Activism | Effective Living > Music
Summary. Pop female vocalist, Kesha (Ke$ha), has released her new album, Animal, which has been well received, as evidenced by her millions of viewers and fans on YouTube and Facebook.
Animal Review. The airy and angelic vocals of the the title song Animal sound similar to the vocals and instrumental track from the album Cry for the Desert (iTunes) by Twila Paris. The song begins with instrumentals similar to music from Coldplay. The segments of power vocals during the song are similar to Avril Lavigne, Aly & AJ, Kelly Clarkson, and Hillary Duff. The percussive drum rhythms at 41 seconds into the song are very similar to the drums at 1 minute into the song Dreams by the Cranberries. Despite all these similarities to other musicians and songs, Kesha’s alchemistic music fusion takes on a new form. The similarities are likely noticeable since she shares similar talents as these other popular, talented, and successful musicians.
Animal Welfare. Pop female vocalist, Kesha (Ke$ha), has joined with numerous other musicians and celebrities to speak out about animal welfare. While Kesha’s persona is intentionally a fusion of fun and wildness, it’s clear from a broader examination of her music and videos that she is deep, and her producers are exceptional.
Charity. PETA has reported about Kesha because of her stand against wearing animal fur, and also because of a large donation of food to an animal shelter in her home town, Nashville, Tennessee after severe flooding caused significant damage to the city.
“Nashville helped shape me as an artist and as a person and my love for this city is beyond words. I will continue to do anything I can to help rebuild this city and support the families and animals who have been affected by this tragedy.” ~ Kesha
Amazing Music. Kesha’s latest album, Animal (iTunes), has been largely successful, with songs like Tik Tok (iTunes) and Your Love is My Drug (iTunes). In the title song, Animal (iTunes), Kesha’s impressive vocal fluidity and range come through. Her music is fun, upbeat, and inspiring.
“I’m really impressed with Kesha’s latest album, Animal. The title song, Animal, is poetically transcendent and her vocal performance is impressive. Some of the other songs like Your Love is My Drug and Tik Tok are clever and catchy. This kind of musical diversity is only found in more talented musicians working with exceptional production companies.” ~ Gregory Johnson
Highly Popular. As of June 2010, Kesha’s Facebook Page has almost one million fans. Kesha’s YouTube channel has about 10 million views and her video uploads have over 120 million views.
Excellence in Video Production. The music video of Tik Tok (below) has about 20 million views. It is produced with attention to detail and vibrant colors of painted textured stucco reminiscent of Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. Her choice of vehicle (a bicycle) in the beginning of this music video seems to be a product placement or endorsement for bicycles as a cool way for people to get around (something other celebrities are doing). The video begins with waking up in a bathtub amidst brief flashbacks to a previous night of partying, and it ends with falling asleep in another bathtub – presumably to start the cycle all over again the next day.
Eclectic Eccentricity. Her music video for Your Love is My Drug (below) has had almost 10 million views and features some uniquely eccentric elements and some exotic animals. For a short segment of the video, animation is combined with real-life video, and progressively the animation predominates. This is a technique similar to what has been used by Sarah Silverman and also the movie Waking Life. The music video becomes entirely animated for a short time in the middle of the music video, with an animation style that looks like the introductory video to Monty Python’s Flying Circus or The Beatles Yellow Submarine. (YouTube: Music Video | Movie Clips) The animation sequence leads into a segment where Kesha is lit up while dancing in the dark with her body painted using backlight paint or something even more luminescent. Toward the end of the backlight dancing she is holding a sizable snake that looks like like a boa constrictor. The backlight segment morphs into moving kaleidoscope patterns. The video ends with Kesha riding an elephant in the desert with her portrait appearing like a vintage photo of a woman in the circus riding an elephant.
Ignorant Critics. A video titled Sing Talk was released by CollegeHumor as a parody of the song Tik Tok. The parody suggests that Kesha can’t sing, so instead she talks through her songs. The creators of the video seem to be ignoring songs like Animal in which Kesha sounds better than Enya. The parody video also seems to overlook the fact that the song Tik Tok was done as a pop and quasi rap song. Rap music requires a difficult fusion of talking and singing where subtleties of intonations are used. Those who have actually heard Kesha’s music will recognize the exceptional talent behind it. Kesha’s popularity is a testimony to the fact that she is doing something right. Most of Kesha’s critics are likely trying to leech some of her popularity and visibility by criticizing her.