I would much prefer an album with empowering big songs like Gypsy, Edge Of Glory, Marry The Night, etc than this crap on ARTPOP! She's trying too hard to be different and she's selling herself out this era. This album is nowhere near as good as she's been bigging it up to be the past year and it's rather embarrassing.
I just read she's split from Troy Carter due to creative differences. He's a well respected manager and has guided her well so far and it's never a good sign when an artist can no longer take advice and guidance that's if what I've read is true
I hate Madonna comparisons, but I really can't wait for her Ray of Light moment. When she puts out something raw and just her writing songs straight from the heart.
I have always said this, but if she wants to shock people, then she should come out on stage, in a dress and sit down at her piano, and sing. Who expects that? We've done the meat dresses. I think I'm ready for her to completely strip back.*
I think it's coming, just maybe not for a while. I feel she needs clarity and a personal leap to take her to a new place and deliver it. i.e. getting married, having a kid.
And I agree. Her performing a great ballad without a costume would surprise. She can still be "Gaga", but not OTT.
I think songs like Gypsy and G.U.Y are songs she should be releasing. A simple concept in a catchy song. Just because it isn't burdened with heavy messages and hidden meanings, doesn't mean a song isn't a piece of art.
I really think with Born this Way, she isolated a lot of casual fans. And with a very, very clear singles strategy from here on in she could win them back.
Precisely. She seems to think that simple is basic and that she has to show off how deep and creative she is all the time. That if she has a straightforward pop song that she couldn't possibly have a straightforward visual concept alongside it.
She basically needs to give DWUW a great, simple video and perform it with R Kelly on key shows. Then follow it up with Gypsy and give that a fun and engaging video. Sexxx Dreams is my choice for 4th single, I think. It's a standout, and with a sexy video I could see it being popular. If need be, release a radio edit of Sweet Dreams.
I think the next three singles should be:
Aura (as the continuation of Telephone), Sexxx Dreams, Donatella.
Still not feeling G.U.Y., quality track but the lyrics (except the epic intro and outro) leave me cold.
Gypsy is also an amazing song, but the production is ever so cheesy. It would probaby slay in Asia though.
Shall i tell you why, it wont do as good as paparazzi or telephone.
FACT
But imagine the video though. :cool: Can't do worse than Marry the Night.
And the opening lyrics are "I killed my poor friend, left her in the trunk on highway 10". (I know the lyric video contradicts this slightly but the audio doesn't lie)
Also, Aura clearly pushes cultural boundaries. Gaga no longer has to pander to the mainstream.
But imagine the video though. :cool: Can't do worse than Marry the Night.
And the opening lyrics are "I killed my poor friend, left her in the trunk on highway 10". (I know the lyric video contradicts this slightly but the audio doesn't lie) Also, Aura clearly pushes cultural boundaries. Gaga no longer has to pander to the mainstream.
what boundaries would they be then? i think you will find all music artists in the mainstream have to deliver commercial results and gaga is no different in that respect. i have heard her album and rather unsurprisingly, i am underwhelmed.:o however, she is clearly pandering to the mainstream on the better tracks that have the best chance of crossing over, but unfortunately, they're few and far between on her latest release in my opinion.
elsewhere the album is littered with fillers or songs that sound like a collection of demos thrown together and the result is not good compared to her previous material. overcomplicated concepts is neither "creative" or "deep" and for people to keep reiterating these terms, don't make them any more true. she may have a certain level of creative control and presumably, she has being given that freedom due to her previous music sales, but make no mistake, if this album does not deliver the required commercial results, then the record company will intervene.;)
Aura is a pop song about wearing the burqa. If that's not pushing cultural boundaries, I don't know what is. And it's got an epic chorus, and sounds like nothing out there at the moment.
And while Gaga may be advised by her label, the reason she broke into the mainstream with Bad Romance was because she took risks and set trends, not followed them.
Aura is a pop song about wearing the burqa. If that's not pushing cultural boundaries, I don't know what is. And it's got an epic chorus, and sounds like nothing out there at the moment.
