This new Katy Perry song "Chained to the Rhythm" bothers me on so many levels. People keep saying how "brave" and "edgy" Perry is for doing this song. What a bunch of bull! It's not brave or edgy to write a quasi-"protest" song when:
(a) You're now 32 years old and you realize at some point you're going to have to make a move towards "mature artist" territory if you want to remain commercially viable. You can't wear cupcakes on your boobs forever.
(b) The whole country is basically a sh*t-storm of social and political unrest, which means you're really just tapping into the zeitgeist. Your intentions may be good, but it's hardly a "brave" move.
(c) Your song, under the pretense of being "ironic," hedges its bets at every turn by telling people not to be mindless consumers, but couches the message in a loutish, party-anthem chorus which shouts "DRINK!!!" and cynically panders to the most mindless of pop consumers. Irony isn't a free pass for hypocrisy.
(d) Your song is dealing with old, worn-out stereotypes about how the middle class is too "comfortable" to see the harsh reality of the world around them, while blithely ignoring the fact that the middle class is seriously hurting in just about every respect, and I suspect is more aware of the world around them than ever before.
(e) You bemoan the steady stream of propaganda which keeps people oblivious and anesthetized. At the same time, you conveniently overlook that YOU yourself are a huge part of the machine that helps keeps people in that trance, and one safe, trivial protest song lacking the courage of its own convictions isn't going to do much to change that.
However, in other news, Lady Gaga's new song "John Wayne" is pretty good!
However, in other news, Lady Gaga's new song "John Wayne" is pretty good!
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