Wow....much more than just a modicum of mediocrity. So much here to hate and barely enough time to deal with it all. First of all, the whole thing is chronically out of tune. And speaking of chonic, at :30...yeah, um...you know how when someone does somehing they really don't want to do, but they feel like they have to, in order to seem cool? Of course, Katy Perry's whole performance persona is just one great big capitulation to pop-culture peer pressure. Remember, she used to be much more Taylor Swift than Betty Page/Madonna.
I could continue about her being out of tune, and I've mentioned before how unoriginal the song is, but I can save time by looking at the big picture. Overall what we have here is a girl who realized "I can sell more records if I do and say sexy things". The problem is, this is a girl for whom "sexy" does not come naturally. When she performed on the Grammy awards awhile back and she seemed frumpish and awkward, ambling around the stage in a sort-of gawky, flat-footed lope as if she had no idea what to do with herself. Later, someone told her "hey check it out Katy, this is what sexy people do." Since then, pretty much everything she's put out has been geared towards cultivating an image of the neo-pinup, Betty Page-style sexpot. The music is simply secondary to mantaining the illusion. The problem is, as soon as she starts moving, the illusion falls apart. It's just not who she is. More than anything else, she comes off like Steve Carrel's character from The 40 Year old Virgin, in the scene where he tries to convince his new buddies that he's not a virgin. Every movement, instead of telegraphing her intended message, telegraphs the message: "Look, I'm doing what sexy people do! Isn't that sexy?"
.....anybody care for a bag of sand?
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