To use the language likely heard in music-industry boardrooms circa 2010, around the time of the great female pop-superstar boom, Kesha once benefitted from strong market differentiation. She wasnt the cryptic alien provocateur Lady Gaga; she wasnt the coy Betty Boop update Katy Perry; she wasnt the unflappable fashion assassin Rihanna. She was the glorious, superheroic epitome of a very familiar typethe party girl. In neon face paint and with a dollar sign in her name, she squealed about brushing her teeth with booze and sleeping with the heirs to Mick Jagger. She was fun: the brand.
But this was, in a way, just a different flavor of the same product on offer elsewhere. Keshas music was powered by the backbeat of Dr. Luke, a producer whod helped set the template for 2000 club-pop and whod been groomed by Max Martin, the most important architect of hits for a few decades now. She also was on-trend thematically: Her hedonism handily doubled as capital-e Empowerment, serving as a rallying cry for misfits and the marginalized. She sassily bit back at male creeps (Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk), casually preached self-acceptance (We R Who We R), and insisted that girls could have as much a good time as guys without being called sluts. In their way, the likes of Gaga and Perry did something similarbaby, you were born this way; baby, youre a firework.
The Exquisite Horror in Lana Del Rey's Nostalgia
The novelty of such an act might be expected to wear off eventually, but the public never got a chance to fully get its fill of Kesha. Instead, about two years after her 2012 sophomore album, Warrior, she filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke alleging abuse, sexual assault, artistic tyranny, and general horrible behavior by the producer. The illusion of her invulnerable persona was smashed foreverand its origins given grim new context with the assertion that Dr. Luke had manipulated her starting in 2005, when she was 18. The suit sought to end her contract with him; he denied all allegations; a long legal battle has resulted in no ruling on the merits of the accusations but rather a series of procedural losses for Kesha. She recently announced her intention to move on from this ugly chapter by releasing new music.
Her comeback album, Rainbow, is fascinating in terms of narrative and fine-just-fine in terms of pop. It is being released by Kemosabe Records, the imprint that Dr. Luke founded but no longer runs, and has come out reportedly with his support but not involvement. It appears he will get a cut of the profits. Lyrically, Keshas show of resilience doesnt have a ton of specificity about what shes overcomingwhich is perhaps an artistic choice, or perhaps a sign of legally prudent caginess. Whats certain is that the outrageous character and commercial force Kesha once represented is gone, replaced by a human being: poignant, striving, and flawed.
Though Keshas situation isnt fully precedented in pop, the spectacle of resetting after a setback is, and the most common tropes of the licking-ones-wounds narrative are all here. Like Gaga with last years Joanne, Kesha trades thumping electro for analogue instruments and genres that, fairly or not, have an easier time being perceived as authentic: rock and roll, country, folk. Also like Gaga, she tries to execute this turn while tamping down, but not altogether ditching, her previous persona. Kesha opens the album with a slowly blossoming acoustic singalong, but she peppers it with motherfuckers and assholes as she would have with any given song five years ago. She goes full cowpunk on the love-crazed Hunt You Down, but harkens back to her old Cannibal shtick by saying, cheekily, that she probably wont murder a guy who cheats on her.
Somewhat stripped down as Kesha is here, you get a clear sense of what made her musically distinct all along. Its that voice, sharp and nasal and highly conversational, earning cringes from skeptics but a strong sense of kinship from fans. She can also belt with soul, and she cares about articulationno lyrics sheet required to follow along. With a writing credit on all but two songs (both of which are cowritten by her mom, Pebe Sebert, including a 1980 Dolly Parton cut updated here with Partons participation), its also as obvious as ever that Kesha is accomplished in the art of pop songcraft. The title ballad in particular, reportedly written while she was in rehab for an eating disorder, captures the sense of falling right back in love with being alive with remarkable finesse. Dense with syllables but also graceful, it could be a showstopper in Disneys follow-up to Frozen or Moanano small feat.
That track and the single Praying both stand out for their reconciliation of the limits of the radio-pop form with walloping trauma and emotion. Praying in particular just gets more brutal with each listen, both because of her vocal performance and because of the tricky way it threads the line between condemnation and acceptance. A slightly more uptempo single, Learn to Let Go, makes for a competent empowerment anthem in line with current radio trends (islands lilt? check). It also shows some nice self-awareness: I know Im always, like, telling everybody you dont got to be a victim I think its time to practice what I preach. The tracks currently sitting at the low end of the Hot 100, but just one good TV-drama soundtrack deployment could turn it into a hit.
Elsewhere, she determinedly signals that her old party-animal ways arent gone. Woman, a straightforward feminist cry with sax touches from the Dap Kings, is laced with snippets of laughtera winning, if not altogether convincing, touch. Boogie Feet, featuring the Eagles of Death Metal, has her screaming like a member of Sleater-Kinney before delivering her vintage so-dumb-its-fabulous rapping: Some people they got the big brains / They make all the computer games. The engines of the fast songs are purring guitars and live drums, and while the results are catchy and charmingly brash, theyre also a challenge to a pop-radio landscape that has mostly exiled rock.
