Why I like Ke$ha’s music.

(This post has been a long time coming. I think I saved my reference articles on January 7, ha. Oh, and heads up for stronger language.)

So. Ke$ha. (& yes, I’m going to refer to her always with the $ in the name). I think she’s great. Ke$ha manages to make guilty-pleasure electropop that makes you think about morals, values, gender roles, and sexuality in Western society today. It’s also incredibly danceable and probably way too catchy. It’s not exactly that she’s a complete trailblazer; there are plenty of current artists that are bringing something new to the pop table. I do think there are a few unique things about her and her music, though, that make her stand out.

I’ll tackle Ke$ha’s music, first. She writes her own music, which I can respect (Village Voice), especially because it’s the kind of music that’s intended to be used to lift you up, not bring you down: “We’re in a recession and there are wars happening, so when it comes to music, I wanna give people something that brings them joy” (Digital Spy). Her music is comprehensive, too; she seems to combine a variety of her musical interests and tastes to create her sound.

Ke$ha doesn’t really seem to stick to traditional ideas of popular music genres. She describes herself as musically versatile: “I’ve done the country, done the pop-rock, done the super-hard electro… I was like, whatever, throw some rap in there, why not?” (New York Times). Indeed, the way that Ke$ha delivers her boundary-pushing lyrics speaks to how she fuses different musical genres into her own sound. This article says it better than I can:

It’s all part of the continuing deracination of the act of rapping, which used to be inscribed as a specifically black act, but which has been appropriated so frequently and with such ease that it’s been, in some cases, re-racinated. The very existence of the casually rapping white girl reflects decreasingly stringent ideas about race and gender. (NYT)

Indeed, Ke$ha pushes the envelope here not only because of her race, but also because of her gender. While white males like Eminem, the guys from Linkin Park, and Vanilla Ice (yes, I had to bring him up, and yes, I know there are many other examples) have been rapping in the mainstream for a while, female white rappers are a little harder to come by. The style that Ke$ha has chosen in which to deliver her lyrics is one that is still seen as a male-dominated style, but Ke$ha is unabashedly female (she’s all about the glitter) and feminine nevertheless (Village Voice).

hey, so I got a question, do you wanna have a slumber party in my basement? do I make your heart beat like an 808 drum? Is my love your drug? - “Your Love Is My Drug”

Now that I’ve begun to directly quote her music, it’s time for a lyrical analysis. While her work is not exactly PG-rated, it’s through her words that Ke$ha continues to push the listener’s idea of what it is to be a woman, all while continuing in the kind of work that, again, not only artists like Madonna, Lady Gaga (and where she differs from Gaga, I think, is that while Gaga is also all about fun, Ke$ha shows a grittier, rougher edge as well), and Christina Aguilera (“Dirrty,” anyone?) have been doing but also feminine idols like Mae West (LA Times) and Marilyn Monroe. She rap-sings about, again, things that male performers have been championing for ages (and no, she’s not the first female entertainer to do this, but, again, it’s her particular combination of musical and lyrical button-pushing that draws me to her):

I don’t really care where you live at, just turn around, boy, and let me hit that, don’t be a little bitch with your chit chat - “Blah Blah Blah”

pulling up to the parties, trying to get a little bit tipsy - “Tik Tok”

no, we are not on the list, no, we don’t give a shit, dance ‘til your pants come off, party ‘til the break of dawn - “Party At A Rich Dude’s House”

(If you want to compare these to some male-sung lyrics, try… oh… most of the rap songs that have been popular recently. Are we more shocked when it’s women singing about sex and partying? Does that get more attention? I think so.)

Oh, and so we’re all on the same page, I’m not exactly trying to say that Ke$ha is lyrically brilliant or genius or anything. I’ll be the first to disagree with that statement. I don’t think anyone, especially not Ke$ha herself, would claim that she’s a good role model. Of course she’s not; that’s kind of the point. She’s taking the idea of the perfect little female pop star (think early 2000s pop, like early Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, etc. etc. etc.) and turning it on its head. Is there a little bit of the Madonna v. Whore dichotomy in this? Possibly. I think it’s important, though, that people think about the double standard in gendered personal expression that exists. If you’re feeling like Ke$ha’s lyrics are morally inappropriate, think about whether you feel the same way about lyrics performed by men. Think about, next, what this says about current society and what’s morally acceptable today. Then think about the fact that her first singles are the ones about partying and not the ones about actual emotions (I’ll touch on those below).

