In biblical terms, Judas is the Benedict Arnold of the New Testament and one of the most vile perpetrators of betrayal history has ever known. But in the pop world, Judas takes on a more positive, upbeat, dancetastic meaning in the form of another guaranteed hit from Gaga's upcoming LP. Accidently leaked onto the internet this morning (a week before Good Friday coincidentally?), Interscope Records made a split-second decision to release the song to iTunes and now eager monsters sit with there fingers pressed on the refresh button to see in realtime its rapid ascent up the charts.
Some have chastised the singer for moments of beat, lyrical, and musical arrangement recycling. Born This Way drew comparisons to Madonna's Express Yourself, Alejandro was critiqued for its similarities to Ace of Base, and Bad Romance was merely a rearranged Poker Face to some. Judas follows suit as well, taking some significant pointers from Bad Romance but tweaking it enough to make a dynamically and melodically different song.
The opening "Judas, Juda-ah-ah," is congruous to the "Ra ra ra-ah-ah"s of Bad Romance, the synth-heavy beat, almost rock-like, possess fleeting moments that sound outrageously similar to the aforementioned track, while the chorus has several chords that are nearly identical to that of "Paparazzi." But remarkably, with all of these striking similarities, the song sounds fresh and is a far more radio friendly hit as compared to the preceding single.
The verses are sung in the style much like Nelly Furtado in Give It To Me/Morning After Dark, drawing in the obligatory head bops and foot taps of a perfectly engineered dance hit. The clincher are the howling "Ow o-ows" in the verses. There's just something about Gaga chants that raise the body temperature, increase the heart rate, and instill a sense of urgency only relieved by dance floor domination.
The chorus, as I mentioned before, sounds like a mildly modified version of the Paparazzi chorus. While the beat is bursting and it complements Gaga's vocals, it doesn't have the shine or bravdo of the song's verses. It's very good, but it is not as great that the verses and Judas hooks.
The song's final verse descends into the speaking that Born This Way did, where she cries over the beat how she seeks the virtues of Jesus but clings to her Judas. The religious motif of the song is bound to draw controversy, but it also empowers the song, lifting it from what could have been a shallowly written song about the attraction to evil to something lyrical deeper, and in the process, striking a more emotional chord.
Overall, Gaga has made another song that is polished perfectly for radio, dance clubs, and solitary dance parties hosted by DJ iHome. Good job Gaga.
Song: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment