We show how the classical polylogarithm function Lis(z)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extrm{Li}_s(z)$$\\end{document} and its relatives, the Hurwitz zeta function and the Lerch function are all of a spectral nature, and can explain many properties of the complex powers of the Laplacian on the circle and of the distribution (x+i0)s\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(x+i 0)^s$$\\end{document}. We also make a relation with a result of Keiper [Fractional Calculus and its relationship to Riemann’s zeta function, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Mathematics (1975)].