Blah Blah Blah

Album: Animal (2010)
Charted: 11 7
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track, which features the American electro pop-rock band 3OH!3, showcases Kesha's flair for storytelling. "I'll go out, have an insane night, stumble home, and scribble down a few words," she said. "The next morning I'll wake up and be like, 'Whoa, this story needs to be told.'"

    The song finds Kesha deflecting the advances of all the guys trying to pick her up at the club. To her, all the game they run just sounds like "blah blah blah."
  • The song was used in an episode of the CW TV series Melrose Place.
  • "Blah" or "blah-blah" is a representation of words that are too obvious or tedious to give in full. It originated in the US during the early years of the 20th century. More recently the tripartite version has become more frequent as another way of saying "and so on." Ira and George Gershwin wrote a song called "Blah, Blah, Blah" for a film called Delicious in 1931 and in 1986 a David Bowie and Iggy Pop penned tune, commentating on the uselessness of much of modern communication, was the title track of the latter's Blah Blah Blah album.
  • This is one of several tracks in which Kesha addresses men in the same sexist way that male performers have traditionally done concerning women. She explained to Jam! Music there's a double standard at work: "I have very empowering lyrics for women. I kind of take how guys talk to women all over this industry and throw it back at them. And they're all getting their panties in a wad, and I think that's hilarious. I'm literally just talking to a man the way any rapper talks about women in every rap song on the radio."
  • Kesha explained that the club anthem originated from a conversation she had in the studio on the politics of male-female relationships. She told MTV News: "The song came about when the people that wrote it - me, Benny Blanco, Neon Hitch and [3Oh!3's] Sean Foreman - all got in a room, and they were talking about how chicks talk too much.

    And me and Neon were like, 'No, no, no, guys talk too much.' So, we had this war of who were more obnoxious, chicks or dudes. And the song kind of came around from that conversation. I think I make a pretty fair point both in this video and in the song, that dudes are way more annoying."
  • The song's music video features the boys of 3Oh!3 as well as Kesha. She told MTV News: "The whole concept of the video was a bunch of douche-y guys macking on me as usual, and me making them eat their toupees or other various items. At one point, I get to be strapped to this harness and bouncing around everywhere, and it was really cool."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.