Lady Gaga
- Thread starter cherryboomboom
- Start date
he/him
I loved the idea of it, I just wish Gaga had been involved in the recordings as well. Otherwise, it was kinda giving free CD that comes with a Rolling Stone special issue. But, yeah... considering how she "celebrated" Born This Way, which is her most important album culturally, I have no hopes for ARTPOP having a moment.
Was it Zane Lowe who was telling her how Artpop was ahead of its time and people didn't understand what she was doing? This is what annoy me about an anniversary edition. The album is a lot of fun... but it was not ahead of its time. It was not too deep and interesting for the public to 'get'. Not every album that is seen as an underperformance is 'ahead of its time'.
She was using recycled beats that were incredibly cheap sounding for the most part, Do What U Want included. Nothing was ahead of it's time. There are moments of brilliance on the album, but coming off of Born This Way, which truly was ahead of its time, demonstrates how regressive a lot of it felt.
It was devoid of warmth, despite the fact I do really love most of it. She wasn't "doing" anything, which is why she couldn't even properly articulate what ARTPOP meant, because it was a moniker with really no meaning. She had been creating artistic pop music for years, and once she slapped a label on it, she didn't know what to do with it.
I'm actually sad for Paul that he's still holding onto this like a lollipop that a toddler dropped in the sand, but he needs to let go and find something else to focus on. Someone should buy him a paint by numbers.
It was devoid of warmth, despite the fact I do really love most of it. She wasn't "doing" anything, which is why she couldn't even properly articulate what ARTPOP meant, because it was a moniker with really no meaning. She had been creating artistic pop music for years, and once she slapped a label on it, she didn't know what to do with it.
I'm actually sad for Paul that he's still holding onto this like a lollipop that a toddler dropped in the sand, but he needs to let go and find something else to focus on. Someone should buy him a paint by numbers.
I mean, it’s hyperbolic. Especially coming from someone like Zane, the closest competition to Lady-I-Saw-Jesus-While-Chainsmoking.
I don’t know, it’s been pretty clear the media was harsh while reviewing ARTPOP and talking about everything but the music most of the time, and when doing so, they were busy creating some really awkward angle because it was coming from Born This Way’s legacy, and recent years (and, of course, “poptimism”) are looking back and realizing they just were too harsh for nothing, and then “too ahead of time!!” plays along so they don’t feel guilty for being shitty while doing their job in 2013. It’s absolutely the same music.
Her whole vision for the project was tainted and she never got to show the full potential she probably wanted with ARTPOP. Her plans were beyond the album, and while her ambition was probably her biggest enemy, she was the one babbling about making a Visual Album, put the album in an App and all that stuff that never materialized because the train went off the rails. All that was about “bringing art into pop” beyond the music. You can make a point that, then, she should have been more careful and crafted something with a “stronger base/concept” that would stand on its feet without any other backing (visuals/performances/any gimmick) but… that was part of the fun. To have the full “era experience” to fulfill it. I still love most of these songs, but I can only listen to Venus and dream about a real-budget music video she would serve and probably perform it everywhere until it was retconned as a hit while peaking at #60 on Hot100
Paul probably gets frustrated for being close and seeing everything happening in real time, also alluding he went through hard times back then. He doesn’t need to “cling to” ARTPOP for relevancy while still attached to Born This Way and A Star Is Born. All these songs exists because of his hands too.
But there’s also a large part of this fanbase which occasionally didn’t drop her after 2011 but also liked her music before “She can Sing!!” 2015-era that… enjoy and want more from that content from 2012-2014. So let them live inside that bubble and ~Manifest~
The whole “she was singing over recycled beats” argument like she wasn’t doing so from the moment she first started is a scream personally. From Joanne and beyond we know she’s taking full songs and writing few lines ddd. Nothing wrong with any of it, and it’s not her fault if she cannot make the music NOT bop because she really did what she had to do with these rejects.
I don’t know, it’s been pretty clear the media was harsh while reviewing ARTPOP and talking about everything but the music most of the time, and when doing so, they were busy creating some really awkward angle because it was coming from Born This Way’s legacy, and recent years (and, of course, “poptimism”) are looking back and realizing they just were too harsh for nothing, and then “too ahead of time!!” plays along so they don’t feel guilty for being shitty while doing their job in 2013. It’s absolutely the same music.
Her whole vision for the project was tainted and she never got to show the full potential she probably wanted with ARTPOP. Her plans were beyond the album, and while her ambition was probably her biggest enemy, she was the one babbling about making a Visual Album, put the album in an App and all that stuff that never materialized because the train went off the rails. All that was about “bringing art into pop” beyond the music. You can make a point that, then, she should have been more careful and crafted something with a “stronger base/concept” that would stand on its feet without any other backing (visuals/performances/any gimmick) but… that was part of the fun. To have the full “era experience” to fulfill it. I still love most of these songs, but I can only listen to Venus and dream about a real-budget music video she would serve and probably perform it everywhere until it was retconned as a hit while peaking at #60 on Hot100
Paul probably gets frustrated for being close and seeing everything happening in real time, also alluding he went through hard times back then. He doesn’t need to “cling to” ARTPOP for relevancy while still attached to Born This Way and A Star Is Born. All these songs exists because of his hands too.
