ARTPOP

[ReidOne 12,427]

I've analyzed ARTPOP for years and, while I had realized much of this already, there are a few brilliant nuggets of symbolism in this original post that I had never caught before! Thanks for sharing. Seriously --- this is why we love ARTPOP. There are endless layers to discover.  

[Katsuki Bakugo 9,788]

10 minutes ago, BoysBoysBoys652 said:

Right. Everyone is entitled to one. So there's no use in having this topic open again 

I agree! it is getting tiresome tbh- we keep discussing the same **** over and over agaiun

[PunkTheFunk 124,522]

Just now, Edward Hardy said:

Not trying to be rude but this is not responding to his interpretations in any way. If we are allowed to talk about Gaga on this site, ARTPOP is definitely one of the possible topics. Everyone is entitled to discuss anything about Gaga here.

[Gagaplayer315 14,174]

I love your description of the album and I totally agree. ARTPOP is great

[Bradley 59,223]

1 minute ago, DeathofSamantha said:

I agree! it is getting tiresome tbh- we keep discussing the same **** over and over agaiun

I know that we have too many ARTPOP topics here on this site. But instead of ranting, the OP actually constructed a well-thought post with interesting points that generate discussion and replies.

It is the people here who didn't bother (or did bother) to read it in the first place but decided to post something irrelevant and told him rudely to stop instead that makes this post looks tiresome.

I would have agreed with you if the OP wrote rubbish, but he didn't.

[Bradley 59,223]

8 minutes ago, PartySick said:

I'm not sure where people get that the GP didn't like ARTPOP. Every time Fuse or iHeart Radio posts something about Gaga and ARTPOP comes up there's always people saying "I'm a casual listener, etc, ARTPOP was awesome". It gets defended daily

Sonically, it's a good album. Coherent, driven, intense, and calm where it needs to be. Deeply and personally (for those that care) it's exceptional. Each song is personal and can take you on a journey through Gaga's life and your own. The only people who don't like it are the ones that don't like how it sounds, they're nostalgic for classic Gaga sound, or they just don't like her. There's nothing wrong with the album itself  and there's nothing wrong with the people who just don't fancy it :yes:

I actually think the GP loved Applause and Do What U Want more than some of her old songs. The GP doesn't read pop forums and to be honest, they might even love ARTPOP more than some fans here do.

[Katsuki Bakugo 9,788]

5 minutes ago, Edward Hardy said:

I know that we have too many ARTPOP topics here on this site. But instead of ranting, the OP actually constructed a well-thought post with interesting points that generate discussion and replies.

It is the people here who didn't bother (or did bother) to read it in the first place but decided to post something irrelevant and told him rudely to stop instead that makes this post looks tiresome.

I would have agreed with you if the OP wrote rubbish, but he didn't.

I agree with the OP and I did read it. I have just closed this off in my own mind and think as a fanbase need to move on OR keep these threads in the one place. 

[Twitter 14]

37 minutes ago, brooklynnightss said:

I think all of this might be why the general public didn't accept ARTPOP. People got confused about it and didn't want to learn all of the meanings and metaphors. I'm a fan, so I loved it. People who weren't fans didn't bother.

It's too artsy for them basics. 

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, Edward Hardy said:

You're contradicting yourself. First you said everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, and then you do not allow the OP to make a thread about his. So what are you trying to prove?

Basically you're telling the OP to shut up and keep his opinion to himself? Maybe you shouldn't have come into a thread you're not interested in and telling him that his thread is pointless.

because people like you put words in my mouth. This thread is pointless because people like you make it into a fight/argument/debate. Let it go. Some hated it, some loved it. It doesn't matter. It's over. All these threads do is start arguments. I'm going to have a mod close this thread if you can't keep your temper.

[Bad Bromance 5,809]

58 minutes ago, Bakki Del Rey said:

Why the general public didn’t like this wonderful album is beyond me. I thought we were over this, but Elton John’s comments reminded me of a post I had intended on making back in 2013 when the backlash started.

Basically, ARTPOP is ****ing amazing. Here’s why:

You have Aura, which opens with a lyric about Born This Way Era Gaga’s ‘death’ (”I killed my former and…” is literally the first lyric of the first song) which then transitions to the 'birth’ of ARTPOP Era Gaga with Venus (get it? birth of Venus… btw, an A+ song for talking about both the planet Venus as well as the goddess Venus, and also vaginas), followed by G.U.Y. which deconstructs the terms “guy” and “girl” and re-defines them in terms of the other (G.U.Y. = Girl Under You, G.I.R.L. = Guy In Romantic Love) while making a brilliant CEO-type analogy in the music video and using a sexual metaphor to call out the music industry’s need to put everything in a top 10 chart (”I don’t need to be on top to know I’m wanted”).

Additionally, Gaga included, not random references, but in-context references to Greek and Roman mythologies in the following songs: Aura (the goddess Aura), Venus (self explanatory), G.U.Y. (Himeros, Aphrodite, etc.) Sexxx Dreams (”You could turn to stone or the color of man petrified by a woman” =   Medusa), and Mary Jane Holland (the second verse directly mentions Apollo and the whole song sort of mirrors the story of Apollo and Daphne).

And in terms of literature…an “1984" reference in Sexxx Dreams (”we could be caught, we’re both convicted criminals of thought”) that fits thematically with what the song is about, and a “Lord of the Flies” reference in Swine, a song that many people still don’t realize is about rape, In the aforementioned novel, to explain it lightly, a group of boys are stranded on an island and start to succumb to animalistic behavior, painting their faces and later even putting a sow’s (female pig! swine!) decapitated head on a stick (a very important part of the story and a very iconic part in the film adaptations). Hence the lyric in Swine, “Pain your face and paint his face and catch the beat.”

