Lady Gaga - Hold My Hand - Single [Review]

Whereas Berlin offered up "Take My Breath Away" in 1986 for Top Gun, current pop sensation Lady Gaga released "Hold My Hand" earlier this year specifically for the film's sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. (In fact, not only did she release the song alongside the movie, she also helped write the film's score!) The song is a bassy power ballad that eventually brings in electric guitar reminiscent of '80s rock, and the track as a whole reminds me a great deal of Faith Hill's 2002 album Cry (especially the title track and "Unsaveable"), and while I do really like it, I can't say that it's Gaga's best work to date. It just feels kind of like a generic power ballad to me lacking in the unique creativity at which Gaga usually excels. (It's also a tad annoying to me how Gaga is seen artfully slamming away at a piano in the music video, yet I don't hear any piano in the song, so if it's there, it has to be buried deep.) With that being said, however, her vocal delivery is powerful to say the least, especially in the song's chorus. (Love her or hate her, you can't deny that Gaga has pipes.) The lyrics of the song remind me a bit of Gaga's 2017 song "The Cure" as both songs are from the perspective of someone offering to be a source of comfort for someone going through a rough time: "So cry tonight," she belts out in the chorus, "but don't you let go of my hand. You can cry every last tear. I won't leave 'til I understand. Promise me; just hold my hand." As is the case with a lot of music and, for that matter, art in general, the song is open to more than one interpretation. As Gaga herself states, "When I wrote this song for Top Gun: Maverick, I didn't even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film's heart, my own psyche, and the nature of the world we've been living in... I wanted to make music into a song where we share our deep need to both be understood and try to understand each other - a longing to be close when we feel so far away and an ability to celebrate life's heroes... This song is a love letter to the world during and after a very hard time." With that explanation offered, it's easy to see how she might have drawn inspiration not only from the film but also from recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, making it even more culturally meaningful.

Lady Gaga - Chromatica [Review]

Officially speaking, Chromatica is American pop singer Lady Gaga's sixth studio album, but I would personally argue that it is her seventh album - including The Fame (2008), The Fame Monster (2009), Born This Way (2011), ARTPOP (2013), Cheek to Cheek (2014), Joanne (2016), and now Chromatica (2020). The fact that it is officially considered her sixth album means that either The Fame Monster (which is usually considered an EP even though eight tracks is enough for it to be considered an album) or Cheek to Cheek (a collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett) isn't being counted. It is also possible that neither is being counted, but the soundtrack to A Star Is Born (2018) is being counted, although I consider that unlikely because even though Gaga does have an album length's worth of material on the soundtrack, the soundtrack also features solo songs by co-star Bradley Cooper. I digress, however, because how many albums that Chromatica caps Lady Gaga's career thus far off at isn't really important. What is important is that for many Lady Gaga fans, an album like Chromatica has been very long awaited. Following the EDM infused album ARTPOP, Lady Gaga seemed to have taken a hiatus from dance music (perhaps because of how ARTPOP as a whole was received by many critics and fans alike, myself included, as it is my least favorite pop album of hers). She, as previously mentioned, collaborated with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek, an album that primarily featured covers of jazz standards such as "Anything Goes" and "Nature Boy." Joanne was another album shifting the focus away from dance music, with country, rock, and blues being its primary focus on tracks such as "Diamond Heart," "A-Yo," "Million Reasons," and "Sinner's Prayer." The country vibe offered by Joanne continued into much of the A Star Is Born era, such as on songs like "Shallow," "Diggin' My Grave," and "Always Remember Us This Way." Gaga then embarked on a Las Vegas residency show titled Enigma, which prominently featured a jazz and piano show, so, as I said, many fans were eager to hear Gaga return to her dance-pop roots, and Chromatica is absolutely that return for them. Not once on the album's standard cut of thirteen songs (not counting the three short orchestral interludes) does the album ever shy away from demanding the listener to let loose on the dance floor, which is definitely a first for Gaga because every album prior has featured at least one slower ballad (such as The Fame's "Brown Eyes" and ARTPOP's "Dope," just to name a couple).

I would argue that Chromatica is, in some sonic ways, a follow-up to Born This Way (my favorite Lady Gaga album to date), in ways which I will explain further as I progress through the tracklisting. Chromatica is essentially broken up into three sections divided by short instrumental pieces fueled by light and cinematic strings - titled "Chromatica I," "Chromatica II," and "Chromatica III." The album kicks off with "Chromatica I" which swiftly dives into the powerful dance track "Alice," definitely a highlight on the album. When I first saw the Chromatica tracklisting, this is one of the songs for which I was most excited because I had a feeling that it was a reference to what is probably my favorite novel of all time - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There - and I was not disappointed. "My name isn't Alice," Gaga sings in a higher register as a powerful melody, "but I'll keep looking, I'll keep looking, for Wonderland." Given all of the chaos that has unfolded thus far this year - such as the COVID-19 pandemic (which even led to Gaga delaying the release of Chromatica from April 10th to May 29th) and the completely unnecessary murder of George Floyd, "Alice," which lyrically longs for a better place to call home, feels so fitting. Both of Gaga's documentaries - Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden and Five Foot Two - show that the singer occasionally suffers from depression and low self-esteem, and that is definitely presented here on Chromatica. Although definitely not what I had been expecting from the album's lead single "Stupid Love," Chromatica definitely presents Lady Gaga at her most emotionally vulnerable yet, and "Alice" - the first of many songs on the album to be reminiscent of rave and dance music from the '90s - is certainly no exception, making it an effective opening to the album: "Sick and tired of waking up," Gaga sings in an electronically modified voice in the second verse, "Think I might've just left myself behind." In the pre-chorus, Gaga declares that she is "in the hole" and "falling down...," another allusion to Alice in Wonderland. Before she reaches Wonderland, Alice falls for some time down a hole. Gaga is therefore expressing that she may be falling down a hole, but it will hopefully lead her to a bright and wondrous place. What's interesting, however, is that in the song's post-chorus, she demands, "Take me home; take me to Wonderland," but Wonderland is not Alice's home. This could perhaps be one of the very few lyrical aspects of the album that speak to Gaga's apparent concept of Chromatica being another planet on which she resides.

The album then gives us the first and second singles released from the album - "Stupid Love" (which I reviewed here) and "Rain on Me" (which I reviewed here). "Free Woman" is another definite highlight for me, and although a demo version of the song leaked some time ago, the final album version is so much better and has so much more energy, calling forth dance-pop and house music from the mid to late '90s. I would argue that "Free Woman" is one of the most lyrically emotional songs on Chromatica, even making me somewhat emotional when I first heard the album version, especially when, in the chorus, she sings in a steady but powerful melody that "I'm still something if I don't got a man." I especially love the wistful melody of the verses, such as when, in the second verse, Gaga declares that "this is my dance floor I fought for." For reasons already discussed prior about this ultimately being Gaga's first dance-pop album since 2013's ARTPOP, this line sums up the album fairly well. Gaga is taking the dance floor back and reclaiming it, saying that she deserves it and deserves to let loose on it. Although not even remotely similar sonically, I lyrically liken this song to Born This Way's "Scheiße" because of how both songs are speaking to feminine energy and female empowerment. Chromatica then, in my opinion, takes a dip on "Fun Tonight," one of the album's weaker tracks. It is, however, very different than what I had expected given the title. The title, in fact, is definitely meant to be deliberately misleading. I think that it is probably safe to say that most people seeing a song title like "Fun Tonight" would assume that the song is a party song, but it isn't. It is sonically one of the lower key songs on the album although definitely still not a ballad. The lyrics speak to Gaga's physical and emotional pain that she has endured over the years: "I'd do anything to numb the flame." This is likely a reference to not only emotional pain but also, as I said, physical pain. As closely documented in Five Foot Two, Gaga suffers from Fibromyalgia which, at times, causes her immense physical pain. The track also likely speaks to failed relationships: "Yeah, I can see it in your face. You don't think I've pulled my weight. Maybe it's time for us to say goodbye 'cause I'm feelin' the way that I'm feelin'... I'm not havin' fun tonight." (As I said, the song, despite its title, is about not having fun.) Although not a highlight for me, I do like its nod to Gaga's debut album in the second verse, which made me smile when I first heard it: "You love the paparazzi, love the fame."

