Kesha/Headscratchers

• What's with the dollar sign?
  • Lucky Charms Title
  • Because that's the sound a cash register makes. Ke-$haaa!
  • Rumor has it that it's because her first major appearance, as the female voice on Flo Rida's "Right Round," was uncredited and unpaid. So, er, the dollar sign is so it doesn't happen again...?
    • She took her name off of it herself, apparently.
• How do you guys know exactly what parts of the UK she's famous in? That's pretty funny.
  • ...Tropers that live in those areas?
    • No, he/she means how do they know it's just their regions, and not any other part of the country. For example, I could definitely say Northern Virginians liked Ke$ha, that they're fanatical even, but it would be strange to say "Arlington, VA residents have gone crazy for her." What makes their love of her different than other parts of the UK?
    • OP here, yes, that was what I was asking.
• What is the purpose of the "Hey what up girl" and "Let's go" at the beginning of Tik Tok?
  • They're the Boys who are Blowin' Up Her Phones later, obviously.
  • It's P. Diddy.
• What does P. Diddy feel like when he wakes up in the morning, anyway?
  • He's surrounded by beautiful, still kinda trashed women. So fairly good about himself.
  • It might be a clever way of saying she's feeling puffy. If that means anything. Swollen from a fight the previous night?
  • Lethargic?
  • It means she feels like she hasn't been noticed for five years.
  • She can't remember what her name is?
• What does her dentist think about her brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack? Heck, how does she even have any teeth remaining?
  • They were replaced with teeth she borrowed from Flavor Flav?
  • Maybe she uses the Jack instead of water/mouthwash for rinsing out her teeth? Mouthwash is really just a bunch of mint flavour and alcohol anyway i think.
  • Alcohol kills bacteria and is the main incrediant in liquid soap, so if we took that quote at face value, Jack Daniels would not be that bad for your teeth.
  • I thought she meant she takes a couple swigs of whisky before she goes.
• Why doesn't Kesha just admit she reads TV Tropes? There's no other possible explanation for Take it Off: Kesha'n Friends Version's utter insanity. Seriously, how else do you explain all those references or the random RPG Dance Battle with Laser Chainsaw versus Evil Sorceress Kesha?
• What the hell does "We R Who We R" have to do with gay teen suicides? I just read the lyrics, and there's nothing about gays, nothing about teens and nothing about suicides. It's just another one of her party-girl anthems.
  • Bandwagon-jumping?
  • It's about being comfortable with who you are?
  • You can be inspired by something and not directly reference it.
  • Oh, it's there. First, just understand that Ke$ha is a subtle, extraordinary lyricist, and it's easy to miss all the undercurrents flowing through her work. Let's go verse by verse:
    • "Hot and dangerous/if you're one of us then roll with us." Well, that's obvious. Ke$ha is here referencing Edmund Burke's famous line, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." She's urging that great, tolerant mass of society to get off its ass and actually help gay students who are being bullied. "Roll with us" means "join us in the struggle. The hot and dangerous portion of this verse is a reference to don't ask, don't tell specifically and the military in general.
    • "And no you don't wanna mess with us/I got Jesus on my necklace." This is a clever attempt to turn religion against the Religious Right. Ke$ha's referencing Jesus and his New Testament compassion, as opposed to the slightly more fire-and-brimstone God of Leviticus.
    • "I've got that glitter on my eyes/stockings ripped all up the sides." The stockings symbolize the famous "closet." In the same way that "stockings" trap Ke$ha's legs, the closet traps gay men and women in lies and shame. Ke$ha is ripping up the stockings, and, symbolically, demolishing the closet as well. "Glitter" means enlightenment or tolerance. Your choice.
    • The chorus, which is too long to quote at length. Ke$ha and her crew are tearing the world apart in search of the homophobes and bigots. Upon finding such villains, Ke$ha's posse will become as the Maenads of Greek mythology, eviscerating the evil men in a shower of blood and gore. They will dance as if "numb" and "dumb," because they will be both numb and dumb, the result of Bacchus' influence. The dance will be terrifying, and yea, all observers will tremble.
    • "DJ turn it up!/It's about damn time to live it up/I'm so sick of being so serious/It's making my brain delirious/I'm just talkin' truth." This is a biting commentary on the way hatred and intolerance clouds our minds. "Serious," in this case, means intolerant or something similar. Ke$ha just wants to let go of the hatred and embrace tolerance and love.
    • "I'm telling you 'bout the shit we do/We're selling our clothes, sleeping in cars/Dressin' it down, hitting on dudes (HARD)" I hope I don't have to explain that symbolism.
      • "DJ turn it up!/It's about damn time to live it up/I'm so sick of being so serious/It's making my brain delirious/I'm just talkin' truth." is equally about telling society to take a chill pill, and let people live it up how they want instead of caring what your neighbors are doing.
    • The rest is chorus or repetition, so no need to repeat myself.
      • Beyond that, of course, the song also has a lot of lyrics that are point out how ridiculous it is that our society is making such a big deal about something like sexual orientation.
        • Awesome analysis, but I call Epileptic Trees.
• The Other Wiki says she claims The Beastie Boys, The Velvet Underground, The Damned and Talking Heads as influences, and she claimed that Animal was "an homage to Licensed to Ill". (Beat) Where the hell are these influences in her music?
• I don't get how "Blah Blah Blah" has unfortunate implications for spinning a known cliche around--how is that unfortunate, when "Grow a Pear" wasn't?
  • Because if a man were to do it, he would get a lot of shit thrown at him from feminists, who would call him a He-Man Woman Hater.
  • "Blah Blah Blah" was a hit single. "Grow a Pear" was not. Hit singles tend to get more heat than lesser-known songs.
• Where is the actual evidence that her music is supposed to be a parody of anything? I don't think that she is as bad as everyone says, but she always seemed like one of those lucky flash-in-the-pan pop stars who actually managed to become popular.** Between the songs that didn't make it to Animal or Cannibal and her "well backed-up" statements the degree of parody is pretty apparent. That said, you can still be serious when you parody something. It's more of an affectionate jab than biting sarcasm.