#I will say that while luke has some banger lines I don't care for some of his dialogue between tlt and tlo

[bayetea]

Thoughts on Luke? just curious, i love all your pjo stuff and i saw that you like thaluke so 👀

(resisting the urge to say "no one gets him like I do") to be completely honest barring that one thing luke is probably the best written original character in the entire percy jackson franchise

[penroseparticle]

Penrose Song of the Day Day 26: Body Talks by The Struts ft. Kesha

I kept my word, this is pretty upbeat compared to the past sobriquet.

I have favorites. I know I do. I grade people on a curve. If I decide you're one of mine, you're one of mine. And if you're one of mine, you can do a LOT of stuff and I'm still claiming you.

I very nearly put a Kendrick song here (Which one to pick tbh lol. Meet the Grahams was chilling, and Not like US is gonna be a sticky one that one has club potential. It's already being played in clubs actually lmao), but the Drake/Kendrick stuff is kind of heavy and as fun as it is from the sidelines (And remembering the Millie Bobbie Brown stuff makes it easy to feel comfortable picking sides here), it would be a very, VERY difficult thing to conceptualize and write. It would be cheap of me to even delve. But musically, I am in a Hiss/Euphoria/Meet the Grahams headspace.

But it kind of got me thinking about stan culture. About ride or die fans. Maybe yeah of Drake, but then I started thinking about Swifties. About the Army (BTS). etc.

And well, it really is not smart to pretend things about you aren't true. So I gotta admit- I'm ride or die for Kesha.

She could sing the phonebook at me and not only would I thank her, but I wouldn't even bat an eye. I would listen religiously.

Kesha has some... questionable song content, especially back in the Dr. Luke days. Grow A Pair comes to mind as casually, incidentally transphobic and misogynistic. And I don't even care! I mean I do care. But it doesn't stop me from eating up any and all Kesha content that comes my way.

Timber? A song that, while pulsing and driving and acting as good pop music. Is not that deep. And Kesha is best part of that song but it's not a varied performance let's be real. Dirty Love with Iggy Pop? Such a questionable green heart on my spotify. It is not a good song why do I like it?

And the real answer is just the charm that is Kesha.

So it's always a relief to me when Kesha writes an absolute banger, or features on an absolute banger, and I think the song is not just my jam for being a Kesha song, but I think it's also, you know, good.

I have the pleasure of having heard both the version of this song with The Struts only, and the version with Kesha, and I can confidently say that Kesha adds an energy and power to the vocals that helps the song not be washed out by its own instrumentation. The sound mixing is just. Better. The song is fuller, and the vocals are punched up enough that they stand against the instrument backing. And I like what I'm hearing more.

And the song is a bop. It's a banger y'all. It's a fun song about attraction, with nothing more or less behind it. The reason these two are attracted to each other (and again, the song works better as a duet for that reason- the attraction goes both ways) is left up to you, and the idea of being "what they want tonight" isn't weird or gross so much as kind of. Suggestive, flirty? Like a good pickup line. Idk. This song is a song where my "Make song instantly better? Just add Kesha" is on full display.

She's got such a good, growly rasp to her voice that works well with a rock song like this. Kesha is a vocal chameleon to me somehow- I like soulful ballad Kesha, her voice has the character for it and she got them pipes. I like Rock Feature Kesha, she sounds growly and raspy and all that. Pop princess Kesha? She's got the dialect. She grew up swimming in the pop tank with Dr. Fucking Luke looming. She can do pop music in her sleep.

And this is where I stand. I believe any and all songs can be improved by adding Kesha. That's my cross to bear. That's the sin I embody.

Other artists I believe instantly improve any song they're on: Megan Thee Stallion, Beyonce, Maluma, Betty Who, Common, Carly Rae Jepsen, Victoria Monet, and Frank Ocean. They could polish literally any turd and I would stream it.

That said, I'd hardly call this song a turd. This song is just a fun fucking rock romp. This is what flirting with someone good at flirting feels like. Like you're playing jazz via conversation and the person talking to you, not only recognizes the volley, but sends it back in a way that encourages the back and forth. The frisson of attraction makes everything feel electric, like it's purposeful. Like it's meant to be somehow.

I like when a song makes me feel something- sometimes I get really wrapped up in feeling negative. But I have to remember that I like music that makes me feel something good as well. Feeling things reminds me that I'm alive. You could be dead right now. Go listen to something you love.