Up till now, I've only been scarcely acquainted with Lady Gaga, the likes of LoveGame, Poker Face, and Bad Romance gradually filtered into my subconscious from their air time on the radio.  I finally felt compelled to just dive in, so I picked up the deluxe edition of The Fame Monster album.

Verdict?  It's pretty damned amazing.

Hard not to go along with the whole Madonna comparison, but to me, this blows away her 2000-era efforts.  I've also read Gaga's style being likened to Queen, Ace of Base, and Shakira among others.  It's certainly easy to hear traces of all of those, but they're wrapped in such a skillfully sleek coating of punchy club, pop and electronica that it manages to be so much greater than the sum of its parts.  On top of which, she's got one hell of a great voice.

I'm still absorbing the entirety of the two-in-one album, but my favorites so far are the La Isla Bonita-inspired Alejandro, the deliciously ABBA-like melodic hooks that make up Telephone, and the calypso-europop sensibilities of Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say).

We've got a few Gaga fans here, don't we?  Zane and Herrkotowski.  Idolores too, I believe.  You fellas have any favorite tracks?

I took a long time for me to warm up to Lady Gaga, but even back then, a good pop album was a good pop album, and I loves me some pop. I'm taking note of the Madonna and ABBA comparisons, and shit, they are not wrong.

I haven't heard too much of her new album, but I'll get to it eventually. I've heard that The Fame Monster creates an interesting dichotomy with her previous effort. That intrigues me.

Lady Gaga is absolutely amazing and I'd say she's the one pop star that not only has the looks and the hooks, but has the throat and the heart to back it up. Gaga has a great voice and she truly loves her fans. She's not just some vehicle manfactured by the industry to sell albums and digital singles; she's been on the music scene for a long time and has been playing gigs and clubs since her mid-to-late teens. The girl has been working hard for a long time, and it's about time that her persistence has paid off. She's an inspiring person and performer, and has given me more inspiration than I ever would have imagined. This might sound cheesy, but the lessons I learned from Gaga is that you should be proud to be you and to look how you want to look and to wear what you want to wear. Turn everything into fashion. Stay humble, be assertive, and have fun! Or, in my case, unapologetically wear sleeveless t-shirts and pink belts, sing "Poker Face" at karaoke with all of my heart, and grow a mohawk.

The Fame is almost tame in comparison to The Fame Monster, but both albums are pretty f---ing awesome. I mean, how can you compare songs like "Boys, Boys, Boys" and "Eh, Eh, (Nothing Else I Can Say)" to tracks like "Dance in the Dark" and "Bad Romance"? Completely different realms of pop. While both albums are brilliant in their own way (Fame is more lightly produced and almost happy while Fame Monster has more twists and turns and some darker tunes), I prefer The Fame Monster for several reasons, the least of which isn't "Telephone", the album's blockbuster track that I knew would be huge the first time I heard it. (Don knows what I'm talkin' about!) I can't recommend one over the other, the same way that I wouldn't be able to recommend having only one side of a coin. The Fame has her breakout hits, some amazingly produced and fun songs ("I Like It Rough" = 2009 anthem) and shows where she started with her pop music, and The Fame Monster takes it a step further and shows a darker side with less focus on fun and fame, and more on the less attractive things about life ("Monster" = 2010 anthem).

Anyway. Lady Gaga is f---ing incredible, puts on one hell of a show and is my number one artist. ROMAAA RRRAA MAA MAAAA!!

EDIT: I fully realize that half of this post is Youtube-comment-quality fan jibberish, and I am 100% OK with it.

Zane, it sounds like she's influenced you much in the same way Michael Jackson or Savage Garden did for me.

Been checking out some of the remixes now, and the Chew Fu ones definitely appear to be the best.  Bad Romance and especially Paparazzi are awesome.

Were you ever able to see her in concert?  She played the Monster Ball tour in Boston late last year, right?  Sort of wished I'd discovered her sooner, as I would have loved to take in one of the Radio City Music Hall showings here in NYC this past week.  (I think Don was talking about attending.  Wonder if he made it?)

The first time I heard "Just Dance" on the radio I went on wikipedia to look her up.

What I read there was enough to make me a fan.

1) she's fairly intelligent and well-read (at least, in the things she's interested in -- fem lib, 20th century pop art, etc)
2) she writes her own music
3) all of her performance art seems to be a game for the observant follower. Is she REALLY obsessed with fame? Is she making a critique about the world around her, or is the critique made of herself, or BOTH? Or is this NOT a critique at all, but just a simple expression of life as-is?

That's why I love Lady Gaga's work. At times I could do without the overt sexuality, if only because I like subtle, nuanced references to sexual themes in place of out-and-out ridiculousness.

