MUSIC MONDAYS: Born This Way Review

Another Monday, another music post. I really have to get back on writing more entries, I've been busy with work, friends, etc. things that bloggers cite when saying how they haven't been updating frequently. Anyway, today was the official release date for Lady Gaga's third studio album, Born This Way. It leaked last Tuesday, spreading like wildfire over the internet, and of course I needed to hear it then, but I was a good little girl and went out and bought it today at Target at eight in the morning.¹



AND I LIKE IT. Note, however, that I did not say love. Born This Way, for me, is not like The Fame Monster, that short, eight song album where I loved everything, or even The Fame, where there were only a few songs that I consistently skip over when I'm listening to Gaga on shuffle.² No, Born This Way, with its strong 80's influence, needed to grow on me. There were a few songs that I loved on the spot, including the Latin dance number (and surprisingly socio-conscious for a pop song) "Americano", the slow, dirge-y "Bloody Mary", "Scheisse", and of course, "Judas". These are the songs I'd recommend off the new album, if someone asked me my favorites. "The Edge of Glory" and "Hair" are very similar songs, both featuring that saxophone that's been the talk of the blogosphere lately. Erik is a fan of "Electric Chapel", as am I, but I will admit that it isn't one of my favorites. The rest of the album seems to just kind of blur together for me, but I mean, this is coming from someone who wasn't too impressed with the single "Born This Way", which set the precedent for the rest of the album. Either way, Gaga fans should like it, critics should like it, and haters, as always, will hate.

In the end, I think that Born This Way is a solid album with one major weakness: it lacks the get-ready-to-dance attitude that earlier Gaga was so good at and what made her so popular. Songs from this latest album, filled with foreign languages, are not radio-friendly in the way that "Poker Face" and "Just Dance" were. But maybe that's a good thing; I mean, do we really need another pop album about drinking and boys and dancing 'till the world ends?³

notes:
1. Target is creepy at 8am, I do not recommend it at all.
2. Summerboy, Brown Eyes, Retro Dance Freak, Disco Heaven.
3. Yes.