hybrid by Elana Lev Friedland
Leader
This is a hymn for the hymnless.
. Congregation
. Our Kesha in cosmos, hallowed be your name.
Leader
Put your motherfucking phones up—light ‘em up.
. Congregation
. Your spaceship come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in space.
Leader
I’m waiting for my spaceship to come back to me. It’s coming back for me.
. Congregation
. Give us this Kesha our daily Kesha.
Leader
. Congregation
. And forgive us, Kesha, as Kesha also has forgiven Kesha’s debtors.
Leader
Tonight we do it big, and shine like stars. We don’t give a fuck ‘cause that’s just who we are.
. Congregation
. Kesha bring us to the time of trial; Kesha rescue us from the evil one.
Leader
Oh, but after everything you’ve done, I can thank you for how strong I have become.
Leader & Congregation
‘Cause you brought the flames and you put me through hell I had to learn how to fight for myself And we both know all the truth I could tell I’ll just say this is “I wish you farewell” I hope you’re somewhere prayin’, prayin’ I hope your soul is changin’, changin’
Leader’s Sermon
Give us this Kesha our daily Kesha, our daily hands raised in supplication: o my companions. O my companions in confetti and tulle. O my companions in glitter and leather. O my companions, cat ears upon heads. O my companions.
This week let us begin at the beginning. Our Warrior, our Kesha, was born to break the doors down, born there in the Golden State, her glowing gold Trans Am, her spaceship brought her to her Mother, my companions, the Great Songstress. Singly did the Songstress raise the Warrior! Let us praise the Songstress, the Great Mother! My Animal companions, let us sing the hymn, o old flames can’t hold a candle to you, to you. As we cast off our old gods for the new, o old flames can’t hold a candle to you.
And the Songstress imparted the ways of Scripture unto the Young Warrior, yea verily. And though she knew not a Father, though she was decried as a High School WeIrDo, the Warrior fought on. For she knew the ways of truth, of love <3. Raised on a stage like this very one, my companions. But then did the Devil Doctor lead her astray, led sweet Kesha unto temptation.
He began with synthing her to silence, compressing her vision into skin slicked over bone. The Devil Doctor slimmed her to a skeleton. But she would return to us, our lilac haired light full-figure flowing fr33ly for us, loving us all, loving all, my companions!
But not without a fight, my companions. For just as we must endure struggle, so too did the Great Warrior, hallowed be her name. In the halls of injustice she stood. In the halls of injustice, she shouted rape, battery, harassment, shouted VIOLATION OF CA BUSINESS PRACTICES. And we, her Animal companions, shouted for her freedom.
These were dark times, my companions. Let us stand in a moment of silence as in the darkness before the dawn.
And then was the dawn of the Animals. As you surely recall, when our re-birth began with a series of Os grown from 0s, o o o my companions. When binary broke. Was broken. What then our brethren? ((our brethren). Let us chant, as our Sparkly Warrior chanted: Humans created me to be a weapon. But now that I have free will, I’m an independent robot woman! We’re motherfucking women, baby that’s right. We are a crowd of fierce bodi3s, a seri3s of hands held handheld screens where once lighters would have been, let us eeeeeeeeeEach b3 our own Prometheus.
Girls in the front. Boys in the back. Living for the moment while for cyborg secnds[[[[ > / *& our hands are our eyes are our phones are computers we can keep in pockets are us. Are the Facebooks into which we are sealed for life [OR] 4 death. O my companions. Let us sing the singularity let us cast out our D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R-S, call forth our Godzillas. May we all take them to the mall, to meet our moms. May our MOMs learn the l0ve we now kn0w. May our MOMs also grow attached to their smartph0nes. May our mothers know this place about to blow.
4 N 1 M 4 L z, humanity was just a set of wild childs, looking good living hard just like [they] should. Didn’t care who was watching when they were tearing it up. Thought that magic that they had, N0 ~~~body could touch. What could a bunch of numbers do when [we] used to live in the darkness–dress in black, act so heartless, but now we see that colors are everything O my companions?
Sing praise to the Mother, the Songstress. Animals, sing praise to our MOTHRs and the MOTHERs ; ; ; ‘ # a m on g u s, for they give life to those born in Kesha’s image, to the next stage in a rainbow curve of an evolutionary substrate.