"Chromatica II" is a jaunty instrumental intro to "911," and the transition between the two tracks is very cool. Another one of my favorite artists, longtime Lady Gaga fan Greyson Chance, even commented on this transition on Twitter. It's definitely one of the album's more ambitious moments. "911" is one of the catchiest songs on the album and is definitely a lot more upbeat than I had been expecting. One of the more disappointing aspects of Chromatica, I have to admit, is that when I first saw the tracklisting and saw titles like this one (as well as others which I will discuss as I progress through the tracklisting), I was expecting some of the dark electronic music heard on past tracks like "Dance in the Dark," "Marry the Night," "Bloody Mary" (which is probably my favorite Lady Gaga song of all time), "Heavy Metal Lover," and "Electric Chapel." The album's cover art also gave me that indication, but that is really not the case. "911," for example, is sonically light (as opposed to dark) and very upbeat, with Gaga experimenting with heavily filtered vocals in the song's bridge, vocals that are so filtered, in fact, that they almost don't even sound like her. This song is the closest that Lady Gaga has come to her sound on The Fame in a very long time, as it is an electro dance track with electronically altered vocals and an electronically altered male voice layered underneath hers, reminding me of early tracks like "Starstruck" and "Monster." Gaga has stated that the song is about her use of an antipsychotic that she refers to as "911" becomes it comes to her rescue when she needs it. (This context is very important because the phrase in the chorus - "pop a 911" otherwise makes very little sense.) She laments in the chorus that "my biggest enemy is me," perhaps the most brutally honest and self-aware that she is on Chromatica. "Plastic Doll" is a light and dreamy pop number, and while I definitely don't hate it and consider it stronger than "Rain on Me" (which is potentially the weakest track on the album in my opinion) and "Fun Tonight," it is one of the more mainstream pop offerings on the album and does very little to blow me away. While still a dance track and definitely not a ballad, it, like "Fun Tonight," is one of the lower energy tracks on Chromatica and is lyrically about reclaiming herself as a human being rather than a manufactured object not only as a pop star but as an object of men's desires: "Don't play with me," she commands in the ascending chorus. "It just hurts me... I'm not your plastic doll."

A day before the album's release, Lady Gaga dropped the song "Sour Candy" (a collaboration with K-Pop girl group BLΛƆKPIИK) as a surprise promo single, and I immediately loved it so much that I almost immediately got to work on reviewing it. It is both lyrically and melodically, in my opinion, one of the album's strongest highlights. We then get "Enigma," a song that is very likely, in part, named after the aforementioned Las Vegas residency. This one along with the following track "Replay" are both songs that really didn't blow me away. Although it sonically reminds me a bit of Born This Way (especially the song "Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)"), "Enigma" never reaches much of anywhere interesting lyrically, with its chorus mostly just repeating the phrase "I'll be your enigma." (Repetition in choruses sometimes works really well - as it does in my opinion on MARINA's 2015 track "Forget" - but other times does not.) Lady Gaga paints herself as a mystery not only on this track but via the album's imagery overall, seeming to want to go back to the days of telling interviewers in a flat and robotic monotone that all she cared about in a potential partner was "a really big dick." (She was, of course, trolling such interviewers, and it was all a part of the character that she was playing behind those early records.) She has since then presented a much more human version of herself as previously mentioned, but perhaps because of the concept of the album being that she is now an alien on a different planet called Chromatica, she has been presenting herself a bit more like she used to. If you check out her recent interview with Zane Lowe, for example, in which she's rocking hot pink literally all over, her signature monotone from the days of The Fame is easily recognizable, and she definitely seems like she has popped or smoked a little something. In a way, it evokes a great deal of nostalgia - bringing me back to the days of summer 2009 when I first became a Gaga fan and found myself attracted to, well, the enigma. The problem, however, is that she has already bared her soul on projects like Joanne, Five Foot Two, and her raw performance as Ally in A Star Is Born, so it doesn't translate like it used to. I have absolutely loved seeing Gaga more down to earth in interviews and performances, so don't misunderstand me, but the problem with mystery is that it is very hard to maintain it, whereas someone like Björk has, in my opinion at least, done a much better job of maintaining her mystery.

As previously mentioned, "Replay" is another one that isn't all that impressive to me. It has somewhat of an '80s synth flavor to it, especially in its intro, although it also gives us a very modern dance beat, with that somewhat anachronistic nature potentially because of the track, according to Genius, sampling the 1979 song "It's My House" by Diana Ross. Although not really a highlight for me, I do like that she calls back to the early days and why Lady Gaga, for more than a decade now, has affectionally called her fans "little monsters," the idea that we all have monsters inside of us in one way or another that we battle. One of Gaga's biggest monsters has been her fame monster (hence the title of the second album), but it has also been her battles with emotional and physical pain. "The monster inside you is torturing me," she sings on this track. I believe this to be Gaga addressing herself as if she is two split personalities, and she later sings in the song's second chorus that "you're the worst thing and the best thing that's happened to me." It's easy to say that she is talking about an (ex) lover here, but I think that it is a bit more complicated than that and that she is referring to her pain. Pain can absolutely be the worst thing that has happened to us but can also be the best because it can make us stronger and can also be a reminder that we are human. ("As much as it hurts, ain't it wonderful to feel?" Amy Lee asks rhetorically on the Evanescence song "The End of the Dream.") "Chromatica III" then moves into my favorite song on the album, "Sine from Above." (It is, in fact, one of the best songs from her entire discography thus far.) "Sine from Above" is a collaboration with pop-rock legend Elton John, with whom Gaga has been friends for many years. They, in fact, previously collaborated on a live medley of her song "Speechless" and his song "Your Song" (which she also covered in the studio) as well as on a studio track titled "Hello Hello" which, although featured in the end credits of the animated movie Gnomeo & Juliet, was, to the best of my knowledge, never released. Gaga explained in the aforementioned interview with Zane Lowe that the title is a play on the phrase "sign from above" but that the word "sine" was used in its place because of it being a soundwave. The song - an absolutely powerful electronic house song with a beautiful and memorable soundscape - is therefore intended to celebrate music as a healing factor, something to which I can definitely relate. Music has saved me more times than I could ever attempt to count.

The last two tracks on the standard edition of Chromatica are "1000 Doves" and "Babylon," both of which are different than what I was expecting when I first saw the titles. "1000 Doves" has a bit of a softer quality to it (which is what I was, for some reason, expecting), although it is heavily electronic and reminds me a bit of "In My Blood" by The Veronicas. A user on Genius even said that when they first saw the song title, they were expecting a song like Joanne's "Angel Down" but were in for a surprise, and that is exactly how I feel. It has a lot of energy, with Gaga's powerful and soulful vocals over a clubby and electronic track that reminds me of Céline Dion's cover of Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night." I really like this song because although I by no means consider it to be generic, I can definitely imagine it doing well on the radio. The lyrics are stunningly beautiful. As do most of the songs on Chromatica, "1000 Doves" addresses emotional struggle and finding hope at the end of that struggle. "Lift me up; give me a start," Gaga pleads in the wistful and catchy chorus, "'cause I've been flying with some broken arms. Lift me up, just a small nudge, and I'll be flying like a thousand doves." It could be that Gaga is saying here that in order to get out of an emotional funk, she just needs a single word or act of kindness from someone, but she could also be once again addressing herself and her own inner strength, and that is one thing that I do really appreciate about Chromatica. It is by no means a lovey dovey album worshipping the ground on which a lover walks, nor is it an angry and bitter breakup album cursing the ground on which an ex walks. It isn't, in fact, about anyone else, really; it is primarily about herself - her struggles, her losses, and her victories. That doesn't mean that she isn't ever involving other loved ones in the healing process, but this album, as I said, is not primarily about topics such as sex and romance. Chromatica ends with "Babylon," a song that speaks primarily of the toxic nature of gossip. It is another song that is very different than what I was expecting. Even though Gaga does often close albums with bangers rather than ballads (with "Applause" closing ARTPOP being the best example), I, for some reason, was expecting another ballad here or at least something with more weight and emotion. The song reminds me both of early '90s tracks such as Madonna's "Vogue" and Gaga's own song from Born This Way, "Black Jesus + Amen Fashion" (to which, on some levels, it sounds strikingly similar, another reason why the album reminds me in some ways of Born This Way). It is also somewhat jazzy with its use of saxophone.

