Episode 261: Kesha

“Eat The Acid”

Kesha is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She put out her first song in 2009, and it was a huge #1 hit in the US and 13 other countries. She’s had 10 top-ten singles on the Billboard charts, and sold millions of albums. She got famous for songs that were about partying, and breaking the rules, and having fun. But this year, in May 2023, she put out the album Gag Order, which is a lot more raw and vulnerable. She made it with superstar producer Rick Rubin. And for this episode, I talked to Kesha about her song “Eat The Acid,” which she wrote early on in the pandemic. I was really interested in the intense, distorted vocal sound that I’d heard in the track; and as you’ll hear, it turns out most of that was a byproduct of the way she had to write and record when we were all in lockdown.

You can buy or stream “Eat The Acid” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Pebe Sebert – Kesha’s mom and co-writer
Stuart Crichton – Co-writer
Jason Lader – Engineer
Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You – Song written by Kesha’s mom in the 1970s
Rainbow – Kesha’s album from 2017