And I think the music video for Paparazzi is awesome. And all of her live performance videos I've seen are wonderful.

Ramza

PS/EDIT - what really bugs me about all this is that I have a number of friends who have written her off as "another Britney Spears bimbo." Seriously? If what I said in point 3 has any bearing to reality, Gaga is either criticizing or else LAMENTING the rise and fall of people like Britney Spears.

I would say that was the point of The Fame Monster. Deliberately creating the dichotomy I referenced earlier. The thematic elements present in said album appear to back that inference up.

I do agree on the overt sexual themes. I think that's why I had such a hard time getting into her music originally.

Sadly, I didn't make it up to NYC. The concert was sold out by the time I could buy tickets . But yeah, I absolutely love Lady Gaga.

All this talk about Gaga, and I still don't feel at all like checking her music out. None at all, no idea why.

Yep! The vocalist in my band is a radio personality on one of Boston's biggest stations and he was able to get me a pair of tickets for her show here in Boston back in early December. It was a really theatrical and well-put together show, for sure, and the price was right. I'd prefer to see Gaga in a smaller venue (something that's impossible at this point), but I'm so glad I had the chance to check her out live. She sounded awesome!

Am I the only one who can't stop calling her Lady-O Gaga?

I remember seeing her on TV a few years ago and thinking that she was a Swedish import, so I think the Ace of Base and ABBA comparisons are apt. I enjoyed her performance but thought she had no chance of mainstream success in the US because she just sounded so European. Shows how much I know. She remained off my radar after that, aside from the ubiquitous "Just Dance" and "Poker Face," which were fun but nothing extraordinary. I finally decided to check out her albums recently and was pleasantly surprised that her non-single tracks were much more to my liking.

Do yourself a favor and track down some of the remixes. The Pet Shop Boys remix of "Eh, Eh" is Eh-mazing, as are her acoustic performances.

My first thought was ABBA's "Fernando" because of the lyrics, but musically it sounds more like Ace of Base's "Don't Turn Around." I'm not the only one who thought that, it seems. There's a mash-up of all three up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtk15cHRs84

Edit: And make sure you don't miss Lady Gaga's Christmas album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsnat7Wv--A

For some reason, Lady Gaga's becoming more widely publicized than all get-out, lately. She's even being referenced on shows like Jim Cramer's "Mad Money," and a number of other talk shows, whether she's a guest, or not...'cuz, even my old man, and my old lady have heard of Lady Gaga before.

I'd make snide comments like, "So, what's the difference between Gwen Stefani and Lady Gaga?" but Gaga seems to be more intelligent than that; I think she's honestly trying to prove a point that people worship celebrities too damn much.

Her music? Don't really listen to it, but I've heard her chart-topping singles: "Paparazzi," "Poker Face," etc., more than once over the PA.

Oh snap, Paper Gangsta blew out my iPod docking station's left speaker. o_O  But it was worth it, because that bassy backbeat is just too dope.  Teeth has also quickly risen up the ranks as one of my all-time personal favorites.

That MTV Boiling Point episode..... it's surreal seeing her as a brunette. ;)

My man DJ Dan Alcala just released his remix of "Bad Romance"; the video is live on YouTube and the MP3 can be downloaded here. TIGHT!

Light on the fluff, slick on the electronics, and clean, meaty accentuation on the backdrop and main vocal performance -- very cool.  I only wished he held back a little more on the reverb/flange that starts up at 1:26. (On the Youtube version.  It does sound more subdued and better implemented in the MP3 itself.) 

I liked the way he goes against conventions and held back on the "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh" chorus at 2:11 that usually follows "I want your loving and I want your revenge, you and me could write a bad romance."  And that synthy accompaniment that comes in at 3:41?  Awesome sauce.

I've only heard what they play in the clubs and on the radio and based on that alone can't help but think a large part of her huge success is image and smart marketing.

But just heard Telephone today and it is epic.  I read it charted even without a proper single release; now that that's out and with Japan-favorite Beyonce co-starring it's gonna be huge here.  Already is back home I suppose.

Interesting that she originally wrote it for Britney Spears, I get much more of a Gwen Stefani vibe from it.  Glad that didn't work out with Britney, it's in much better hands now.

Speaking of, the much anticipated music video for Telephone finally debuted this week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ95z6ywcBY

It's a nine minute smorgasbord of cheeky fun pop-culture references, homages, and guest appearances.  Hey, Jai Rodriguez!

So, the new single "Born This Way" was officially released today.  What think?

It's a great listen, but yeah, the Express Yourself + Vogue comparison is pretty much dead-on.

Terrible, just like all her other songs.   Greatest pop star my ass.  RIP Michael Jackson.