I, being the little monster that I am, had to have the exclusive version of the album on CD from Target, since it features three bonus tracks that cannot be legally purchased anywhere else in the United States (with the exception of a "Stupid Love" remix). The first of these tracks is "Love Me Right," the only song of the three that is original as opposed to an alternate version. If Gaga's goal on Chromatica was to feature dance track after dance track with that energy never fading (with the exception, as I said, of the interludes), then I can understand why "Love Me Right" was cut from the standard edition because it is a bit of a ballad, albeit a power ballad, reminding me a great deal of some of the A Star Is Born numbers such as "Heal Me" and "Before I Cry." I love the reference that she makes to the aforementioned Netflix documentary Five Foot Two (which is phenomenal) in the first verse: "I'm tall in high heels, but I am only five foot two." Because of the opening lines at the beginning of the first verse - "My life is a story. Do you wanna know the truth?" - I definitely think that this could have made for an effective opening track, but I also completely understand why it was cut and why something like "Alice" was chosen as an opener instead. The Target edition then offers an absolutely beautiful and intimately raw piano version of "1000 Doves." It is labeled as the piano demo which strongly suggests to me that it might have been originally intended to be a ballad. If so, then that would explain why I pick up a bit of a ballad energy from it. The Target edition finally closes with a forgettable remix of "Stupid Love." I overall appreciate Chromatica and am happy to have new music from Gaga. I love the previously discussed emotional vulnerability in the album's lyrics like there never has been so persistently on a Lady Gaga album before, and I also love her ability to tackle dark themes on upbeat dance tracks (which I think works better on some songs than on others), but there is also a part of me that is a bit disappointed. I think that Born This Way might always be her magnus opus, that she isn't ever going to top the raw and vehemently creative energy heard in examples such as "Government Hooker," "Bloody Mary," "Heavy Metal Lover," etc. There is heart on that album that I have yet to hear her replicate, but at the same time, I don't fully know if I would want to hear that replicated because it would then stop being as special as it is. I guess that I just, from the cyberpunk and sci-fi visuals released alongside the album (including its incredible cover art), I was expecting more, something more grandiose and something more theatrical.

Lady Gaga - Sour Candy - Single [Review]

Please note that the cover art featured along with this review is not the official cover art for this single. There does not appear to be an official cover for the single which is why I am using a fanmade one (which features credit for the designer as a watermark). (Streaming outlets are using the Chromatica cover art as the single cover.) One day prior to the release of her new studio album Chromatica, American pop singer Lady Gaga has surprise dropped another song from the album, this being the third prior to the album's release. (See my reviews of "Stupid Love" and "Rain on Me" here and here, respectively.) It is my understanding that this song - titled "Sour Candy" is not officially the third single released from the album but rather a promotional teaser to celebrate the release of the album tomorrow. I absolutely love "Stupid Love" but am not crazy about "Rain on Me," and in my review of "Rain on Me," I expressed hope that "Rain on Me" was not a signal of what the majority of Chromatica would have to offer, and "Sour Candy" is fortunately an omen that that will not be the case. It is so much more creative both lyrically and melodically, with a catchy and lyrically meaningful hook sung in Gaga's signature low register: "I'm hard on the outside, but if you give me time, then I could make time for your love. I'm hard on the outside, but if you see inside..." Many of the song's lyrics - that part included - indicate that the song is about being given space and time to grow. The catchy and '90s-esque dance track is also about (in my opinion at least) having a hard outer shell that you use for protection even though the reality is that you are soft and sweet underneath; anyone who wants to truly get to know that soft and sweet spot just needs to take the time that it takes to get there.

On albums such as Hard Candy (2008) and Rebel Heart (2015), Madonna made an effort in those titles to emphasize dichotomies - tough but kind, strong but vulnerable, and I think that Gaga is doing something similar on this track. Sour candy is an interesting treat because it is usually sour but also sweet, and sometimes, most of the sour taste is on a hard outer shell that fades as you get closer and closer to the candy's sweet center, so the analogy here is pretty clear to me. If you take the time that is required to get past the speaker's sour outer shell, you will eventually reach her sweet center. Although it is possible that this is meant to be a double entendre and be somewhat sexual, I don't think that that is the main focus even if so. The song, to me, is about giving someone who appears to be rough around the edges the chance to show that they actually have a good heart, a theme that Gaga has implemented in the past on the Born This Way track "Bad Kids": "Don't be insecure if your heart is pure. You're still good to me if you're a bad kid, baby." "Sour Candy" features vocals from K-Pop girl group BLΛƆKPIИK, and although I think, as I think is the case on "Rain on Me," that they are featured a little bit too prominently on the track when it is really supposed to be Gaga's song, I don't mind it here as much for two reasons - (1) I find them to be much more tolerable than Ariana Grande and (2) there are four of them as opposed to only one Ariana, so it makes sense that they would need more time on the track in order for all of them to be featured. "Sour Candy," as I said, definitely has an early '90s dance rhythm to it and also has a bit of an industrial sound to it, especially in its intro, and I absolutely love it. Running at only 2:38, though, I wish that it were a little longer. (Look for my review of Chromatica in the near future, as, as stated previously, the album drops tomorrow!)

Lady Gaga - Rain on Me - Single [Review]

When American pop singer Lady Gaga released "Stupid Love" (which I reviewed here) - the lead single from her upcoming studio album Chromatica - I was not initially all that impressed, but the song quickly grew on me. I quickly became obsessed with it and couldn't stop listening to it, and I still stand by my opinion that it is her strongest lead single since "Bad Romance" of 2009. The album's second single - titled "Rain on Me" - leaves a lot for me to be desired, however. I have listened to the song multiple times now, and it still has not clicked for me, and I feel disappointed but not surprised. Why am I not surprised? Well, when I saw the song listed on the tracklisting, I didn't expect to be overly impressed because I have never been a fan of Ariana Grande, and Ariana Grande, who is featured as a guest artist on "Rain on Me," dominates the song, almost making it seem as if Gaga is the featured artist. As I said, I have never been a fan of Grande. Her music is, to me, generic and flavorless R&B, and her sultry and whiny voice makes me want to tear my hair out. (Other favorites of mine such as Lana Del Rey and Troye Sivan have also collaborated with her, and I am not a fan of those songs either, especially not the Troye Sivan number.) I will admit that my unfavorable outlook toward Grande probably, to a degree, makes me a biased listener, but I am also not all that taken by the melody of the song. While I do appreciate the retro '90s sound of the song and the early '90s dance rhythm, I just don't find the melody to be all that interesting, although I do like Gaga singing, in her signature commanding and low register, the seemingly punctuated words: "Rain. On. Me." The song is, in part, addressing an ex-lover: "I didn't ask for a free ride," Gaga asserts at the opening of the song. "I only asked you to show me a real good time." She seems to be using rain as a metaphor for tears and sadness following the end of the relationship (a bit cliché), but according to Genius, it is also meant to be a metaphor for alcohol as a coping mechanism: "I'd rather be dry," she sings in the song's chorus - undoubtedly the best part, "but at least I'm alive." This line, in the context of alcohol, seems to be saying that she would rather be sober, but at least she has found a way to cope with the pain. There have been times in the past when I went a very long time not caring much for a song until it finally struck me, so maybe this one just needs some extra time to grow on me, but as of now, I am really not impressed and am hoping that this song is an outlier on Chromatica. I fortunately have a feeling, based on the song titles and imagery that Gaga has been using to promote the album, that it will be. "Rain on Me" is somewhat of a generic dance track, and I am not expecting that from the majority of the album. (I am, in fact, getting Born This Way vibes from the cover art and imagery, which excites me as that is without a doubt my favorite Lady Gaga album.)

