Holy crap, Lady gaga's new album is fucking terrible

[Shaka Khan]

How is she manipulative for realizing she has a bunch of gay fans, and supporting their cause financially and in every other conceivable way? I've never gotten the impression she's just doing that to win fans. There are plenty of pop stars who have realized gay men buy nearly as much shit as straight women, and thus have embraced that market. I don't think Britney Spears gives a shit she's a "gay icon," nor do many pop acts. Gaga seems to genuinely care about that stuff.

Maybe a I am a bit too cynical, but from where I'm standing she's a always been the privileged kid who didn't make it as herself and had to transform her image and sound based on a thorough market research. I still enjoy some of her tracks, corporate or otherwise, but she does outside the studio ever felt genuine to me. That's not saying she's different than many others in that respect, but she has many millitant people defending her as "different" and "not like the others" which is is BS if you ask me.

[Himu]

The Fame Monster is definitely her best album and I doubt she will ever reach those highs again
 The production for Artpop is terrible. Is this the same producer as TFM and BTW?

Also Maurice you are now witnessing the diversity of Gaga's fan base. Some support her no matter what (see: popgaf stans). Some like Zeph want a return to TFM's horror and bombastic sound. Some like me want her to experiment. Some want her to return to her early club roots.

and based on this thread, it seems like most don't like Born This Way, as I said. I just find it odd to complain about a lack of innovation while championing a stale album.

Born This Way is highly divisive. It's love it or hate it. It has the same response everywhere. Ask popgaf. It isn't stale. It's just people who don't like Born This Way. There are a shit load of people who love Born This Way, however.

[CatsCatsCats]

What the shit has Rihanna done lately

[Himu]

She did that...duet. And that swag song.

[Phoenix Dark]

How is she manipulative for realizing she has a bunch of gay fans, and supporting their cause financially and in every other conceivable way? I've never gotten the impression she's just doing that to win fans. There are plenty of pop stars who have realized gay men buy nearly as much shit as straight women, and thus have embraced that market. I don't think Britney Spears gives a shit she's a "gay icon," nor do many pop acts. Gaga seems to genuinely care about that stuff.

Maybe a I am a bit too cynical, but from where I'm standing she's a always been the privileged kid who didn't make it as herself and had to transform her image and sound based on a thorough market research. I still enjoy some of her tracks, corporate or otherwise, but she does outside the studio ever felt genuine to me. That's not saying she's different than many others in that respect, but she has many millitant people defending her as "different" and "not like the others" which is is BS if you ask me.

I'm sorry but I don't even like Gaga and that's not true. She under performed as a regular artist, found her image, and succeeded? That explains so many pop and rock stars over the last 50 years. What market research was done? She got big at a time when unce unce unce wasn't dominating mainstream radio yet, and no other pop artists at the time had similar looks. It's not like Jimmy Iovine had her in a lab, testing her viability. She put out a couple huge hits and exploded.

If you want market tested/lab created, look at Rihanna.

[Himu]

Also, Riri, Katy P and others jacked her style and made it more popular and overexposed, which lead to Gaga becoming less popular and irrelevant over time.

[CatsCatsCats]

Lets take a look at Rihanna's song writing credits and then move on

[CatsCatsCats]

Aight, so Miley then?

[Shaka Khan]

How is she manipulative for realizing she has a bunch of gay fans, and supporting their cause financially and in every other conceivable way? I've never gotten the impression she's just doing that to win fans. There are plenty of pop stars who have realized gay men buy nearly as much shit as straight women, and thus have embraced that market. I don't think Britney Spears gives a shit she's a "gay icon," nor do many pop acts. Gaga seems to genuinely care about that stuff.

Maybe a I am a bit too cynical, but from where I'm standing she's a always been the privileged kid who didn't make it as herself and had to transform her image and sound based on a thorough market research. I still enjoy some of her tracks, corporate or otherwise, but she does outside the studio ever felt genuine to me. That's not saying she's different than many others in that respect, but she has many millitant people defending her as "different" and "not like the others" which is is BS if you ask me.

