Listen to the Flaming Lips / Ke$ha collaboration, if you dare
by Aaron Zorgel
April 23, 2012
If you were one of the lucky few to snap up a copy of The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends on Record Store Day, you know that the most famous heady fwend of all is the princess of party, Miss Sleazy herself, Ke$ha. The record opens with "2012 (You Must Be Upgraded)," which features both Ke$ha and Biz Markie. The results are, you guessed it, fucking insane.
If you were one of the lucky few to snap up a copy of The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends on Record Store Day, you know that the most famous heady fwend of all is the princess of party, Miss Sleazy herself, Ke$ha. If you weren’t able to pick up a copy of the vinyl on RSD, you can expect to pay upwards of $80 for the LP on eBay.
The collaboration has been much hyped in recent months, and Ke$ha has boasted that she and Wayne Coyne are breaking the boundaries of genre, making a new album of music she can describe only as “cock pop.”
The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends opens with “2012 (You Must Be Upgraded),” which features both Ke$ha and Biz Markie. The results are, you guessed it, fucking insane:
I know, it’s a lot to process. Just to prove that you’re not alone in thinking that this is a mind-melting devolution of music, and a sonic horror-show, here’s my play-by-play of the single:
00:00-00:03 – Ke$ha, acapella, sings “Cause I want my ass — shit. One more time?” Any time a song starts with a vocal outtake, it means the song is a joke, right? Please say yes, Wayne Coyne.
00:05-00:19 – crunchy blown out instruments grind atonally, as a lo-fi vocal sample burps out “You Must Be Upgraded.” This is what Hell will sound like in the year 3000.
00:20-00:53 – Ke$ha does a Bjork impression, whining “It’s 2012, think we’re going to Hell. I want me mind to be completely toast.” Don’t ruin breakfast for me, Ke$ha.
00:54-01:50 – Totally freaky post-apocalyptic robo jam session.
01:51-02:10 – Finally some melody! Wayne Coyne weaves in some synthetic flute leads to soothe the listener, as if softly stroking our heads, telling us “It’s ok, Ke$ha is gone now. I know that was hard to endure. Listen to the synthy flutes.” Oh, fuck, Ke$ha is back again.
02:11-03:34 – Okay, when she’s not talk-singing, or aided by autotune, maybe Ke$ha isn’t the absolute worst. This bridge is tolerable.
03:35-END – OH GOD THE MACHINE SOUNDS ARE BACK, I’M DYING. GOODBYE.
Well, thanks for joining me on that journey. I don’t know if I’m qualified to be a Heady Fwend, and I’m definitely ok with that.
Assuming this is an outtake from the Cock-Pop sessions, I imagine we have some surprises to look forward to with this new Ke$ha album. You’ve been warned.
Tags: Music, News, Ke$ha, kesha, Record Store Day, The Flaming Lips, Wayne Coyne
