'Ke$ha's new song just debuted at number one. I just feel hopeless.'
The above statement was written by a friend on Facebook referencing the new single from the musical cockroach known as Ke$ha.
Being that I have been listening to a glut of sports radio in my daily automobile time, I couldn't say that I had heard the new song, entitled "We R Who We R" and after seeking a listen I wish I hadn't for a few reasons - Lyrically it is pretty par for the course for appealing to Ke$ha's audience, and since I'm not a club kid or a 14 year old girl with ambitions of prostitution, it's safe to say that contextually this song wasn't intended for me - or was it?
"I was really affected by the suicides that have been happening, having been subject to very public hatred [myself]. I have absolutely no idea how these kids felt. What I'm going through is nothing compared to what they had to go through. Just know things do get better and you need to celebrate who you are. Every weird thing about you is beautiful and makes life interesting. Hopefully the song really captures that emotion of celebrating who you are."
The above quote was taken from a Rolling Stone Interview with the star explaining the motivations and lyrical musings of the new single.
Lets take a look at the lyrics shall we?
The Chorus, probably the portion she felt 'captures that emotion of celebrating who you are' - mainly because it is literal in it's execution -
Tonight we're going hard
Just like the world is ours
We're tearin' it apart
You know we're superstars
We are who we are
So not the most intelligent thing I have ever read or heard, nor the worst, but I think coming out and stating that she was affected by the recent string of teen suicides, and dedicating this song to them feels shallow and cheap. Lets now take a look at some of the verses:
If you’re one of us, then roll with us
‘Cause we make the hipsters fall in love
And we’ve got hot-pants on enough
And yes of course we does we’re running this town just like a club
And no, you don’t wanna mess with us
Got Jesus on my necklace
I’ve got that glitter on my eyes
Stockings ripped all up the side
Looking sick and sexy-fied
So let’s go-o-o (Let’s go!)
Hmmmm, what part of that is meant to make me celebrate who I am, as opposed to who Ke$ha is? At least with the terribly bad Tik Tok, Ke$ha wasn't trying to sell it is a piece speaking out against a war or human trafficking or one of the other numerous societal problems in the world today.
Musically it is pretty boring, the singular drum beat and synth sample will get your toe tapping and provide the top 40 appeal, but beyond that it is becoming apparent that ghostwriters seem to be phoning it in at this point.
Why hasn't Ke$ha disappeared?!?!
Simple, The music industry has killed one hit wonders.
While it has always been around, it has become increasingly more apparent that the industry is run with spreadsheets as opposed to the artists and talent (or lack thereof). Hits seem no longer like they can be earned simply through fan support, but instead act like a commoditized item, bought and sold no differently then any other consumer product.
Producer groups have become so numerous (Stargate, The Neptunes etc) that each song produced is bet on like the stock market in hopes of scoring a number one hit, which usually ends up being the case. Growing an artist to have mass appeal isn't something new, but with these producer groups, keeping a star relevant for far longer has become as simple as writing a check. If you know me and my taste in music it will become clear that I like a number of producers, but in becoming crutches for the industry they have outgrown their welcome.
If 'We R Who We R' has proved anything to me, it's that Ke$ha needs to stop getting bailed out like an entity deemed 'too big to fail' by the government.
Oh my gosh, the too big to fail analogy is actually quite perfect. Ever since 2006 it seems like even casual pop fans know who a lot of the producers are. They've almost become the stars themselves which means the singers are often meaningless. And then the producers get big enough that they cash in and write songs for as many people as they can which ends up watering down their sound because of how often you can hear it on the radio.
ReplyDeleteThe best pop/producer relationships come from actual artistic working relationships like Timbaland and Aaliyah back in the day. He had it going with Nelly Furtado and JT for a while but then overdid it with his own albums. I think Mariah's last album was so good because it was almost entirely The-Dream. I don't like collecting producers as album insurance. When you have 12 tracks and 12 producers you end up with albums like Cheryl Cole's.
I digress. Your point is totally apt. If this was how the business worked 15 years ago, Tik Tok would have shot off like a rocket and then she would have stopped there. They don't have as much money anymore to invest in talent which means they've been forced to fortify the crap they stuck themselves with.
5 years ago Diplo wouldn't have been on a commercial for Blackberry.
ReplyDeleteThe 12 producers for 12 tracks is mainly the point I was after. When a producer spends the time with an artist to create an actual coherent piece the relationship seems to work, unlike the proverbial one night stands that seem to be happening with increasing regularity.