And while Gaga may be advised by her label, the reason she broke into the mainstream with Bad Romance was because she took risks and set trends, not followed them.
End of the day if aura is the followup to telephone it will underperform!!
Aura is a pop song about wearing the burqa. If that's not pushing cultural boundaries, I don't know what is. And it's got an epic chorus, and sounds like nothing out there at the moment.
And while Gaga may be advised by her label, the reason she broke into the mainstream with Bad Romance was because she took risks and set trends, not followed them.
so that is one boundary then and doesn't she just refer to the burqa as a fashion accessory in the song?:o its neither challenging or controversial and rihanna caused more of a stir in her recent pictures a mosque.:eek:
gaga broke into the mainstream before "bad romance", but what trends did she set and what risks did she take there particularly?
Is Donatella Versace aware that Lady Gaga sang a song about her?
Yes, she does. She is a big fan of it
"I would like to thank Gaga for her geniality, creativity, incredible talent and super bitchiness," Versace told Just Jared, who ran an interview with Lady Gaga about the song last week. "I am honoured to be her friend and of course I love the song!"
Lady Gaga explained that although similar in subject to Jay-Z's song Tom Ford, her ode to Donatella is more personal: "It's not so much about Donatella as a brand as it is Donatella the person; about me as a person; that idea of what the public wants from you…It's about being a fearless female and not caring what people say about you - being proud of who you are and walking the walk no matter what."
so that is one boundary then and doesn't she just refer to the burqa as a fashion accessory in the song?:o its neither challenging or controversial and rihanna caused more of a stir in her recent pictures a mosque.:eek:
gaga broke into the mainstream before "bad romance", but what trends did she set and what risks did she take there particularly?
I think the risks she did were more outside her music. Like Madonna, Gaga has made such an impact on the LGBT community. She was the leading figure among helping to stop Don't ask, don't tell.
Lady Gaga, often slammed or highly praised, is no stranger to controversy and to how the music industry works. After her last album Born This Way, one of which was either adored or ridiculed for its messages and filthy beats, and after a tour cancelation, a broken hip, twitter feuds, and so many other troubles, she seemed to keep a level head for her biggest project yet, ARTPOP (Yes, in all capital letters). Like anything Lady Gaga related, you may love this album or you will hate it depending on how you feel about her to begin with or whether or not you agree with what she is trying to do. This writer is highly impressed with ARTPOP; A musical journey that travels through genres, ideas, and emotions. It is an album that starts off far fetched and off the walls and then slowly comes down to Earth and is frighteningly personal.
The album starts off with Aura, a bizarre track that begins with the kind of sounds you would hear on a weird Born This Way track (perhaps Americano). The song talks about the murder of the narrator’s former life (presumably Born This Way) as the bass featured on this album bursts its way slowly into the song, changing the song entirely. That is how the album starts. It starts with the most experimental song on the album, as it transitions into the second weirdest song Venus: A modern B52s-like song that combines partying, sex and astronomy with an eerie Sun Ra sample that chants within the background. The album begins to explore sex based songs with GUY and the more toned down Sexxx Dreams, as it jumps into a hip hop based song called Jewels and Drugs (two of the other topics found in rap) featuring T.I., Too $hort and Twista. Following this theme of popular radio genres we have the rock anthem MANiCURE which cleverly combines the idea of getting a manicure to relieve ones self of stress with the mentality of being rid of men entirely. After so many songs about sex and self power, we have Do What U Want, featuring R Kelly, which has Lady Gaga sacrificing her body as a sexual object but refuses to give up her mental integrity. It is a driven song with R&B elements that features some of Lady Gaga’s best vocals to date.
