viva hate

As far as I can tell, Katy Perry's song I Kissed a Girl is intended only for children and those few unfortunate adults with the pathetic musical incuriousity to think its subject matter is something new in the world. Without whatever shock value the track provides if you've had a tame and sheltered existence, there's little to be interested in. The song's profound lack of emotional authenticity could be forgiven if it sounded good, just as the brazen attitude it presents would be justified if the song were at all sexy; unfortunately it doesn't and it isn't. Like Amy Winehouse before her, Katy Perry is an artist who has successfully used supposed controversy and cavalier sexuality to get a free pass from mainstream critics on the issue of her marginal talent.

I haven't had a chance to hear the entire album yet, and at least the title track does recapture the sense of musical urgency that made A Rush of Blood to the Head so satisfying (and was noticeably lacking from much of the middling X&Y); but am I the only one who began to worry after the third or fourth listen to Viva La Vida that Chris Martin's best lyrics have all been written? It's not that what he does on the new song is bad, it's the impression that he's trying so hard to be good and that this is the best he's come up with.