Ke$ha- "Cannibal"

Sorry for taking so long with this, Ke$ha's last album traumatized me so bad I got a wicked cold. However, she also helped me realize that I can laugh at my problems to help get over them, so I thank Ke$ha for that at least. Okay, this is going to be my last Ke$ha review since I don't review remix albums. The only thing I expect to find here is that songs will probably be less obnoxious and perhaps a tad boring at times. Since it has been two months and I've reviewed Quadrophenia, I will be more calm this time around.

Title: Cannibal

Year:2010

Genre: Pop, Rap, Techno

Artist(s): Ke$ha

Copyright: © MCA Records 2010, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment

Songs:

The songs I would say are bad are "We R Who We R" and "Sleazy" because the first sounds too much like the leftovers of the singles from Animal and the second reminds too much of the Black Eyed Peas mixed with Nicki Minaj in the repeated phrase of "Sleazy" and the drum beat, though the latter has a pretty funny pun. The decent songs are "Blow", "Cannibal", and "Beautiful Crazy Life." The first two because though it is repetitive it has a pretty enjoyable beat and the singing is better than the previous album, though I could do without the Jeffery Dahmer reference in "Cannibal." The third has okay music to it, but the reason I call it decent is are the lyrics are simple and true, I can't fault her for living her life the way she wants, but I will also say it is easy to see that she hated being a waitress with her f**k you attitude she sings with. The good songs are "The Harold song", "C U Next Tuesday", "Animal (Billboard Remix)" and "Grow a Pair." I say these are good because they are pretty or very funny and have some good lyric writing behind them. "The Harold Song" is like "Hungover" part two in that she is heart broken, but the music is well arranged in that it actually sounds pretty, sadly the backing vocals howl a bit too much though. "C U etc." is a pun within it's self but has a deepened meaning to it and also sounds very pretty aside from the synth vocals towards the end. "Grow a Pair" is pretty funny and well arranged for the topic of a whiny ex-boyfriend of hers, and though some vocals suck, they are fairly on pitch. It is also nice to hear her direct her frustrations to one dude and not all of them. Lastly, the "Animal" remix was better arranged than the original including the vocals aside from the muddy sounding bass.

Audio Mixing:

Varried. Sometimes the bass is too muddy, other times it is pretty clear. Overall for a digital pop EP it is very warm sounding similar to her first album. And yes, it may be auto tuned, but at least she didn't sound like a robot vocalist the ENTIRE time.

Singing:

The singing was better than the previous album with Ke$ha being a little less pitchy, though I'd say she still has a ways to go before she can be spot on all the time. The ending of "Hank's Song" was very well done with Ke$ha harmonizing with her self in six voices. However, I'm still not a fan of her voice when she raps.

Instrumentation:

Very basic, but more technical than before with more fluid synthesizer playing that also didn't steal all the attention. Plus there was bass guitar at parts, so that was nice. Overall, basic but the songs flowed better than before.

Lyrics:

The lyrics vary in subject from partying and drinking with sex, to cannibalism, to living life, breaking up, and sticking it to "douchebag" and whiny guys. The lyrics are only vague, but are otherwise clear. What really stuck out to me though was "C U Next Tuesday" where Ke$ha dumped her then lover for cheating on his actaul girlfriend with her. The lyrics are ok, an improvement from before as it was a nice break form her normal "guys suck" routine.

What I didn't like:

The songs I said were bad.

What I did like:

How the themes were a little more human and funny, and most of the music a bit more consonant sounding than before.

Who would enjoy this EP:

Some Ke$ha skeptics, anyone without perfect pitch which I mean in a serious way, people with bad breakups or bad ex boyfriends/girlfriends. Also, her fans that didn't fit that last target demographic.

Overall: An improvement from before in most ways minus the slight copying of artists and the leftovers from Animal. This is the first time I will give Ke$ha credit for her song writing abilities, and the last time I will be reviewing her stuff, even if she releases more albums.

Rating: ***

If this album would have gotten one star I would have posted the "Cars for Kids Drunk Version" song, but I'm going to post the videos of the singles. Brace your self, "Blow" is a weird video.

"Blow" Official Music Video:


"We R Who We R" Official Music Video: