ARTPOP.
GAGA’S FASHION FUELED GRAIL.
FASHION: THE ALBUM.
RATING: 100/100. PERFECT ALBUM.
Almost 11 years ago ‘ARTPOP’ was born and history was made. On November 6 of 2013 Gaga released her strangest and most daring album of her career; taking influences from fashion and the industry, she created an EDM-heavy dance album that feels so naturally like her.
Something of an underrated gem, ‘ARTPOP’ doesn’t get the love that it quite should. The deep cuts alone on this album make it a gem in her discography - when you mix that with the big hits, you have one phenomenal, electrifying work of an album.
‘ARTPOP’ is a feat that only Gaga could accomplish. No other pop artist can create work quite as strange as hers - especially while making it work as well as she makes it work. She makes weird look like the new normal and has helped to pave the way for pop and music culture since her musical debut.
I think this album has grown on me (and countless others) since the first time I heard it. I always thought it was a more highly praised album than it really is and the yellow critic score still confuses me as much as it did the first time I saw it.
It’s not hard to see why this album wouldn’t appeal to everyone. It’s a lot more experimental and different when compared to Gaga’s other works; but any big fans of her would know that this was coming. This work is so refreshingly her and it takes some of her previous experimentation and expands on it a wondrously impressive amount.
But the people that get it? Oh they get it.
This album is truly a thing of brilliance. Gaga’s artistic reign and madness shines through the most on the deep cuts and underappreciated gems of the album. The songs that never made it big. The more experimental and bold this album gets - the better it is.
Songs like ‘Aura’ and ‘Swine’ with their dramatic electronic, dubstep influenced sounds are enough to hook someone like me in and keep me there. Gaga has me locked into her tight musical grasp and there’s no letting go.
‘ARTPOP’ had been in the works since 2011 - only shortly after her previous album ‘Born This Way’. The album was being worked on and born and no one knew what was coming. Gaga was working on one of the greatest pop projects of all time and no one had a clue.
Gaga herself has described this album as "a celebration and a poetic musical journey" and has noted the intentional “lack of maturity and responsibility” when compared to her previous album. This is her letting loose - this album is raw and full of party bangers that will keep the clubs going for years to come.
If your club isn’t playing any ‘ARTPOP’ songs, are you really at the right place?
‘ARTPOP’ was slightly panned by critics; it was met with a mixed reception but managed to make its way onto many different year-end music lists despite the oftentimes mixed reviews on the album.
It didn’t have a completely negative reception but it was rated and reviewed unfairly poorly by critics. I see this pattern with quite a few of Gaga’s albums despite her being considered one of the greatest pop performers of all time.
The hip-hop influenced elements mixed with the EDM and electropop sounds makes for a deliciously varied album. Every song is different from the others which makes it an incredibly interesting album with constant and non-stop replay value present.
The variety on this album keeps it sounding so fresh and interesting. Every track is beyond different from the last and this works very, very well. That variety is there while the album still stays consistent and doesn’t go too far astray from the core foundation for the sound and style present all throughout the 15 track runtime.
‘ARTPOP’ wasn’t just an artistic triumph, it’s a whole reinvention of what it means to be an artist. Lady Gaga is no stranger to pushing the limits of art in music, and she shows that all throughout this album and the events that were in place to promote the album.
Her fashion and style have always been ten steps ahead of the competition - it makes you wonder if anyone else in the industry will ever truly catch up with her.
“For Artpop, I, in the most metaphorical explanation, stood in front of a mirror and I took off the wig and I took off the makeup and I unzipped the outfit and I put a black cap on my head and I covered my body in a black catsuit and I looked in the mirror and I said: 'OK, now you need to show them you can be brilliant without that.' And that's what Artpop is all about. Because I knew that if I wanted to grow, if I really wanted to innovate from the inside, I had to do something that was almost impossible for me.”
This album talks about topics such as partying, fame, love, attraction, and empowerment. The themes of this album are somewhat similar to her previous albums while touching up the style and polishing it into something new and even more exciting.
What makes this album so special is hard to pinpoint when I think about it. The production is a force of its own but what really makes this album what it is is Gaga herself. Without Gaga and her artistic visions and talent there would be no ‘ARTPOP’.
