Lady GaGa General Discussion

[MrPryck2U]

Listened to the new album all weekend. Great stuff! Didn't skip anything. Just let it play. Edge of Glory and Judas are my favorites so far.

[UnforgettableLemon]

The "Edge of Glory" video reminds me so much of "Out Tonight" from Rent.

[mobvok]

I saw the album for sale today at the front counter of a Walgreen's.

[KhanadaRhodes]

Originally Posted by UnforgettableLemon

The "Edge of Glory" video reminds me so much of "Out Tonight" from Rent.

oh yay, it's not just me. there's a couple songs on this album that when i hear them, i picture them being sung by mimi actually.

[mad1]

I have to say she does have a fantastic figure and face for all her arty looks. I love Edge of Glory, esp instrumental. I love the beginning of Judas vid with her hair colour very bold, and the rest close to black and white.


wouldnt know prop term for that colouring.........

[patternshirt170]

Originally Posted by LemonMelon

So much better than the video for Born This Way. Very attractive lighting, fun choreography, Clarence being a badass, and Gaga once again being proud of her ass, which I approve of.

I'm not sure if this album already going double platinum is impressive or not. With the $0.99 prices on week 1 and 84% drop to week 2, I can't see this album having as much sales longevity as her others. There are only like three singles on this that can match Telephone, let alone Poker Face or Bad Romance. Oh well, I approve of her trying to make more cohesive records at this point of her career; it's a sign of genuine artistry.

I still think she should have waited until the autumn and released it then, sure, do the two singles and then the album, she could have used the post tour downtime to give people are break... you needs pauses in music. pause down

The album release stuck onto the final two dates of a 18month tour was bizarre and now she has like 7-9months of thumb twiddling, scrabble, TV slots, awards shows and sundry this and that and no actual gigs, no touring no ta da!...

Regardless of her being influenced by how things were done back then, it's not the '80s anymore where touring acts could generally morph one album/tour phase into the next with ease... then again the "three year turn around/silence" is equally shite, actually its' 100 levels of shite...

[cdparky]

Originally Posted by patternshirt170

I still think she should have waited until the autumn and released it then, sure, do the two singles and then the album, she could have used the post tour downtime to give people are break... you needs pauses in music. pause down

I still think the extension of the tour in to this year was a mistake - they should have wrapped up in Europe last year, then recharged ready to launch the BTW campaign this year.

And "pause down"

[gvox]

Ok I've been fairly critical of Lady Gaga, I'll admit. The shock for shock value sake stuff really does nothing for me, it's just basically an eye-roll and "ok, whaaatever.."

However...Gaga recently appeared on the Howard Stern show, stripped of any of that other crap. I probably wouldn't have stumbled on this if I wasn't pretty impressed with Edge Of Glory when I heard it on the radio..so I youtubed the video, and found these two.

There's not much more to say than holy shit. I guess anyone who's seen her live may have gotten a taste of this kindof performance from her, but this is just...awesome:

HOWARD STERN: Lady Gaga's solo piano performance of "The Edge Of Glory" on Howard Stern Show - YouTube

HOWARD STERN: Lady Gaga's solo piano performance of "Hair" on Howard Stern Show - YouTube

[corianderstem]

Oh yeah, I've seen a lot of her solo piano versions of songs. Have always been impressed with her actual talent.

[Zootomic]

I know how you feel 'gvox'. I had done my best to ignore her because I thought she was just another no-talent, lip-synching, attention-seeking, manufactured pop tart. But over the last few months I've come to realize that she is actually very talented and I've become quite a fan, which is a little embarrassing since I'm sure I'm at least three or four times the average age of her fans.

My opinion started to change with her Saturday Night Live appearance in May. I watched the show because Justin Timberlake always does a good job as host and I ended up watching her performances. She did an acoustic segment on the piano and I was absolutely floored by how good her voice was. I had no idea she could really sing. After that I went on a Youtube binge watching her performances and music videos, I read old interviews, I watched her HBO special, and I bought her music.

I do think she sometimes goes over the top with the on-stage and off-stage antics and I think it hurts her with people like me who don't see past those antics to the genuine talent underneath. I also think someone in her family or management team has to try to rein in her pretty massive ego (she really is her own worst enemy sometimes in interviews). But I now believe that she is the real deal and will be around for a long time. She's only 25 and I'm looking forward to seeing how her music and her persona evolve over the next few years.

