The 13th Lady Gaga Thread - ARTPOP is OUT!

[freedreamer]

Really love Diamond Heart, John Wayne and Angel Down. Joanne really tugs at your heartstrings from time to time.

too much dislike for this album but oh well..its still some music

[CatGirl]

Joanne is... very different from any other album she's released, which is refreshing, but it's definitely not for everyone. A little disappointed we didn't get another club banger, although the countryish feel is nice. Favorite songs so far are Dancin' in Circles and Angel Down

[Tom Punks]

I feel this album is the final nail in the coffin of her career lol...

I keep seeing articles saying how she's ~finally being her true self~ with this album and I can't disagree more. The entire thing feels disingenuous and all around sloppy (but especially vocally, which is really bad considering the vocals are pretty much the main... well, only spectacle in the songs this time around). Not a single song has any commercial potential so I'm not sure what she and her peeps think this is going to do for her aside from ensure the GP will never have a lick of interest in her again? Her songwriting style doesn't mesh at all with these """serious""" tracks and the lyrics just end up sounding lame. I mean, her lyrics have always been pretty lame, but it's way easier to pass that off when you're singing catchy pop about stupid things.

Most of all... It's just a big mess of tracks and it never takes off or goes anywhere. The album has no idea what it wants to be, which is OK I guess if you're trying to transition and experiment, but the cowboy country thing is SO PAINFULLY FAKE that it makes The Fame-era "I am really really totally 100% this person irl guys this isn't just a carefully crafted pop persona" look like. idk. super duper genuine.

It's just. Nothing about the album feels genuine, and the songs themselves aren't up to standard at all. The total package is a mess. I get why she thinks she needs to tone her image down, I mean it's been obvious since after TFM that she was going to fizzle out sooner or later if she didn't chill out a little. But you can still do chilled-out pop without these gimmicks.

I'm annoyed of seeing all this praise for her being """real""" and """genuine""" this time around when Joanne is just as fake as her other personas, only difference being it's 180 degrees in the opposite direction.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Taylor Swift ditched Country so Gaga saw an opportunity lmaoooo

[koumori]

There's always been the thing that she went so weird and extravagant with her Lady Gaga persona due to struggles in standing out from the crowd as an artist before that. It doesn't surprise me that she has gone for a different angle now that people are now more than used to that image - this will be what is weird to the general public now, and she can get away with it.

I haven't listened to the album yet apart from the two singles. I liked her electro-pop/dance stuff and I'm not the biggest fan of country music, but I'll give it a try.

[js_surrealism]

I wouldn't necessarily call this album 'country' although there are some country tropes.

But anyhow - what a GREAT album, exhilarating performance from start to finish. Diamond Heart is my favourite for now.

[tenshi no hane]

Just bought the album and gave it a first listen. Looove it. I actually like every single track Joanne and Hey Girl are my favorites so far.

I like the country-esque vibe. A lot of songs nowadays feel like a wall of noise, to me. I'm happy I can listen to Joanne without getting a headache

[Andrenekoi]

I listened to it 3 or 4 times and it was really easy to listen, what is nice for a pop record, but I didn't think anything was that memorable. I think her biggest problwm will be that pretty much every relevant USA pop diva, and even some that aren't THAT relevant *cought* Selena *cought* released really strong albums lately.

About her being "herself" this time, she always says this shit when she releases something new, that the past release was her trying to impress or being forced by the label but now she is being real. Really, if she is such a big fan of Bowie and Madonna why can't she just make it clear she is playing a character like the other two do/did when changing image instead of playing the victim?

[attractive nausea]

^ This, she always plays the "this is the real me now" card, she can't fool us anymore lol

I liked the album as a whole but some songs are so forgettable tho, kinda agree with the person saying she's trying too hard not to sound like a pop singer that some songs don't sound or feel genuine. However my favourites are Million Reasons, A-YO and John Wayne. I'm not feeling this era much even tho the songs aren't that bad.

[tenshi no hane]

But she's not denying her past work/personas, is she? Articles might be calling this "the real her", but did she say that herself? In the Zane Lowe interview (on her twitter), she's simply saying that she's in a different state of mind now. The over-the-top stuff was what she wanted to do at the time. And now this is what she wants to do. She still has her crazy side, but it's not what she wants to focus on this time. People change, priorities change.

But I'm just a casual fan, maybe she did go on a "this is me, no, this is me, nooo, this one!" streak and I missed it.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by tenshi no hane

But she's not denying her past work/personas, is she? Articles might be calling this "the real her", but did she say that herself? In the Zane Lowe interview (on her twitter), she's simply saying that she's in a different state of mind now. The over-the-top stuff was what she wanted to do at the time. And now this is what she wants to do. She still has her crazy side, but it's not what she wants to focus on this time. People change, priorities change.

