Monsters of the world must have been chomping at the bit yesterday. For it was the day that their leader, one Lady Gaga, gave them their first taste of fresh material from her up-and-coming third album, ARTPOP. Choosing the 2013 iTunes Festival- which was hosted at London's Roundhouse- to launch the project, the singer showcased seven of these brand spanking new songs live for the first time.
I was most excited about hearing the album's title track, and what a surprise it turned out to be. I was anticipating an up-tempo, pop banger, not the mid-tempo, laid back electo-groove Gaga came with. I'm not sure the live performance did the actual version justice- I think this is going to be one of those songs that sounds best mastered- but I liked how it tipped its hat to the darker 80's sound of last album Born This Way.
In fact, watching the whole show, it seems Gaga has retained a lot of influences from the last era, which is surprisingly brave of her. Most of us were expected a retreat back into the safer pop territory of her début, but these live performances show Gaga has ventured further into the rock and 80s electro of Born This Way. I think it could ultimately work for her, but only as long as she keeps away from that soapbox .
The whole set was fun to watch and it successfully upped my anticipation for the album.Yes, Gaga's voice wasn't pristine and there was an air of looseness about the whole thing; but since it was the first time she's performed these songs a little slack has to be given. What was annoying though, was the sycophantic fans. Prepare yourself for them before you start watching- you might want to keep a paracetamol nearby- because they get as annoying as f*ck by video three.
Other than that, enjoy.
The only song I didn't like was Jewels and Drugs and I think it's 'cause I don't like rap.
ReplyDeleteI felt the whole set was fun, carefree, and exactly what everyone's been crying they want from her, fun, energetic, carefree performances and music.
I could see where you think this era is reminiscent to the BRW era but if anything, to me, it's more reminiscent to THE FAME era. Think about it... These songs are more lightweight in subject matter than that of BTW. I do hear the influence production wise but I also hear TF all over it.
ReplyDeleteManicure - mixture of I like it rough, boys boys boys, grease and glitter.
Aura - a mixture of Americano and telephone.
Jewels and drugs - was a very urban number, which is reminiscent of songs from the fame.
Just to name a few.
I loved 'Sex Dreams' - which reminds me of Pink's track 'Fingers' mixed with a Prince/Janet Jackson influence, and I loved Manicure cos it's so fun!! The 'slow' changes kind of got on my wick but other than that I thought it was a really solid gig. And 'Applause' has grown on me so much in the last two weeks or so.
ReplyDeleteI loved that song.... I want to learn the dance....
ReplyDeleteThere was one more performance! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCDlelHtvsI "I Wanna Be With You" it was a slow piano ballad. Seriously one of my favorites other than 'Manicure'
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree...some of the songs were giving me Fame and pre-Fame era feelings. I honestly think she should take this ratchet music trend for a ride and release "Jewels and Drugs" as a single...just to show some versatility. My personal favorite was "Swine", it was giving me EDM-pop gold. The title track is another personal fave, I'm getting a William Orbit/Mirwais Ahmadzai feel from it...and I love that unique sound. All in all, this concert added to the hype I have for ArtPop.
ReplyDeleteWhat a utter waste of my time that was. Meaningless, uninspired and boring.
ReplyDeleteso if you don't like gaga.. Why did you watch it ?
ReplyDeleteMost of the lyric is incredibly boring, meaningless and...pretentious. I liked the Aura performance although some of the lyrics don't make sense at all.
ReplyDeleteBecause you can't give an opinion without first watching/listening to it. Well, you can but that is not my style.
ReplyDeleteWho knows also, she might one day come up with something good.
LOL when it comes to "Aura" ,you should complain about the "appropriation of your culture" I think. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLOL I can't even complain about the lyrics/the premise of the song because I don't get it and burqas are not a part of my culture (or my country's culture at least). She's sending mixed messages with that song. In one line she says "my veil is protection for the gorgeousness of my face" (corny as hell but whatever) which makes her seem pro-women who wear burqas. And then she says "Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura, behinf the curtain, behind the burqa?" as if the personality of a woman wearing a burqa is hard to see or that burqas prevent one's personality from showing. And I'm like "huh???" The only thing I get is that she wants to cause controversy by using the word "burqa". The word "aura" was sufficient in conveying that there's another side, but she decided to use "burqa" only for the sake of controversy. Anyway, I'm not bothered and not gonna give her the controversy/hype she's craving for.
ReplyDeleteI meant the music not so much the burqa reference. And there's little to get other than that the references in those lyrics are utterly pretentious and contradictory.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me you totally got it. :-)
If you're referring to the Middle Eastern music, huh no, still not bothered cuz the music is contradicting the lyrics which are contradictory on their own, so it's basically an attention-seeking mess. It's not like she even did it well so I could get worked up about it. And anyway, I still don't get the premise. I only get what's she saying in the chorus (that there's another side of her). I don't know what that has to do with the intro and the first and second verses.