[Saracene]

I've listened to the new album in full for the first time yesterday when I was over at my sister's and she put it on as background music. Nothing on it matches the best from her first two releases, but to my surprise I found the whole thing rather likeable. One of the songs (can't remember which one) just screamed Eurovision

[Zootomic]

I had the perspective of hearing her new album before her earlier recordings since I had actively avoided all things Gaga prior to May. I liked "Born This Way" on first listen and I have grown to like it more since then. However, some of the criticism of it made more sense after I listened to "The Fame" and "The Fame Monster". "Born This Way" just doesn't have the kind of hook-laden ear candy of songs like "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face", but it also doesn't have the weak, filler tracks that "The Fame" had.

I understood "Born This Way" better when I read that she had written and recorded much of it while on tour. It does have the noisy, chaotic feel that is how I imagine life on the road for a musician to be. I also read that her record company had urged her to take time off performing to record but she refused insisting that she could do both. I kind of hope that they don't take no for an answer next time because I would like to see what she can come up with if she spent a month or two just concentrating on recording.

[gvox]

I know no details about her..she writes all her own lyrics and music? I know that sounds dumb, but in this day and age...

[Zootomic]

Originally Posted by gvox

I know no details about her..she writes all her own lyrics and music? I know that sounds dumb, but in this day and age...

Yes, she does write her own songs although usually with an assist from her producers. She seems to write all the lyrics and a general music outline then the producers refine the music.

Check out the video below. It's from her pre-Gaga days when she was still in college. She's performing two of her own songs in a talent competition. Her songwriting skills are there but these songs still need some work.

Vintage Lady Gaga Live at NYU - Captivated & Electric Kiss - YouTube

[patternshirt170]

I don't share the optimism of a long career certainly of Madonna-esque proportions... but who knows these days when everything happens so fast compared to 25 years ago.. Her current album already dipped 9 or 10 places in the UK today and that is with all the new video hyperbole.. I think it depends on the general performance of this record especially during this long non touring phase.... as an '80s child' it seems to me as too much too soon.. with no breaks... you need them...

[gvox]

Interesting that you mention Madonna. I had an argument with myself over who I believe is/was more talented...from a purely musical standpoint, mind you..

[bono_212]

Mentioning Madonna during the same conversation as Lady Gaga is "interesting?'

[Zootomic]

Originally Posted by patternshirt170

Her current album already dipped 9 or 10 places in the UK today and that is with all the new video hyperbole.. I think it depends on the general performance of this record especially during this long non touring phase....

I disagree. Album sales don't mean what they once did. Yes, it's nice to have a #1 on the charts for the resulting publicity that comes with it and it's nice for the performer's ego and for their fans to brag about, but the reality is that the charts don't really tell how many people are actually obtaining and listening to the music. The old 'sales and airplay' tracking method is hopelessly outdated.

I think the real indicator of Gagas's longevity will be her next tour which isn't as far away as you seem to think. She has indicated her intention to go back out on full tour early next year. If she can continue to fill arenas around the world while touring an album that did not have the dance hits of its predecessor then that would be a very good sign for her future. If not then it may mean she's in for a rapid decline in popularity. Time will tell.

On a sidenote regarding the charts not being a true indicator - I am becoming suspicious of Adele's chart positions. This is not a criticism of Adele. I think she's fantastic and her mainstream success is a very encouraging sign for a music industry that was only recently dominated by misogynistic rappers. But I just find it hard to believe that after six months her sales are still peaking. How many times now has her album dropped out of #1 only to bounce right back up the following week? At least three I think. It's no secret that the British music industry and British media have been heavily promoting her and I'm starting to think they are also engaging in some behind the scenes chart shenanigans.

[intedomine]

Well I know that in Australia, supply of Adele's current album cannot match demand anywhere near quick enough. I'm not skeptical at all about the lofty heights of her success. It's pretty incredible. I can't think of any other recent album that has had the resonance across so many different types of listeners, that Adele is experiencing right now. I really should listen to one of her songs.

[cobl04]

I will tell you right now that the album is nowhere near as good as the 15 straight weeks it has been at #1. You've already heard Rolling in the Deep, it's on the Underbelly ad. Infuriating.