Katy Perry's Australian Tour EP

I haven't written a lot about Katy Perry on this blog - mainly because every time I mention her name I get shouted down by rabid haters throwing around accusations of rampant publicity whoring and homophobia. One day I'll write a post addressing that rubbish but it will have to wait until I have more time because that's going to be quite an essay. In the meantime, I'll stick to raving about Katy's amazing Australian tour EP - classily titled "Hello Katy". With physical singles harder to find than hits in La Toya's discography and iTunes now charging $2.19 for a fucking download, EMI has bucked the trend and delivered an absolute smorgasbord of Katy Perry goodness for a very reasonable price. I'm not sure how many copies the EP will sell (given how hard it is to find) but I have no doubt the label will more than recoup its investment in goodwill from fans. Which is a valuable asset in and of itself.

Unfortunately, I couldn't attend Katy's tour but this is a great little souvenir. I love the cover art and the tracklisting is very generous - if a little hit and miss. The EP kicks off with a couple of quirky covers. A lot of acts have interpreted MGMT's "Electric Feel" (including my future husband Andy Bull) but Katy's version is one of my favourites. It strips the song back to basics and puts all the emphasis on Katy's voice, which is considerably sweeter than usual. "Electric Feel" is followed by a similar re-imagining of Sam Sparro's "Black & Gold". I don't like this as much, possibly because I find the original so grating. Next up is "I Think I'm Ready", which most fans will know as a "One Of The Boys" bonus track. The song is very cute and shows Katy's softer side. I guess the same could be said for the acoustic version of "Thinking Of You", which is one of the standouts from her album. Say what you want about her but the woman can sing and knows how to knock out an insightful lyric.

The rest of "Hello Katy" is comprised of remixes of varying quality. Calvin Harris has been on fire in 2009 but his remix of "Waking Up In Vegas" is the worst kind of noise pollution. The Dr. Luke & Benny Blanco mix of "I Kissed A Girl" fares considerably better and I'll definitely be whipping this out at my next faux lesbian themed house party. Bimbo Jones are a Nicki French remix away from being the new Almighty but I love their particular brand of low brow dance trash. I prefer the original but their take on "Hot N Cold" is also pretty irresistible (below). The EP concludes with a fairly tame mix of "Ur So Gay" - the song that put all the gays off side in the first place. I still find it completely inoffensive and think it makes a fitting conclusion to a fun collection of not-so-rare Katy rarities! Well done, EMI.