Lady Gaga - Stupid Love - Single [Review]

"Stupid Love" is the lead single from Lady Gaga's upcoming studio album Chromatica, the highly anticipated follow-up to her 2016 album Joanne (which I reviewed here), notwithstanding, of course, the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born (which I also reviewed). I have to admit that when I first heard "Stupid Love," I wasn't immediately impressed. I didn't hate it, but nor did I love it. Well, that was a song, I thought. It quickly grew on me, however, as quickly as the next day, and I now consider it her strongest lead single since 2009's "Bad Romance" from The Fame Monster (check out my review of that here). The song is one of the most insidious earworms that I have heard in a long time; as I said, it didn't register as anything special to me at first but quickly wormed its way into my head there, and it has pretty much been stuck there since. Not only is the song ridiculously catchy, but it is - in my humble opinion - daring. I say daring because it really isn't following trends (something that I don't believe that Gaga has ever been all that interested in anyway, having captured, as some examples, a dark European industrial sound on The Fame Monster and Born This Way and a country rock vibe on Joanne, both during eras when those sounds weren't necessarily the trend). Gaga has proven time and again the past on songs such as "Dance in the Dark," "Hair," "Bloody Mary," "Electric Chapel," etc. that she is far more interested in paying tribute to the music and the artists with which she grew up and was influenced by than she is in making music that fits into a puzzle of what's currently popular, and that loyalty to doing what she truly wants to do creatively somehow pays off anyway, as she remains popular. "Stupid Love" is no exception to this. Is it upbeat and catchy? It's very upbeat and, as I said, ridiculously catchy, but it is also far more reminiscent of early to mid '90s dance than it is current. Its high energy and big beat combined with the scatting female vocals in the instrumental seem to dramatically cry out for love, as is the theme of the song's lyrics. Seeming to act as a bit of a sequel to "Bad Romance" (it could even be argued that "Stupid Love" is a synonym of "Bad Romance"), the lyrics ask for the lover to love her, even if the love is, well, stupid. She acknowledges that the relationship might not work out ("I would battle for you, even if we break in two") but also acknowledges that she can't know for sure unless she gives it a chance ("...nobody's gonna heal me if I don't open the door"). There is therefore definitely a lesson to be learned from this song, one that I can't explain better than by providing this quote from the television series Once Upon a Time: "...That wall of yours - it may keep out pain, but it also might keep out love." (Chromatica will hopefully be dropping relatively soon, as I am looking forward to hearing the rest of it. It was originally slated for release on April 10, 2020 but has been indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born [Review]

 

The new film A Star Is Born marks Lady Gaga's second major acting effort, the first being her phenomenal role as the Countess Elizabeth on American Horror Story: Hotel. In A Star Is Born, Gaga portrays Ally, a young woman dreaming to be a musician, alongside Bradley Cooper who portrays Jackson Maine, a country-rock musician struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. The two meet at a drag bar and fall in love, and the plot focuses on their relationship developing as Ally rises to stardom with Jackson's encouragement. The movie is not really a musical but does feature a great deal of music since it's about two musicians, and Gaga recorded thirteen new tracks for the soundtrack (all of which are featured in the film, although some more extensively than others). Bradley Cooper also recorded a few solo songs for the soundtrack, but I am going to focus exclusively on the songs to which Gaga contributed (primarily for purposes of time), starting with "La vie en rose" (French for "life in pink"). This song, a cover of a very old song originally sung by Edith Piaf, is sung by Ally near the beginning of the film when she gives a rather sensual performance at the drag bar where she meets Jackson. The slow jazz song is not new territory for Gaga, as she has performed it live in the past and even officially released a live recording of it on a compilation album to celebrate Tony Bennett's 90th birthday. It is sung passionately here, but my only complaint is the same complaint that I have with many of the soundtrack's tracks - it is a direct rip from the film and therefore features sounds from the film such as applause. I wish that the soundtrack consisted of only the original studio recordings, but that is unfortunately not true of some of its tracks.

"Shallow" (the soundtrack's lead single and most popular song, with Gaga even having performed it live at the 61st GRAMMYs recently) is no exception. In the film, the song is heard sung between both Jackson and Ally the first time that Ally performs for a large audience, which is essentially what launches her career as a musician, and all of the applause heard throughout the film scene is also present in the soundtrack recording. The soundtrack features some of the dialogue heard in the film in between the songs (including a track titled "Parking Lot" that features Ally singing a verse from "Shallow"), but there is a streaming only version of the soundtrack that excludes the dialogue, and that version does feature a radio edit of "Shallow" that excludes most of the applause, but applause is still heard when Ally first crescendos the first time that she sings the chorus. I, however, absolutely love "Shallow" as it is definitely one of the strongest songs that Gaga has ever written and is well deserving of the praise that has been heaped upon it (including several award nominations and wins). Her powerhouse guttural vocals are some of the best of her career thus far (especially during the memorable buildup heard in the film trailer), and her voice sounds great alongside Bradley Cooper's gruff voice. The song is a folksy country pop song featuring acoustic guitar (as well as what is probably the dobro, giving it a bit of a twangy flavor), strings, and percussion - a minimalist approach that works perfectly. I especially love the line at the end of Gaga's first verse: "Ain't it hard keepin' it so hardcore?" This is Ally encouraging Jackson to soften up and let her in, and the song demonstrates the relationship between the two of them in so many ways. I love how the word "shallow" is intended to have more than one meaning - as not only far from shallow water but also as far from people who judge based on appearance, significant because Ally says that she has been called ugly many times throughout her life, which has held her back from pursuing a career as a musician.

"Music to My Eyes" and "Diggin' My Grave" are back to back duets between Gaga and Bradley and are both country-rock songs, with "Music to My Eyes" much softer than the aggressive "Diggin' My Grave" (which, although, a fun song, does little to demonstrate the relationship between Ally and Jackson, as it is essentially about someone who is angry with their lover for spending too much money). "Music to My Eyes" fits Ally and Jackson perfectly because the phrase being changed from "music to my ears" to "music to my eyes" indicates the basis of the relationship between Jackson and Ally - not only their love for each other's music but also their physical attraction to each other, significant because Jackson is likely the first person to tell Ally that she is beautiful. These two songs are the first two Gaga songs on the soundtrack that are strictly studio recordings with no applause or sounds from the film, and also interesting is that Gaga is only heard singing on them on the soundtrack; in the film, only Jackson is heard singing them. "Always Remember Us This Way" is a beautiful song sung only by Lady Gaga. It did take some time to grow on me, but once it did, I realized how beautiful that it is and now really like it. As do a few of the soundtrack's tracks (as previously stated), the track features a bit of applause, but it isn't as pronounced as some other tracks. The song is a soft country-rock song about being in love with someone and remembering the good times when you have to be away from them (which foreshadows the film's ending, but I won't discuss that here out of respect for any potential readers who have not yet seen the film.) Gaga's voice in the verses here has been compared to that of Shania Twain, which I can definitely hear, but the melody of the chorus reminds me a great deal of the melody of the chorus of the song "Silence Looks Good on You" (sung by Rachel Taylor), which is very likely a coincidence but is something worth mentioning.

"Look What I Found" is one of my favorite songs from the A Star Is Born soundtrack. Another Gaga solo, it is upbeat and piano driven, which is probably one of the reasons why I love it. (Gaga's talent on the piano is one of the reasons why I initially fell in love with her a decade or so ago.) In the film, Ally's manager encourages her to move away from the country-rock style of music that she had been making with Jackson and move toward a more radio-friendly pop sound, and this song is really when you first begin to hear that transition take place. I love this song because you can hear Ally's happiness both in the melody and in the lyrics as she expresses how she has finally found someone who loves her for who she is: "Look what I found - somebody who loves me!" "Heal Me" is a soft and soulful song with an R&B beat, and Gaga's vocals soar gracefully in the song's angelic chorus. The lyrics remind me a great deal of Lady Gaga's hit single "The Cure" because both songs are essentially about the same subject but from different perspectives, with "Heal Me" being from the perspective of the person in need of being healed and "The Cure" being from the perspective of the person doing the healing. (This is especially interesting given that both songs share many of the same songwriters - Lady Gaga, DJ White Shadow, Mark Nilan, and Nick Monson.) The next song on the soundtrack is another duet between Gaga and Bradley Cooper - a piano ballad with a jazzy rhythm titled "I Don't Know What Love Is." Although not really a highlight on the soundtrack for me personally, it is still a good song, and Bradley Cooper's verse is actually my favorite part of it: "If I had the courage, I'd know just what to do. Sometimes I have to crawl, and everyday I fall tryin' just to stand by you." His voice just works really well in this song, and I love the lyrics here. I also love the lyrics of the chorus: "I don't know what love is, but I think it might be you."