But there’s also a large part of this fanbase which occasionally didn’t drop her after 2011 but also liked her music before “She can Sing!!” 2015-era that… enjoy and want more from that content from 2012-2014. So let them live inside that bubble and ~Manifest~
The whole “she was singing over recycled beats” argument like she wasn’t doing so from the moment she first started is a scream personally. From Joanne and beyond we know she’s taking full songs and writing few lines ddd. Nothing wrong with any of it, and it’s not her fault if she cannot make the music NOT bop because she really did what she had to do with these rejects.
he/him/his
To be fair, ARTPOP does have some tunes, all Gaga albums do. All the singles, the title track, Gypsy, Sexxx Dreams are all quality. Even Aura, Donatella, Venus, if you're into that type of Gaga maximalism. But the era was such a trainwreck, it gives me PTSD to even think about. Gaga spiraling in real time to the point where I was worried if she would quit music altogether or worse. Troy. Terry Richardson. R. Kelly. The fucking Katy Perry feud. The vomit. It just felt like THE END, you know. Just leave it back to 2013 where it belongs.
But I would absolutely listen to some G.U.Y.-esque bops if they mysteriously leaked.
But I would absolutely listen to some G.U.Y.-esque bops if they mysteriously leaked.
he/him
I will die on the hill that Christina's version of "Do What U Want" was always the better one and the one whose narrative made the most sense to me because of its diva reconciliation fantasy. The narrative around Robert's version made sense too, but it was also disgusting and incel-y. I am also fully aware that my corpse will probably be left to rot alone on said hill, but it is what it is.
ACT II is just a collection of those cursed old Madeon/Zedd instrumentals she sang on top of à la Stache/Princess High and I'm so happy it will never see the light of day.
Great pop albums don’t necessarily need a singular concept tying them together. They can just be a collection of great pop songs, which Artpop was… not. When a latter day will.i.am-produced track sounds like the most polished offering the album has, that should tell you how consistent it is.
It’s THE proper version for me as well and tied with “Applause” as my favorite of the ARTPOP singles. I’m also surprised that all single countdowns count the R. Kelly version when I primarily heard the Xtina version on the radio and clubs once that was unleashed. If anything should be retconned.
I was also disappointed because I honestly thought it was going to be the full album covered (which could’ve just been a separate release) and then it was just… the singles and “Highway Unicorn”. Also, why was Ben Platt on it?
I just use the solo too tbh, no need for a duet.
I hate that fact DWUW was tainted with Robert, but (on a total cold analysis) I “like” his verse and find that it was “necessary” to make the song flip between different meanings.
It just that… she could have picked anyone else. Literally any other male or female could provide something similar as long as their voices matched.
The Xtina/Solo verse makes it a little more straightforward (and said version should have just replaced verses instead of that “Studio version from Live” they frankensteined together) without the sexual overtone, but as mentioned: the “divas reconciliation” would work. And there could have been a very camp video from Gaga x Aguilera.
Anyway Venus deserved to be the 2nd single xx Goddess of Love lives on.
It just that… she could have picked anyone else. Literally any other male or female could provide something similar as long as their voices matched.
The Xtina/Solo verse makes it a little more straightforward (and said version should have just replaced verses instead of that “Studio version from Live” they frankensteined together) without the sexual overtone, but as mentioned: the “divas reconciliation” would work. And there could have been a very camp video from Gaga x Aguilera.
Anyway Venus deserved to be the 2nd single xx Goddess of Love lives on.
he/him
I've gone back and forth on ARTPOP as a whole many, many times since 2013 and have rinsed most of it to death, but Venus is one of the songs on it that refuses to lose its luster for me. It's legitimately bonkers and I'd love for her to do an episode of Song Exploder about it one day.
Literally the only thing keeping me from preferring the Xtina duet is the completely unnecessary addition of the live drums on the studio version - otherwise it's a home run and the performance itself remains fantastic.
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I would listen to Christina's version of Do What U Want if it had the original production, but it doesn't. Also, I've never really understood the claims that ARTPOP is inferior due to her using producer beats. That's... how most pop songs are made? And it's not like she didn't make them her own.
Didn’t know there was a solo version, just listened to it and its fine. Xtina def brings out something in the song for me that neither of the other versions do. I also prefer the added live drums.
The solo is the superior version for me, but I'd like to think in a parallel universe the song featured Abel and it was his Pop breakthrough before Love Me Harder. I used to occasionally fantasize about it.
