Deep thoughts on pop music
Maybe because it’s summer, and the heat is getting to my head, but I have been thinking very hard about pop music. Now, I’ve never been immune to catchy hooks and addictive beats. Pop songs are musical fast food: deftly engineered to appeal to your most basic needs.
This summer we find two interesting solo female artists cranking out hits: Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Both made a name for themselves as songwriters for other artists, both are hyperstylizedm ready-made pop icons, both rarely wear pants.
Perry has thoroughly embodied the faux vintage pinup look. She constantly looks like she could be painted on the side of a World War II bomber. Her first song, “I Kissed a Girl,” was a murderously catchy song that I found somewhere in the range of annoying to offensive. Her latest singles, “Hot and Cold” and “Waking Up in Vegas,” are equally as well produced, even if they all embody ‘girl rock lite.’
Lady Gaga obviously considers herself the heir and conduit of pop art greats: Warhol, Bowie, Jones. She revels in her fame, and wears very serious looking leotards and playtime props. And again, her songs are catchy and meant to be as shocking as they meant to be danceable.
What strikes me both about this two pop starlets—both of whom are, oh my god, younger than me—is the level of autonomy that both seem to exude. I am certain that both of them are cogs in the record label publicity machine, but compared to the Britney and Christina of ten years ago, these ladies are savvy. They knowingly self-promote by flouncing and gyrating, but they know what they’re about, having been on the production as well as the product side of the music industry. I would consider them both inspirations. Even without pants.