[pullquote1 quotes=”true” align=”center”]Music’s prevalent party girls battle to establish new image for nre[/pullquote1]
Senior Editor
Two female artists who had sort of fallen off of the college radar released albums in the last few months of 2012.
Ke$ha and Nicki Minaj are two artists who are still well known via their popular party releases, “Die Young” and “Starships,” respectively, but the majority of their work seems to take a back seat.
Let’s start with Ke$ha. While almost everyone knows at least some of her earlier work, I would wager many at F&M do not really care for her new album Warrior. On the album, Ke$ha seems to move away from the party-girl attitude she had in most of her previous pieces and take a calmer, more down-to-earth approach (well, at least for Ke$ha). Instead of talking about how she goes out, blacks out, and basically pukes glitter in all of her songs, she talks about two kinds of relationships she has had.
The first is one with a cheating and useless boyfriend who is shown in songs such as “Thinking of You.” Here the main refrain tells the story of how she found it hard to get over her him but now that she’s famous, she’s glad she dropped the baggage and even rubs it in his face that he could have been with a star.
The second type of song talks about a new relationship with someone whom she truly seems to love (though I’m sure it will be over by the next album). In songs such as “Supernatural,” Ke$ha talks about how amazing it is to be with this person and how it is out of this world.
There are, of course, the expected party-girl songs such as “Die Young” and “C’mon” which fit the typical Ke$ha motif of living for today and partying hard. These are equally enjoyable and the ones most people know.
Overall, the album is pretty good, especially since it is such a far stretch from what is typically expected from Ke$ha. My only hope is that her songs don’t take on the half-assed, emotional crusade for something higher as did Lady Gaga in moving from songs like “Just Dance” (which everyone loved) to slow, sappy sounding songs, such as “Marry the Night” and “Edge of Glory,” but I digress.
The other artist who needs to be addressed, or should I say reprimanded, is Nicki Minaj. I have never heard anything worse than her Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded the Re-Up. Let me explain; most people I talk to hate Nicki in her entirety but I would argue she has had her high moments. “Starships” and “Pound the Alarm” were both pretty good, especially in the party scene, and I would argue almost everything she is featured in is pretty good, as well. However, she should never ever attempt to do something by herself ever again after the disgrace that is her most recent album.
First of all, she couldn’t even come up with a new title for the thing but simply played off the title of her first album, which should be the first indicator of its shoddy quality.
To be entirely honest, I am making this judgment from about half the songs on the album, but to continue listening would have caused me extensive and irreparable brain damage I just do not need in my life. That being said, let’s move on.
The first song on the album is “Roman Holiday,” which is sung by Martha, her fairy godmother, telling Roman, her crazy alter-ego, she needs to take a holiday from being a disaster. The lyrics are terrible and the fake, bubbly British voice of Martha makes me want to puncture my eardrums with an ice pick. This says nothing of the corrupted and mildly sacrilegious rendition of “O Come all Ye Faithful” in which she basically makes herself a goddess.
The worst offender on the album, though, is “Come on a Cone.” No lie — that’s what it’s called. I couldn’t begin to tell you what it’s about, but the most notable feature of the song is the part where she operatically sings, “Put my dick in your face” more than five times. I almost died laughing, which is probably not the response she was looking for and left me wondering if there was more fake to her than just her boobs and butt.
Both albums seem to have flown under the radar, but for very different reasons: Ke$ha’s because of the change in motif which came across as very tactful and I feel should be more appreciated, Nicki’s because it’s a complete joke that should be banned for the sanctity of our reputation to future generations.
The thought I will leave you with is the possibility that Nicki’s “Come on a Cone” is the only thing they find of our generation a thousand years from now. To prevent this tragedy, avoid Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded the Re-Up at all costs and instead support Warrior in its attempt to change a party girl into a romantic.
Questions? Email Justin at jkozlosk@ fandm.edu.