"Is That Alright?" is a piano ballad sung solely by Gaga. The song is a love song featuring a powerful and emotional melody in its chorus in which Gaga belts, "I want you to look right in my eyes, to tell me you love me, to be by my side. I want you at the end of my life. I want to see your face when I fall with grace at the moment I die. Is that alright?" (The song is especially emotional after seeing the film and knowing how it ends, but I, as I said before, don't want to spoil the ending, although if you have seen prior adaptions of A Star Is Born, then you already know.) "Why Did You Do That?" is another one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack, especially because it is so damn catchy. Gaga's typically powerhouse vocals (Seriously - how does she have those pipes when her spoken voice is so soft?) carry this soulful pop song through as she affectionately pretends to be angry with her lover for making her fall in love with him: "Why did you do that to me?" she repeatedly protests. One line in particular reminds me of the meaning behind Kelly Clarkson's song "Miss Independent" (the meaning being falling in love causing your need of and love for independence to dissipate) - "...'cause ever since I met you, I've been prayin' on my knees that you would always stay around, that you would never leave, but I'm the kind of girl that always needs to be free." In the film, Jackson does not seem to like the song, criticizing it during a particular scene. He tells Ally that a line near the beginning of the song - "Why'd you come around me with an ass like that?" - is crude and is indicative that Ally is sacrificing her artistry for fame. Although the line was written by Ally in the universe of the film (which is indicated as such when she comes to the line's defense and she and Jackson argue about it), it, in real life, was penned by iconic songwriter Diane Warren, with whom Gaga previously collaborated on "Til It Happens to You." With it being such an earworm, I am surprised that it hasn't been released a single.

I tend to think of "Why Did You Do That?" and "Hair Body Face" as sister songs on the soundtrack not only because they are back to back (even on the soundtrack with dialogue, and I also placed them back to back on my fanmade Lady Gaga album Ally) but also because they are both upbeat radio-friendly pop songs that stick out in comparison to most of the other songs that the soundtrack has to offer. In some ways, Lady Gaga is Ally. Gaga, like Ally, started with a more soulful and rock-star approach to music before transitioning to more radio-friendly pop music before hitting it big, and also like Ally, Gaga comes from an Italian family and suffers from insecurities about her appearance. "Hair Body Face" is essentially about those insecurities, which is one reason why I love it - even though it was likely written for Ally, it is also very much relatable for Gaga herself. (Gaga even previously used her hair as a symbol of her confidence and autonomy on the Born This Way track "Hair.") The song, as previously stated, is an upbeat pop song with an R&B-esque rhythm, and its lyrics relay a certain confidence in oneself that arises from being accepted for who you are by the person whom you love: "I'm not mad as long as I am perfect in your eyes," she reasons. "Before I Cry" is likely, in the universe of the film, Ally's response to the aforementioned argument between her and Jackson, an argument that turns nasty especially when Jackson uses her insecurity against her when he calls her ugly: "I can't believe the things you said," Gaga sings, opening the song. The song's lyrics plead with the speaker's lover to try to make amends so that their relationship can be salvaged. It's a slow pop-soul song in similar fashion as "Heal Me," and while not a bad song by any means, it is one of the weaker tracks on the soundtrack in my view; it just doesn't click with me like some of the other songs do.

Gaga's final song in both the film and on the soundtrack is titled "I'll Never Love Again." Ally gives a live performance of the entire song at the very end of A Star Is Born, and the soundtrack features both that version and an extended version. "I'll Never Love Again" is a soft piano ballad, with the staccato piano notes seeming to weep alongside Gaga's soft and gentle melody, the lyrics of which speak about feeling like you have already met your soulmate and therefore feel no need to ever search for anyone else. Parts of the song remind me of Christina Aguilera's usual R&B/soul style, and the melody of the chorus is tremendously similar to that of R. Kelly's song "I Believe I Can Fly." I am also reminded of Lady Gaga's song "Speechless" because the chorus of that song features the same line - "I'll never love again" - and I also feel like the meaning of "Speechless" fits perfectly alongside this film. I definitely appreciate the narrative purpose of this song in the film, and I definitely got teary-eyed during Ally's performance of it at the end of the film. All in all, I am very impressed with what the soundtrack to A Star Is Born accomplishes - showcasing Lady Gaga's already established ability as a songwriter and powerhouse vocalist and debuting Bradley Cooper's talent as a raw and guttural vocalist (with the film itself revealing his directing talent). It is so strange when I think about the fact that Beyoncé was originally set for the female lead role before that version of the film (which Clint Eastwood was set to direct) was canceled because it would have been a very different film with a very different soundtrack - not only because Beyoncé and Lady Gaga have very different singing voices but also because Lady Gaga had a hand in writing all of her songs with the exception of "Diggin' My Grave." The soundtrack is essentially an album's worth of material, and as a massive Gaga fan (or should I say little monster?), that is definitely rewarding. (I am sure that there are some fans who might even consider the soundtrack a Lady Gaga album, which, in some ways, it is.)

Lady Gaga - Ally [Fanmade Album]

[cover art by OmenBoy]

After seeing the film A Star Is Born (starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) and hearing the soundtrack, I decided to take a selection of Lady Gaga's songs from the soundtrack and compile it as a Lady Gaga album (an imagined follow-up to her 2016 album Joanne), and here is the result! Listen here!

Lady Gaga - Joanne [Review]

When discussion regarding this album first began, the album was referred to as LG5, and I find myself wondering what five albums were being counted. I actually consider Joanne to be Lady Gaga's sixth album, as I include The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, ARTPOP, Cheek to Cheek, and finally Joanne in that count. My thought, however, is that whoever termed it as LG5 was either not counting The Fame Monster (an eight-track follow-up to The Fame that is, as far as I am concerned, an album) or Cheek to Cheek (a jazz collaboration with legend Tony Bennett). Either way, the overall consensus seems to be that Joanne is Gaga's fifth album, but I would, as I said, argue that it is the sixth. Although I am disappointed that we never got the teased ARTPOP, Act II (which Gaga said would be more experimental than its predecessor), I am overall very pleased with this album, which is a vast improvement over ARTPOP. Although ARTPOP has its fair share of wonderful gems like "G.U.Y.," "Venus," and "Mary Jane Holland," it was overall a pretty drastic disappointment for me. Gaga seemed to have lost her footing on what it was that she was trying to do as an artist and as a musician, and the result felt like a hot mess. Prior to ARTPOP, it had always been perfectly clear what Gaga's message or theme was, what it was that she was trying to convey to her fans and to listeners, but ARTPOP really failed to do that in my opinion. With the exceptions of songs like "Dope" and "Gypsy," it seemed like a feel-good party album with very little direction or purpose. Joanne, however, brings Gaga back with a yet again reinvented image and sound, and to put it simply, it's one that I am really digging.

When I completed my first listen of the album, I quite honestly didn't know what to think. The album's lead single, "Perfect Illusion" (which had disappointed me when I first heard it), is probably the closest that Joanne gets to Mother Monster's typical electropop sound. Joanne is not an electronic dance record; instead, it features a great deal of country and folk inspired sounds reminiscent of past and present artists like Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Lana Del Rey, and Elle King. This is a sound that grew on me with each listen. On the album cover (which is pictured above) is a pensive Gaga wearing a pink brimmed hat over long blonde hair worn down. Behind her is a simple pale blue background. The cover is probably the simplest cover (save Cheek to Cheek) of hers yet, which is indicative of the album's sound. The title track, for example, is extremely bare and minimally produced; I even read that Mark Ronson (who helped produce a good amount of the album) refused to record a second take of Gaga's vocals when the song was first recorded. The simplicity of the album makes a great deal of sense when considered in tandem with the album's title, Joanne. Lady Gaga's real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, and her middle name Joanne was given to her in honor of her aunt Joanne, who passed away in 1974 from lupus complications. Although she passed away twelve years before Gaga was even born, Gaga has said that Joanne's life and death have had a profound effect on her and her family, and she consequently decided to tribute this album to her. It consequently makes sense to me that the album, which focuses on themes like personal strength, death, family, religion, and love, would be, overall, rather simple and stripped back.