After so many heavy hitting songs, we reach the midway point with the title track ARTPOP: A pretty and calming song about unity. The concept of self depravation for art returns, sadly (for the pop star, not for us) with Swine. Swine, too, is about self sacrifice for one’s passion as it is a much more confrontational song about doing what it takes to live one’s dream as it exposes the disgusting personalities of higher ups. Suddenly, the second half of ARTPOP reveals itself to be the more hard hitting half lyrically, as the first half focused on giving us a good time and on being strong. Donatella follows as a satirical look on the idol of the same name, as it both commends her for her importance yet also paints the tabloid driven picture of her (with lyrics about how she is a self empowered bitch). Fashion! similarly praises yet mocks the fashion industry with lyrics that are as flashy as a photo shoot itself: You sense the reality behind the art. Mary Jane Holland follows, and it is a marijuana anthem. However, it isn’t the typically sleazy weed song. It’s actually a bitter sweet epic full of dirty synths, a theatrical bridge, and lyrics that both promote highs yet show one’s dependency on them.
This leads us to Dope, a piano ballad that can be linked to marijuana as well yet is Lady Gaga’s most hard hitting song yet. It compares the separation between her and her loved one(s) with being separated from a drug. It’s candid. It’s heavy. It’s Lady Gaga at her most bare ever. Gypsy trails afterwards with a piano intro that fights back with an upbeat rhythm signifying Lady Gaga’s strengths lying amongst her music and her effect on the world musically. As she ends the song off with listing the names of countries, she mentions “I don’t speak German but I try”. This is a clever homage to her song Scheisse off Born This Way, which sexually states “I don’t speak German but I can if you’d like”. Only this time in Gypsy, she’s showing her efforts as an entertainer, not her will to impress a lover. The album is over with her remembering why she is a performer to begin with, and we conclude the album with the epilogue Applause: A tune devoted to her fans.
A track by track commentary is necessary since ARTPOP is a clear concept album that travels from obscurity to realization. The album is linked musically as well, with songs that bounce off the starts and finishes of one another (yet never fully transitioning, which would usually be a bad note but here it works as this is an album of pop songs that can be played individually). We hear a lot of EDM beats and synths throughout the album, but they never feel fake like they did on Born This Way, despite being electronic sounds. They sound as real as electronic sounds can sound. The production on this album is well done, with walls of sound thick enough to stand within and bass that cascades off all corners of the room. There are many sounds and ideas happening at once. As an example, Venus (which Lady Gaga produced herself) will have snare drums get more and more layered to punctuate parts of the song more than others to create dynamics. In ARTPOP, she creates a falsetto sung melody to accent the background music of the second verse, never mind a chorus. These kinds of cares of all parts of the songs are what separate ARTPOP from your run of the mill pop album. Vocally, Lady Gaga has never been better, as she belts the high notes in Do What You Want, screams in Swine, and channels many of her idols ranging from Elton John and David Bowie to Christina Aguilera and Annie Lennox.
ARTPOP is interesting because its goal was to combine pop with art, clearly. While it shows a great sense of pop being done well, its sense of art doesn’t pop out at first until a further look. Pop art, a type of art popularized by Andy Warhol, created meanings and art through commercial objects. On ARTPOP, Lady Gaga creates further meanings within the same songs. Mary Jane Holland isn’t just about being high: It’s about hiding behind a fake person. Donatella isn’t just about admiration: It’s about jealousy. Do What U Want isn’t just about standing up for yourself: It’s about begging for your reputation as you are stripped of your innocence. This album may not scream about the art classics or stray too far off the pop spectrum, but each song creates ideas that can be analyzed on a further analysis as a double meaning (including the overly silly Venus, which can either be a fun and sexy song or reference an outside look on how the world is run). While the album can be silly at times lyrically, the album is meant to be a fun experience for the most part so these silly hiccups are easily forgiven.
With every song climaxing, every track leading off the next, and the album taking a ride from the highest point outside of one’s mind down into the deepest parts of their subconscious, ARTPOP is an unusual pop album. It’s rare to see such a commercial pop album have such steady precision and such purpose. In the end, not everyone will be a fan of Lady Gaga, but after ARTPOP, one has to respect the hard work that went into this album. Lady Gaga co wrote and co produced virtually every song on here and had a lot of control over this idea she had in mind. With the eccentric cover that’s bizarre at first but rather stunning after some getting used to, this album may be a bit weird to some at first. However, whether the trip is a good one or not, it’s a rare time such a commercial album is worth the devotion and time of everyone. It’s the album that separates Lady Gaga from her pop rivals on the radio and on disc, and it’s the album that will remind us why she is to share an entire album with the legendary Tony Bennett next year, and why she has performed on stage with The Rolling Stones. It is the album that reminds us why Lady Gaga is Lady Gaga.