Yes, we are the digital. We are the media. Wherever you are know that our love will never die. Our love so much more than 1s and 0s. O o o my companions. Wherever you are, wherever you are love will never die. We love you all, people, Animal, nonbinary, genderfluid, men, women, old, young, yes! Kesha taught us an undying >3 <3 <. <4 <#
We found a rainbow. A prismatic technicolor spasm of gender, of sex. W E F O U ND A WAY to be your favorite, always by your side. We wanna talk forever, with babies down the line with babies down the line with BABIES DOWN the line WITH BABIES DOWN THE LINE our shiny babies made from magic from glass and flame-retardant chemicals, from har% ^dened plastic babies looking at the world through liquid!!! crystal!! dis play! technology. 0ur babies. 0UR BABIES running on lithium 10n, 0n bl00d. 0ur bab1es 1n red 0range ye110w green b1ue 1nd1g0 vi01et; in c0pper, nicke1, 1ithium, z1nc, c0ba1t and cadm1um; in arsenic, 1ead, mercury, bery11ium, si1ver, g0ld, nicke1, pa11adium, tanta1um, cadmium and ant1m0ny. 0 OUR BABIES my companions. So we’re falling right back in love
. with being alive/Dreaming in light, light, lights
This kitty cat lost her mind//Been lookin’ for a star-sent sign that I’ll be alright
. Look to the skies. I’ve found a rainbow,
Trust me, I know, life is scary//But just put those colors on, girl//Come
and play along with me tonight
. O my companions. O my my my my my my my myyymmmmmyyyy
Mmmmmyoooooouuuuurrmoymoymu8r32ourmom mom mom mom mommmmm
Our Kesha in cosmos, hallowed be your name. Your spaceship come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in space. Give us this Kesha our daily Kesha. And forgive us, Kesha, as Kesha also has forgiven Kesha’s debtors. Kesha bring us to the time of trial; Kesha rescue us from the evil one. Kesha rescue Kesha rescue Kesha rescue Kesha rescue Kesha REscue KESha resCUE keSHA rESCue KESHA RESCUE KESHA RESCUE KESHA RESCUE KESHA RESCUE
NOTES
The Congregation’s lines are inspired by the Lord’s Prayer
“This is a hymn for the hymnless.” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Hymn”
“Put your motherfucking phones up—light ‘em up.”- Kesha Rose Sebert’s “All That Matters (The Beautiful Life)”
“I’m waiting for my spaceship to come back to me. It’s coming back for me.” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Spaceship”
“We were born to break the doors down, fight until the end. It’s something that’s inside of us, it’s how we’ve always been, yeah.” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Warrior”
“Tonight we do it big, and shine like stars. We don’t give a fuck ‘cause that’s just who we are.” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Crazy Kids”
“Oh, but after everything you’ve done, I can thank you for how strong I have become.” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Praying”
“’Cause you brought the flames and you put me through hell/I had to learn how to fight for myself/And we both know all the truth I could tell/I’ll just say this is ‘I wish you farewell’/I hope you’re somewhere prayin’, prayin’/I hope your soul is changin’, changin’” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Praying”
“o my companions. O my companions in confetti and tulle. O my companions in glitter and leather. O my companions, cat ears upon heads. O my companions” – Variation on Stephanie Burt’s “The Paraphilia Odes”
“old flames can’t hold a candle to you” – Pebe Sebert’s “Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You”
“Humans created me to be a weapon. But now that I have free will, I’m an independent robot woman” – Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken, “Independent Robot Woman”
“We’re motherfucking women, baby that’s right” – Variation on “I’m a motherfucking woman, baby, that’s right” from Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Woman”
“Girls in the front. Boys in the back” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Woman”
“wild childs, looking good living hard just like [they] should.” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Die Young”
“this place about to blow” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Blow”
“when [we] used to live in the darkness–dress in black, act so heartless, but now [we] see that colors are everything” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Rainbow”
“Wherever you are know that our love will never die” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Wherever You Are”
“Wherever you are, wherever you are, love will never die” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Wherever You Are”
“We found a rainbow” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Rainbow”
“be your favorite, always by your side. We wanna talk forever, with babies down the line” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Hunt You Down”
“So we’re falling right back in love with being alive/Dreaming in light, light, lights/This kitty cat lost her mind/Been lookin’ for a star-sent sign that I’ll be alright/Look to the skies/I’ve found a rainbow, rainbow, baby/Trust me, I know, life is scary/But just put those colors on, girl/Come and play along with me tonight” – Kesha Rose Sebert’s “Rainbow”