I'm sorry but I don't even like Gaga and that's not true. She under performed as a regular artist, found her image, and succeeded? That explains so many pop and rock stars over the last 50 years. What market research was done? She got big at a time when unce unce unce wasn't dominating mainstream radio yet, and no other pop artists at the time had similar looks. It's not like Jimmy Iovine had her in a lab, testing her viability. She put out a couple huge hits and exploded.

If you want market tested/lab created, look at Rihanna.

That comment about her fans wasn't directed at you. And the market research I'm referring to is related to her target audience. It felt very focused and defined. She checked all boxes, tailored her image to the smallest details and got the results.

[CatsCatsCats]

Miley has two real hits, Party in the USA and We Can't Stop.

Nothing else.

this dude doesn't own a radio I guess

[Himu]

If you're arguing about the originality or songwriting talent or production of pop stars, you already lost (hilarious given that you're backing gaga while saying that, btw... Who is a carbon copy of Madonna).

Might as well go with the one that has the bangers and club hits cause thats all that matters in the genre. It's not really a musical genre of any worth besides catchability.

Or you can just shut the fuck up and listen to Janelle. Is she even pop? Sometimes I hesitate labeling her so.

[CatsCatsCats]

If you don't know what #1 singles sound like, you're going to lose some credibility in pop discussion

[Himu]

She is a highlight reel but let's be honest, I can't think of any original music these days. Every single artist worth listening to harps and expands on music made in the 60's - 90's.

But the originality in Janelle comes from her songwriting and telling a contained story across multiple albums via suites.

[Himu]

I said nothing of your cred, breh. You're right about Riri. She's a queen.

And yes, electronic is the most progressive genre out now.

[CatsCatsCats]

Himu, he was firin back at me

All I'm sayin, is Miley will have at least another top 3 song off this album. My words, mark them.

Also @ being from the Midwest making you a taste maker, thats rich.

[Himu]

He's right about midwest tho.

[CatsCatsCats]

Oh I'm not doubting corporate interests want the most bland and safe consumer to buy their products.


Also, I'm sure Rihanna will come out with something awesome again, but really, it's been awhile since she had a smash hit.

[Phoenix Dark]

Doesn't she have one right now with Eminem? And isn't her latest video blowing up on youtube? I can't stand her, I think she can't sing and she doesn't write her own music...but she's a hit machine. Def Jam basically has her on Motown status: shit out a hit every holiday or summer season.

[CatsCatsCats]

Is that eminem song a hit? Well that's fair then, I just can't stand his shit anymore.

[CatsCatsCats]

I guess you're right. I guess she just hasn't interested me personally. Where Have You Been was good, but that seems old already to me

[CatsCatsCats]

Why you roll hidden tho, Esch? Got them e-stalkers?

[Himu]

This is how boring Lady Gaga's new album is. We ain't even talking about it or her anymore.

Meanwhile, the Janelle Electric Lady thread lasted like 6 pages of pure album talk.

MY QUEEN

[CatsCatsCats]

Point. Not only that, but look how long it took to even have a thread.

[CatsCatsCats]

Edit: actually we'll cross that bridge later

[Beezy]

Rihanna always has a hit record out. It's ridiculous.

[Himu]

Ya'll read this?  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dj-louie-xiv/pop-music-2013_b_4268485.html

Rihanna: Over the past eight years, Rihanna has rather inexplicably morphed into our most reliable pop star, consistently delivering bangers with multi-format appeal and experimenting with unapologetic (hardy har, I'm sorry, that was cheap) abandon. Rih's issue lies with her pace (seven albums in eight years!), a breakneck release schedule that has rendered her yearly albums into four great singles surrounded by 7 questionable though sometimes fleetingly-fun filler tracks. Even her best LPs (Good Girl Gone Bad, Loud) are a smorgasbord of genres that don't hold together as albums.