Gaga’s charisma alone makes this album so impeccable. Her vocals are absolutely stunning and she shows a mind boggling range in how she can sing and what she can do with her voice. She is incredibly underappreciated as a vocalist and I think her singing talents alone put her up with some of the greatest artists of all time despite her still young age.
You don’t have to be traditional to make something big.
Gaga has always embraced that fact. She has never fallen into the traditional stereotypes of pop artists and she is constantly trying new and interesting things with her ever changing music. Her music is in a league of its own - what she does is art.
This album and her debut ‘The Fame’ are where her music really peaked. It’s hard to pick a favorite era when it comes to Gaga and I can’t quite call this album my favorite, but it’s a very hard pick. There’s something so unique and different about all of her albums - it makes it hard to categorize them and rank them without overthinking about it and not being able to decide.
‘ARTPOP’ was ahead of its time and it still is. This album still sounds fresh despite using a style that is considered dated by many. The album still holds up as a beyond solid project and it will be looked up at by countless individuals for years to come.
ARTPOP: THE TRACKS.
‘ARTPOP’ is full of both explosive electronic tracks and emotional ballads. It is a wonderful mix that shows off Gaga’s artistry and visions to perfection. Her style is beautifully reflected throughout the 15 tracks presented on the album.
Each track is delightfully unique and the variety on this album is something that has to be heard to be believed. The fact that Gaga managed to make every track sound so different from the last is something not every artist can accomplish.
AURA:
Originally titled ‘Burqa’ (a line about this garment is still present in the final version of the song that we all know and love), ‘Aura’ is an electronic and wacky track that was meant to be the lead single of the album.
Gaga wanted this track to be the lead single but her label would not let her. This led her to leak the original version of the track. Infected Mushrooms helped to produce the track and it was built off of a demo they had created for Gaga.
Frustration with Interscope, her record label, is what led her to leak the song in the way that she did. She wanted her fans to hear her new music and she wasn’t going to let her label stop that from happening.
“So, I guess I wrote this song, as a way to sort of accompany, that initial experience. (...) So, this is really a song that is about a lot of different things, but what it is really, is that people have a certain perception of me, because I wear a lot of very visual fashion, and I’m a very creative person.”
The demo version of the track was even more aggressive and raw than the completed album version. Her vocal technique is a lot different on the original demo version of the song and it’s really enjoyable and quite interesting to listen to. I like when Gaga does something new with her vocals, and the demo really shows off what an incredible range she has.
“So this song is about me basically saying that just because all of those things are there [it] doesn't mean that there is not sort of the same person underneath. And then, also that these veils, they are really just protecting me from the thing that I held the most sacred, which is my creativity ... My Aura is the way that I deal with my insanity and I feel quite insane, so this song sounds very insane ... Everyone thinks that everything I do is a statement but some times I'm just moved by something passionate and I want to express it.”
‘Aura’ is a wonderful EDM song with Western elements in it. There are so many different elements within the track that make it what it is. It wouldn’t be the same if even one of these layers was removed.
Gaga sings in a lower tone than usual and she starts the song with a dark, eerie spoken section before the track explodes into one of the best beats on any Lady Gaga song. There’s something truly special to be found on ‘Aura’.
“It’s a complextual record that I did with DJ Zedd and Infected Mushroom, and there’s sort of this Israeli guitar, that’s looping in and out of this, really complex beat; and you know, I’m kind of a complex personality, very intense personality. So, this song is both of those things. One of the lyrics is, [lyrics from "Aura"] “Enigma pop star is fun, she wear burqa for fashion / It’s not a statement as much as just a move of passion,” you know, everyone thinks everything I do is a statement, but sometimes I’m just moved by something passionate and I want to express it.”
‘Aura’ is the most daring path she could’ve picked to open the album, and she took it. Sometimes making that daring decision with your music is what you need to do and Gaga knows it. She knows it well. The song is all about fame and religion and Gaga nailed these two themes in this track. She merged both so incredibly well.
BURQA:
‘Burqa’ is too good of a demo to not be included in my review for ‘ARTPOP’ - especially since not many people know about it. I didn’t until a few nights ago and it has grown on me tremendously. I think that if you don’t like anything from ‘ARTPOP’ you should try again - it’ll grow on you, trust me.
