Saturday, May 21st 2011
Reviews: Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga Coasts On Hype With ‘Born This Way’
Few albums in the recent history of pop music have garnered as much attention, hype and anticipation as Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. After releasing The Fame just 3 years ago and following that up with the stellar The Fame Monster in 2009, pop fans have been clamoring to get their hands on Gaga’s newest album. Careful what you wish for, as they say.
Unfortunately, Born This Way lacks the pop sensibility that made so many fall in love with Gaga in the first place. While her hardcore fans may call this new LP ambitious, and some have gone as far as to call it a masterpiece, what she’s really given her fans is a bloated collection of songs that in no way form the makings of a good album.
A large handful of the tracks on Born This Way are bad enough to make one wonder just what happened to Gaga in the last two years to cause her hook-writing abilities to vanish.
Government Hooker is a not so subtle dig at Marilyn Monroe, featuring Gaga singing over a grinding, nearly industrial beat. Lyrics like “I’m gonna drink my tears tonight / I’m gonna drink my tears and cry” pepper the song, completely ruining the decent backing track. “Put your hands on me / John F. Kennedy / I’ll make you squeal baby / As long as you pay me.” This is obviously the stuff of a true genius.
Hair strives to be another inspirational track about living life how you want (a la Born This Way) but doesn’t accomplish anything remotely inspiring. Instead it serves as a vehicle for some nonsensical lyrics about her being as free as her hair. “I’ve had enough, this is my prayer / That I’ll die living just as free as my hair,” Gaga sings. The music itself is catchy enough, built around a stomping club beat and a very hummable melody, but the lyrics stop the song dead in its tracks.
Bloody Mary again suffers from the curse of poorly written lyrics. “I’ll dance dance dance dance with my hands hands hands above my head head head like Jesus did.” As an atheist, I am not an expert on the exact details of Jesus’ life, but I’m pretty sure that hanging on the cross was not considered a sick dance move back in the day. There’s a reason that Sony Pictures never greenlighted Breakin’ 3: Dancing for God.
The album’s first two singles, Born This Way and Judas don’t sound any better in the context of the album. Neither track is truly terrible, but with the album’s namesake song encouraging listeners to pull out Express Yourself and Judas sounding straight out of Dance Dance Revolution, they aren’t really doing Gaga any favors either.
Not everything is bad. Scheisse features Gaga declaring that she can’t speak German but she will if you’d like. Backing up her German rambling (and eventual English vocals) is a heavy club track built around a stuttering drum loop and a piercing synth line. It’s one of the tracks on the album closest to Gaga’s prior work and is better because of it.
Like Scheisse, Fashion Of His Love sounds a bit like the Gaga of the past. Instantly catchy and ready for the clubs, this is an ideal candidate for a single. The pounding, yet somehow still tinny drum track and over the top synth orchestral chords make the song sound like Gaga attempting to make an 80s pop single. Unlike the title track of Born This Way, Fashion Of His Love seems more like a true homage to Madonna instead of a direct copy.
Americano finds Gaga alternating between Spanish and English over a backing track that mixes together flamenco guitars, hand claps and horns. Albeit strange, the song works and the melody is instantly memorable. This is the kind of song that pop haters dread getting stuck in the heads.
The Edge of Glory, the third single released from the LP, is Gaga’s attempt at an 80s-styled anthem. She goes as far as recruiting The E Street Band’s saxophonist Clarence Clemons for a solo. A simple beat and spacey synth lines back one of Gaga’s best vocal performances on the album. The word “edge” is used 41 times in in the 5:21 long song, and does get a bit repetitive, but this has been the strongest single released from the album at this point.
You And I, which Gaga’s been performing live for the last year or so, should have been a major highlight on the album. Legendary rock producer Robert “Mutt” Lange took the reigns in the studio, and unfortunately chose to drown the track in stupid electro noises and the beat from Queen’s We Will Rock You. Queen’s Brian May even contributes several guitar parts for the track, but it doesn’t salvage what should have been great.
Live, You And I was a showcase of Gaga’s real talent. A good song, a strong voice and Gaga toning down the ridiculous (and entertaining) freak show to show people she does actually have talent, both as a singer and songwriter. On the record, however, layers upon layers of unneeded accompaniment and backing vocals have completely ruined the track.
A big problem with Born This Way is that none of the tracks fit together to make a cohesive album. Sure there are repeating themes (be who you are, love yourself), but each song here seems primed to be released as a single instead of fitting together to form an album.
Is Born This Way art? Sure, along the same lines as taxidermy. We’re left with a version of Lady Gaga who’s heart and soul have seemingly been removed, left with just the hollow shell that only offers brief glimpses of what she was just a few years ago.
why the f*** is this album even considered important enough to be mentioned on this page at all?
and btw it’s Scheisse not Scheibe, which is just german for shit…
What the fuck happened? Why is this even being reviewed? Shitty filler reviews on this site now?
You seriously had nothing better to do than sit down and listen to an entire Lady gaga album and write a description of each track? WTF?
Why is this on here?
“Rock Music News & Reviews @ antiquiet.com” says it all.
Black Flag to Lady GaGa. We find time for it all. Suck it.
that’s what happens when you’ve absorbed every madonna hook and you can’t come up with your own shit. props to you guys for reviewing this – and waving the flag of truth. i don’t know why all you bitchtards are so angry they did..it’s a music site.
I concur
If you don’t review bad music then whats the point guys? Its a music website, not a circlejerk.
Why review it? Maybe because as stated in the review, it’s one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and she might be “too commercial” for some of you, but she’s written some great songs in the past (and this is coming from someone who predominantly listens to classic rock/heavy metal). Sadly it looks like her creative spark may have died out, but I’ll check out the album soon, see what I make of it. Great review.
