music video review
by Shardae Jobson
So, Katy Perry's new song "California Gurls" is pure besotted pop, which it celebrates with or without your company, and is even more so than Justin Bieber's repetitive, mind-splitting chorus on "Baby". But you know what? Who cares! Perry's confection is one of those songs that infuriatingly become tolerable with more (sometimes unwanted) listens, and was perfectly seasoned for the summer weather nationwide.
Already people have dismissed the song and artist for its frivolous artistic credibility, but at least the video was made with some attempted creative effort and a little, random toilet humor demonstrated by a cute female. The song is convincing in trying to embed in all girls, whether in Minnesota or Atlanta, in carrying a more carefree attitude towards life, and the jingles of the tune are similar to that of Kesha's rather fantastic paean to parties on "Tik Tok". The music video wasn't filmed on a beach with groups of girls looking hot, playing volleyball or roller-skating on Venice Beach's boardwalk wearing "daisy dukes, bikinis on top"; but instead has Perry as a grown up and frisky Strawberry Shortcake with Nicki Minaj--ahem--Lil' Kim super bright wigs, rescuing her fellow Cali dolls from candy bubbles and Jell-O in "Candyfornia".
Directed by Matthew Cullen, the video is blissful and less sexually arousing but jocular than was expected based upon the thirty second sneak peak that showed only her cupcake bra and then another bra shooting out whipped cream...hmmmm, too easy....
The video immediately recalls Willy Wonka's first factory tour stop of where his chocolate river is placed, has shown in the 1971 film adaptation, among trees, bushes, and shrubs full of endless candy. In Candyfornia, everything is painfully pastel and desperate for attention, despite being inanimate. Perry in Candyfornia is walking along a road that also looks like the classic board game Candyland, with Snoop Dogg, who raps on the track, overlooking Perry and friends, wearing a candy-printed suit and pants, he's an ostentatious Mr. Wonka for the millennium.
Her music isn't always as earth-shattering as she may hope, but she does have a superior rock voice that with the right song (eventually) could put here as the next Pat Benatar. Her singing is slinky and follows the music on "Gurls" seamlessly and especially during the verses. The video is meant to be fun and light, and Perry provides many adorable expressions of wishful thinking, with hands to her chest and outreached arms like she was singing a pop gospel tune.
When the video gets to Snoop Dogg, the amusement of the song is just getting started, though Snoop's rap is nothing worthy of memorizing, as his quickie on the remix of the Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons" was more top-notch (but not by much). However, having him featured on the song was a smart move since it is an ode to the Sunshine State, and who wouldn't want a little dose of a "g" thing?
After the cheese-tastic dance sequences, there is a sudden duel between Snoop and his mean gummy bears and Perry and her dolls, in what follows what is likely to be one of the most talked about clips of music videos in 2010. Perry is handed two cans that she fastens to her bra and then goes to to shoot both aggressively like she was auditioning for The A-Team remake and then giving off a cocktail laugh smile, as whipped cream splashes about, obviously giving off sexual innuendo, obviously a weird kind of second wave or post-feminist message that Perry was unlikely aware she was delivering.So the music video is perky, the song is somewhat of a throwaway, but it is destined to become of one top indelible singles of the year, so you might not have a choice but to pretend and appreciate "California Gurls" via Perry, who was looking to create her version of "Empire State of Mind said she proclaimed in a Rolling Stone interview. This song is improbable to motivating millions to move to the West Coast if they hadn't decided already (the way "Empire State of Mind" exemplified striving towards your mile high dreams), what the "Gurls" had that "Empire" didn't was a sense of whimsy than slightly intense pep talks of life or death success, which is actually kind of nice.
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