This post originally appeared in 2006. In light of recent events, it seemed appropriate to get it back up and running again…

A flat-bed scanner. Some cut ‘n’ paste action. Rudimentary audio production skills. A fair bit of ingenuity. Combined, these factors will equate to your album reaching the dizzy heights of the album chart in no time. But make sure it’s your CD they’re buying..Banksy is best known for his (now much-aped) stencil graffiti, along with more recent exploits such as sneaking some ’suggested’ art into the Louvre and taking a busman’s holiday to the West Bank barrier. Moving out of the streets and the galleries, Banksy is invading your space yet again - only this time, it’s via your stereo. Over the past week or so, if you were one of the unfortunate people to go into a music store who actually meant to buy Paris Hilton’s album, you could have inadvertently walked out with something a lot different to the dross that you’d paid to hear. Being reported in UK national newspapers and all over the web, Banksy (along with some help, no doubt) has planted 500 copies of his ‘remixed’ version of Paris’ album in a number of music stores across the country. The artwork has been doctored to feature a naked Ms. Hilton on the cover, and inside images include her stepping out of a car with a street full of homeless people behind, with the line ‘90% of success is just showing up’, and a shot of Paris holding the mic, with the head of her beloved mutt in place of hers. I guess you could call it an improvement. But Banksy hasn’t stopped at the sleeve artwork. Also thoughtfully included is a replacement CD, containing a 40 minute long track of Paris’ wonderful insights backed by a simplistic lo-fi hook.

This isn’t the first time Banksy has graced the pop charts, having previously produced the cover art for Blur’s Think Tank. The difference there was, presumably, that Blur asked for Banksy to contribute to their art direction - it’s not sure if the same can be said for Paris. The album is rapidly becoming more desirable to fans of Banksy’s work than it was before, no doubt - especially with the 500 copies being snapped up by resourceful folks who are quicker than grease lightning, along with music store staff begrudgingly returning found copies to their head offices. The ebay shitehawks may already be circling overhead (at last check, ‘legitimate’ copies were fetching bids of £300 and above), but if you wanted to sample Banksy’s recording debut, you’re in the right place - the 40 minute track is here for your enjoyment. It’s like Paris says: “That’s hot”.

Banksy Vs. Paris Hilton: That’s Hot (40mins, 55MB) [rapidshare]