This version of the track is much, MUCH more aggressive than the original. The vocals are more of an aggressive, raw shout than the deep, dark vocal sound presented on the album version (‘Aura’). There’s something more raw about ‘Burqa’ that makes it a completely new experience. This version of the song adds in the more religious references and makes them more apparent than they are in the original version which is really interesting.
The leak was made on Gaga Daily (Fan Site) and the song ended up being played on radio stations in Australia and South Africa. The account that Gaga used was named @BorisIsHere and was blocked on Gaga Daily after the leak had occurred. It was linked via SoundCloud.
It’s a lot rougher around the edges and it makes it so much more fierce. ‘Burqa’ makes so much sense when you think about what the garment is and how it covers the face and body. The meaning of the song is so amplified with these original lyrics.
VENUS:
‘Venus’ is another complex electronic track with almost robotic (in a good way, not in a dull way) vocal deliveries throughout the track. It is a very space influenced song which really shines through in the composition and lyrics of the track as well as the fitting title of ‘Venus’.
This track was recorded last - which is interesting since it is only the second track on the album. It was inspired by the painting ‘The Birth of Venus’ which is also featured on the album artwork. The painting is by an Italian artist - Sandro Botticelli.
It is estimated that the artwork was created sometime in the mid 1480s and it depicts the goddess Venus at shore after her birth. She was born fully grown and this painting is one of the most famous in the world. It is often brought into discussion along with one of Botticelli’s other paintings, the ‘Primavera’. They are displayed in the same art gallery in Florence, Italy.
‘The Birth of Venus’ is a Greek Mythology painting that has been analyzed by art historians for ages. It is said that the central theme of the painting is more straightforward than what is presented in Botticelli’s other painting ‘Primavera’.
The visual aspects of ‘ARTPOP’ are heavily inspired by this painting and the imagery within it. This is evident in the usage of seashells and Gaga wearing seashell bikinis throughout the ‘ARTPOP’ era.
Gaga is no stranger to making references to art - and this album really shows that. There is quite a fair amount of content on this album that references art or designers which is both incredibly interesting and incredibly fitting.
“"Venus" is the first song that I’ve done that I’ve produced myself. I did work on it a little bit with Madeon, he did some co-production, but this is really like: my record. And this song is, a hybrid of a couple different things. One of those things is Venus, the goddess of love, as we know in Roman and Greek mythology; and then, it’s also about the planets.”
This song is very influenced by Greek mythology and specifically Venus (the goddess, not the planet). The theme is very apparent in this track and I find it to be a very interesting concept; especially for a song like this one.
Gaga dissected the meaning better than I could’ve - she is the brain behind the art after all.
“So, this song is about faith, but it’s also about finding faith in other places — in the beyond — and, my experience with love being something that took me a really long time to find. So, it’s really psychedelic, and it really takes you on a journey, and I sampled Sun-Ra, “Rocket Number Nine,” which was later re-done by a French group, Zombie Zombie. So I kind of got this, a lot of different inspiration from the sort of futuristic-disco-meets-late-70s and jazz and this really kind of gooey deep-groove, and I spent a lot of time working on that bassline, making it just what I wanted it to be. (...) So, this song’s really about sex, but it’s about sex in the most mythological way.”
VENUS (DEMO):
This is another demo version that I just couldn’t leave off of this review. It’s that spectacular. I of course adore the album version but there’s something about the melody of the demo that really stood out to me. It blew me away.
The demo version of ‘Venus’ is slightly different in terms of production but it’s Gaga’s singing that really changed. The way she sings is much different and almost somewhat robotic in nature - not in a stiff way, in a way that makes her sound like she came from the future.
I really like how her vocals follow along with the production and melody in the demo version and I think what she did with her singing really stands out. It was such a unique take on the track and it would’ve worked as is on the album.
It is a more monotone take on the track and yet it sounds so interesting. There’s something so futuristic about her singing and it really fits her style and her image. I think this sound also fits the more futuristic sound Gaga was aiming for - not to say the original doesn’t, but this demo is just so… different.
G.U.Y.:
‘G.U.Y.’ continues a bit more with some Greek Mythology themes while Gaga sings her heart out on one of her most clever tracks. The writing on this track and the innuendo behind it is very, very clever and it works very well without being overly crude.
