Stefani Germanotta may be her birth name, but Lady Gaga is her god-given game, or fame, or fame monster, or whatever you chose to name the extra-dimensional existence that IS Ms. Gaga. Sure she may choose to strut down a Greenwich village sidewalk dressed for an otherworldly fashion show runway or perform on a stage littered with fiber-optic madness and dangerously sharp-edged couture, but her goal isn’t necessarily to shock you or alienate you, but to draw you into a vivid experience of bold, brass and sensuous serenity. Your eyes are engaged as much as your ears, you can taste the Gaga air, smell the sweet combination of fashion, art, and brilliance, and touch the glamour of Gagaworld. In Lady Gaga’s new album The Fame Monster (and no, it’s not a rerelease of The Fame), the goal is evident that her music is crafted to paint a vivid picture of the lurking glamorous monsters of love and fame, transcending the sonic sphere into visual pictures brighter than any music video could ever capture.
It begins with the lead single of Lady Gaga’s, “Bad Romance”. Here she plays a crazed lover, determined to rekindle a romance that she has herself identified as a bad romance. She’s blinded by the sheer magnetic nature of having a lover, in an obsessive, monstrous way, such that Gaga herself is not the monster, but the captivation of romance. The synths are raging in this song and as the songs builds to the chorus, an explosion of electronic, techno beats is unleashed, much like a caged monster of romance. While her beats have been an signature elements in her previous songs, never has it seemed so essential to the experience as it does with this song, dancing hand-in-hand with Gaga’s haunting ra-ra-ra-ra-ras. Gaga is taking no prisoners, but unleashing the first of many monsters on this track set.
Here Gaga puts on a Madonna/Ace of Base hybrid persona with “Alejandro”, with an equally powerful beat, which she rides quite well. Sonically, the song resembles “La Isla Bonita” in some ways, but shares an even greater resemblance sound-wise to “Don’t Turn Around” by Ace of Base. Lyrically, we meet another monster, this one of temptation and passion. Whereas “Bad Romance” hinged upon the monstrous magnetism of faux affection, “Alejandro” evokes the struggle of lust versus reason. Next up, “Monster”, yikes!
The next monster is a boy she would love nothing more than to escape from, but is drawn in by a seemingly inescapable something that she can’t describe. Again, Gaga lays it on thick with her vocals, while Red One and Space Cowboy lay it on equally thick with the beat. Gaga is determined to revert to late 80s/early 90s freestyle beats and house music instrumentals to guide the direction of this song. Gaga then takes a more personal turn with “Speechless”, which is inspired by her father’s recent health downturns. The song is nice, nothing groundbreaking, but a softer side of her while still keeping the beat as essential as ever.
With “Dance in the Dark”, Gaga attacks the monster of dying esteem of some girls. Again, Gaga tends to channel her inner-Madonna as she runs through the song, listing “Marilyn, Judy, Sylvia” much in the way that “Vogue” lists “Grace Kelly, Harlow, Jean.”
At last we come to the piéce de résistance, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Titled “Telephone,” Gaga expresses the disdain of having “him” call me on her phone when she’s out in the club. The song is so well crafted and the contributions of Beyonce are so swagger-filled that there is no denying that this song is the high point of the album, so much so that the remaining two tracks are rendered essentially pointless. The beat is once again tremendous and Gaga makes the verb “Telephoning” somehow cool again. I can definitely see this song being someone’s ringtone at a club, and sadly answering it on the dance floor without second-guessing. That Gaga!
The album is a fun adventure, but perhaps a little too fun. The beats are powerful, the singing follows suit, and the images are projected so crisp clear that the music is best appreciated with one’s eyes closed. But just as tempting as cheesy pizza or cookie dough ice cream may be, there is a limit to how much one can consume before calling it quits, or at least taking a break. Gaga has surely crafted an infectious masterpiece, and while songs do start to blend a bit a few tracks into the album, it still emerges as one of the strongest and cohesive albums this year. Nevertheless, I’ve never felt so energized and yet exhausted after only eight songs, and Gaga is to blame!
Strong Track(s): Bad Romance, Alejandro, Monster, Telephone, So Happy I Could Die
Weak Track(s): Speechless
Rating: 4/5