ReplyDeleteLOL I wasn't seriously suggesting you should feel bothered. It was a sarcastic joke aimed at the Miley critics.
ReplyDeleteEw, don't remind me of that incident. I'm still trying to forget about it :D
ReplyDeleteSex Dreams was my favorite song :) I love all the other songs too.
ReplyDeleteLOL Looks like somebody thinks you CAN make up your mind without watching first. Or maybe that downvote is a lack of confidence she might still one day come up with something good.
ReplyDeleteHere's something to maybe erase that VMA debacle
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFZsunzjDXU
Here's something to permanently engrave the flippity floppity horrors of twerking in your brain... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X97O-wfmNIg
ReplyDeleteMUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Because you have to watch and listen to something to figure out if you don't like it. Holy shit this is not a difficult concept.
ReplyDeleteIt's like saying: "I tried a banana and I didn't like it"
And then someone else saying: "well why did you eat it if you didn't like it?"
Because you have to try something before coming to how you feel about it. This is 1st grade people.
http://www.celinedion.com/ca/splash-lmbtl-single Loved me back to life Single just released !! It sounds so fucking amazing, also it makes me believe the performance on quebec was live !!
ReplyDeleteI'm not against her twerking. We just don't have to see it.
ReplyDeleteI agree (about the live part)! Will try post tmw!
ReplyDeleteI see the 19 year old in this! I read a few people saying she was purposely trying to make a point about the separation of Stefani and Gaga, but I think that's possibly giving her too much credit. I did miss this performance though, so thanks for adding!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree. I think lyrically she's taking it back to the fame, but musically it's a progression on Born This Way. I think she realised people didn't like preachy Gaga.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to hear the CD versions before I really make up my mind on the tracks. I have a feeling a few of the songs will sound better mastered, or even live once she's had a chance to practice them more. The energy and intimacy is what I really enjoyed from this show.
ReplyDeleteive watched the set multiple times and she delivered what she promised: an irresposible, fun, and explosive set of songs - what i dont understand is that when she releases fun dance - typical pop songs people call her meaningless and a waste of time, then when she tries to inject her songs with a meaning or her performances with some sort of subliminal context, shes being preachy and taking herself too seriously
ReplyDeletehonestly its so obvious who here is going to hate and its the same exact comment every single time - if you are going to say the same exact thing every time then might as well keep it to yourself and not waste your energy - if there is nothing constructive about it then what is the point
personally however, i am on the fence
i loved manicure (her voice sounded great for the most part and i just like the whole vibe the song gives off), swine (that zedd production is so epic - i love the bass drop and i love the chorus as well), and sex dreams is kind of catchy in a mischievous and trashy kind of way - and even applause has grown alot on me
but artpop was kinda boring........
jewels and drugs sounds too hectic live - but the trap influence on the production helps make the song a little better - i just dont feel like its gaga's song
aura - sounds great atleast from what i heard on the demo but if this is the the final cut i am kinda disappointed because i still feel the song is disjointed and unfinished
and i do not like what she did with her voice during the verses - i feel like aura could be epic with explosive choreo and better executed vocals
she said she saved some of the good ones until the album drop but we will just have to wait and see
no she doesnt want to stir controversy with burqa
ReplyDeletethe song was originally called burqa but she and the label changed the name exactly for that reason
i love how you guys automatically assume shes trying to piss people off
and apparently its working
and again a taylor swift fan shouldnt be criticizing anyone about songwriting considering her lyrics are all the same and all share basically the same motif
youve stated before you havent heard full songs or even bother to give her videos/music a full listen or watch
ReplyDeleteyeah i kinda thought the outfit changes were a tad much - and by a tad i mean way too much
ReplyDeletebut her vocals were good and its a good sneak peak of what is to come
and i hated applause at first but now i love the song - i still feel she could have done a few things better on that track but overall its pretty solid and i agree about sex dreams
really ? i hated artpop
ReplyDeletebut i adore swine - the zedd production or madeon or whoever worked on it makes the song perfect and the chorus is pretty solid too
and jewels and drugs - although not a fave of mine - could many anyone twerk especially because of the trap influences DJWS decided to incorporate
Nope dude, I have never stated I never listened or watched anything by Gaga in full.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have seen me state that is in regards to individual reviewed songs at different times of different artists. Don't lie dude. It's not nice.
But often, yes, I can make my mind up quite quick when something is imo crap. I have years of experience.. Also if something can't keep my attention for the full video...it obviously failed to get my attention.
Several of the above gaga vids utterly failed to do that and I was forced to skip bits ahead to see if it got better as well as then go find the lyrics and just read them. Since that goes quicker and I don't have to hear that annoying voice.
