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Katy Perry’s new album One of the Boys has got to be this summer’s biggest guilty pleasure. Just forget about artistic integrity for a moment, shut off your brain and let your ears enjoy some sonic candy for a while. The music off of “One of the Boys” is the audio equivalent of fast food – quick and easy to enjoy. and just like fast food, it’s not something I’d want to consume over and over again on a regular basis. But for now, it’s a fun listen. As you’ve probably heard, Katy Perry started out in the contemporary Christian genre under the name Katy Hudson. Her 2001 album didn’t go anywhere and after her record label closed up shop, Katy had to re-group and figure out what to do next. And if Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” was still around, she’d say at this point that Katy went off and sold herself to the devil. And that’s because the “Katy Perry” image is an absolute “180″ from her days as a Christian artist. One can only wonder now if “Katy Perry” is simply a made up corporate marketing scheme to sell records or a truthful maturation of lil’ “Katy Hudson”. If I had to guess, I’d lean toward the “marketing” aspect but like I said earlier, forget all about integrity here and just enjoy the music. Her team of producers, including Glen Ballard, Butch Walker and Greg Wells, must have some sort of specialized Pro Tools plug-in to help create radio-ready songs because this album is bursting with ready-made hits. Imagine them dialing in the “Alanis Morissette” setting for songs like “Thinking of You” and switching to the overused “Avril Lavigne” setting for the songs like “One of the Boys” and so on. It’s not the most original or creative by any means but producing “cookie-cutter” pop-rock can definitely help you land a spot on corporate radio rotation. And that seems to be the basic goal here: getting on the radio and selling millions of units. Hey, you can blame the girl for wanting to be successful. The hard part will be sustaining a music career beyond the initial 15-minutes.

Tracklist:
1 One of the Boys (Perry) 4:07
2 I Kissed a Girl (Dennis, Gottwald, Martin, Perry) 3:00
3 Waking Up in Vegas (Carlsson, Child, Perry) 3:19
4 Thinking of You (Perry) 4:06
5 Mannequin (Perry) 3:17
6 Ur So Gay (Perry, Wells) 3:37
7 Hot n Cold (Gottwald, Martin, Perry) 3:40
8 If You Can Afford Me (Hollander, Katz, Perry) 3:18
9 Lost (Bruner, Perry) 4:15
10 Self Inflicted (Cutler, Perry, Preven) 3:25
11 I’m Still Breathing (Perry, Stewart) 3:48
12 Fingerprints (Perry, Wells) 3:44


Catch Katy Perry on Tour:
07/30/2008 Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH 
07/31/2008 Verizon Wireless Music Center Noblesville, IN 
08/01/2008 Marcus Amphitheater Milwaukee,WI  
08/02/2008 First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre Tinley Park, IL  
08/03/2008 Canterbury Park Shakopee, MN   
08/05/2008 Credit Union Center Saskatoon, SK CA
08/06/2008 Race City Speedway Calgary, AB CA
08/08/2008 Idaho Center Nampa, ID  
08/09/2008 Gorge Amphitheatre Quincy, WA   
08/10/2008 Columbia Meadows Portland, OR 
08/13/2008 Save Mart Arena Fresno, CA  
08/14/2008 Coors Amphitheatre Chula Vista, CA  
08/15/2008 Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View, CA  
08/16/2008 Sleep Train Amphitheatre Marysville, CA 
08/17/2008 Home Depot Center Los Angeles, CA   
08/19/2008 Six Flags America Bowie, MD MTVu VMA Tour
08/20/2008 Six Flags Great Adventure Jackson, NJ MTVu VMA Tour
08/22/2008 Six Flags New England Agawam, MA WKSS Radio Show
08/31/2008 Six Flags Over Texas Arlington, TX MTVu VMA Tour
09/01/2008 Six Flags Fiesta Texas San Antonio, TX MTVu VMA Tour

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music, reviews by retroDan