This track is all about feminism and being a strong woman - something Gaga has never been shy of in her life or in her music. She has always talked about uplifting and empowering topics like this and she does it so well every time.
“Any kind of feminist has valid views for herself about what it means to be a feminist, but, as a new-age feminist, I would say I quite like the transference of strength I feel by submitting to a man – being under him. I actually wrote a song about it on my album, it’s called GUY and it stands for Go Under You. So wearing makeup, smelling delicious and having suckable, kissable, edible things between your limbs is something I find strengthening because I know that when I pick the right guy, I can let him have it. Some women feel oppressed by makeup and clothing, and here’s to them, they have every right to feel that way as well.”
The meaning of this song is not needing to be in control to be the best you can be. You don’t always have to be on top of the competition and everyone else - you have yourself and whatever you think is your best is the best.
X DREAMS:
‘X Dreams’ (the less explicit title for the track) has one of the best beats and melodies on the album. The production is absolutely incredible and honestly mindblowing. The way it switches and just explodes during the chorus is truly something special.
"When I was working on it, started out as this mamba groove and we all just kind of spent a lot of time in the room together really, like, letting the groove, hypnotize us; and I started writing, and everyone will tell you when I wrote it, they just, didn’t really know where I was going with it for like three hours, they just, were just, not understanding. And then, once I hit the chorus, they were like: “Oh, yeah! I get it I get it I get it — it all makes sense...” Anytime we’ve tried to remove or replace different parts of the song, it just, never quite flowed the same way, and the chorus never hit as hard; so it’s a really special tune, it’s really a journey.”
There is so much to be unpacked in the composition of this song, it’s truly something marvelous.
JEWELS N’ DRUGS:
This is one of the more low-rated songs but I can’t get enough of rap Gaga. The beat on this song is honestly better than a lot of content from actual hip-hop albums and the feature choices were absolutely incredible.
“"Jewels N' Drugs" is also a song I did with DJ White Shadow, and he really shines on hip-hop records, and he hails from Chicago, so there’s a lot of trap influence on this song; but it really starts on kind of in a space where trap music started, and really grows into a more electronic, sort of innovative progressive-trap song.”
If you have doubts about Gaga working on a trap song, think again. This song is more than just your average trap song - it does something more, it thinks outside of the box.
“a lot of times when I have these hip-hop collaborations, they like, dissipate, into thin air; and I think it’s because, these rappers like, go back into their crews, and their groups, and everybody goes like “I don’t know if you should work with Lady Gaga, ‘cause she’s got like, gay fans, and you know, I don’t know if that’s gonna be a good look for you…” but these guys are totally fearless, and they just don’t care about any of that, and they really wanted to make a record that was inclusive, that involved everybody, and they weren’t afraid to bring those communities together and put them in one room, and I really appreciate that.”
I think this is one of the most experimental tracks on the album because it’s just so unexpected from Gaga. No one would have expected anything hip-hop from her but she nailed it. She fit on this track like rap was what she had been doing her whole career.
MANiCURE:
‘MANiCURE’ is one of Gaga’s more traditional pop songs while still keeping the uniqueness of the album in tact. It is a very upbeat and jumpy song with a lot of catchiness and fun elements in it.
This song starts off about getting ready to go out and then meeting someone that catches your eye beyond repair. Gaga sings her heart out on this track and I think it really captures that fun spirit of getting all dolled up for a night out.
I love this song, but it isn’t one I can think of much to say about - it’s a phenomenal track with incredible production but it is one I feel I come back to a little less when compared to the other tracks.
DO WHAT U WANT:
This track has unfortunately been removed from the streaming versions of the album because of what R. Kelly has done, but it is still SUCH a good track. Honestly a hidden gem with some of the best production on the whole album.
The way that Gaga sings on this album is absolutely insane - she sounds beyond incredible and the tones she uses to deliver these incredible lyrics is beyond words amazing. This song is honestly one of my new favorites as I am writing this - problematic feature aside.
R. Kelly really doesn’t bring… anything worthwhile to this track. So let’s just ignore him and his verse because - it’s not great.
Gaga is incredible on this track as always and the production just transports you to another world with that enchanting bass that is enough to fill and shake a room.
ARTPOP:
The title track comes late for ‘ARTPOP’, but it’s well worth that wait. Gaga wanted this song to keep the same pace; it doesn’t explode like the others and it’s a very nice switch that works well in the same tone.
