favorite song friday: egyptomania

Katy Perry's latest monster hit, "Dark Horse" has been predictably dominating the pop music charts lately. Is its popularity justified? Yes and no. Perry has delivered her usual cliché-ridden lyrics and even enlisted the help of Memphis-born (Tennessee, not Egypt) Juicy J for one of the worst inserted raps in a long time. But the song does have some atmosphere to it, and if you can ignore the predictable warnings from Perry's siren ...

Here, kitty, kitty ... Apart from the hot pink, they get the colors of Ancient Egypt pretty right

So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know what you're falling for
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm

Teen and tween girls will be copying this make-up — you've been warned

... Or Juicy's J's embarrassing rhymes ...

She’s a beast
I call her Karma (come back)
She eats your heart out
Like Jeffrey Dahmer (woo)
Be careful
Try not to lead her on
Shorty’s heart is on steroids
Cause her love is so strong

Love the sculpture queen come to life

... The tune can pull you in.

What "Dark Horse" really has going for it is its music video. Like other pop artists like The Bangles ("Walk like an Egyptian") and Michael Jackson ("Remember the Time")


Perry has realized the eternal appeal of ancient Egypt, and the colorful and creative video, directed by Mathew Cullen, is a lot of fun to watch. It's up to you to decide whether to turn the sound up or not.

award shows ... a new era

I watched The American Music Awards with the kid last night. It was interesting. This is far from the first awards show she has watched with me, but I have to say, that the culture balance seems to have shifted when I wasn't looking. I seemed to be watching the show with her. Just a subtle difference, yes, but the kid is so savvy about current music she puts her pop culture maven momma to shame.

One Direction: These guys are the a nine year old's dream

Katy Perry: Who thought this was a good idea?

To start, she was excited that the host was Pitbull. And of course thrilled to bits that her fave band One Direction were on hand and performed (and won best Pop/Rock album & Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group). The show cleverly scheduled One Direction's and bubble-gum princess Katy Perry's performances early — maybe then the kids could go to bed? Not in this house. The kid was on hand for Pitbull and Ke$ha performing "Timber" and one of mommy's current faves, Justin Timberlake, performing the bluesy "Drink You Away".

The show had a weird opening number by Katy Perry, dressed up in geisha garb. Sure to be excoriated on the internet tomorrow as yet another inappropriate and thoughtless cultural appropriation, but honestly it was just ... stupid. Should people feel insulted? Is it worth it to give it that much attention? The song, "Unconditionally," is truly unlistenable. I mean, cringe-worthy, whether performed live or on the radio. I continue to be baffled by Perry, her yodeling vocals which pass for singing, but most especially her appeal to my kid's demographic.

So O.K., this is my kid's show, not mine. I surrender. It's now up to me to keep up, I guess. The AMAs are at least not as stodgy as the Grammys. And the kid drifted off somewhere after JLo and before Lady gaga, leaving me to decide if I'd watch the rest, and see if Miley tried to shock/schlock. She performed a pretty straight version of "Cannonball." With a cute giant singing kitty projected behind her. And that's all, folks.

i'm all for girl power, but ...

Katy Perry's new song "Roar" is less of a roar, a call to arms, and more of a yodel. Of course, as I think about her other hits yodeling does appear to be her go-to mode of singing ("California Gurls," "The One That Got Away"). Being the mom of a nine-year-old who loves "girl music," I tend to pay a little bit more attention to some of the latest pop anthems than I might ordinarily.

So many of Katy's recent songs trumpet her new freedom, not-too-subtly referencing her recent divorce from Russell Brand ("Part of Me," "Wide Awake"). The couple always seemed a mismatch, but it should be noted that at least in personal matters, the outspoken and frequently outrageous Brand has been notably quiet about Perry, before, during, and after the divorce.

But back to "Roar," which seems less an empowerment anthem and more of a competition to see how many clichés to fit into a pop song:

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me ROAR
Louder, louder than a lion
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me ROAR
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar

Now I’m floating like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes
I went from zero, to my own hero

You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

And then the chorus and the yodeling repeats and repeats.

It actually took five people to string all of those clichés together: Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, and Henry Walter are all credited as writers on the song. "Roar" has also been accused of being extremely similar to Sara Bareilles's song Brave. They are both in current frequent rotation on pop radio. Bareilles doesn't roar in her song, but she doesn't yodel, either.

break-up songs are hard to do

My inner feminist says I shouldn't criticize Katy Perry's latest single Part of Me, but it is such a blatant, sophmoric stab at her recently minted ex-husband Russell Brand that it just comes off not as a paegn to female empowerment, but a whiny high school girl trashing her boyfriend on Facebook. The pounding disco beat and dopey lyrics don't help. Is Part of Me supposed to be an anthem?

Throw your sticks and stones
Throw your bombs and blows
But you're not gonna break my soul

And she (and co-songwriter Bonnie Mckee) can't even resist a reference and plug of her earlier hit, Firework.

Now look at me I'm sparkling
A firework, a dancing flame
You won't never put me out again
I'm glowing oh whoa

You go, girl — far away, please.

Breaking up is hard to do. Been there. I don't doubt that Katy is going through some tough times. as, probably, is Russell. Good luck to both of the injured parties. But I also can't help feeling that the pop star's post-break-up ditty is nowhere near as catchy or fun as any of Brand's alter-ego Aldous Snow's "singles," like Bangers, Beans and Mash or Furry Walls.

shiver

I could swear one of the blogs I regularly read reviewed this book and thumbs-upped it a while back, but I can't find the review. Now that I've read it, I was curious to read the review again. Oh well. I bought this book for my almost sweet-sixteen niece for Xmas, but figured I better read it first, just to be sure it was o.k. Apart from one very discreet love scene, it was more than appropriate for a "young adult." In fact, the whole book reads like a very innocent teenage girl's dream—not the Katy Perry variety.

