I love glitter, tequila, Jesus and America – in that order. And when all four are featured in one harmonious music video, y’all know what’s up: Ke$ha’s in town. The professional party girl is back with a new EP, Cannibal, and as a music appreciator, enthusiast of the English language, frequenter of Peel Pub and independent woman, I couldn’t be happier. Nobody – and I mean nobody – embodies that lifestyle better than she who has made hits out of lyrics like, “Wanna dance with no pants on (Holla)/Meet me in the back with the Jack and the jukebox…”
Okay, so she’s not exactly Virginia Woolf, but then again, if the V. Woolf had hit da clubs more, maybe she wouldn’t have been compelled to take that dip in a lake with pockets full of rocks. So grab a 40, smear a glittery crayon around your eyes and enjoy this week’s Spoiler Alert: I watched “We R Who R Are” so you don’t have to (but you’ll probably want to anyway).
If there’s one thing you can respect the girl for, it’s sticking to her guns. I don’t know if this stemmed from her childhood or if it was a decision she made before sending out demos, but Ke$ha has somehow fueled her platinum record-selling career by singing about nothing other than gettin’ drunk, goin’ out and meetin’ dudes.
So it’s really no surprise that “We R Who We R” is a continuation of that legacy – this video takes place entirely in a tunnel-turned-glitter dance party. She’s ready to get crunk: she’s teased and sprayed the shit out of her hair, her eyelids are smudged with sparkly blue eyeshadow and she’s got her cut up, soiled American flag dress on (one of two costume changes &- the other is a dress made of mirrors). But boys, beware: “No, you don’t want to mess with us/Got Jesus on my necklace.” Not really true – no necklace – but rosaries show up in nearly every frame in the second half of the video. Odd? Nawww, man, Jesus turned water into booze, so he’s invited to the party, obvi.
This video is all red, white and blue: strobe lights, explosions of fire in the background and strategically-coloured bottles of Revolucion Tequila (the best product placements are the ones that keep everyone happy and drunk). And another thing that’s white and blue: the banner for Plentyoffish.com, the site that the two DJs keep clicking back to between fist pumps (the second best product placements are the ones that enable contact with Internet predators once you’re happy and drunk).
The climax of this video occurs when the music pauses and she’s slow-motion falling backwards into the crowd from the top of an office building &- it’s really dramatic for about five seconds and then the party continues back in the tunnel, with more sporadic waves of blue lights. But no matter how high she climbs, literally and figuratively, she makes it clear by her lyrics that she’s still the same endearingly drunk mess she’s always been: “I’m tellin’ you about the shit we do/We’re sellin’ our clothes, sleepin’ in cars, dressin’ it down, hittin’ on dudes (hard).” Although, given that there are no males in the video and her peeps are all up on the Internet dating sites, they’ve clearly expanded their hittin’-on-dudes tactics.
Respect, Ke$ha. Not only are you a standup, down-to-earth citizen, you’ve show us that with enough cheap makeup, glitter, and a lot of alcohol, there’s a Ke$ha in every one of us.
