Lady Gaga - ARTPOP [2012]

Col. Sanders couldn't have said it better.

of course no one can fit anyone's arc exactly - how could they? it's in how they're similar AND how they differ that comparing arcs can be interesting and informative (to pop music history nerds of a certain stripe at least). i don't get when people are like "ah but cyndi never popped out of an egg" as if that means gaga's career isn't evolving in a form closer to cyndi's than madonna's.

though yeah, because every person and every life is a unique snowflake, gaga's having more hits (if minor compared to madonna) on album 3.5 than cyndi was at that time. I just bring it up in the context of "this is gaga's erotica," which both accepts her desire to be compared to madonna while also undermining it by suggesting the bloom came off the rose far more quickly.

it'd be tempting to also point out that gaga can't be "the new madonna" when part of madonna's appeal was her relative unprecedentedness, but as I was a wee babe for her first few albums, does anyone a lil older know who cynics were comparing her to during the part of her career where she could have been written off as a prefab pixie?

I don't know if she was compared TO anyone but certainly she suffered initially from invidious comparisons with Cyndi, who had a hand in writing a few songs on the duet and chose covers that Rolling Stone editors loved in their original forms. Maybe David Fricke and Parke Puterbaugh thought she wasn't as smart as Debbie Harry or Chrissie.

yeah i def know the whole critical stance on cyndi vs madonna at the time, which is part of why when people say "katy can't be madonna, she's too stupid, safe and prefab" i think it's worth remembering that's how madonna was seen by critic-types compared to cyndi at least initially (though i too think katy is stupid, safe and prefab compared to even early madonna)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pn0JKmy5-M

This is her The Civil Wars after her Einstein on the Beach, or her Banality after Luxury and Degradation, whereas Kanye just released his Made in Heaven this week.

if this flops maybe she'll go straight to confessions on a dance floor

― da croupier, Thursday, November 21, 2013 9:26 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The sooner the better.

Finally listened to this. First impression was that it's more enjoyable than this thread would have one believe, but certainly underwritten, even moreso than BTW. Lots of hooks that I enjoyed sitting in songs that were otherwise kind of ordinary or even a drag. But I didn't hate it. Will give it a few more spins. Would be bummed if I had to give up the ghost on her completely.

her ama performance was kinda of show-stoppingly great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmhw7sFwhjo

Yeah, that's really good.

right? the transition from goofy JFK/marilyn thing to LADY GAGA IS OVER was surprisingly... poignant

yeah the way they fuck with the arrangement in opposite directions works really well

also i don't think there's anything like a statement in this at all, but in an age of so many racially clueless performances, i feel like this song and its performances have handled that aspect of it well - it's conscious of how it's perceived

i feel like a) gaga really gets kellz b) kellz' brand of ridiculousness brings out gaga's own best kind of ridiculousness c) they should do a lot more work together. like a whole album or a tour. scrap their current solo shit and do this instead

touring together would be cool. i wouldn't clamor for a bunch more collaborative songs, though.

i feel like a) gaga really gets kellz b) kellz' brand of ridiculousness brings out gaga's own best kind of ridiculousness

Yeah. This is why it's the album's high point: even with the deliberately kooky titles the music is too pedestrian to register.

Wow! What a great performance!

yeah the way they fuck with the arrangement in opposite directions works really well

^^^^absolutely this

beware, terry richardson directed the "do what u want" video

Of course he did. Because that dude can't leave the things I like alone.

i feel like a) gaga really gets kellz b) kellz' brand of ridiculousness brings out gaga's own best kind of ridiculousness c) they should do a lot more work together. like a whole album or a tour. scrap their current solo shit and do this instead

― lex pretend, Monday, 25 November 2013 19:19 (Yesterday) Permalink

almost how i feel about Mariah and Miguel

tho not to the same degree OBV

i got that about mariah and terius more, though wouldn't disagree that it's there with miguel too

i'm sorry i think i'm just having a reaction bc i listened to #beautiful three times in a row yesterday whilst smoking cigarettes on a fence and looking at the brooklyn sky and i remembered that comment that woman posted somewhere that someone reposted (was it you?) about how it's about a woman on her last nerve who needed to be fucked against a chainlink fence and you'll never know how good this song is, ever

and yeah, i just had a moment

but if Mimi and thedream came up with a full album of mind-shattering joints like the impossible i wouldn't be mad and i'd probably cancel christmas forever just to listen to it on my own

anyway go on.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3021250/rockstar-graphic-designers-critique-lady-gagas-artpop-album-cover

Sorry, "rockstar graphic designers" made me break out into hives so I had to close the tab.

I thought "Venus" sounded pretty good live with the Muppets last night. But she really needs to release "Gypsy" as the next single".

yeah as a song, I like "Venus," especially the belting 'goddess of love' section. it has similar strengths and weaknesses to "Applause," though, I'm really glad it was passed over as next single in favor of "Do What U Want." do agree that "Gypsy" is a standout.

i guess she's not such a big fan of some of you

http://i.imgur.com/AJ4BcwF.png

There is something passive aggressive about Gaga's public personae that always turned me off.

yah. this she tweeted at the same time doesn't help

https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/422134283189243904

talent really doesn't last forever - even the very best often fall off after five/ten years.

wow @ these horrible analogies. i did not realize she was actually this stupid.

Listening to "Tits on the Radio" for the first time in years and thinking this is Gaga's best song.

Occurred to me that I still have not heard this album. Have it, have not heard it. Not sure I have the heart.

it's spotty but def worth hearing if you liked BTW/Fame Monster etc.

Skip the first two tracks, start with "G.U.Y." and then double-back around for "Venus". No one needs to hear "Aura," ever.

"would you critic a critic if you have no experience criticing?"

"Venus" is also terrible

"aura" is easily my 2nd fav song on this

i'm just a sucker for the "Rocket Number 9" reference in "Venus." when i was 15 my AOL screenname was 'RocketNo8' or something like that.

i definitely prefer this album to born this way, but it's still a very disappointing piece of work

i'm a sucker for the interlude where she names the planets in "Venus," because i always imagine a cool montage where all the girls from Sailor Moon triumphantly introduce themselves.

haha there are literally dozens of different youtube results for 'lady gaga venus sailor moon' so one of them's gotta be exactly what you're imagining

broadway looks so medieval

i think i might've made it through this once

Another anecdote: my wife, not to mention my kids, likes Lady Gaga, but I'm not sure any of them even know she has a new(ish) album out.

yeah, not surprising. album is at 600k, can't see it reaching a million at this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNu_-deVemE

Over four minutes of that video are credits! I liked the version of "Artpop" she did on the Tonight Show though.