so that is one boundary then and doesn't she just refer to the burqa as a fashion accessory in the song?:o its neither challenging or controversial and rihanna caused more of a stir in her recent pictures a mosque.:eek:
gaga broke into the mainstream before "bad romance", but what trends did she set and what risks did she take there particularly?
The fact that she supports the rights of women to wear the burqa is quite controversial, but there's only so much she can say within the confines of a pop song and she is clearly very much aware of what people who are too lazy to think deeply, and actually listen to lyrics, will think of Aura - "enigma popstar is fun she wears burqa for fashion". Besides, the song basically just uses the burqa as a metaphor of what it is to be a popstar who tries to control her image. And of course the general media is going to respond more to a popstar being thrown out of a mosque than one releasing a song which just refers to a burqa, even though the latter actually arises from artistic intentions.
I think you're forgetting how different Just Dance, Poker Face and especially Bad Romance sounded at the time. Not only did we see a load of artists from different genres releasing euro-pop songs (and actually being successful in the US) but she completely reinvigorated the music video, particularly with BR.
The fact that she supports the rights of women to wear the burqa is quite controversial, but there's only so much she can say within the confines of a pop song and she is clearly very much aware of what people who are too lazy to think deeply, and actually listen to lyrics, will think of Aura - "enigma popstar is fun she wears burqa for fashion". Besides, the song basically just uses the burqa as a metaphor of what it is to be a popstar who tries to control her image. And of course the general media is going to respond more to a popstar being thrown out of a mosque than one releasing a song which just refers to a burqa, even though the latter actually arises from artistic intentions.
I think you're forgetting how different Just Dance, Poker Face and especially Bad Romance sounded at the time. Not only did we see a load of artists from different genres releasing euro-pop songs (and actually being successful in the US) but she completely reinvigorated the music video, particularly with BR.
which is quite ironic, as these women in particular probably find her grotesque and think she should be banished to hellfire.
The fact that she supports the rights of women to wear the burqa is quite controversial, but there's only so much she can say within the confines of a pop song and she is clearly very much aware of what people who are too lazy to think deeply, and actually listen to lyrics, will think of Aura - "enigma popstar is fun she wears burqa for fashion". Besides, the song basically just uses the burqa as a metaphor of what it is to be a popstar who tries to control her image. And of course the general media is going to respond more to a popstar being thrown out of a mosque than one releasing a song which just refers to a burqa, even though the latter actually arises from artistic intentions.
I think you're forgetting how different Just Dance, Poker Face and especially Bad Romance sounded at the time. Not only did we see a load of artists from different genres releasing euro-pop songs (and actually being successful in the US) but she completely reinvigorated the music video, particularly with BR.
that is all very well, but my original question was about what boundaries she is pushing with this particular song and that still hasn't been explained to my satisfaction.
no, i am not forgetting how she sold euro-pop songs by the bucket load in the us, which also opened the doors for other artist to embrace that genre, but i am also not forgetting how euro-pop was sold en-mass to the previous generation through acts like "backstreet boys", "nsyc" and "britney spears" in the us. indeed, gaga's launch pretty much followed the same blueprint used by the "backstreet boys" record company of cracking other territories first creating a huge buzz for the us launch. of course, with the way the internet has sped things up, her buzz travelled much faster, but her launch worked on the same principle with in essence the same sound.
the music video was somewhat in a bit of a lull when she first blew up and initially her creative visuals were refreshing. however and much like mj before her, she has also made some over-running, over indulgent videos as time has passed in a bid to outdo herself.
I really think "Do you wanna see me naked lover" is one of the best choruses Gaga has done (well, since the start of the BTW era anyway )
This. :cool:
And the Middle Eastern-influenced intro is so different and amazing.
