I caught Katy Perry Unplugged on Palladia the other night. I was impressed. There’s more to her than the pop tart image would suggest. I was also quite surprised that one of the songs she chose to perform was “Hackensack” by Fountains of Wayne, a gem from Welcome Interstate Managers (an album better known for “Stacy’s Mom”). It’s an affecting song. Here’s a taste:
I used to work in a record store, now I work for my Dad
Scraping the paint off of hardwood floors, the hours are pretty bad
Sometimes I wonder where you are, probably in L.A.
That seems to be where everybody else ends up these daysAnd I will wait for you
As long as I need to
And if you ever get back to Hackensack
I’ll be here for you
Here are the full lyrics and thoughts from Jon Martin’s “Songs that Saved Your Life.” Here are Katy Perry’s version and a live version of the original.
Nick says:
I guess I should point out, first, that swearing is totally OK on commercial radio in Australia, even on a Sunday morning on a top 40 countdown show, which is when I heard Katy Perry say this:
“I encourage kids to be kids because once you’re an adult you have to pay taxes and that is bullshit! It’s terrible and let me remind you children that are listening, just, you have no worries. You have no responsibilities. Just do your homework and don’t eat too much candy and brush your teeth and eat your vegies.”
So I’m a fan, just for the enthusiasm and the vehemence with which she said that.
December 13, 2009, 6:10 amOi says:
Euuu… after reading her adolescent lyrics I feel all cloyed up with saccharine.
Even a Sex Pistols reunion would be preferable.
Nick quotes the font-of-wisdom Perry as saying: “I encourage kids to be kids because once you’re an adult you have to pay taxes and that is bullshit!”
Uh? Taxes are bullshit? Maybe in excess, but overall they help a lot of poor people get access to services rich people would like to lock and charge for. Anti-tax screamers are mostly self-serving “me first” porkers.
December 13, 2009, 6:43 amGuy says:
“I encourage kids to be kids because once you’re an adult you have to pay taxes and that is bullshit!”
Ron Paul voter?
December 13, 2009, 7:07 amNick says:
Democrats like Katy Perry aren’t as rare as you’d think. Celebrities like Katy Perry, on the other hand, don’t turn up all that much.
Most celebrities are ideologues, but most people aren’t. Most people can speak for themselves, and judge for themselves, and they don’t feel the need to make excuses for things. Normal people who are Democrats use their judgment sometimes. But celebrities who don’t censor themselves, and just say what they think, even if it’s not good for the team, are rare.
I’m thinking of the lead singer for the Gossip, Beth Ditto, who has to pretend to herself that the president inwardly, secretly supports gay rights. So Beth Ditto makes a hypocrite of herself. She’s a celebrity, so she can’t disagree with the team. She makes excuses for him.
Beth Ditto used to think that gay marriage was important. Now she says that health care is.
December 13, 2009, 7:32 amGlenn Bowen says:
So I’m a fan, just for the enthusiasm and the vehemence with which she said that.
Yeah, man- let’s go to the Mall and goof on people …
:)
December 13, 2009, 8:20 amSteve2 says:
Katy Perry’s pop tart image doesn’t bother me. Katy Perry’s inane lyrics do a little bit and her grating singing voice does a lot bit. And I’m still peeved that her “I Kissed A Girl” was well-received while Jill Sobule’s far more cheerful, positive, and melodic “I Kissed A Girl” wasn’t.
December 13, 2009, 9:30 amGordon Langston says:
I would never have thought of rhyming dad with bad.
December 13, 2009, 10:49 amSueSimp says:
Katy Perry is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, I guess — I want to dislike her, but I just can’t. Ur So Gay is a song that deserves to be hated on multiple levels, but the music video is hilarious anyway.
But I’m in complete agreement with Steve2. Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” grates on every nerve in my body. Sobule’s song by the same name is a hundred times better.
December 13, 2009, 11:23 amJohn Armstrong says:
Prof. Adler, I trust your judgement well enough that I’m actually listening to her performance on the link you provided.
I’m mostly impressed that she managed to lower your expectations enough that you’re impressed by this.
December 13, 2009, 11:37 amdrunkdriver says:
I don’t care for her music at all, but I could look at her all day- goodness she is hot!
December 13, 2009, 11:41 amJonathan H. Adler says:
I certainly understand the preference for Jill Sobule’s song on many levels. I nonetheless enjoyed Perry’s acoustic performance of her song. I’d be curious what the Sobule fans think.
JHA
December 13, 2009, 11:43 amJoseph Slater says:
Skipping the politics and for that matter skipping Perry, I’ll second the endorsement for “Welcome Interstate Managers” by Fountains of Wayne.
December 13, 2009, 11:59 amBen says:
Stacy’s Mom is a truly awful song.
December 13, 2009, 4:51 pmAnym_Avey says:
The Jill Sobule track and Katy Perry track have no evident connection beyond sharing the same title, and not a wildly unusual title, either. Stating a preference for the Sobule track over the Perry track is merely stating a preference for Sobule over Perry. Or, to rephrase in suitably cynical fashion, a perference for eclectic talent over a highly generic mainstream pop rocker presenting herself in an eclectic wrapper.
December 13, 2009, 9:41 pmBaseballhead says:
Welcome Interstate Managers was one of the most underrated albums of 2003, chocked full of wonderful pop goodness like Hackensack, Valley Winter Song,All Kinds Of Time, Hey Julie , and Supercollider.
Katy Perry is pretty, but her version of Hackensack is crap.
December 14, 2009, 12:55 amJoseph Slater says:
Baseballhead:
I agree, and would only add “Bright Future in Sales.”
December 14, 2009, 8:19 amCalderon says:
While I generally agree with Baseballhead and Joseph Slater, I’d put the first track (“Mexican Wine”) on the list of wonderful pop goodness. Personally, it’s my favorite track on the CD.
December 14, 2009, 10:00 am