I personally am of the opinion that Ke$ha is entirely in control of her music and knows exactly what she’s doing. In my opinion, not only is she following in the footsteps of the aforementioned female entertainers but also comics like Stephen Colbert, Sascha Baron Cohen, and Sarah Silverman. Her entire album is designed to sound like one long night of drinking, dancing, partying, and hooking up (LA Times); is this the real Kesha (the lack of the ‘$’ was intended, just now) or is it all just a front? I think it’s tongue-in-cheek commentary on the way we are today, and it probably wouldn’t have been able to be made in any other time period.

I’m also pretty sure that it’s not saying that those come without consequences: there are still songs like “Hungover,” “Blind,” and “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” that serve as a reminder of what happens when the partying gets a little rough.

now the party’s over and everybody’s gone, I’m left here with myself and I wonder what went wrong - “Hungover”

I’m sick and tired of the mess you wrote me, you’re never gonna catch me cry, you must be blind if you can’t see you’ll miss me ‘til the day you die - “Blind”

I’m fading, I’m broken inside, I’ve wasted the love of my life, I’m losing it, with every move I die - “Dancing with Tears In My Eyes”

Overall, maybe the biggest reason why I like Ke$ha so much is she genuinely seems to do whatever she wants with her music and doesn’t let the music industry dictate how she’s portrayed or the music she makes. That said, though, maybe her entire image is carefully crafted, too. Regardless, at least it’s a message of independence; I can get on board with that. Maybe her music isn’t exactly radio-friendly; I certainly would hesitate before including this in a lesson plan intended for K-12 students. But I still think she’s fascinating and worth paying attention to, just to see what she’ll do next.

Performers as role models

I’ve been planning this post for a really long time, ever since the Adam Lambert episode at the AMAs. John’s blog post about the same topic in sports just made me want to blog about it even more… and then I got caught up in finals stuff.

Basically, my thoughts on the general issue mostly center around one main point: while musical artists and performers may not want to be looked at as role models, most of the time that generally ends up happening anyway and I think that it’s something they need to keep in mind.

I think the Adam Lambert incident is especially interesting because of the gender and sexuality questions that it brought up:

“Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out,” Mr. Lambert said. (source)

So true— I very much remember the uproar when Madonna kissed both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the VMAs a few years ago. That said, though, I think that an important issue is the fact that Adam Lambert hadn’t run his actions by the people in charge of producing the show; I’m pretty sure (though please correct me if I’m wrong) that the Madonna stunt had been planned and sanctioned by MTV.

In a statement, Dick Clark Productions, which produces the American Music Awards, said, “Due to the live nature of the show, we did not expect the impromptu moment in question.” (same source as above)

The singer said some of his sexually charged moves during the performance had not been rehearsed. “Those kind of came from more of an impromptu place,” he said, adding: “I think ABC was taken a little by surprise. That wasn’t my intention, I wasn’t being sneaky. It just – it got the most of me, I guess.” (source)

Since we’re talking about role models, though, I personally think it’s great that Adam Lambert is an openly gay and male pop artist who is so unabashedly ashamed of who he is. Regardless of whether he wants to be a role model or not, he definitely is for GLBT youth. I agree with him when he says “I’m not a baby sitter… “I’m a performer” (same source) and that parents really should be the ones in charge of what they want their children to see. I’m curious now, too, about whether most of the uproar were because children saw explicit sexual references and gestures on live TV or whether adults were just bothered in general.

That said, I prefer the attitude Kristin Chenoweth takes regarding this issue (this is regarding a spoof she did of Intervention):

“I was a little nervous at first, to be honest with you,” Chenoweth admitted. “With the subject matter and singing, ‘You make cash giving head, and you use it to buy Sudafed,’ did I really want my young fans hearing me say that?”

It’s a nice change to see a performer actively think about the ways in which their public image and actions are scrutinized (and I’d like to think that KChen thought as much about her responsibilities as an accidental role model before taking on the role of April Rhodes, AKA the most hilariously awful role model for high school students on Glee!). I think a little more foresight might’ve helped Adam Lambert, though I’m sure all the publicity did help him out!