter,
and
it’s
coming
across
so
muddled,
then
what’s
the
point?
Then
she
heads
into
“I
Kissed
a
Girl”
(no,
not
a
Jill
Sobule
cover),
where
Perry
narrates
her
adventures
in
bi-curiousity.
She
blames
her
drunken
state
for
the
smooch,
but
says
she
liked
it.
The
song
itself
actually
has
a
pleasing,
pounding
and
heavy
drum
and
synth
beat,
and
her
declaration
on
the
chorus
sounds
powerful
and
tough.
But
what
does
she
mean
with
these
lyrics?
“No,
I
don’t
even
know
your
name
/
It
doesn’t
matter
/
You’re
my
experimental
game
/
Just
human
nature
/
It’s
not
what
good
girls
do
/
Not
how
they
should
behave.”
Perry’s
juvenility
again
helps
her
to
make
lesbians
seem
naughty
and
she
degrades
her
kissing
partner
as
a
nobody.
GAY
MENTIONS
emerge
again
in
her
first
single,
“Ur
So
Gay,”
a
song
that
delivers
no
enjoyment,
only
confusion
as
to
how
anyone
could
be
so
shortsighted
about
its
connotative
meaning.
Perry
sings
to
an
ex-boyfriend,
insulting
him
with
cultural
references
to
his
H&M
scarf
and
his
addiction
to
MySpace.
The
chorus
then
hits:
“You’re
so
gay
/
And
you
don’t
even
like
boys.”
What
does
that
even
mean?
“‘Ur
So
Gay’
was
mainly
written
for
a
couple
of
different
reasons
—
mainly
because
I
got
dumped,
and
it
was
a
nice
outlet,
a
way
to
be
like,
‘OK,
you
wanna
play?’”
she
told
the
Associated
Press
in
March.
During
the
same
interview
Perry
told
the
AP
that
“everybody
gets
the
joke
…
and
all
[her]
gay
friends
know
what
it’s
about,
too.”
Do
they?
Perry
will
be
embarking
on
the
Vans
Warped
Tour
this
summer,
a
traveling
festival
that’s
home
to
many
pop-punk
bands
that
appeal
to
young
teenagers.
What
do
they
think
when
they
hear
“Ur
So
Gay,”
an
insult
that
pervades
middle
and
high
schools
even
today
and
is
just
a
stepping
stone
to
other
acts
of
intolerance?
Perry
strings
words
into
trite
nuggets
for
the
rest
of
the
album.
On
“Mannequin”
she
laments
her
emotionless
boyfriend:
“But
you’re
not
a
man
/
You’re
just
a
mannequin
/
I
wish
you
could
feel
/
That
my
love
is
real.”
The
banality
is
thicker
than
her
makeup.
To
tally:
Her
voice,
good.
Around
half
of
the
songs’
melodies
and
instrumentation,
good.
Her
lyrics
and
the
reasoning
behind
them:
inexcusable.
|
 |
