KESHA – RAINBOW

Don’t get me wrong. I love Kesha. #FreeKesha. She has such a great voice. #KeshaIsQueen. She deserves only success and respect.

But, in being objective, Rainbow, Kesha’s comeback/F U album is just okay.

As it should have been the case, Kesha’s new management, producers and label allowed her complete creative control over the album. I’m sure she dabbled on the mixing board for maybe the first time to earn production credit. I would bet nobody wanted to edit the profound and personal lyrics that she wrote to chronicle her tumultuous past few years.

Perhaps this unrefined system, where no one vetoed or challenged Kesha, left her intentions as cheap-raw. She accomplishes this cheap-rawness with her overt use of vulgarity. This is immediately set in the opening track, “Bastards,” with the inspiring refrain: “Don’t let the assholes get you down.”

The album features many “motherfuckers” and a “suck my dick,” sung on “Let ‘Em Talk,” a powerpop duet with the Eagles of Death Metal. EoDM also benefit from this easily politicized album release. Rainbow serves as their reemergence after the band’s Paris concert bombings in 2015. Singer Jesse Hughes appears twice on the album, as a playful complement to Kesha.

Don’t get me wrong. #KeshaIsQueen. And what a great voice!

Kesha truly delivers her talent as a singer/songwriter in standouts that are sure to be number 1 hits. The lead single, “Praying” is absolutely stunning. It WILL become a memorial ballad.

In her triumph, Kesha runs powerhouse vocals over a choir all to drive home the fact that she is here to stay, coming for the role of Pop Goddess she deserved all along. Her maturity wanes by addressing “haters” in even the most sincere settings, although #WeLoveKesha, and #ThatsOurKesha.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM POST-CONCERT UPDATE

I have had an entire week and Christmas holiday to come back to Earth after seeing LCD Soundsystem at the Brooklyn Steel. It was magical. Truly transcendent. I have also needed that amount of time for the ringing in my ear to stop.

As expected, it was Party of the Year. The Musical Event of My Twenties. Looking back, it felt like such an intimate performance. This is mostly because I went with my girlfriend, who purchased the tickets. We were in the front row, lined up against the security barrier.

As are most adventures in love, the concert seemed like a private serendade during our fairytale December evening in New York City. Alyssa and I rode trains from New Jersey, and successfully navigated the subway. The late-night return train also applied a comfortable pressure.

 

When Alyssa shared that she got me the tickets spontaneously, I could not believe it. I have looked into seeing LCD Soundsystem. The performances have typically been festival headlines and New York residencies lasting several weeks. The shows sell out instantly. They are infamous for fast sale. James Murphy has addressed this. No doubt, these are popular shows, an exciting opportunity from LCD being recently reunited. The demand is not the only source of popularity. Online ticketsellers and scalpers immediately snatch tickets in bulk and sell them for at least double the retail price.

 

A year ago, during their initial reunion, tickets were well in the range of $300 on StubHub. Murphy has taken measures to eradicate this, on top of his crude remarks directed toward online scalpers. LCD shows and the shows of their record label are sold exclusively on AXS. They are sold in limited burst releases. All ticket information is released only hours prior to the concert.

While waiting for the performance to begin at the Brooklyn Steel, concertgoers said they were on the phone with their ticketsellers hours before the show. Some were unaware of the delayed release. Some had genuine errors.

A mother who brought her son from Staten Island received their ticket confirmation while on the ferry.

 

While getting excited looking at set lists and concert advice on Reddit, I was surprised to see many users posting about needing tickets. Alyssa said she didn’t have a problem buying them one week prior. This coincided with other Reddit users posting James Murphy’s warnings against buying fake tickets from StubHub, Craig’s List and eBay. Are concertgoers supposed to be worried about buying fake tickets? What is a fake ticket anyway?

They accepted Alyssa’s money. That wasn’t fake. She won’t tell me how much she spent. I saw listings around $120 each. Compare this to the face value of tickets at $60. We both agree that it was worth it. Alyssa’s money well-spent. It was a priceless adventure for us to have. One of our last for a while.

In the New Year, I will be moving to Los Angeles. This places even more meaning when our host for the evening, James Murphy, sang “New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down.”