Banksy is Money

Bristol-based grafitti artist and general crap-disturber Banksy has repackaged and remixed Paris Hilton’s album, then stuck his new version back on the shelves. He’s well worth a look for some of his hilarious graphic work, but this is the kind of thing that gets him major attention:

Banksy has replaced Hilton’s CD with his own remixes and given them titles such as Why am I Famous?, What Have I Done? and What Am I For?He has also doctored pictures of her on the CD sleeve to show the US socialite topless and with a dog’s head.

A spokeswoman for Banksy said he had doctored 500 copies of her debut album Paris in 48 record shops across the UK.

She told the BBC News website: “He switched the CDs in store, so he took the old ones out and put his version in.”

But he left the original barcode so people could buy the CD without realising it had been interfered with.

OK. Attacking Paris Hilton for her lack of talent or relevance is about as controversial or edgy as saying Robert Mugabe is, like, a total jerk. It’s fish in a barrel.

As well, I’d venture to say that anyone who actually goes and purchases a Paris Hilton album isn’t likely to blink awake from their cultural coma because some prat from Bristol screwed with the latest zombie slut pablum they suddenly found themselves buying. The true Paris Hilton fan likely has no recollection of, say, waking up, getting to the store, buying the capri pants and ironic Von Dutch hat they’re wearing, or the last time they ate something other than pills.

But never mind that Banksy picked an easy target, or that the victims of his prank likely have no idea what it’s all about. It’s still, in the words of the walking waste of carbon that is Paris Hilton, hot.

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