And the lyrics:
"I may not walk on your street or shoot a gun on your soil,
I hear you screaming is it because of pleasure or toil?"
That's friggin' poetry.
Comments
I won't
Eeeeee I'm so exited, Its been such a long time I've been looking forward to an album this much.
The only songs I've heard are Applause, Venus and Do What You Want, all of which I love so can't wait to hear the rest. :cool:
You will love the album then, maybe not dope.
I think it's coming, just maybe not for a while. I feel she needs clarity and a personal leap to take her to a new place and deliver it. i.e. getting married, having a kid.
And I agree. Her performing a great ballad without a costume would surprise. She can still be "Gaga", but not OTT.
Precisely. She seems to think that simple is basic and that she has to show off how deep and creative she is all the time. That if she has a straightforward pop song that she couldn't possibly have a straightforward visual concept alongside it.
She basically needs to give DWUW a great, simple video and perform it with R Kelly on key shows. Then follow it up with Gypsy and give that a fun and engaging video. Sexxx Dreams is my choice for 4th single, I think. It's a standout, and with a sexy video I could see it being popular. If need be, release a radio edit of Sweet Dreams.
X Dreams would work better than Sweet Dreams IMO.
Aura (as the continuation of Telephone), Sexxx Dreams, Donatella.
Still not feeling G.U.Y., quality track but the lyrics (except the epic intro and outro) leave me cold.
Gypsy is also an amazing song, but the production is ever so cheesy. It would probaby slay in Asia though.
Shall i tell you why, it wont do as good as paparazzi or telephone.
FACT
But imagine the video though. :cool: Can't do worse than Marry the Night.
And the opening lyrics are "I killed my poor friend, left her in the trunk on highway 10". (I know the lyric video contradicts this slightly but the audio doesn't lie)
Also, Aura clearly pushes cultural boundaries. Gaga no longer has to pander to the mainstream.
http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/pc/Lady+Gaga+Lady+Gaga+Donatella+Versace+balcony+hAQzQFyTJKNl.jpg
what boundaries would they be then? i think you will find all music artists in the mainstream have to deliver commercial results and gaga is no different in that respect. i have heard her album and rather unsurprisingly, i am underwhelmed.:o however, she is clearly pandering to the mainstream on the better tracks that have the best chance of crossing over, but unfortunately, they're few and far between on her latest release in my opinion.
elsewhere the album is littered with fillers or songs that sound like a collection of demos thrown together and the result is not good compared to her previous material. overcomplicated concepts is neither "creative" or "deep" and for people to keep reiterating these terms, don't make them any more true. she may have a certain level of creative control and presumably, she has being given that freedom due to her previous music sales, but make no mistake, if this album does not deliver the required commercial results, then the record company will intervene.;)
And while Gaga may be advised by her label, the reason she broke into the mainstream with Bad Romance was because she took risks and set trends, not followed them.
End of the day if aura is the followup to telephone it will underperform!!
I dont see how any of you guys cant see that!
so that is one boundary then and doesn't she just refer to the burqa as a fashion accessory in the song?:o its neither challenging or controversial and rihanna caused more of a stir in her recent pictures a mosque.:eek:
gaga broke into the mainstream before "bad romance", but what trends did she set and what risks did she take there particularly?
I can't see **** from behind this burqa tbh. :cool:
Yes, she does. She is a big fan of it
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/08/27/donatella-versace-on-lady-gaga-song-artpop
I think the risks she did were more outside her music. Like Madonna, Gaga has made such an impact on the LGBT community. She was the leading figure among helping to stop Don't ask, don't tell.
Final Rating: 8.8/10
Lady Gaga, often slammed or highly praised, is no stranger to controversy and to how the music industry works. After her last album Born This Way, one of which was either adored or ridiculed for its messages and filthy beats, and after a tour cancelation, a broken hip, twitter feuds, and so many other troubles, she seemed to keep a level head for her biggest project yet, ARTPOP (Yes, in all capital letters). Like anything Lady Gaga related, you may love this album or you will hate it depending on how you feel about her to begin with or whether or not you agree with what she is trying to do. This writer is highly impressed with ARTPOP; A musical journey that travels through genres, ideas, and emotions. It is an album that starts off far fetched and off the walls and then slowly comes down to Earth and is frighteningly personal.