Most anticipated albums of the year? Anticipated by who? Not people who like good music. I for one am a huge fan of good music across all genres, and I can honestly say I was not anticipating it at all. I’d be pretty fine with her never releasing anything ever again. Yeah, I get that in some circles Lady Gaga might be very important anticipated music, but I guess I always get slightly taken by surprise that this site is part of that scene. But to write a review of Lady Gaga that says anything more than “this just sucks” seems like beating a dead, obvious horse. The article would be worthwhile if it was actually making a claim as to why the album really is great. But it get’s 1.5 stars.
What a thin bitch argument. Let’s ignore the punk-ass purist claim that nobody who likes good music could possibly appreciate her brand of big-box pop and go with the meat: “The article would be worthwhile if it was actually making a claim as to why the album really is great. But it gets 1.5 stars.” Closet Gaga fan, or are you just that hard up for shit to talk that you need to criticize not only why we reviewed it but the fact that we didn’t slobber over it? The review was written by a member of her target audience, who was fully prepared to lather praise on it – if it were due. Instead you get a claim as to why the album is really bad.
I think it’s important to review albums and artists of her calibur. I for one appreciated the review coming from you guys more than say Spin or Rollingstones, who will probably shower it with praise.
Spin gave it an 8/10
I read the Rollingstone’s review, and I swear they were talked about it like it was ‘the Rapture’ of albums! X-D Hahaha…
Her target audience? So, this Steven Anthony person is a gay dude with bad taste in music? Is he cool with you outing him that way?
Johnny didn’t out me in any way. I’m a gay man with a very expansive taste in music. It’s unfortunate that you equate pop with bad. I love pop music. I love rock. I love rap. I love Japanese power metal.
Learn how to listen to music outside of your comfort range or shut the fuck up.
I didn’t write this review for you, this is written so people who are interested in the album can get a fair look at it instead of checking the old guard of music reviews that have become untrustworthy and full of potentially payola-inspired praise heaping.
I know you better than you know me. I knew you were gay without ever speaking a word to you or hearing a word about you. But see, you have me all wrong. Where did I ever say that I equate pop with bad? I surely do not. There’s plenty of worthwhile pop music out there. The woman Gaga tries so hard to be; Madonna put out tons of music that fits happily alongside the rest of my very diverse music library. So what exactly is my “comfort range” that you speak of? I dare you to define it with any accuracy. Is it my Pantera records, or my Sade records? Is it Glassjaw, or is it Phil Collins? Because I love all these things. The one thing they all have in common is that they’re good. That’s the one criteria I require, and it’s one that Lady Gaga does not, has never, and most likely never will meet.
And you didn’t write this review for me; an Antiquiet reader? if it’s not for us, who did you write it for? If you wrote it for someone else it seems to be published on the wrong site. I found it here, because I came here, on purpose.
I had you right. You had me wrong.
Listen up because I’m not commenting again –
Since you apparently can’t read, this review was written for people who are interested in this album. This isn’t written for people with tiny minds who hate the LP without ever hearing it.
If you think Gaga hasn’t ever released a good pop song, than you have zero ground to state how superior your musical tastes are compared to mine (or anybody else). All that shows is a lack of understanding about how pop works and what makes pop music good.
Have fun with your Sade and your Pantera. Peace.
Sade, Pantera, and you know, MADONNA. You left that one out of course. Gaga tries so hard to be Madonna, its sad. It’s the difference between liking good pop and liking bad pop.
So far I’m 2 for 2 though. I knew you were gay without knowing you, and I knew this album was a 1.5 (at best) without listening to it.
If there were an award for most devoted bitch troll to ever drop clicks on Antiquiet, there would be no competition. It’s a shame you’ll never graduate out of the comments section, little plankton.
P.S. I can remove you myself, sweetheart.
You’ve got a lot of pent up anger don’t you.
We need good sites like this one reviewing shit records from time to time. At least this way Spin and Rolling Stone won’t be the only voices online.
I agree that this record is pointless and I won’t be wasting my time listening to it either. But we need people to stand up and say “it sucks”. Good job Steven!
Phil Collins = good? huh?
Couldn’t have put it better myself. As said above, I primarily identify myself as a fan of Classic Rock/Heavy Metal, but that in no way means I can’t like music outside of that bracket. I like several songs by Lady Gaga and other pop artists, I love plenty of grunge, industrial, prog, punk etc. Just because I identify myself as a Metalhead first and foremost doesn’t mean I have to restrict my taste to that strict parameter.
One of the things I love about this website is the fact that it covers a massive range of music, be it Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails, Beastie Boys and so on, and doesn’t discriminate because of genre, assessing each artist on their individual merit.
I’m guessing if you had your way, someone would probably say “they didn’t even listen to the album.” You can’t have it both ways.
This is a music site, they review music here. Like it or not, this album is drawing a lot of hype. Something with that much clout probably deserves a review, good or bad. If you’re unhappy with it, check your 5 star rating and get the fuck off the site. I think its great that antiquiet reviews this stuff- if there’s anything good to hear about any artist on their radar, I’d like to hear it.
Horrible, horrible album, in almost everyway. Definitely a step down from fame monster, which wasn’t even that amazing in the first damn place. But Schiesse. I could listen to that shit forever. Fist pump the night away.
You guys are HUGE Josh Homme and Mike Patton affiliated fans, meaning you guys are pretty darn close to my musical tastes. That being said, I was curious what someone with my musical taste thought about the new Gaga album. Pretty spot on to my thoughts. Haven’t like the first two singles, I LOATHE the album cover, so yeah, not even gonna give this one a real try. Gaga dropped off big time here.
I was listening to Slayer’s “Seasons in the Abyss” this morning on my bikeride.
That said, I do have Lady Gaga music on my hard drive. It exists there because it is good music that generates positive energy.