Rih's 2014 move is to make a pointed artistic statement. Or just any statement, really. Basically I will accept a record that is ethereally coherent as long as it's not 13 completely random tracks recorded with 16,879 different collaborators. And since Rihanna so openly loves the "D," I'm gonna go ahead and suggest two huge "D"s that could touch her in places she never even knew existed, artistically: Drake and Diplo. Drake would be a great executive producer if Rihanna opts for a moody, emo-futuristic R&B album. Diplo could serve the same function should she want to reconnect with her dancehall and reggae roots. Two "D"s, both exciting prospects. Whatever the case, the one "D" she needs to steer way clear of is David Guetta.

Katy Perry: For you, Ms. Perry, my prescription is simple: Do anything else. Literally anything at all. Witch-house? Fine. A cover album of classic, medieval bard tunes from the Nordic region? Super! A dubstep / string-quartet hybrid where you appear playing only a distorted, wobbling electric viola for 14 tracks? Well, that'd be just stupendous. All I'm saying is do anything besides another album where an apparently intelligent, 30-year-old divorcee sings the lyrics "I went from zero to my own hero" with a straight face. Cool? Cool.

Chris Brown: Just don't, ever again.

Justin Bieber: You either.

Robin Thicke: You most of all.

Lady GaGa: I have to confess something: I kinda like ARTPOP in spite of itself. Sure, it's not the "reverse-Warholian" mind-fuck GaGa may or may not think it is, but we should be thanking God for that! It's mostly just fun, dumb pop songs with soaring melodies and a lot of GaGa's freakishly bizarre yet compelling personality.

That said, it's not a great album by any means (it contains a "trap" song called "Jewels 'N Drugs," after all) but I think GaGa might really have the potential for greatness. By my count, she needs to drive further towards the '80s arena-rock sound that she began to develop of Born This Way. Her most compelling post-"Bad Romance" tunes have been the Springsteen-ian "Edge of Glory," the Queen-esque (Queeny?) stomp of "You and I" and on her current album, the Bon Jovi-goes-Elton John bar-rattler, "Gypsy." Bottom line: GaGa's a classic rocker pretending to be a disco-queen and I believe her future success lies mostly in the former but with an eye on the fun inherent in the latter. Got it? Fun-spirited, unpretentious, post-Springsteenian arena rock mixed with a touch of nu-disco, sprinkled with club-shaking dance-pop and a big ole wink. See? Easy!

Britney Spears: Dear Brit, Don't take this the wrong way, but it's been clear to some of us in the group for a while that your heart's really not in the whole song-and-dance routine anymore. Since I feel like no one's telling you this, I'm taking on the responsibility myself: You don't have to do this anymore! You're free!

Look: You did it, you made it to the top. We're all SOO proud! Now take your millions and Sean and Jaden and Jeremiah and whatever other kids you have stashed in that Malibu McMansion, go back to Louisiana and open up that roadside 'Po-Boy' stand you've always dreamed of! Cop an airboat at Home Depot and cruise around the bayou! Tan just a little bit too much and hunt some alligators. Watch all the football and eat all the Cheetos your precious little heart desires. You deserve it!

And on the note of deserving things, we deserve to never ever hear "Scream & Shout" ever again.

[CatsCatsCats]

Poor Britney

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I thought The Fame Monster was a fun, dumb pop album.  For some reason, she got it into her head that she is some avant-garde visionary and fell off hard thereafter.  It seems like RedOne deserves as much credit as anyone else to her success.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Time for more hating:

Her new shitty album will lose her label $25,000,000: http://www.businessinsider.com/lady-gagas-artpop-album-flop-expected-to-lose-label-25m-2013-11

Her new shitty album is tracking to be a 75% drop over her last shitty album: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5785934/lady-gaga-artpop-billboard-200-chart-projection

Instead of listening to a shitty album named Artpop, listen instead to a great album called PopArt:



P.S. Spencer is and always will be a loser

[Polari]

Pet Shop Boys

[StealthFan]

Remember when her videos were like 10 minutes long? Terrible.

