Ke$ha - Die Young

I reviewed Cannibal, Ke$ha's second album, back when it first came out.  At the time, I gave the record an incredibly brutal rating.  It's probably one of the very few posts for The Soundtrack Of My Life where, after reading it back now, I wish I could just redo it completely.  But hey, opinions change and that's exactly what happened.  Just don't go looking for that review.

In the near two years that have passed since the album's release, my thoughts about Ke$ha have drastically reformed.  I actually think her music is great, if you're looking for for some top notch party tracks.  I stopped caring about the fact that her songwriting can be mindless, because there have indeed been moments when all I want to hear is mindless music.  Ke$ha's other projects outside of the pop world are fascinating.  Just listen to her cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right".  It's fantastic. She may not be the savior of music, but she's definitely one of the most interesting mainstream pop stars of today.

Today, Ke$ha released the lead single to her upcoming third album, Warrior.  "Die Young" is her highly anticipated return to the scene after being out of the spotlight for quite a while.  I actually heard the song a last night when it leaked, before being pulled off of Soundcloud and various other sites. However, due to my refusal to promote leaks, this post is going up today.

"Die Young" is very Ke$ha.  It's not exactly the rock song that she teased, literally or in attitude, but it's a definite contender for radio play.  I somewhat wish "Die Young" had a little more of what I criticized Ke$ha for in the previously mentioned Cannibal review, more attitude, whether it be hilariously ridiculous or not.  I admit, after all of this Iggy Pop talk and hanging out with The Flaming Lips, I expected something a little different. Maybe she's saving the heavy hitters for later, we'll just have to wait and see.  In the meantime, we have a massive dance-pop track, which isn't bad, just safe.  What gets in the way is the fact that she's capable of so much more.

Watch the official lyric video for "Die Young".