Katy Perry hits Manila come October; and the burning question is “Are we ready?” Coming on the heels of Lady Gaga, here is another performer who has taken image and entertainment to new levels of controversy. As a pop music performer, Katy does possess solid singing and songwriting skills; but in this day and age of “having to get noticed,” 25-year-old Katy certainly made her “blips” on the public’s radar, thanks to such tunes as Ur So Gay and I Kissed A Girl. Both songs raised howls from various fringe communities, and the funny part was, they couldn’t agree what made the song offensive — was she trivializing, offending, throwing hate on, or espousing? That’s the thing about songs and Art, they’re open to interpretation and can be taken out of context. Ur So Gay was actually Katy’s tongue in cheek response to the slew of boyfriends who had been bitter disappointments.
What may surprise Perry fans is to discover that Katy (real surname Hudson) was born to pastor parents, and that as a youngster, was exclusively exposed to gospel music, her mother proudly quoted as saying “secular music was not heard in our household.” Talk about your typical rebel response, and perhaps we have some understanding of why Katy’s present music (and persona) is soooo colorful, quirky and naughty! With four certified hits from a single debut album, her One of the Boys CD — the controversial I Kissed A Girl, the irrepressible Hot n’ Cold, the ballad Thinking of You and the playful Waking Up in Vegas — one can’t deny the kind of impact she has made on the music scene. While some have made comparisons with England’s Lily Allen, the fact is the music world is big enough for the two of them.
Katy cites Alanis Morrisette, Cyndi Lauper (why are we not surprised!), Freddie Mercury of Queen, and Joan Jett among her major musical influences; and the gossip mill has it that American Pop music’s “enfant terrible” may just be engaged to on-and-off boyfriend Travis McCoy (he’s the front man of Gym Class Heroes). Although she was also spotted kissing host Russell Brand at the recent MTV MVA after-party. She’s also thrown in her own comment about the Kanye West/Taylor Swift brouhaha, twittering that for Kanye, it was like he “stepped on a kitten.” Brought to us by MTV, expect the concert to be one bizarre sorority party, with Katy presiding as Home-wrecker Queen! Should be fun with a capital F!
The measure of love and dreams
Fresh insights into Love and Dreams are what await us with these three novels. David Nicholl’s One Day is literally what the title suggests, following the lives of two people the same day, every year, for 20 years. With Love & Money, Michael Thomas takes us to the intersection of show business and big business, with scandalous results; while Luis Urrea’s Into the Beautiful North is a modern rendition of the immigration dream, and understanding the meaning of “home.”
One Day by David Nicholls (available at National Bookstore): While favorable comparisons have been made with Time Traveler’s Wife, this novel is really something quite different. We first meet our two protagonists Emma and Dexter on July 15, 1988, as they graduate from university, and spend one reckless night together. What follows is 20 years of the July 15ths of their lives; a wistful, ruminative story of missed opportunities and what could have been, what is inevitable and how Life is what we make of it. There are letters that never get sent that could have drastically changed their lives. There are partners that end up just making the lives of the two miseries and yet, are the partners chosen and who mean well — as is the case with Ian, a terrible and perennially frustrated stand-up comedian who ends up with Emma. In the end, it’s the honesty and real-ness of the two that make this a mature, yet precious novel.
Love & Money by Michael M. Thomas (available at Fully Booked): Celebrity culture and economy comes vividly to life in this new novel from financier/author Michael Thomas. Connie Grange is a superceleb with a popular talk show that’s been translated into financially lucrative endorsements and stocks in Summerhill, a multi-product food company owned by Annabelle Villiers. She’s married to film director Clifford Grange, who, thanks to his obstinate nature, has not had a project in years. Premise of the novel follows the “what if a family-oriented superceleb has one sexual indiscretion, and this went public?”, what would be the consequences, how many people and companies would be affected, and would the public accept this recasting of their heroine’s image? It’s morality versus expediency, a depthful morality play, with issues such as “no fault divorce” played against the background of today’s celebrity culture.
Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea (available at National Bookstore): One of the leading lights of contemporary Mexican literature, Urrea can proudly call this new novel one of his finest achievements. It’s a concise and textured look into the immigrant’s dream and how it can be played in reverse. Nayeli is 19 years old and lives in a rural town called Tres Camarones. Almost all the men have left the village for the North, and drug dealers and corrupt narcos have designs on the town. Inspired by the film The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli and her friends Yolo, Vampi and Tacho hatch the plan to enter the USA, find seven able-bodied men to bring back to Camarones, and also find her father in Illinois. It’s vivid, modern Mexico, as the drug dealers argue about who’s the better rapper, Kanye or Piddy. It’s a picaresque like no other, and seeing dreams dashed and reconfigured are all part of the “magnificent” story!