[ZephyrFate]

Or you can just shut the fuck up and listen to Janelle. Is she even pop? Sometimes I hesitate labeling her so.

I guess. She basically just is an updated highlight reel of black music with her own songwriting knacks thrown in. And yeah, she makes pop music.

This should be the last time I hear Janelle Monae described as a "highlight reel of black music". Come the fuck on.

And yeah, she does *some* pop music. Tightrope, Dance Apocalyptic, and Q.U.E.E.N. are the only songs even close, and they're a blend of genres themselves. Most of what she produces is not pop music, though.

[Himu]

get him sis

cut ha

[Himu]

Um, she's not a sacred cow. I even agreed with Esch. It's just Zeph who opposes it. I just want to see Zeph vs Esch.

[Phoenix Dark]

White person doing retro throwback music is fine, but I guess a strong black woman doing it is=hightlight reel shite with no creativity.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Phoenix Dark]

Monae would probably be SO popular if she was white.

[Phoenix Dark]

Monae would probably be SO popular if she was white.

Meh, i dunno. She doesn't really make hits per se. I guess the closest comparison we have is someone like Adele maybe.

Adele, ie the white Sharon Jones?
 

[Himu]

Adele and Monae are top tier. Everyone else rummaging for scraps. Real talk.

[CatsCatsCats]

I'm listening to Miley right now (someone else, good song) and listened to Gaga earlier. Holy shit Miley's album has way better production and engineering

[Himu]

Told you.

[ZephyrFate]

This should be the last time I hear Janelle Monae described as a "highlight reel of black music". Come the fuck on.

And yeah, she does *some* pop music. Tightrope, Dance Apocalyptic, and Q.U.E.E.N. are the only songs even close, and they're a blend of genres themselves. Most of what she produces is not pop music, though.

the truth is hard to accept sometimes. But that's what she does. She makes updated versions and tributes. There's nothing wrong with that either; why do you think she overcompensates with LGBT bait and her style? It's because she needs a selling point, just like every other major label artist.

Throwaway Coli Post Machine Vs. Master of All Hyperboles?

Why?

Fuck off.

The only artist in this thread that uses "LGBT bait" is Lady Gaga. Monae has subtlely to overtly included LGBT references ever since her unreleased studio album, but it's never been a focal point. In fact, the press puts it on her because all these people think Monae is lesbian.

[Himu]

http://music-mix.ew.com/2013/11/18/lady-gaga-snl-ratings-artpop-bump/



I'm convinced it is because not due to BTW but because of the music from Art pop. Applause is so bad and it tanked on the charts. So it makes sense. Then you have stuff like Jewels and Drugs.

[Phoenix Dark]

Isn't like half of Monae's band gay?

BTW that article seems ridiculous. It compares previous SNL bumps to Gaga without mentioning all three artists listed had signifigantly less name recognition/popularity than Gaga. It's like an Apple ad leading to some unknown indie band's album getting an increase in downloads.

Miley Cyrus released three huge videos, had the entire media focused on her, had a hit song, "shocking" live performance...and only did 250k. Gaga is tracking towards 260k without a hit single or noteworthy video. To me this points more to the general law of diminishing returns in music sales now, plus of course the fact that Artpop wasn't being sold on Amazon for 99cents like Born This Way was. And, of course, the lack of a hit single.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I didn't know Miley Cyrus did 250k.

I assume a lot of these singers have 360 deals because given how many millions record labels undoubtedly dumped into that album, even at $20 each, you're looking at $5 million.  If Lady Gaga's advertising was over $25 million, I imagine Miley's album is right up there.  I'm not sure how they could ever recuperate those costs except through a cut of their live performances.

[Himu]

I agree. No ones albums are selling.

[Phoenix Dark]

Eminem is destroying everybody sales wise, right now; doesn't matter how shitty the album is, there will apparently always be 1mil white people ready to give him $14. And while Katy Perry's album sold <300k first week I'm assuming it'll have very long legs due to multiple singles being released over the next few months; just like her last album. Meanwhile I think Miley Cyrus is a flash in the pan type artist who will disappear the minute something else arrives (Rihanna's next album).

