To the untrained ear Ke$ha might seem to be the last musical icon an isolated trail worker might take refuge in, but, in short, Ke$ha facilitates a positive and highly contagious energy for those out there digging holes and shoveling dirt. It is true much of her lyrics revolve around things either prohibited or unavailable in the conservation world - alcohol, sex, wild and crazy urban nights, and mustache rides, to name a few - perhaps, though, it is sometimes better to indulge in such things vicariously through music rather than reality.
The sober ecstasy often experienced in wilderness by trail and conservation workers, either solitarily, or as a comraderie, often leaves those afflicted with a compulsion to dance. Ke$ha’s bass heavy, bombarding beats empowers listeners to move their bottoms freely and with conviction. Engaging in such uninhibited dance might be hindered by self-consciousness in the realms of society, but in the wilderness there is no embarrassment, not with “Tik-Tok, or We R Who We R” blasting on the car stereo, through headphones, or simply in our spirits.
Trail Work and conservation work often attracts young people looking to experience the world, people who desire to be thrown into unfamiliar and new things. How could Ke$ha’s reckless and “lust for life” lyrics not catch an adventurer’s attention? Furthermore, most people who’ve spent more than a season in the conservation world live a sort of dual life in which they go back and forth between home (urban or civilized life) and their seasonal outdoor feral life. This duality is often a source of stress for conservation workers, having to repeatedly adjust to the “real” world after a season of work. Someone who knows these struggles all too well can’t help but be drawn to someone like Ke$ha who’s lyrics often reference “the animal inside” and embraces outcasts: “we are the crazy people”
Most people picture Ke$ha as an obnoxious party girl and would be surprised to hear that she’s spent a great deal of energy supporting various environmental and political causes. Ke$ha, as part of a cruelty free campaign, called on the EU to ban sales of cosmetics tested on animals. She called for Canada to ban their annual slaughter of baby seals and supported a Canadian seafood boycott. Ke$ha has made a great effort to educated her fans about the inhumane management of wild horses in the U.S., dogfighting, coral reef protection and the preservation of polar bears. To say she is a poor role model for conservationists would be a farce, wouldn’t you say?
In the spirit of this incredible woman, this moral role model and queen of carpe-diem, I’d like to end this post with some lyrics to live by;
“This is all we got and then it's gone
You call us the crazy ones
But we gon' keep on dancin' 'til the dawn
'Cause you know the party never ends
And tomorrow we gonna do it again
We the ones that play hard
We live hard, we love hard
We light up the dark”
-Ke$ha, Crazy Kids