But I'm just a casual fan, maybe she did go on a "this is me, no, this is me, nooo, this one!" streak and I missed it.

I'm pretty sure she's said this is the real her on her very own Facebook page. Like "I've finally just given into myself." "This is me in my truest form." etc. type of shit she always says. Idk but I never cared about the "real" Gaga. The illusion, the popstar, the artform, is much more intriguing and entertaining.

[CatGirl]

Honestly, that's why I just ignore whatever Gaga says anymore. She's one of my favorite singers but her comments started annoying me around the time of The Fame Monster. If I'd paid attention to what she said in the ARTPOP era, it wouldn't be my favorite album lol

[jean-baptiste]

What turned me off from Gaga from the time she debuted were her gimmicks/ostentatious comments that were clearly marketing ploys but not presented as such. Late last year I gave her music an honest listen and I was really impressed! I wish she would just let her music speak for itself instead of trying to shape what our impression of it should be by making things seem like it's either gonna revolutionize music (like she did with Born This Way), it's gonna be her magnum opus (like she did with Artpop) or like it's a personal return to form for her (like she's currently doing with Joanne). Her interviews are really off-putting which is why I try to avoid them; it helps me enjoy her music so much more because she's insanely talented.

With that said, I'm listening to Joanne as we speak, I like it so far.

[js_surrealism]

To me what's 'real' and what's not has never really been important to me. People always try to project a certain image when they are in the spotlight so I always take it with pinch of salt.

Joanne was a strong record for me though "real" gaga or not. Title track and that duet with Florence are kinda flawless and different-sounding from a lot of the stuff she's does before.

[xLuna&1LOVE]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

To me what's 'real' and what's not has never really been important to me. People always try to project a certain image when they are in the spotlight so I always take it with pinch of salt.

Agreed so much with this.

Listening to album Joanne right now, even though I wasn't that impressed with Perfect Illusion and Million Reasons.

I must say, I don't really think it is that different from what we know of her (only Cheek to Cheek has been, obviously, something unexpected imo) but I don't think that is a big issue. She has clearly her own sound/style, that's good. She doesn't need to explain that she 'finally found herself.' She will find herself again for her next album, for sure. Who cares? Let her feel proud about her releases.

The country influence is fine. I believe it makes the album more cohesive, otherwise it would be lacking. I agree though that none of the songs are really outstandingly good or memorable. Like with Bey's Lemonade, I wasn't into her, but Lemonade was sooo good, I became Beycrazy and even went to her concert. Something is missing on Lady Gaga album, something like a hit, or a good song that grabs the attention. Most of us can agree on that, right?
The best I can say about the album is that it is a 'nice try.' Yea, it is good, but not that good. But it would be as Ayu's Made in Japan is to us: the fans will like it, because it's new and occasionaly listeners will prefer the classics.

I like Joanne, Hey Girl and I think I enjoyed John Wayne too. That was one of the first songs, right?

[Zeke.]

^i don't think you can compare it to made in Japan; many of us reacted positively to that release because it felt like a return to form (at least FLOWER, Mad World, and Breakdown down did). The fact that Lady Gaga did NOT return to form for this album is what's disappointing.

[js_surrealism]

^ she did though. it was a great record.

[thinkingoutloud89]

To me it is a very good album. In every direction. All the gay boys on instagram are just crying out cause it does not sound like overproduced pop (and I'm gay too, I'm allowed to say that and it is so true). I won't say that either is better, I like both, but I'm tired of this conversation all around. Its art. art can't be judged with "good" or "bad". I don't even allow my students to ask me if their picture "looks nice" - cause thats not how it works. each piece of art connects to people different. So stop saying its "bad" and me more like "its not my cup of tea, will be back for the next"

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

To me it is a very good album. In every direction. All the little gays are just crying out cause it does not sound like overproduced pop. I won't say that either is better, I like both, but I'm tired of this conversation all around. Its art. art can't be judged with "good" or "bad". I don't even allow my students to ask me if their picture "looks nice" - cause thats not how it works. each piece of art connects to people different. So stop saying its "bad" and me more like "its not my cup of tea, will be back for the next"

That was rude.

That being said, I disagree about the judgement of "good" and "bad" art. IMO the quality of art comes from how close an artist gets from reaching their goals with their work. Gaga IMO usually fails because she tries to produce stuff on a aesthetic and usually end up with a pretty shallow view at it. It always feels more of a caricature of what she wanna do than as something that can be seen as a part of it, unlike Bowie or Madonna or Michael. It works as purely pop, and it wouldn't be a problem with she didn't act like she thinks she isn't doing more than that, 100% comercial pop music.

[kotora]

This album sounds very hippy. I am ok with that, but I like her image in this album more than those crazy-over-the-top fashion in her past.