When I hear parts of the song, I also want to follow up by singing David Guetta's "When Love Takes Over." I swear some sections sound like that too...

I love Michael and Gaga, but come on, man. That's like comparing a tricycle to a Ferrari.

This.

I seriously do not see what all the fuss is about with her.
It's completely trite and generic.

I suppose she knows how to get attention though, and that accounts for a lot.

Some of her B-side tracks are incredible.  I'm really hoping songs like No Way, Reloaded, and Second Time Around see official releases someday.

Well screw all the haters - *I* like the new song. 

I don't know if I've heard anything else by her, but "Poker Face" is so f---ing horrible I wish whoever came up with that shit drinks a bottle full of poison or, better yet, kills itself by running head first into a brick wall.

.

Lady Gaga is very unpredictable singer! for that I love her!

Arriving a few days ahead of schedule is "Judas".  That euro-pop style chorus is both surprising and delightful.

"The Edge of Glory" is up next.  This might be her safest sounding song yet, but man, that sax by Clarence 'The Big Man' Clemons = WIN.

The way I've always seen it, original artists usually start off doing whatever the blip they want, and their earliest stuff is usually their most experimental; further on in their career, as they might be declining in popularity or relevance, they start doing more stuff that's going to be more universally accepted, because they just want to sell units. Or maybe it's the other way around. I dunno. Not doin' a whole lot of research for this part of the paper...

Other than that, what other social injustice do you suppose she'll try and cash in on? I think she peaked with getting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repealed...don't ever think that she didn't have a hand in swaying public opinion over that one...

Anyone heard the full "Born This Way" album yet?  Thoughts?

I bought the two-disc deluxe version today, and after giving it a couple playthroughs, I'm extremely impressed.  While the bulk of the remixes featured on the second disc are kind of throwaway (I do like the Country Road Version of Born This Way), the core seventeen tracks are absolutely solid stuff.  I'm loving the hair-metal dance pop vibe that Gaga went for here, as illustrated by tracks like Bad Kids, Electric Chapel, and Marry The Night.   But it's the huge, sweeping anthem-rock songs that are the big winners, such as the aforementioned The Edge of Glory, The Queen, and Highway Unicorn.  (The hook in Unicorn's main stanza that runs from 0:38 to 1:05 is ADDICTING as anything.)

The Pat Benatar-influenced Hair and the 80s style Whitney Houston beats in Fashion of His Love are quickly climbing up the ranks with every listen as well.  Just really, really fun songs all around.

Videos like this one remind me just how spectacular Gaga's voice really is.  She should release an album devoted to acoustic/piano performances alone.

Also, Hair truly is the best song on the new album.  Clarence Clemons' sax playing is god's work.

*Bump*

Count me in as a fan of hers now. One of the few instances where the style has some substance behind it and in Gaga's case, that substance is some disgustingly good hooks. Nothing in recent memory has quite stayed stuck in my mind the way a number of her songs have recently ("Eh Eh Nothing I Can Say", "Pokerface", "Telephone", "Hair", "Black Jesus", "Bloody Mary" and "Heavy Metal Lover" chorus being the primary culprits). The electropop style was pretty foreign to me, but her actual voice is really good, so the style grows on me (and her songs are way more exciting than Freezepop, which I occasionally enjoy, but have never been crazy about beyond RB/GH songs) and I'm re-rating a lot of songs I didn't like initially.

One thing I'm not picking up on...I've seen Iron Maiden listed as an influence and I just don't hear or see it. I can hear Queen a bit (with the way the vocals are sampled/layered) and definitely Pat Benatar (Gaga should seriously cover "Invincible"), but zero hint of Maiden.

Of the three albums, Born This Way is my favorite by far (as evidenced by my song list above). Out of 17 songs, only three I didn't like (Government Hooker, Americano and You & I) and two that were good, but kinda lackluster -Bad Kids and Fashion of His Love-. Out of the remaining 12 (a good number for ANY pop album), Hair, Judas, Electric Chapel, The Queen and The Edge of Glory were all worthy of 5 stars, and pretty much everything else is nipping on their heels and racking up playtime.

So yeah...Lady Gaga...surprisingly good shit. Fame well deserved.

Another little monster joins the flock.  Welcome.

Though it does seem we have some that left as well.  Really surprised that discussion on the new album has been so mum.

Looking forward to seeing the "You and I" video next.  I'm rooting for a Brian May cameo.

Heard my first Gaga song last weekend, I think it was Judas. And I suddenly got the feeling that Gaga's fame is somewhat build on the looks and the media circus around that, at least the track felt just 'meh'. But then, what I know, I just listen bleeps and bloops mostly. :P