The album starts off with Aura, a bizarre track that begins with the kind of sounds you would hear on a weird Born This Way track (perhaps Americano). The song talks about the murder of the narrator’s former life (presumably Born This Way) as the bass featured on this album bursts its way slowly into the song, changing the song entirely. That is how the album starts. It starts with the most experimental song on the album, as it transitions into the second weirdest song Venus: A modern B52s-like song that combines partying, sex and astronomy with an eerie Sun Ra sample that chants within the background. The album begins to explore sex based songs with GUY and the more toned down Sexxx Dreams, as it jumps into a hip hop based song called Jewels and Drugs (two of the other topics found in rap) featuring T.I., Too $hort and Twista. Following this theme of popular radio genres we have the rock anthem MANiCURE which cleverly combines the idea of getting a manicure to relieve ones self of stress with the mentality of being rid of men entirely. After so many songs about sex and self power, we have Do What U Want, featuring R Kelly, which has Lady Gaga sacrificing her body as a sexual object but refuses to give up her mental integrity. It is a driven song with R&B elements that features some of Lady Gaga’s best vocals to date.
After so many heavy hitting songs, we reach the midway point with the title track ARTPOP: A pretty and calming song about unity. The concept of self depravation for art returns, sadly (for the pop star, not for us) with Swine. Swine, too, is about self sacrifice for one’s passion as it is a much more confrontational song about doing what it takes to live one’s dream as it exposes the disgusting personalities of higher ups. Suddenly, the second half of ARTPOP reveals itself to be the more hard hitting half lyrically, as the first half focused on giving us a good time and on being strong. Donatella follows as a satirical look on the idol of the same name, as it both commends her for her importance yet also paints the tabloid driven picture of her (with lyrics about how she is a self empowered bitch). Fashion! similarly praises yet mocks the fashion industry with lyrics that are as flashy as a photo shoot itself: You sense the reality behind the art. Mary Jane Holland follows, and it is a marijuana anthem. However, it isn’t the typically sleazy weed song. It’s actually a bitter sweet epic full of dirty synths, a theatrical bridge, and lyrics that both promote highs yet show one’s dependency on them.
This leads us to Dope, a piano ballad that can be linked to marijuana as well yet is Lady Gaga’s most hard hitting song yet. It compares the separation between her and her loved one(s) with being separated from a drug. It’s candid. It’s heavy. It’s Lady Gaga at her most bare ever. Gypsy trails afterwards with a piano intro that fights back with an upbeat rhythm signifying Lady Gaga’s strengths lying amongst her music and her effect on the world musically. As she ends the song off with listing the names of countries, she mentions “I don’t speak German but I try”. This is a clever homage to her song Scheisse off Born This Way, which sexually states “I don’t speak German but I can if you’d like”. Only this time in Gypsy, she’s showing her efforts as an entertainer, not her will to impress a lover. The album is over with her remembering why she is a performer to begin with, and we conclude the album with the epilogue Applause: A tune devoted to her fans.
A track by track commentary is necessary since ARTPOP is a clear concept album that travels from obscurity to realization. The album is linked musically as well, with songs that bounce off the starts and finishes of one another (yet never fully transitioning, which would usually be a bad note but here it works as this is an album of pop songs that can be played individually). We hear a lot of EDM beats and synths throughout the album, but they never feel fake like they did on Born This Way, despite being electronic sounds. They sound as real as electronic sounds can sound. The production on this album is well done, with walls of sound thick enough to stand within and bass that cascades off all corners of the room. There are many sounds and ideas happening at once. As an example, Venus (which Lady Gaga produced herself) will have snare drums get more and more layered to punctuate parts of the song more than others to create dynamics. In ARTPOP, she creates a falsetto sung melody to accent the background music of the second verse, never mind a chorus. These kinds of cares of all parts of the songs are what separate ARTPOP from your run of the mill pop album. Vocally, Lady Gaga has never been better, as she belts the high notes in Do What You Want, screams in Swine, and channels many of her idols ranging from Elton John and David Bowie to Christina Aguilera and Annie Lennox.