This was one of the first tracks that was written for the album and it is one of the tracks I come back to less compared to the others. There isn’t a ton of complexity to this track, but that simplicity really works.
I think what really stands out about this track is some of Gaga’s singing. I love her voice and it is shown off wonderfully on this track - the beat is also incredible and I think this track really captures the sounds and themes of the album and wraps them up into one incredible blend of a song.
SWINE:
‘Swine’ is my personal favorite ‘ARTPOP’ song and one of my favorite Gaga songs period. It is one of the darkest songs on the album in tone and it is made up of one of the most infectious and explosive beats I have ever heard on any album.
What really hooks me into this song is the beat. Gaga’s vocals help to elevate the song even higher but that beat just explodes like fireworks. I love the buildup before the chorus and the pure aggression in some of the lyrical deliveries.
“So this song became a liberation, because I'm now saying that if I am to be truly great at this transformation, I have to understand. It shows on stage before people's eyes. And that's really what these covers are about. It's not just the hair, it's the whole life.”
This song is about trauma that Gaga endured while being young and in the music industry. Her rage and fury is unleashed on this song and the lyrics reflect on it with the offensive insult “Swine” being the basis for the track. ‘Swine’ is one of the most intense and personal tracks on ‘ARTPOP’ and I think it really shows how much of an artist Gaga is.
DONATELLA:
This song is all about being THAT girl. It’s another feminist orientated song and the lyrics describe the fashion industry - something Gaga is no stranger to. This song is also about both Gaga herself and Donatella Versace.
“There are very few people I’ve met since my debut that have truly become friends. Donatella Versace and her daughter, Allegra, occupy a space in my heart so wide, with their ability to love and give. Donatella was there for me in difficult times, and for that I will never forget her. She took the girl sobbing with tissues into Gianni’s apartment. Tears falling on the floor, champagne pouring, she escorted me to his room, where she left me to play with his books and sketches. I studied the notes and drank and smoked until I could barely see. Running around the house with her and Allegra as she said, “Never cry, Gaga! You are a star, a REAL star!” And this cover [titled "Donatella"] commences the newest transformation in my long love affair with Versace. Donatella opening the Gianni archives for me during the campaign for my album Born This Way was just the beginning of a dream that seems to never end.”
This song is a love letter of sorts to Donatella. Not the brand Versace - but her dear friend, Donatella. Some of the lyrics of the song are most likely inspired by their times together and other sets of lyrics are more about fashion and the industry as well as the expectations that come along with it.
FASHION!:
‘Fashion!’ is another song that follows the trend of fashion in this album - which is clear to see just by the title alone. It is an upbeat, groovy jam about dressing up and feeling great in the process.
It’s about getting dolled up and feeling like you own the place - like you’re the V.I.P. of every room.
“I wrote this song with will.i.am. This is the first song we ever did together. We've been trying to kind of work together for a few years but we're both very picky and I just wasn't ready. I didn't find the right song, it wasn't the right thing yet but this was the right song and the right groove, the right track. It just felt really good and we worked on it for a while together and we made it perfect and we really spent a lot of time editing it until it was just right and you know this fully is just a really fun song about being able to get dressed up and feeling like you own the world and I think sometimes people always thought that when I was getting dressed up or, you know, putting on my outfits, or during my live shows, that it was for attention, but I really feel a sense of growth and confidence in myself when I'm able to transform and that's what this is about and I think other people do too, just maybe on a smaller scale than I do.”
Gaga performed this song with RuPaul during a Muppets holiday special in 2013. I think those two should work together on a song of some sort because I think they would do a really good job - they compliment each other in sound a lot if you listen to some of RuPaul’s music.
It’s also quite interesting that Will.i.am worked with Gaga on this song. They’re an unexpected collaboration but they worked very well together which is evident when you listen to this song and hear how well their work turned out.
MARY JANE HOLLAND:
‘Mary Jane Holland’ describes an alter-ego of Gaga’s that was formed on a night out when she was letting loose and free from the pressure of fame.
Musically, ‘Mary Jane Holland’ has some rock elements as well as an explosive EDM/Dubstep beat that backs Gaga’s deep singing and great range on this track. The track itself is very diverse in sound and it mixes and matches a lot of different elements.
