Katy Perry : Roar
While listening to the radio this evening, I caught the end of the charts, and heard that Katy Perry is number one this week with “Roar”. A secret part of me cheered, and jumped up and downfor all sorts of reasons.“Part of Me” was one of the first big movies I took our daughters to. I didn't know a lot about Katy Perry before watching the movie, and took a lot of it with a pinch of salt, knowing the magic that good editing, and scripted storytelling can perform right until the moment when Russell Brand ended their relationship over the phone.
I had never really liked Russell Brand. His brand of comedy centers on cruelty, spite, vitriol, and venom. He lost his own, and Jonathan Ross' job at the BBC through an horrific prank call on Andrew Sachs, slandering Sach's grand-daughter's reputation in doing so. Despite the movie trying to avoid telling his side of their story, the effects of his actions told you all you might ever need to know.
So yes I sat in the movie theatre and became a huge fan of Katy Perry that evening. I found myself listening to her music while travelling to and from work, and smiled quietly as her success exploded around the world, and Russell Brand remained a bitter bit part in movie after movie.
Another reason I'm cheering the success of “Roar”? The fact that it went head-to-head with Lady Gaga's “Applause” in the charts, and completely flattened it. I will readily admit to knowing nothing about music beyond liking this tune, or hating that tune, but that's not going to stop me expounding an opinion on why Roar is winning.
It's all about a pretty girl that can sing better than anybody else in the room, dressing up in fun costumes, telling simple stories that people anybody can relate to, and making fun videos that anybody can watch. In contrast you have Lady Gaga making borderline pornographic videos to showcase songs that nobody really understands beyond the hipsters that claim a deeper understanding of the true meaning of the jibberish.
It's happened before of course. Everything has happened before. In the late 1980s bubblegum pop thrived through Stock Aitken and Watermanand although marginalised by hipsters listening to the likes of The Smiths, Radiohead, Orbital, and any number of other existential creations, it never entirely went away. “ABBA Gold” sat defiantly in the top ten of the album charts for the best part of a decade.
Given that this post will almost certainly draw the ire of some crazed Lady Gaga, or Russell Brand fan (or maybe even a Smiths, or Radiohead fan), I would just like to ah crap. Go stuff yourself. Life's too short.