Joanne opens with "Diamond Heart," which is a great opening track not only because of its power but also because it effectively gives the listener an idea of what to expect from the remainder of the album. It has a southern vibe to it but also has a brief electronic breakdown, mashing together later songs such as "Sinner's Prayer" and "Dancin' in Circles" respectively. Seeing as how Gaga is a self-proclaimed admirer of the late David Bowie's work (see her amazing tribute to him here), it stands to reason that the repetitive line "Young, wild, American" is probably a nod to Bowie's song and album Young Americans. The song's lyrics are very autobiographical, referring to Gaga's days as a go-go dancer and also to her being sexually assaulted. She also refers to her father in the song and to her dream of becoming a superstar one day (which she most certainly has achieved). When Gaga and celebrity Taylor Kinney got engaged, he gave her a diamond ring in the shape of a heart, so I also believe that the song is in reference to him, as they have since called off the engagement. The opening track's most poignant lyric is the following: "I'm not flawless, but I got a diamond heart." The song is about having to overcome adversity and struggle in order to achieve your dreams but also knowing your self-worth in the process. It is, as I said, an intimately personal number on the album. The second track, however, simply titled "A-Yo," is quite possibly my least favorite song on the album. I can't really explain why, but I do know that I find it rather repetitive and, dare I say, even annoying. It features strong influences of country and funk (if that can be understood), and it really just isn't my cup of tea musically. (A snippet of the song can be heard in an Apple Music commercial currently circulating.)

The third track on Joanne is titled, well, "Joanne." This is the title track written about Gaga's aunt Joanne. The song is therefore very lyrically centered on death, such as when Gaga passionately sings, "Honestly, I know where you're goin', and baby, you're just movin' on, and I'll still love you even if I can't see you anymore. Can't wait to see you soar." The song deals with grief (from both the perspective of Gaga herself and from her family members) but in a very positive light; as just demonstrated, Gaga seems to see Joanne's passing away as something beautiful, not just as something tragic. The song is played on an acoustic guitar and is folk-oriented; as previously mentioned, it is incredibly stripped-back, which is appropriate. The fourth track, titled "John Wayne," picks the pace back up. Obviously paying tribute to the late actor of the same name, who was known especially for his roles in western films, the song is a southern-flavored dance track highlighting Gaga's love for cowboys like the men whom John Wayne played. As has always been the case with Gaga, she uses a clever double-entendre in this song when she declares that "every John is just the same." John is, of course, a very common name for a man, which is why an unidentified man might be referred to as John Doe. Gaga is therefore saying that every average man who fails to capture her interest is just the same, but a "john" is also another word for a prostitute's male client. That doesn't mean that Gaga is referring to herself as a prostitute; she is, instead, referring to men who try to take advantage of her. (Let's also not forget that, as previously mentioned, she was a go-go dancer when she was much younger.) Along with its succeeding track, "Dancin' in Circles," "John Wayne" is definitely one of my favorite tracks from Joanne. It's fun, catchy, and clever.

"Dancin' in Circles" is influenced by reggae and funk and can be compared with No Doubt and Gwen Stefani. Much like many of the songs from The Fame (such as "Paparazzi," "Paper Gangsta," and "Summerboy"), Gaga's vocals on the chorus are somewhat similar to those of Stefani. When my boyfriend first heard the song, he even asked me if Gwen Stefani was a featured vocalist on the song (which she is not). As previously mentioned, Gaga is possibly the Queen of Innuendo, and there is plenty of it in this song, such as in the lyrics, "Up all night tryin' to rub the pain out" and "I lay around, touch myself to pass the time." I am reminded of Gaga's 2009 song "So Happy I Could Die," in which she sings, "I touch myself; can't get enough." The song is clearly about finding strength in solitude and in getting yourself off sexually rather than having a partner do it for you. "Dancin' in circles, feels good to be lonely," she sings in the chorus. I just love the rhythm of the song; not only am I reminded of Gwen Stefani, I am also reminded of Ace of Base's songs such as "All That She Wants." The sixth track from Joanne is the lead single, "Perfect Illusion." As I said, I didn't much care for the song when I first heard it, but it did grow on me, and I appreciate it a lot more now. Shortly after the song was first released, Gaga said that it did not represent the overall sound of the album, and I wholeheartedly agree; it, in fact, kind of stands out on the album like a sore thumb. The song reminds me a lot of ARTPOP's lead single, "Applause," and is the closest that Joanne gets to Gaga's usual electropop style.  The song features influences of disco and 90s pop music, and although when taken at face value, the lyrics seem to tell the story of a failed relationship, Gaga has said that it is not about Taylor Kinney and is actually a commentary on the illusionary curtain that is social media.

The seventh track on the album is "Million Reasons" and has been confirmed as the album's second single. The song, backed by piano and guitar, is a slow ballad co-written with Mark Ronson and Hillary Lindsey. Lindsey is a songwriter who often co-writers with country artists such as Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum, and the country influence can be heard on this song. It's hardly one of my favorite tracks from the album, and I wouldn't have chosen it as a single, but it holds its own competence on the album. When Gaga and Taylor Kinney called off their engagement, this is the announcement that she made to fans regarding the decision: "Taylor and I always believed we are soulmates. Just like all couples we have ups and downs, and we have been taking a break. We are both... hoping to work through long-distance and complicated schedules to continue the simple love we have always shared. Please root us on. We're just like everybody else and we really love each other." In "Million Reasons," Gaga sings, "I've got a hundred million reasons to walk away, but baby, I just need one good one to stay." It is my belief that Gaga may have written the song about Taylor, as the message of the song seems to fit what she said about the split. The song demonstrates the feeling that a relationship is on its way to possible destruction but having hope that it won't, that it can still be salvaged. Joanne's eighth track is the western song "Sinner's Prayer." The song thematically reminds me of "Bad Romance," as it speaks to wanting to be accepted and loved for who you are, despite your "sins" or your flaws. "I am what I am," she declares in the song. I really love the rhythm of "Sinner's Prayer," but it is probably the most country-esque song on the album, getting especially "twangy" near the end.

Although it is personally not mine, I have seen several fans (referred to as "monsters") say that the ninth track, "Come to Mama," is their favorite Joanne song. It is thematically very similar to many songs on Born This Way such as the title track and "Bad Kids," speaking out against bullying others because of their differences. "Come to Mama" preaches acceptance of others despite their differences from us. "Come to mama. Tell me who hurt ya," Gaga sings in the chorus. Gaga is often referred to as "Mother Monster" by fans, which is probably coming into play in this song. Gaga's vocals are a bit echoey on the track, as if she performed the song on a mic in a large room. As previously stated, Gaga's most recent album release prior to Joanne was Cheek to Cheek, an album featuring jazz standards, most of which were sung with Tony Bennett. Gaga, around the time that Cheek to Cheek was released (after extensive delays, mind you), said that she loves jazz music, and I think that that has always been evident in songs like the unreleased "Blueberry Kisses" and Born This Way's "The Edge of Glory." I think that it can be heard again here on "Come to Mama," which sounds like a jazzy rock tune much like Darlene Love's "All Alone on Christmas." Heavily prominent, for example, is the saxophone, which can also be heard on Born This Way tracks "Hair" and "The Edge of Glory." The tenth track on Joanne is the highly anticipated collaboration with Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine. Titled "Hey Girl," the song is a mid-tempo funky track that preaches girl power through solidity. "Hey, girl, we can make it easy if we lift each other... hey, girl, we don't need to keep on one-in up another," the two of them sing, sharing the song's chorus. This song would be even more meaningful and powerful if it were shared between Gaga and Madonna, but alas, it was not to be. A collaboration between Gaga and Florence is still a great thing to have, even though this song is quite honestly another low point on the album for me.

The standard edition of Joanne ends with "Angel Down," an absolutely beautiful and lulling song written in honor of Trayvon Martin, a young man senselessly shot and killed in 2012. What makes the case so prominent is that Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, got off Scot-free. Like she does on the album's title track, Gaga does something on this record that she hasn't done much in the past ("The Edge of Glory" is a rare example); she contemplates death. "Shots were fired on the street by the church where we used to meet," she states twice during the song. Similar to "Come to Mama," the song also speaks to the importance of equality and accepting people for who they are. (Much speculation has been offered regarding the idea that Martin's murder was a hate crime perpetrated by Zimmerman's racism.) "Doesn't everyone belong in the arms of the sacred?" Gaga laments. The song is definitely a tearjerker and an absolutely beautiful one at that. Although the deluxe version of the album goes on for a few more tracks, "Angel Down" works as a perfectly pensive closing, and it is definitely one of my favorite numbers from Joanne. The deluxe version of Joanne picks back up with "Grigio Girls," referencing Pinot Grigio, a type of white wine. Research regarding the song reveals that the song was written as a tribute to Sonja Dunham, director of the Haus of Gaga and a close friend of Gaga's, who is currently battling cancer. (Sonja is even directly mentioned in the song, as is Joanne.) The song is a soft rock song driven by guitar, and the song ends with a small chorus of girls singing along to the chorus and then laughing, which reminds me very much of John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." The song is beautiful and charming and is very much about celebrating life when threatened by death.

