dimanche 5 Jui 2011, 19h26m
Well Lady Gaga's music has finally caught up with her mythology and image.
Born this Way is unmistakably Gaga..a busted disco ball on the floor; shiny, shattered, broken, reflective, disjointed, jagged, sparkly, beautiful.. and a mess. And for one day you could buy it for a dollar on Amazon.com thus selling a Million copies in its first week
It has all has the subtlety of a chainsaw, and Ms. Gaga wouldn't have it any other way.
If one thing, the sound of Born This Way very sonically consistent..hair metal rave. A very dirty hotel tryst between La Bouche and Def Leppard.
Vocally, Lady Gaga has never sounded better or more soulful. The thin girl vocals of Paparazzi are replaced with a sultry, soulful growl.
Of course on her sophomore album she had to go "deeper"..with the lyrics, the production, and the sound design. Lots of Sex, Religion, and self Empowerment..its Madonna 1992 Erotica. She can also speak in foreign languages now.. at least phonetically
Gaga is oh so ready to be Jesus for you… She will get on the cross for every gay, freak, outcast, black sheep, loser,misfit, band camp nerd, and bullied teen out there. She is suffering for you and with you. At least she tries to make us think so. She didn't need to make a "It Gets Better" video..this album is her whole testament. And that the drag about Born This Way, she is simply trying too hard to be everything. It can be fun, but it can also sound like its desperate.
Gaga is so wildly known for her innovation (at least fashion wise) The disappointing thing about Born This Way is that you'll swear you've heard all these songs before, but you don't know where. A Journey chorus here, a Britney Spears Beat there, a Madonna melody in between. Its funny because everyone from J.Lo to Enrique Iglesias, and reportedly U2 wants that OLD Gaga/RedOne sound now.
So lets dive into the album
Marry The Night– opens the set with a synth-baroque opening then explodes into some dirtied up version of Jeniffer Lopez's Waiting for Tonight with a catchier chorus, a long with a touch of Bryan Adam's Heaven. Dark outcast queen of the night who doesn't give a fcuk what anyone thinks about her.
Born This Way–well its been discussed to death. Its Express Yourself for the 2010s. Catchy as hell and the first mainstream pop song that addresses gblt life positively. Kudos Gaga!
What Government Hooker is about lyrically and musically I don't have a clue. Starts operatic, then you swear you're listening to a remix of Britney Spears Gimme More. Its allegedly a Marilyn Monroe to JFK thing.. or any government official getting dirty in private. Too bad its mired with some dodgy male vocals from her bodyguard or something.
Like Judas theres too many musical parts here with choruses, pre choruses, verses and a Human League Don't You Want Me bridge
Judas is better but shares Government Hooker's fate with some intriguing moments with incoherent song structures that tries too hard and, you end up getting Jesus Christ Superstar spliced with Bad Romance, and both are better on their own. Thankfully the Royksopp remix fixes all of this stuff.
Americano is supposed to be Lady Gaga's reaction to Arizona's harsh immigration laws. I commend the attempt at the ravey gravy bolero cousin to Jellybean's The Mexican or the Gogol Bordello version of La Isla Bonita. Your heart was in the right place, but the song doesn't work for me.
Its funny India Arie and Gaga are both supposed to be feminists, yet one says I Am Not My Hair, yet the other one says her identity is her Hair, (in all its hair metal rave glory). Dripping in big 80s rock hooks and eurodance beats complete with cheesetastic sax solo and Eddie Money Take Me Home Tonight breakdown! Too clever by half Gaga, but at least your consistent with her female empowerment meme.
Scheiße
Lords of Acid dominatrix Gaga spliced with Madonna's Goodbye To Innocence from Erotica outtakes and more female empowerment. The theme is getting a bit tiring by now, with its sledge hammer beats, 90s rave hoover synths and house organ breakdown. She's in control here, not needing a man for permission.
Bloody Mary slows down the pace, with more operatic experiments and NIN Closer- lite beat. More playing with religion and Mary Magdalene, but its a bit of a snoozer.
Bad Kids
Once again Gaga gets up on the cross again for all the outcasts and bad kids. She's milking this theme now. Im starting to feel like its a bit too calculated in the anti bullying narrative thats been going on for the past year in news and culture.
Highway Unicorn starts out with a big 80s like chorus. I really don't know whats going on here, if its more im a big bad ass free biker chick from hell stuff, I'm fatigued.
Heavy Metal Lover– its S&M mixed with Britney's 3 and Queen's Radio Gaga
Electric Chapel has a progressive Deadmau5 vibe with the standard 80s guitars mixed in for good measure with some church bells and choir touches
The Producer extrodinaire of 80s hair metal Mutt Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Bryan Adams, and most famously producer and ex of Shania Twain) officially christens with a straight up 80s power ballad on Yoü and I. Its purposely cheesy Alannah Myles like fun with a country tinge, and contains the percussion from Queens We Will Rock You but beefed up.
The Edge of Glory ends this very long marathon. Good luck if you made it this far. Its one of the better songs on the album, too bad it's at the end, because its a great, American Road Anthem, fusing house and 80s metal.I guess its too bad Lita Ford never made that album with Giorgio Moroder because this probably would have made the cut.
Its so interesting how Gaga is embraced all over the world, (even in places teeming with Anti Americanism), but (just like Madonna) she is the stereotypical American Dream..pulled her self up by her own bootstraps with hard work and determination, full of unstoppable ambition and ego, takes no prisoners, loud, obnoxious, and bombastic and lacking in all subtlety. And Born This Way embodies all of that.