Even on such highlights, though, theres a sense of tentative-ness that blunts the materials impact. For all the profanity she threads in, her account of the healing process doesnt quite transcend the generic; if only she were able to make like, say, Alanis Morissette, and use her sailors mouth for tarter, smarter poetry. Dont let the assholes wear you out / Dont let the mean girls take the crown / Dont let the scumbags screw you round / Dont the bastards take you down, she sings on the opener, Bastards, letting common teenage disses do most of the descriptive work.
There is one memorably unique through line, though, and its about religion. On songs like Hymn, Finding You, and Spaceship, she seems to be inventing her own faith, insisting on an afterlife of aliens and energy while noticeably avoiding Christian iconography: Lord knows this planet feels like a hopeless place, she sings on the closer. Thank God Im going back home to outer space. This cheeky new-age kick is also the direction hinted at in her trippy album art, but Rainbow itself is so caught up reacting to Keshas recent real-world narrative that it never fully develops its dreamscape. As she continues to rebuild her career, she might do well to find a way back to wild, uplifting fantasywhich she can, one hopes, now control more fully.
Read more:
The Very Human Return of Kesha - The Atlantic
- Home - Wild Women Vacations - December 23rd, 2016 [December 23rd, 2016]
- Hedonism - New World Encyclopedia - December 26th, 2016 [December 26th, 2016]
- Hedonism II (Negril, Jamaica) - UPDATED 2016 Resort (All ... - January 3rd, 2017 [January 3rd, 2017]
- Hedonism II Resort Negril, Jamaica - January 8th, 2017 [January 8th, 2017]
- Hedonism II Community | Home - January 30th, 2017 [January 30th, 2017]
- Hedonism and healing - Independent Online - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Dark side of hedonism: a rock journalist's battle with drug addiction - The Guardian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Rainbow Serpent turns 20: a weekend of boundless hedonism - Mixmag - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 'Dream Boat': Love Comes In All Shapes And Sizes In This Candid Berlinale Documentary Set On A Gay Cruise Ship - moviepilot.com - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Black Wave review: From hedonism to the apocalypse - Irish Times - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Feminism, ambition, hedonism: drama explores lives of university's privileged - The Guardian - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Leftism: From Bloody Tragedy to Therapeutic Parody - FrontPage Magazine - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Science: How to Get into the "Flow" and Do What Makes You Happiest - Big Think - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Weekend Arts: Find the Beethoven Music Festival, 'Avenue Q' and more in Tulsa this week - Tulsa World (blog) - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Now We Are 40 by Tiffanie Darke review a generation lost to hedonism and irony? - The Guardian - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Chefs to Watch for 2017 - Hedonism II, Negril - Jamaica Observer - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Hicks column: Schools should stick to the facts, as should everyone else - Charleston Post Courier - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Berlin Syndrome - The Upcoming - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Tears in the Club - PopMatters - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Chefs to Watch for 2017 - Hedonism II, Negril - Food ... - Jamaica Observer - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Hedonism II | CheapCaribbean.com - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Book review: 'The True Story of Guns N' Roses' will rock your world - Times LIVE - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Pleasures: the desert of life - Tulsa World - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Living Like a Hedonist - Daily Trojan Online - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- How dirty do you like it? Revel in hedonism with You Pull It, the new EP from The Byzantines - Happy - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- When did Britain stop being a nation of hedonists? - The Guardian - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- What is Hedonism wines? Mayfair vendor owned by Russian exile counts Jose Mourinho among its clientele and ... - The Sun - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Pastor's column: Hedonism: Self-driven life of pleasure - Gridley Herald - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Look around the wine store where Ranieri's future was decided Mourinho loves this place! - Daily Star - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- The Gooch Palms are a handful of hedonism - Mandurah Mail - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Jose Cuervo's Apocalyptic Vision Encourages Hedonism 03/08/2017 - MediaPost Communications - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Europe conquers itself - Arutz Sheva - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Hedonism alone didn't kill George - Irish Independent - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Hedonism II All-inclusive Resort Reviews & Deals, Negril - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Phoenix: 'The purity of French identity is an illusion; it's never existed ... - The Guardian - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- First-rate musical performance & production that's hard to fault: Garsington's Semele reviewed - Spectator.co.uk - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Guest Post: Bhante Suddhso Guidelines for Happiness - Patheos (blog) - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- 'I trafficked women at a famous Hong Kong nightclub' - South China Morning Post - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Sydney Festival Film Review: Axoltl Overkill (Germany, 2017) burns up Berlin with heavily stylised hedonism - the AU review (blog) - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Fun Fair Shot Bar By Claudia Comte Brings Seor Frogs-Style ... - ARTnews - June 13th, 2017 [June 13th, 2017]