Then you have the brilliance of the tracks that explore contrasting ideologies. For example: Mary Jane Holland vs.Dope (one very much being a marijuana anthem and the other essentially being a huge “Don’t do drugs, kids!” ballad) and, of course, Donatella vs. Fashion! (the first talking about fashion in the shallowest manner possible, and the latter from a purely artistic perspective).

Plus, not to mention the amazing Bowie shout out in Fashion! (”There’s life on Mars, where the couture is beyond!”)

Don’t even get me started on how brilliant Do What U Want‘s lyrics are. It’s literally a big middle finger to the haters and critics. The single cover is literally her saying KISS MY ASS. Lol. It’s not even about sex, although upon first listen you think it is, which is actually the point the song is trying to make about media sensationalism. By proclaimed “do what you want with my body,” she’s telling the public to do what they want with her body of work - i.e. choosing to ignore the symbolic, metaphorical, and artistic implications of a particular outfit or performance. With lyrics like ”Write what you want, say what you want about me” and “I stand up and then I’m okay, but then you print some **** that makes me wanna scream,” it’s difficult to understand how some people STILL think this song is about sex.

On that note, a lot of people fail to see the double entendre in MANiCURE too. It is not about literal MANiCUREs. She needs to be “man-cured.” Whether that means she’s craving a man’s touch and needs to be cured,  or she’s replacing male intimacy with female-female relationships and that’s the cure is entirely up to the listener’s discretion. One thing’s for sure though: it’s not about actual MANiCUREs!!!Literally so many people I’ve talked to have not noticed this.

Lastly, the way art talks to pop in the first verse of the song ‘ARTPOP’ ("come to me, in all your glamour and cruelty”) and the way pop talks to art in the second verse (“come to me, with all your subtext and fantasy”), and the way they end up coming together in the chorus (”a hybrid can withstand these things”), is one of my favorite things Gaga has ever done as a songwriter. Also, the fact that ARTPOP is not the opening track or the last track on the CD. It’s right in the middle. It’s the heart of the project.

A lot of thought went into ARTPOP. You’re entitled to dislike the album because it may not be your cup of tea or because you enjoyed TFM and BTW significantly more, but don’t you dare say it was stupid or bad when in fact it was freakin’ remarkable.

P.S. I didn’t even talk about Gypsy but it’s, without doubt, one of the best love songs Gaga has ever written. Watch these two performances: this one and this one.

P.P.S. How cool is it that the album cover is Renaissance art (Birth of Venus) and a baroque art (Apollo and Daphne) with contemporary art (Jeff Koon’s gazing ball) and pop (Gaga).in front?

Beautifully written, my friend.    You pretty much nailed the concept of ARTPOP and undoubtedly will make Gaga proud if she still lurks here and sees your post.  I love ARTPOP and listen to it every day without growing tired of it. 

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, Bakki Del Rey said:

Why woud you use your pic, into the ARTPOP concept cover, if you think that the album sucked?

Because I love ARTPOP, go read my statuses. You fell for the trap, the opinion, the general public's thought. Those are irrelevant. It's like she said at the Born This Way Ball before performing Scheiße live, "you must look inside for validation and stop looking on the outside." So why does the opinion matter? Elton John is like 1000 years old, of course he doesn't like ARTPOP, it's about sex, love, youth, and subjectivity. Opinions are just opinions. No one can take away your musical experience from you. ❤️

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, DeathofSamantha said:

I agree! it is getting tiresome tbh- we keep discussing the same **** over and over agaiun

Thanks for understanding what I meant.

[Chris Evans 8,917]

I loved the greek mythology + space references throughout the album  

Venus should have been a single it wraps up the entirety of ARTPOP in one song

I remember thinking about the Medusa thing in Sexxx Dreams but for some reason forgot she had all that greek mythology in the lyrics so I didn't think much of it and the 1984 reference I thought of too but thought I could be reaching

I'm not sure about the LOFTF reference but I like thinking about it that way and omg I always put MJH x Dope and Fashion! x Donatella as a ying yang thing too

[deeman 189]

2 hours ago, Bakki Del Rey said:

2 hours ago, Bakki Del Rey said:

On that note, a lot of people fail to see the double entendre in MANiCURE too. It is not about literal MANiCUREs. She needs to be “man-cured.” Whether that means she’s craving a man’s touch and needs to be cured,  or she’s replacing male intimacy with female-female relationships and that’s the cure is entirely up to the listener’s discretion. One thing’s for sure though: it’s not about actual MANiCUREs!!!Literally so many people I’ve talked to have not noticed this.

 

Sure it even has pokerface Ma ma ma MANiCUREd. "The salon is enough for her" could be about MANiCUREs but overall it is Man cure! Man Cure! man however is not necessarily a reference to males as in mankind for example it could be like humanity although that word is problematic due to the earthly meaning such like in word humus. Anyway man cure very poignant words exactly what is needed. See that to distill into just two words that is amazing really or did she even just find one word wow MANiCURE.

I will give you a reference for my interpretation of man and moreover its true meaning @ the end of 3rd page.

https://ringingcedars.com/materials/book-1-preface.pdf

[latina twilight 2,319]

Some people need to READ the op before posting anything at all. There's a lot of things we can discuss here that were not that discussed in the past and you are like "let it go!!11!" when you just read only the first sentence.

OT: That's a wonderful interpretation of ARTPOP (song), I never thought about it. And I knew about SD reference but not about Swine's.

Also, I love the fact that David Bowie has a song called Fashion, so she made a reference on him.

Thanks for sharing this, it was such a joy to read.