By this point, I’m used to the music of my youth being rediscovered and repurposed by modern generations. It’s just how things work. The world doesn’t exist in a vacuum and is constantly evolving and reassessing itself. At times it makes me feel old, realizing that I’m now fond of youthful fads from over 15 years ago. There is a part of me that wants to suggest that they don’t understand because they weren’t there. Then again, I am thankful that the doorway is at least open for them to potentially recognize how much is out there. They may never understand what it means to live in an exact moment, but hopefully, they will appreciate the art that captured that moment.
Among the artists that I didn’t expect to see make the rounds was Paris Hilton. I’m not suggesting that she ever faded into obscurity, but there has to be a reason why I can’t turn a corner without hearing “Stars Are Blind.” This earworm has returned with a menace, and what I find amazing is how willing I am just to go along with it. Credit should be given to Promising Young Woman (2020), where Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham dance in a pharmacy to the song. It’s such a charming moment in a story that gets pretty grim. There’s plenty of other reasons that it stands out, but long story short I’ve been listening to “Stars Are Blind” on a loop for a few days now.
There is a strange nostalgia about looking back at Hilton’s short-lived music career. In a lot of respects, “Paris” is not a particularly revolutionary album. I do not agree with AllMusic that it is better than contemporaries like Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson. However, the evolution of music has allowed this record to stand out more for how it bandwagoned trends at the time. The hip-hop songs are clearly Timbaland adjacent. Others have a rock-pop sound that teenyboppers like Hillary Duff went wild for. This is clearly a calculated effort that I’m sure in 2006 was more obnoxious than enjoyable. However, I can’t help but admit that this is a genuinely decent three-star album.
To be transparent, I was not a fan of Hilton. I was in middle school during the height of her popularity, and it was something that I never understood. It was the dumb blonde fashion model persona mixed with the fact that I dislike reality TV that never endeared her to me. I didn’t follow any of her personal drama even if I had friends who were capable of allowing the culture to permeate vicariously. Of course, I’ve heard of 1 Night in Paris. I have seen that Carl’s Jr. commercial enough to have it almost committed to memory. I even remember an appearance on My Name Is Earl where the whole gag was saying her catchphrase “That’s hot” to symbolize Earl’s mental decay. Finally, there was her unimpressive film career that featured shallow titles like The Hottie and the Nottie (2008). I couldn’t tell you what was supposed to be impressive.
Of course, the early 2000s culture was a wild time. Even people I admired, notably Lindsay Lohan, were caught up in reputations of reckless partying. I realize now how complicated it is to deconstruct this time, which was as much driven by the familiar youthful indulgence as it was pressure from gossip rags, mental illness, addiction, and the general vilification of women with any agency. Watching media from that time is a bit uncomfortable for how clearly it was still a male fantasy world. Hilton was as much a progenitor as she was a victim of it. The media geared at women were clearly reflecting competition when it wasn’t sexualizing them. It’s a miracle anything progressive came out of that time.
Even in Hilton’s discography, one can find this trend on full display with the music video for “Nothing In This World,” which itself is a reference to The Girl Next Door (2004). What’s surreal is how recognizable it is as a trope of the time, where a teenager (likely underage) is seduced by Hilton as she crawls around his bedroom in a seductive manner. The issue is that this was just common for teenage boys' narratives. Even if you write this off as “fantasy” it’s a sexualization that has rarely been accepted for gender-reversed narratives. If that wasn’t enough, the video does feature some very unsubtle upskirt shots of high school cheerleaders.
Of course, it is a perfect time to mention that I am a Millikan alumnus. Since this was filmed at our Long Beach high school rival Poly, I have the right to hate the music video on principle.
That’s the reality of discussing Hilton as a whole. Her public persona has as much to do with her music as it does the tabloids and the various trends of the time. While I do like how this allows her to joke about inviting you to her Hilton Hotel, it’s so much of its time that I found myself getting nostalgic for so much. On a sonic level, it reminds me of a dozen records that I thought were better reflections of the era. To go deeper is to grapple with an era that feels modern yet also foreign to a Me Too Movement way of thinking.
After all, Banksy once notoriously swapped out copies of “Paris” with a remix he did with Danger Mouse that included shots of Hilton topless in the artwork.
What I think is interesting about her album now is how much better it plays on a lyrical level. Whereas in 2006 she was likely just accused of glamorizing partying and complaining about sexual harassment, she now seems more rational. It may be at times vapid and feature base-level of introspection, but it’s a perfect reflection of what you’d expect a Hilton record to sound like. Sure, it opens with her jokingly shouting “Yeah, that’s hot!” but it’s to play into a persona, a winking nod for how the world saw her. She was going to get nasty, at times sexual and vindictive. This pop career was just a lark.
It’s an impressively three-dimensional depiction of a celebrity at the height of their powers. While it can still be argued just how essential her career was, it wasn’t as tiresome as the 2006 reputation would suggest. Sure, the “Stars Are Blind” music video is essentially her making out with a photographer in erotic black and white cinematography, itself approaching self-parody. However, the idea that this was the worst that pop music could produce was far from true. Any pop song that drops a suicide reference alongside joy is at least trying to be about some deeper impulses.
Also, in all sincerity, she does a pretty good cover of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” It may not reinvent much, but she has the range to ache with the pain necessary to pull it off. Sure, it’s self-parody for the “that’s hot” girl to need a song to ask this, but it’s still fun. At least it works better than “Jealousy,” which chronicles her feud with Nicole Ritchie while distorting the theme from Grease (1978) in such curious manners. It works in the same way that Rihanna’s “S.O.S.” does with Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” but if you know the original it’s kind of distracting and lazy.
Overall, it’s fascinating to see a career resurgence for Hilton in 2020. Besides Promising Young Woman, Wondery is currently running a podcast called Even the Rich on her life story. On the one hand, I don’t know if I would ever admire her on a personal level. Her career is so full of things that I would consider misfires, not reflective of anything that I personally look for. Even then, they’re part of the pop culture identity, able to unite people from my generation. To mention any of the things I’ve referenced is to send back a memory of a certain time. I guess she was somewhat successful since I’m still able to recall, frame for frame, that burger commercial. It’s probably the Mean Joe Green ad of our time – for better or worse.
To be totally honest, I don’t come out of this with a deeper appreciation for Hilton as a creator. While I recognize that she is human and maybe was mistreated, I am not exactly clamoring for that second album. I don’t think she was ever going to evolve into a thespian. With that said, “Paris” is the closest that I’ve come to noticing her passion. I respect her for trying and doing a halfway decent job. Even if these songs have a Teflon quality, I wouldn’t be mad if they came on a random playlist. They have a purpose and aren’t cynical cash grabs. She’s trying to be genuine, playing into her persona so wonderfully that I get why fans would call it underrated. Even I feel that way by the end.
Now, if you don’t mind, I am going off to listen to “Stars Are Blind” for the 20th time this week.
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