Pop albums are supposed to be about ephemeral pleasure. Transitory creatures, pop records aren't expected to have the longevity of 'serious' albums, merely to express what's going on in the Zeitgeist at the moment. Take for example Jennifer Lopez' "Waiting for Tonight." It's a great pop song, and Hex Hector's remix is one of his finest. But when you remember how the video remix with all its lasers and booty became the unofficial theme of Y2K, it elevates itself into something immortal. All the dread of what chaos the Y2K computer crash was going to represent was replaced in our collective consciousness with J-Lo's wet booty shaking to Hex Hector's beats and synths, and because of that, "Waiting for Tonight" is immortal.
Which brings us to Paris Hilton. I'm honestly amazed at how vitriolic the response to Hilton's pop endeavors has been, especially from dance fans. Dance-pop is a genre where anyone can have some fun and make a name for themselves as long as they've got the sound that works at the moment. How many times have acts with little to no dance credibility had themselves properly remixed and serviced on white labels to thunderous success? Yanni. Engelbert Humperdink. Hell, even Dannii Minogue did it at one point. So let's put aside Paris Hilton's public face and modus operandi, and talk about the record.
It's kind of a delight.
The songs are bubbly, filled with synthy spark and the kind of brain dead attitude that flourishes in The Pussycat Dolls' records (and speaking of the PCDs, whatever happened to Cyia?). Scott Storch (an occasional producer of Christina Aguilera's) knows how contemporary American pop works, and he keeps everything puttering along. First single "Stars are Blind," with its light reggae shuffle, is as refreshing as a margarita on a hot day, and the marvelous dance remix by Chus and Ceballos simply rules. The second single, album opener "Turn It Up," is joyful and inessential in the way that J.J. Fad's second album was- fun and teleological. The DJ Dan/Dave Audé remixes are also delicious.
I'm a big fan of "Nothing in the World," which shimmers, and "I Want You," which samples the theme from Grease in such a cheeky way that you can't help but smile like a fool. And as for the cover of Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," I just don't even know where to begin.
The only major drawback to this record (that isn't tied to Paris' image) is her insistence on incorporating references to how hot things are or how sexy she is into what seems like every song. It's a little juvenile after the thirty-somethingth mention of her own inherent sexiness, not to mention diminishing the emotional value of her declarations of love and seriousness on other songs. When she brings Fat Joe and Jadakiss in on "Fighting over Me," it just seems incongruous to hear these MCs serving up weak PG13 flows. Realness is Paris' number one asset- everything that we see in the news and on the air is exactly what she is. It's why she's famous at all.
I want to know what happened to the material she was working on with Lil' Jon and with Three 6 Mafia. That could have spiced things up a little bit. But it would have burst through the coy and innocuous pop confections that comprise this record, making it into something else. But for right now, let's give props where props are due- Miss Hilton has what sounds like right now.