I'd imagine Gaga has a 360 deal as well, which is good news for Interscope. Her last two tours grossed more than $100mil each iirc

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Back in the day, bands wouldn't make shit off of their album sales, they got their money through touring and that is how Mick Jagger could be worth $200 million or whatever.  Now, especially in an era of $25 million advertising budgets, I wonder if these people make any kind of money touring or at all.  Being a band on a mainstream label is probably shittier than ever, especially in the internet/Youtube era.

[ZephyrFate]

Isn't like half of Monae's band gay?

BTW that article seems ridiculous. It compares previous SNL bumps to Gaga without mentioning all three artists listed had signifigantly less name recognition/popularity than Gaga. It's like an Apple ad leading to some unknown indie band's album getting an increase in downloads.

Miley Cyrus released three huge videos, had the entire media focused on her, had a hit song, "shocking" live performance...and only did 250k. Gaga is tracking towards 260k without a hit single or noteworthy video. To me this points more to the general law of diminishing returns in music sales now, plus of course the fact that Artpop wasn't being sold on Amazon for 99cents like Born This Way was. And, of course, the lack of a hit single.

I hope her bongo drummer/tribal drum whatever player is gay. What a hot piece of white muscle cub goodness.

[Trent Dole]

I'm probably not going to listen to Artpop anytime soon since I haven't even gone through Reflektor one yet and don't seem to be in any hurry to do so but it makes me sad that Ga is being outsold by complete fucking shit like Miley and Katy and latter day Em.

[chronovore]

I've been listening to this album, and think it's pretty much right in line with where she was going with The Fame Monster. There's nothing surprising, and it is along the same trajectory; not sure what people wanted. I like it quite a bit.

Eminem is destroying everybody sales wise, right now; doesn't matter how shitty the album is, there will apparently always be 1mil white people ready to give him $14. And while Katy Perry's album sold <300k first week I'm assuming it'll have very long legs due to multiple singles being released over the next few months; just like her last album. Meanwhile I think Miley Cyrus is a flash in the pan type artist who will disappear the minute something else arrives (Rihanna's next album).

I'd imagine Gaga has a 360 deal as well, which is good news for Interscope. Her last two tours grossed more than $100mil each iirc

I don't know how the calculations work, but Gaga paid a bunch of money during the concerts to keep things changed up, allegedly for the fans. She went bankrupt, but that could have been the changes coming out of her cut, and maybe didn't affect the studio's take?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0cca76f0-873a-11e0-b983-00144feabdc0.html

[Raban]

I've been listening to this album, and think it's pretty much right in line with where she was going with The Fame Monster. There's nothing surprising, and it is along the same trajectory; not sure what people wanted. I like it quite a bit.

I can't speak for everybody, but I was hoping she'd iterate on the direction she went with Born This Way. For a moment it seemed like she was moving past the airy pop music, but Artpop does a U-turn right back into it.

[Barry Egan]

Lorde is pretty good.

[TakingBackSunday]

[Positive Touch]

cutting-edge style!

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

That shit is like so deep man.  She really made me question my own beliefs and values and challenged them through carefully crafted stunts to show how different she is.

[Positive Touch]

now i am finally free to wear meat in public

[nudemacusers]

the fuck is going on in here 

[chronovore]

Everyone has a sad that the pop star turned out to not be jesus.

Sexy jesus.

[ZephyrFate]

apparently she lied about her album sales recently and the fact that she's playing much smaller venues for her Artpop tour means this baby is on the decline

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

apparently she lied about her album sales recently and the fact that she's playing much smaller venues for her Artpop tour means this baby is on the decline

Ah, so she did: http://www.examiner.com/article/lady-gaga-lies-about-album-sales-as-career-continues-to-crash

Same thing is apparently happening to Kanye West (poor selling album, shit ticket sales)