Steven Mark: Racing Grey

As if “Stars Are Blind” didn’t make it absolutely, incontrovertibly clear that there’s no good way to write a song about Paris Hilton, NYC singer-songwriter Steven Mark takes aim at the easiest of targets with “Paris Hilton Generation”, actually lending legitimacy to the heiress through its title. “You got all you want on your sweet 16 / You live in your X-box American dream”, Mark sings in a thin, earnest tenor, descrying vapid and spoiled young whippersnappers for their birthday presents. And if that weren’t callow enough he later accuses, “You stayed up late wondering / What are Puck and Pedro doing / And lost your way the day that Cobain died.” I’ll bet you a sammich that a larger percentage of the population Mark is addressing here would guess he’s referencing A Midsummer Night’s Dream before they realized their mistake. But what kind of straw man would that make for a smug, socio-political rant? “Gods on High” invites “Drama drama / Tell us the news of the day / Sell us your tabloid story,” before asking “Is this a game you play / You pundits of plastic glory?” I don’t know Mark, is it?