ARTPOP is interesting because its goal was to combine pop with art, clearly. While it shows a great sense of pop being done well, its sense of art doesn’t pop out at first until a further look. Pop art, a type of art popularized by Andy Warhol, created meanings and art through commercial objects. On ARTPOP, Lady Gaga creates further meanings within the same songs. Mary Jane Holland isn’t just about being high: It’s about hiding behind a fake person. Donatella isn’t just about admiration: It’s about jealousy. Do What U Want isn’t just about standing up for yourself: It’s about begging for your reputation as you are stripped of your innocence. This album may not scream about the art classics or stray too far off the pop spectrum, but each song creates ideas that can be analyzed on a further analysis as a double meaning (including the overly silly Venus, which can either be a fun and sexy song or reference an outside look on how the world is run). While the album can be silly at times lyrically, the album is meant to be a fun experience for the most part so these silly hiccups are easily forgiven.
With every song climaxing, every track leading off the next, and the album taking a ride from the highest point outside of one’s mind down into the deepest parts of their subconscious, ARTPOP is an unusual pop album. It’s rare to see such a commercial pop album have such steady precision and such purpose. In the end, not everyone will be a fan of Lady Gaga, but after ARTPOP, one has to respect the hard work that went into this album. Lady Gaga co wrote and co produced virtually every song on here and had a lot of control over this idea she had in mind. With the eccentric cover that’s bizarre at first but rather stunning after some getting used to, this album may be a bit weird to some at first. However, whether the trip is a good one or not, it’s a rare time such a commercial album is worth the devotion and time of everyone. It’s the album that separates Lady Gaga from her pop rivals on the radio and on disc, and it’s the album that will remind us why she is to share an entire album with the legendary Tony Bennett next year, and why she has performed on stage with The Rolling Stones. It is the album that reminds us why Lady Gaga is Lady Gaga.
The fact that she supports the rights of women to wear the burqa is quite controversial, but there's only so much she can say within the confines of a pop song and she is clearly very much aware of what people who are too lazy to think deeply, and actually listen to lyrics, will think of Aura - "enigma popstar is fun she wears burqa for fashion". Besides, the song basically just uses the burqa as a metaphor of what it is to be a popstar who tries to control her image. And of course the general media is going to respond more to a popstar being thrown out of a mosque than one releasing a song which just refers to a burqa, even though the latter actually arises from artistic intentions.
I think you're forgetting how different Just Dance, Poker Face and especially Bad Romance sounded at the time. Not only did we see a load of artists from different genres releasing euro-pop songs (and actually being successful in the US) but she completely reinvigorated the music video, particularly with BR.
which is quite ironic, as these women in particular probably find her grotesque and think she should be banished to hellfire.
that is all very well, but my original question was about what boundaries she is pushing with this particular song and that still hasn't been explained to my satisfaction.
no, i am not forgetting how she sold euro-pop songs by the bucket load in the us, which also opened the doors for other artist to embrace that genre, but i am also not forgetting how euro-pop was sold en-mass to the previous generation through acts like "backstreet boys", "nsyc" and "britney spears" in the us. indeed, gaga's launch pretty much followed the same blueprint used by the "backstreet boys" record company of cracking other territories first creating a huge buzz for the us launch. of course, with the way the internet has sped things up, her buzz travelled much faster, but her launch worked on the same principle with in essence the same sound.
the music video was somewhat in a bit of a lull when she first blew up and initially her creative visuals were refreshing. however and much like mj before her, she has also made some over-running, over indulgent videos as time has passed in a bid to outdo herself.
This. :cool:
And the Middle Eastern-influenced intro is so different and amazing.
And the lyrics:
"I may not walk on your street or shoot a gun on your soil,
I hear you screaming is it because of pleasure or toil?"
That's friggin' poetry.