- On 'Ti Amo', Phoenix Combat Dark Times with Fun and Gelato - Vulture - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Honey-glazed, hedonistic, and hyper-real - Cherwell Online - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Review: True to the original, 'Cabaret' revival trades in hedonism, horror - Seattle Times - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Spanish Party Town Publishes 64 Rules to Stop Hedonism of Drunk Tourists - Heat Street - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- WIL DARCANGELO: Hedonism has its advantages - Sentinel & Enterprise - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Comme des Garons' spring collection designed for a warehouse rave - The Guardian - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Considering a weekend in Ibiza? Our guide to the White Isle tells you where to eat, sleep, rave, repeat - Mirror.co.uk - June 29th, 2017 [June 29th, 2017]
- Norfolk makers of Wild Knight vodka score first London stockist - Norfolk Eastern Daily Press - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Hedonism II - Negril, Jamaica The Swinger Cruise - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Comic Legends: How Did 9/11 Change Strangers in Paradise's Ending? - CBR (blog) - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- The kids are all white: can US festivals live up to their 'post-racial' promise? - The Guardian - July 4th, 2017 [July 4th, 2017]
- Cakes Da Killa on Clubbing, Labels and His Shanghai Debut ... - That's Online (registration) - July 4th, 2017 [July 4th, 2017]
- Claude Speeed is the trance-inspired ambient nomad documenting Berlin's rave sadness - FACT - July 5th, 2017 [July 5th, 2017]
- Reporter strips naked to quiz nude swingers on their love of wife-swapping in bizarre telly segment - The Sun - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- Steve Vizard's Vigil at Arts Centre Melbourne reveals trauma ... - The Age - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- Party Report: Hideout Festival 2017 - Deep House Amsterdam (press release) (blog) - July 11th, 2017 [July 11th, 2017]
- Wimbledon 2017: The tech behind the world's top tennis tournament - Ars Technica UK - July 12th, 2017 [July 12th, 2017]
- Exploring the world's first dog glamping site at NOS Alive music festival - Metro - July 12th, 2017 [July 12th, 2017]
- Hyundai has come a long way with its outstanding Ioniq Hybrid - Philly.com - July 14th, 2017 [July 14th, 2017]
- Why campus boys make the best husband materials - The Standard - July 15th, 2017 [July 15th, 2017]
- I demand a critical reappraisal of Kesha's brilliant, brilliant music - Salon - July 15th, 2017 [July 15th, 2017]
- Norfolk vodka brand joins London's jet set - Business Weekly - July 15th, 2017 [July 15th, 2017]
- Clean raving: how club culture went wild for wellness - The Guardian - July 16th, 2017 [July 16th, 2017]
- News Bites | Loewe Releases Ibiza-Inspired Record, Erdem x H&M - The Business of Fashion - July 16th, 2017 [July 16th, 2017]
- Crisis in leadership as bright minds avoid public service - The New Indian Express - July 16th, 2017 [July 16th, 2017]
- Woman seriously injured after falling off stage at Guns N' Roses show - The Times of Israel - July 16th, 2017 [July 16th, 2017]
- What's the Best Song, According to Science? - Gizmodo - July 17th, 2017 [July 17th, 2017]
- We Asked the Happiest People at Lovebox About Their Worries - Noisey - July 17th, 2017 [July 17th, 2017]
- Dance Like Nobody's Watching To Shock Machine's Unlimited Love Video - The FADER - July 17th, 2017 [July 17th, 2017]
- Gig review: Catfish and The Bottlemen at Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield - Yorkshire Evening Post - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Montreal's Ancient Future Festival Reveals 2017 Lineup with Hudson Mohawke, the Underachievers, Sam Paganini - Exclaim! - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Coexistence at the beach - Opelika Observer - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- Ibiza: Where To Eat, Party And Beach - HuffPost UK - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- Film Streams, Joslyn team for screening of 'Marie Antoinette' - Omaha World-Herald - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- Hedonism II Hotel - Jamaica | Oyster.com Review & Photos - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- Fiction review: Living the Dream - The Sydney Morning Herald - July 21st, 2017 [July 21st, 2017]
- Arcade Fire - 'Everything Now' Album Review - NME - NME.com - July 21st, 2017 [July 21st, 2017]
- Dream Hoarders - HuffPost - July 22nd, 2017 [July 22nd, 2017]
- PS Spotlight: Remembering celebrity fancy dress for the grand Cointreau Ball - The Sydney Morning Herald - July 22nd, 2017 [July 22nd, 2017]
- Last Night Guns N' Roses Played An Epic Set At The Apollo, Today Appetite For Destruction Turns 30 - Stereogum - July 22nd, 2017 [July 22nd, 2017]