"Just Another Day" reminds me so much of The Beatles. I am also very much reminded of unreleased pre The Fame material of Gaga's such as "Blueberry Kisses," "Wonderful," and "Oh Well." Gaga has revealed that her fame has caused her a great deal of anxiety, and this song is very much from the perspective of an anxious person: "We both know I could learn a thing or two about relaxing..." The song speaks of an attempt to try to calm anxious nerves by taking life one day at a time. It's such a fun song, and like "Grigio Girls," it's one of the best tracks on the album. (It's definitely worth spending the few extra dollars on the deluxe version of the album.) The deluxe version then ends with a "work tape" version of "Angel Down," which is a stripped and acoustic performance of the song. The Japanese edition of the album contains one additional track, a "work tape" version of "Million Reasons." Although it has a few low points, Joanne is, overall, a fantastic album. I can't get over the confessional nature of "Diamond Heart" or the sheer lamenting beauty of "Angel Down." Gaga is not technically new to experimenting with folk and country sounds. Born This Way's "Yoü and I," for example, has a distinct country-esque sound, and the single-only release "Stuck on Fuckin' You" has a very distinct guitar-driven southern sound. Never before has Mother Monster devoted the majority of an album to such a sound, though; it's ambitious and daring, and as is usually the case, Gaga pulls it off. Joanne is a beautiful, moving, and deeply personal album; it might even be her most personal album to date. My only real complaint (besides the very few songs that I don't care a whole lot for) is that Gaga teased that her role on American Horror Story: Hotel was influencing the album's writing process. I consequently hoped for more dark tracks like "Dance in the Dark," "Bloody Mary," "Heavy Metal Lover," and "Electric Chapel," but nothing on Joanne is even remotely reminiscent of American Horror Story. 

Lady Gaga - ARTPOP [Review]

After approximately two and a half years, Mother Monster returns with ARTPOP, the follow-up to 2011's Born This Way. ARTPOP has some real gems to offer listeners, but it is, unfortunately, Gaga's worst effort of the four albums so far. The main shortcoming is that it does not live up to its title. It is a great, fun pop album, but it would be a fantastic album for Britney, a low spot for Gaga, most of whose work in the past has been nothing short of innovative, artistic, and theatrical. This album doesn't seem too interested in enlightenment, merely entertainment, and that is disappointing. The album opens with "Aura," an ineffective way of opening the album, in my opinion. Originally titled "Burqa" when the demo version leaked this past summer, the song is an insane piece, and I use that word insane specifically because Gaga has called it insane herself. It is chaotic and all over the place, with Gaga laughing maniacally near the beginning of the song, and the song really reminds me a lot of "Americano" from Born This Way, both because of its instrumental accompaniment and its rhythm. The song has taken quite a bit of critical heat for its lyrical content. The chorus is as such: "Do you want to see me naked, lover? Do you want to peek underneath the covers? Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura?" I think that the fact that the word "aura" also sounds like the word "Awrah" is intentional, as the word "Awrah" is a term used to denote the parts of the body that the Islam religion deems as sinful to expose. Gaga seems to be attempting to empower Muslim women by saying that behind the robes is a free woman, a beautiful woman, and I don't agree with the criticism stating that this is offensive toward Muslim women, especially since Gaga is using this as a metaphor for her own state of being as a creative pop star who is constantly scrutinized. People try to decode who she is via her choice of attire, and she is saying that maybe, there isn't always a message; maybe, I am just being me. The song being on the album is ironic, though, because the album cover in middle-eastern countries is edited so that the bare legs of the sculpture are not bare but are wearing black tights.

The second song on the album is "Venus," which is one of my absolute favorite songs on the album, a definite high point on the album. Originally selected as the album's second single but foolishly replaced by "Do What U Want" (featuring R. Kelly) ("Venus" is now only a promo single), the song is high in energy and an electronic beat, with some of the best lyrics that the album has to offer, such as: "Let's blast off to a new dimension - in your bedroom!" The bridge in between the verses and the chorus ("I can't help the way I'm feeling…") seems a bit out of place in juxtaposition to its preceding verses and is a bit jarring at first, but I became accustomed to it in a hurry. The lyrics of the chorus are also memorable: "When you touch me, I die just a little inside; I wonder if this could be love, this could be love 'cause you're out of this world, galaxy, space, and time…" Lyrically, the song reminds me of "Another Race" by Theatre of Tragedy, as I believe it to be about space travel serving as a metaphor for sexual intercourse and, in this case, specifically sexual intercourse that is tied to love. The song has a psychedelic sound to it and samples "Rocket Number 9" by Sun Ra and "Rocket n˚9" by Zombie Zombie. I was very outraged when I read a comment on YouTube that stated that Gaga plagiarized the songs and that that is further proof that Madonna is the queen, not Gaga. That outraged me for several reasons. (1) She did not plagiarize the songs, as it is a mere sample, and Sun Ra is credited as a songwriter. (2) Madonna has done the same thing more than once. "Ray of Light" samples "Sepheryn" by Curtiss Maldoon, and "Hung Up" samples "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (a Man After Midnight)" by ABBA. Artists do this quite frequently. Rihanna's "S.O.S." samples Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Flo Rida and Ke$ha's song "Right Round" samples "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive. Eminem's "Like Toy Soldiers" samples "Toy Soldiers" by Martika. Even though so many people associate it with "U Can't Touch This," the instrumental accompaniment to MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" is from "Super Freak" by Rick James. The list goes on. (3) I am so tired of the war between Gaga fans and Madonna fans. I am personally fans of both artists, and I think that they are both musically intelligent on a very extreme level, and I just want the bickering and every song that Gaga releases being compared to Madonna to stop.

"G.U.Y." (which stands for "Girl Under You") is one of my three favorite tracks on the album (the other two being "Venus" and "Mary Jane Holland"). It begins with the spoken introduction: "Greetings, Himeros, god of sexual desire, son of Aphrodite. Lay back, and feast as this audio guides you through new and exciting positions." It is kind of a misleading introduction because the song does not really guide its listeners through "new and exciting positions" (essentially just one), but it works really well coming directly after "Venus" because Venus and Aphrodite are the same goddess, so it's as if "G.U.Y." is the offspring of "Venus." The song is heavy with electronic energy with a melody that reminds me a great deal of late 90s, early 2000s Britney. The main instrumental hook sounds very much like the "Judas, Juda-a-a, Judas, Juda-a-a…" hook from Born This Way's "Judas." Lyrically, the song is about being in control in the bedroom even when you prefer being underneath your partner. I love the song because much like Himeros (the god of sexual desire who was a bit androgynous), the song is a bit of a gender-bender. So many people tend to think of the one on top during sexual intercourse being the male, while the one on the bottom is the female, which is one reason why I have seen and heard so much homophobia display a double-standard of persecuting the guy who enjoys being at the receiving end of anal sex with much more severity than the guy who enjoys being at the giving end. This song is saying that a guy can be a girl and vice-versa; it is attempting to blur the lines that make up the picture that is sexual gender conformity. I find it to be a very LGBT-friendly song because of that message. Regardless of sex, one can be both the girl under you and the guy at the same time because just because he or she is a bottom does not mean that he or she is weak and submissive.

"Sexxx Dreams" (ridiculously titled "X Dreams" on the edited version of the album) is a disco-like track, fast-paced and high-pitched with two different personalities at work, one who is addressing her lover with an apology because she had a sex dream about someone else and one who is addressing the person about whom she had the sex dream, essentially recounting how much she enjoyed it. It's a fun song and kind of seems like a "Poker Face" part two in some respects because lyrically, The Fame's "Poker Face" has a somewhat similar story to it, as the speaker is pretending to be sexually aroused by someone with whom she is having sexual intercourse when, in reality, her mind is on someone different. The fifth track is "Jewels N' Drugs," and I am quite honestly not going to be spend very much time discussing this track because not only is it the worst track on the album, it is one of the worst (it's difficult to say the worst because of nightmares such as "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Cake Like Lady Gaga") tracks that she has ever recorded, an opinion which I admit to at least partially holding because I am not a hip-hop fan. The song features T.I., Too $hort, and Twista and is a mess of rapping and Gaga's sassy vocals ("Don't want your jewels; I want your drugs…") over a gangsta beat and is a song that essentially celebrates drug-dealing. The bottom line is that I respect Gaga as an artist and, therefore, probably shouldn't say something so potentially harsh, but I wish that she would leave rap and hip-hop to others. "MANiCURE" is a song that I initially hated but warmed up to a little bit. It is still one of the low points on the album mainly because lyrically and melodically, it does little that is new and innovative. The title is capitalized the way that it is because there are a number of ways to read it. It could be "manicure," but it could also be "man I cure" or "man cure." I do think that there is a message to the fast, electro-rock song (which reminds me of oldies like "Vanity" and "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich"). When we think of a manicure, we think of color being added to nails, nails being polished, nails being fixed after being broken, etc. Essentially, something is fixed and made pretty, and I think that the song is referring to sex, like a manicure, as a luxury that can be therapeutic. It just doesn't do a whole lot for me, though, and, like I said, is a weak spot on the album.

