Another midweek, and the lounge is back. I hope all my lounge lizards are ready for another eclectic collection of videos. Some younger people in my life recommended Kesha to me quite some time ago. I found her work quite enjoyable. But her new album is the one I hoped she’d have in her.
And while we’re at it, here’s Kesha covering an old Bob Dylan classic.
She’s finding her voice, and drawing on the greats to do so. Splendid.
and the karaoke machine is on. Sing, listen, relax. We can all use some respite. Please tip your bartenders. May the 4s be with you.
For today’s selection, I looked up Ke$ha’s favorite drink and found this from an Entertainment Weekly interview in 2010.
Based on the combination of Jack Daniels and dental hygene, I’m presenting the Jack Daniels Root Canal Float – Tipsy Bartender.
Drink responsibly!
From the same source, I also found her mention another drink.
I have an entire post at my blog with Tipsy Bartender recipes for National Mojito Day. Here’s the first: How to make a Mojito.
Now that’s some hair of the dog that bit you!
I like the songs from Kesha you share here. But to my ears her super smash hit remains the most striking song she’s done:
I’m not proud of my opinion here. I know it’s pure pop product, and the chorus is more than a bit irritating. But ABBA was pure pop product as well, and much of their work has held up.
In the same genre, I care for Lady Gaga quite a bit. She’s done a lot of worthwhile work, but she has never lifted me as strongly as she did with the very first song on her very first major issue CD:
The smooth synth boom of the groove which comes in at the beginning of each chorus is delivered with increasingly compelling intensities at the end of each verse. And the lyric brings us dancers into happy acceptance of losing ourselves on the floor of the club. It’s terrifically exciting and fun pop.
There is a lot to be said for pure pop achievements. I’m no musicologist, so accept what I am about to say with more than a few grains of salt. The division between pop or popular music and what gets referred to broadly as art music is actually very recent one. Those sorts of boundaries didn’t quite exist until maybe sometime in the 19th century or early 20th century at the latest. Heck, someone like Mozart was a legit pop star in his day (by the way, seeing in person his final resting place is a highlight of my life). I am not about to compare Kesha or Lady Gaga to Mozart. But I am going to say that their recorded work is high quality: these are artists who know how to write, have something to say, and say it well. And for that, both have my unwavering appreciation and respect.
I think I’m recalling correctly that you were into hard punk in the late ’70s/early ’80’s, right? I wasn’t deep into Bad Brains and others in the genre, but dug the shit out of the Sex Pistols, Black Flag and others who behaved at war with popular culture and music.
Who would have known we’d end up here.
Another pop music artistic achievement:
Carly’s recent releases haven’t sold as smashingly as her most commercially successful competitors in the genre, but many of her arrangements and vocal performances are of high quality.
And there’s this, one of my favorites from the K-Pop genre:
That groove and arrangement work together to lift me.
I have a daughter who is trying to bring me up to speed with K-Pop as a genre. My initial impression is that there are some excellent recording artists among them, and ones that hopefully will leave long legacies.
Let me get in a different Dylan cover to close the night:
I tip the barkeep well and give you a hearty “see you soon!” on my way out the door.
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The ‘original’
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You want a metal version? I got one right here from Nightwish.
I stay away for a few days, and damn! Y’all posting some great stuff! Loving this. You all just made my weekend after a very trying week.