But the point is, I give it a chance and don't dismiss without doing so. I dare say the above description constitutes giving it an effort.
You know dude, this is starting to come across as if I have a real follower in you. One who doesn't get me at all but will jump on some comment of mine whenever he thinks he can use my words against me.
I am not sure whether I should feel bored or flattered but I can tell you...whenever I see a comment by you, in the side bar, challenging someone's words ...I always know I should check it out because it will be me you are addressing.
She still kept the "lyric" burqa even if she changed the title. And when you stan for Lady Gaga, an artist who mostly writes nonsensical, pretentious and weak lyrics, you are not in a really good position to talk about songwriting either. Which doesn't mean that you shouldn't. It's called opinions. And I will criticize Gaga as much as I want as long as she keeps writing nonsensical lyrics and being a Taylor Swift fan has nothing to do with it. Not even gonna bother defending Taylor because the statement "her lyrics are all the same and all share basically the same motif" is delusional and has no basis in reality. Anyway, let's say for argument's sake that all of her lyrics share the same motif, that still has no relation to the quality of her lyrics (even if they were about the same subject I mean).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you like Gaga's lyrics and think they're good. I think they're mostly feeble, weak and nonsensical. It's OK to have different opinions. Now let me go to sleep. Bye.
The way the kicks are arranged while she's singing "Swiinne" (yeah can't type vocalized words properly), remind me of something Madeon would do, but Zedd is more electro than Madeon, so I really don't know.
ReplyDeleteAs for ArtPop the song, to each his own, I personally kinda borderline stan for GaGa, so that may just a biased opinion of mine, but I thoroughly enjoy the trance-y feel to it (not trance the genre, just the adjective)
I just hope that this record really brings people back to why we liked GaGa in the first place, she can sang, write and be simplistically dance when she wants to...
Yeah, even as a fan I was getting a bit winded hearing one track after another about the same preachy issues, but Janet did the same thing and it worked well for her, at least in my opinion (Maybe because despite the conceptual feel, there were a lot of dance lyrics in Rhythm Nation, I'm not sure).
ReplyDeletePersonally I do not think she chose the ridiculous and frankly in my eyes failing analogue analogue for shock value. I think she was just being pretentious.
ReplyDeleteWould help if she would change, then we could levy other criticism. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou btw shouldn't blindly believe silly phrase. Criticism doesn't need to be "constructive". It depends on who you think will read it and why you voice it.
Now I do not know about any other posters here. But when I criticize an artist on this blog, I do not harbour the illusion that artist is going to read it. It would therefor make absolutely no difference whether it is "constructive" or not.
It seems like the dissenters here have the biggest problem with the lyrics/song meanings. Now, by no means am I unappreciative of songs with deep meanings and clever lyrics, but am I the only one who views them as very secondary to the music in question? Maybe even more like a "bonus". Anyway, I liked maybe most of the material, but I'm most looking forward to hearing the studio version of "Artpop". :)
ReplyDeleteThis whole show actually rejuvenated my love for Gaga. I'm actually love most the songs here. I'm loving the fun dance pop sound again. And Wanna Be With You was a highlight for me.
ReplyDeleteBiggest problem with Gaga's performances are the amount of playback.
ReplyDeletePlayback?This struck me as live alright.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/PlDByaubDRU
ReplyDeleteLoving these new head notes
she had a more apparent backing track during some of the choruses
ReplyDeletebut she wasnt using playback
but ya she sang throughout the whole set
okay i see your point but everything gaga has come out with u call "unoriginal" name a song in the top ten right now that can truly be called original and has not been influenced by music that came previous to it.
ReplyDeletehere ill give you the top ten:
roar
blurred lines
royals
holy grail
wake me up
summertime sadness
applause
hold on were going home
safe and sound
berzerk
take a listen to all those songs and tell me can any of those be called original
gaga is in the pop sphere - all pop music recalls back to pop music that came before it
its all recycled
Dude what IS it with you and the way you pounce on my comments?
ReplyDeleteYou do realize there are others commenting here as well?
Or you know, come up with your own comment instead of just responding to others.
The reason I criticize her unoriginality is the fact the fact that some go around claiming she is original.
Aside from that ,the flaw in your reasoning here is that nowhere do I claim those other songs in the top ten are original.
And fyi there's more pop music out there than what you see in that US top 10
Also I would most definitely call Lana more original than Gaga.
Aaaahhhhh Karen!!!! How did I miss your post? Where the heck have you been? Hope you are well and behaving? :)
ReplyDeleteYeah she used playblack through the choruses, I think this is because of the absence of her back up singers.
ReplyDeleteI'd say these songs have more of an RnB touch than Born This Way... last album had more rock and less characteristic female pop.
ReplyDelete