"Do What U Want" features R. Kelly (whom I could do without) and is officially the album's second single. It is a catchy R&B track driven by melody that compares sex (a common theme on the album) to the press, as someone else doing what he or she wants with her body sexually is similar to the press saying what they want about her body, which Gaga has faced throughout the last couple of years. She has constantly been criticized because of fluctuations of her weight, which she has always seemed to respond to fearlessly. I like the song, but like I said, I am not an R. Kelly fan, so I wish that she had either done this solo or featured a different artist. I have heard a rumor (I have done a little bit of research, and the rumor appears to be true) that R. Kelly was once brought up on charges due to a sex tape showing him having sex with an underaged girl and urinating on her, and if that's true, it really disappoints me that Gaga would collaborate with him. Gaga is not the goddess of morality and ethics (she is a human being), and even if she were, musically collaborating with someone responsible for an act like that does not make her guilty of it herself, but I guess that I have just held her to such high professional standards for years and, therefore, expect her artistic collaborations to be very selective, but she has said that she is a fan of R. Kelly's work as a musician, so I shouldn't judge. I respect her, and I respect her artistic decisions even if I don't agree with them (assuming, as I said, that the rumor is even true). The eighth track is the title track "Artpop," a groovy, dreamy disco cut that is reminiscent of late 70s, early 80s Blondie; think "Rapture" meets Gaga, and it is not the first time that something that Gaga has done has reminded me of Blondie; The Fame's "Summerboy" reminds me of "Heart of Glass." "Artpop" compares an unlikely romance to an unlikely blending of art and pop culture. I like the song a lot, but the comparison fails when, in the chorus, the lyrics are as such: "We could, we could belong together (artpop)…" The word "artpop" is thrown into the chorus of the song needlessly and ruins the love metaphor. I really wish that the song were more abstract, especially since it is the title track of an album titled ARTPOP. 

"Swine" is sort of like "Aura" in that it is pure chaos and insanity. It is definitely the messiest song on the record as far as that goes, lyrically and melodically alternating between dismissive snark ("I know, I know, I know, I know you want me…") and downright anger ("Squealer, squealer, squeal out; you're so disgusting…"). I wish that the version that she performed at the iTunes Festival earlier this year, on which she kickstarted the song with a slow introduction on the piano and electric guitar, more closely resembled the version on the album. This is another low point on the album for me, mainly because I am someone who strongly believes in the respect for and dignity of animals, and pigs being associated with disgust and repulsion is age-old and tiresome. Pigs are actually very clean most of the time; they do occasionally roll around in mud, but so do other animals such as horses and dogs; they are smart and know that it has benefits for their skin. I also do not understand the villainizing of pigs; they are actually very smart and usually very friendly, loving animals. The speaker of the song has been drastically offended by someone (I read that Gaga wrote the song about the feud that she had with Perez Hilton not too long ago) and, therefore, compares him to a pig. How original. The tenth track is "Donatella," a song written about Gaga's close friend Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer and vice-president of the Versace group. Gaga, during a JustJared interview this year, described the song as such: "[It] is an incredible crazy fun pop song with really raising electronic beats that I did with Zedd." It is in the spirit of Born This Way's "Scheiße" in that it is about being a fearless woman who does not care about backlash that she may receive, whether it be from the media, friends, family, or whomever. The record moves into "Fashion!" which is a Bowie-esque piano pop/piano rock track about fashion being a personally liberating art, featuring a "Marry the Night" reference in the lyrics: "Married to the night, I own the world…" Gaga certainly does not hide her love for fashion (nor does she need to), as this is not even her first song with this title (the first does not feature the exclamation mark), and Born This Way features the tracks "Fashion of His Love" and "Black Jesus † Amen Fashion."

"Mary Jane Holland" is one of the three songs on the album that I consider my favorites (the others, again, being "Venus" and "G.U.Y."). The song is an epic electro-rock and electropop clash with a chorus that seems to be pleading with whomever is listening to allow her her fantasy of escaping fame and temporarily being someone else: "I think that I would be fine if I could be Mary Jane Holland tonight…" The song was written during a time when Gaga was addicted to marijuana (it's not a coincidence that the name Mary Jane kind of looks like the word) and was using it as a coping mechanism to escape fame. Lyrics such as "When I ignite the flames and put you in my mouth, the grass heats up my insides, and my brunette starts to sprout" make this obvious. During a Sirius XM track-by-track discussion of the album, Gaga explained that she would go out partying and would get high on marijuana, and one night in particular, she insisted upon being called Mary Jane Holland. The track also seems to possibly suggest that while under the influence, the speaker fantasizes about engaging in a threesome with two men and/or watching them have sex, due to a line that is a clever allusion to the Greek god Apollo (depicted as young and attractive), the god of many different elements such as music and poetry: "…So if you have fear, Apollo, sit on my lyre, and play him like a piano, man" (possibly an allusion to the Billy Joel song and/or album "Piano Man," as well). Although I do not use or condone drug use, I respect this song because I do know what dependence feels like and how amazing it can feel, and structurally and lyrically, the song is one of the album's highlights. "Dope," as Gaga explained in the Sirius XM interview, is sort of like a sequel to "Mary Jane Holland," the aftermath of the party after the party has hurt loved ones. "Dope" (released as a promo single) is the only time that the album slows down and gives us a slow, soft song. Played almost entirely on the piano (with a little bit of synth here and there), the song is a heartbreaking apology to those whom have been hurt by her drug use, and the chorus is my favorite part of the song: "My heart would break without you, might not awake without you. Been hurting low for living high for so long. I'm sorry, and I love you…" I love the song, but I prefer "I Wanna Be with You," the version of the song that she performed at the iTunes festival, and I kind of wish that that version had been recorded in the studio and shared with us.

Next in line on the album is "Gypsy," a fast-paced Céline Dion-esque rock track about life on the road, plane, etc. (a traveling life). Gypsies were Romani people that were believed to have been cast out of Egypt, and they did not have homes because they were nomads, traveling from one place to the next, similar to the life of a star who is constantly touring. The lyrics seem to be saying that the speaker does not want to spend her entire life without a traditional family (partner, potentially a child or children, a domestic home, etc.) but that for now, she is okay not having that because her fans are her family, and she has a home with them. This is the song on the album that I think most closely resembles the preceding album Born This Way, since I clearly hear echoes of songs such as "Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)" and "The Edge of Glory." "Gypsy" is a beautiful song that I think is going to end up being released as a single because of how often she chooses it when she only performs one or two songs. The album closes with its lead single "Applause." Lyrically, it is a great way to close the album, as it is a tribute and a "thank you" to the fans who have supported her, which is also an effective way of following up on "Gypsy." However, stylistically and melodically, the album is not effectively closed. "Applause," which is a synthesized dance track about how much appreciation that she has for the love that she receives from her fans, leaves the album feeling incomplete and unfinished, which could be intentional because apparently, on top of the Tony Bennett collaboration album titled Cheek to Cheek that is due on New Year's Day 2014, Gaga has an ARTPOP: Act Two, which will reportedly feature more experimental material as opposed to the more commercial material on this album, in the works, and I am really looking forward to both releases (Cheek to Cheek and the second volume of ARTPOP). ARTPOP is, overall, a decent pop album, but I know that Gaga is capable of much better because I have heard much better, and I hope to be further rewarded for friendly criticism but loyalty when the second volume is released. I have, however, warmed up to it a great deal since first hearing it.