I think this song is really about letting loose and having a fun night - for Gaga anyways. The composition of this track is super complex and really fun to listen to - I think it is one of the most dubstep-sounding tracks on the album.
DOPE:
Gaga felt that this album was in need of something more about her and her life so this song was included. It is a huge switch from the sound of the other songs and it is about a drug addiction she fell into after getting a hip surgery and a cancelled tour. This review has really made me learn more about her and the things she has gone through - it’s horrible what she’s been through.
Gaga has said that this track represents the more sad path that was taken before this album came to be. There were hardships before the good came to her.
“I’m usually like, a really articulate person, and I wasn’t so articulate anymore, and I was just kind of — not really there all the time. So, I wrote this song as an, “I’m sorry,” to all the people in my life that I really love — is that I’m sorry to my fans, to my boyfriend, to my parents, and I sing at the end, “that I need you more than dope” — and that’s the truth. So, here’s “Dope,” from ARTPOP.”
‘Dope’ was the second single for the album after ‘Venus’ was released. It serves as a sort of “I’m sorry” to her fans, family, friends, and boyfriend at the time.
GYPSY:
Gaga did a lot of the guitar on this track herself which is a very interesting aspect about it. You can hear the guitar during the chorus behind the electronic production and it really adds another layer to the track that I hadn’t even noticed until now. Writing reviews like this really makes you see more in the music.
True love was the inspiration for this song and it was partially about her relationship at the time. It was inspired by a conversation she had with Taylor Kinney the night they met - she was enchanted by him and this song reflects on those explosive feelings.
“I love indonesian monsters, they inspired some songs on ARTPOP. Well, I was really inspired by the conflict we had with Indonesia. So, I wrote some songs about it but they are more metaphorical and conceptual about bringing people together. Both are dance songs: one song is a complextro masterpiece and the other is a hip-hop/j-pop/pop song. And it's not hip-hop in the way you know, it's more underground chicago gay club trap and it's very diffrent from Azealia Banks music because she's more 90's house.”
One of these songs (that have themes and lyrics) about the cancelled show in Indonesia is ‘Gypsy’. The lyrics of the demo version are a bit more clearly about her then-boyfriend and this theme of him and their love was more apparent before the switch.
APPLAUSE:
‘Applause’ is really THE ‘ARTPOP’ song and one of Gaga’s most iconic and important songs. This was the really huge song of the album and an incredible way to wrap it all up. It perfectly encapsulates some of the central themes of the album and it is another wonderful Gaga song about fame and living that kind of life.
The song is similar in theme to some of her songs from her debut ‘The Fame’ while still keeping the more structural elements of ‘ARTPOP’ on it.
The production on this track is a bit less crazy than some of the others and it takes on a format that is more digestible for people who are fans of pop music and not EDM. I think this is one of the more “traditional” songs on the album - but that’s exactly what gives it the charm that it has.
‘Applause’ is one of many timeless classics on this album - it’s the most well known song from the album for a good reason. The production is incredible and the beat is instantly recognizable; it’s one of those songs you know the second it starts to play.
I think this song was the perfect pick for the track to close off the album with. It’s so catchy it’s infectious and the way the song is formed is incredible to listen to. It’s one of Gaga’s biggest hits and it’s clear to see why.
I also think this song really wraps up the album in theme which is really cool. It touches on a lot of the overall topics and feelings of the album and it just feels like this big celebration that the album is complete.
This review is a bit less crazy than my last big one and most of my big reviews will be like that - back to regular format. I’m so shocked that I’m almost at 900 (AOTY) followers now as I type and complete this review.
For a lot of this I felt like I didn’t have a whole lot to say - so I hope this review does the album justice. Once again thanking you all for 800 (AOTY) followers and here’s to many more and many more specials!
Original Review:
(Original Rating: 89)
(June 14 2023)
Messy and jumbled in a brilliant way, something no other mainstream pop artist can ever achieve again, Gaga creates a wonderfully strange, mix and match album. Not only is this a breaking point in her career, completely shifting her style and work, it is a breaking point in pop, like no other, this effortlessly mixes around genres like a game of pass, switching from one to the other. Not only is it unique, it is also fun in a way that no other album is, its own kind of fun, its own kind of album.
Comments