Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton, "Stars Are Blind"

CSS, "Meeting Paris Hilton"

Mu, "Paris Hilton"

Who better to reflect girl power than everyone's favorite socialite and reality TV co-star, Paris Hilton? Don't answer that, actually. Don't front either, as you know she's your favorite heiress and you totally follow every gossip item that comes up about her. I'm really not sure what to make of her on a bigger level, as she represents the pinnacle of pop culture and has that "Fuck what people think of me" attitude that I love. On the other hand, she is the perfect example of how obsessed our society has become with celebrity. Even celebrity that has done nothing more than be born rich and attend lots of parties and make a sex tape.

Perhaps as an answer to the people who think she has no talent, she has decided to release an album. This is the lead single, "Stars Are Blind," which sees our girl singing over a reggae-flavored beat. It's already been panned to death, so I'm not here to skin the carcass. I don't think it's awful to be honest, as I like Paris' voice (or at least the voice that they altered it to), it's got a nice, lazy feel, could work as an end of the night, cool down joint. The single has 5 or so remixes, so I get the sense that the label thinks this has club potential too.

It's not great, though, not bad either, which kinda gets to the heart of the trouble with Paris. She really just seems average at everything. She's fine in The Simple Life, but Nicole Richie steals the show every episode with her humor and attitude. There's a blandness that I can't get past, and it's hard to believe that people are so obsessed with her.

The other two tracks are decidedly not bland, taking Paris Hilton as inspiration for some electronic and punk madness. Mu is a collaboration between Maurice Fulton and Mutsumi Kanamori, who've recorded for Trevor Jackson's Output Recordings. Mu's "Paris Hilton" is a crazy house song, with Kanamori bringing her broken English to a "Shake your body-body" rap. Fulton puts it all over a classic house sound fleshed out with congos, a fun song for real. I'm gonna assume that this is a tribute, just like CSS' "Meeting Paris Hilton" must be. I will have more to say about CSS in the next day or so, but for now give this a listen. It's a very different take on Hilton, and not the punk blowout you expect. In fact, it's great a filthy, slinky song that is a must-hear.

-New York, do you want hear really great music tonight? Then, head to Hiro Ballroom to hear DFA label head and LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy spin. He'll be joined by LCD partner Pat Mahoney and the Cheeky Bastard resident DJs. I've heard Murphy spin one other time in the basement of and it was phenomenal. He focuses much more on the roots of his sound, as opposed to spinning the disco-punk stuff he is associated with. Highly recommended, advance tickets here.

-I also hope that people can take a look at the comments section for my post on Christina Aguilera, as there's been two intelligent, eloquent responses to my criticism of Aguilera and her new look (and one on the Olympics in Philly). I will drop my reply soon and would love to get an even bigger discussion going, as it touches on a lot of important issues.