I wasn't exactly looking for or expecting sexy passages—I thought this would be more supernatural in nature, not pure romance, but I do find it interesting that there seems to be an innocence trend in teen-lit or YA. I haven't read the Twilight books—just flipping through the first few pages of the first book in the series in Target didn't encourage me. I've read most of the Percy Jackson series, which are pretty romance-free, prompted by said niece. Harry Potter manages a clinch or two in seven books. It's all very chaste. It's interesting.

The author made a lovely little trailer for her book—she did the collage and the music.

This book isn't about sex, although some folks might be instantly turned off by the potential bestiality implied in a girl-loves-werewolf story. It's a swoony, girly, love story. The heroine Grace stars out as a slightly eccentric girl, a survivor of a wolf attack who is now drawn to the pack that hangs out in the woods beyond her house, almost abnormally. She is smart and independent and I liked her. The boy she loves, Sam, is almost too perfect, too gentlemanly, too sweet. But he's the perfect magical boyfriend, complete with shaggy hair and golden eyes. I guess these guys are this generation's Prince Charmings. My generation had ... I'm not sure who. There really wasn't a young adult book category when I was going to Barnes and Noble. I read my Nancy Drews and then graduated to Grandma's John Jakes and Sidney Sheldon and Harold Robbins novels for a little sex. In school we passed around thriller novels like Carrie and Jaws.

The middle of the book where girl meets wolf boy, girl loves wolf boy, girl loses wolf boy is pure romance with a dash of suspense. The mysteries laid out are gentle and not too mysterious, but that doesn't seem to be the point. What stays with the reader is the atmosphere—the impending cold weather, the woods behind Grace's house, which seem quite real. There are a few undeveloped or abandoned threads—what about the wolf girl Shelby, who is set up as such a threatening antagonist? Will Sam ever see his mentor Beck again? But there is a sequel (now part two of a trilogy), which I haven't read, but might, if I really want to see how some of this turns out. It depends on how much my niece likes this first book. I'm eager to hear her teenage opinion and see if her perspective of the story and characters differs widely from mine. Not surprisingly, there is a film version in the works.

Mostly I liked the author Maggie Stiefvater's twist on werewolf lore. Her werewolves are tied to the seasons and nature, changing into wolves at the first hint of frost, then back to human form in the summertime. It doesn't always make sense, but it is still intriguing and atmospheric and enough of a necessary obstacle for the young lovers that will intrigue young readers.

Book #4 in reading challenge Cannonball Read 3, sponsored by Pajiba

are you kidding me?

I just watched Katy and Elmo's risque Sesame Street performance on YouTube - with my six year old daughter. This isn't provocative. It didn't need to be pulled from broadcast. It's cute and silly. Just like Elmo, jut like Katy Perry.




I don't even have it in me to write a full-scale rant because the whole "issue" is so ridiculous. What does bother me is that there are "parents" who can censor public television. Luckily, the internet and YouTube are around, so it isn't truly censored. But shame on you, PBS for buckling under to a bunch of prudes who think they know better. By the way, Miss Piggy used to show WAY more cleavage than Katy Perry.

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get up and shake the glitter off your clothes now

I try to resist, but the insistent pop and sheer smart-ass-ed-ness of Katy Perry keeps winning me over...

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danny boy

I haven't been a fan of Danny Gokey since the start of this season's AI. There's always been something too smug about his demeanor and dorky guy dancing for me. Whenever he was on it really was just a karaoke show. And as much as he had the tragic back-story, there was always something a little too calculated about how that was presented.

Gokey and Adam Lambert are definitely two of the most intelligent contestants ever on this win-yourself-a-singing-career game show. In Gokey's case, he very smartly chose a narrative arc - the tragic demise of his young and lovely wife - and played that theme to the (his) bitter end. I don't doubt that he deeply loved her. But I also watched him carefully choose, week after week, a song to sing to her, to constantly remind us of his story.

Adam Lambert - "Mad World" (American Idol Studio Version)

I don't think anyone was more surprised than Gokey when his name wasn't called last night. No, not even Kris. But he proved himself a consummate professional by not letting his frustrations show as he did an even better performance than the previous night's of the Joe Cocker classic, You Are So Beautiful. He still kept to his theme of course, but it was a great performance.

Kris remained sweet and baffled. My five-year-old daughter summed up his appeal: "Don't yell girls, he belongs to me!"

Provaca-tease Katy Perry showed up with her latest naughty song. I'm still on the fence as to whether I find her totally annoying or want to download her stuff. But I have to applaud a gal who wears her heart on her mini Vegas Elvis-meets-Evel Kneivel-meets-drum majorette cape.

Adam should sail through next week's final. I know some find him odd, or too over-the-top, but I just love the guy, because aside from the fact that he can sing like hell, he's also very, very smart. Just when you think he can only do rock 'n' roll screeching, he softens it up with a Tears for Fears classic. He can also Disney-fy his "do" and channel Zac Effron from Hairspray. I think Simon's choice of U2's One was as inspired as Adam's rendition, and can see him doing a lot of music in this vein. No appearing in the latest casting shuffle of Grease for him. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And Gokey might just do the perfect rendition of Sandy.

what's with Katy Perry, anyway?

I keep wanting to hate, then wanting to like, her latest song Thinking of You. The hate part is the strangled, Alanis-like tortured delivery of some of the vocals rather than just singing them, and the deliberate ambiguity of the song's subject. Male? Female? Animal, vegetable, mineral? Oh this ministers' daughter can be so naughty. The like part is, frankly, the song itself, which is a damn near-perfect pop song. Maybe someone else should cover it. Sort of like the great cover of I Kissed a Girl that Steven featured.