ReidOne 12,427 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 This thought has been swirling around in my head the last few weeks.... Is 'Joanne' Lady Gaga's effort to completely reject popular commercial success, in favor of honoring her own artistic interests? Or is it the ultimate move of "desperation" to reignite mass popularity for her brand? I could argue this either way... You could say she is "rejecting" commercialism because she: - has completely changed her sonic aesthetic... "changed lanes" so to speak and creating music in unproven territory for her. - has done very little "traditional" pop music promotion leading up to the album (no TV appearances/performances, no magazine interviews or covers, etc...) - has mostly left her "outlandish" fashions behind, which were a key piece of her identity. - has seemingly little interest in "pushing" the album, letting the music speak for itself. But I tend to believe this second argument a little more... You could say it is her ultimate move to reignite popular appeal because she: - has changed her style to a very mainstream "hipster" look with wide-brim custom hats, cutoff high-waisted denim shorts, crop tops, normal makeup, trendy pony tails. Instead of blazing new fashion trails, she is 100% in line with the current mainstream trends. - has changed her musical style to something that, while not popular on pop radio, is EXTREMELY popular among the tastemaker culture, working with a who's who of "Coachella"-friendly collaborators such as Tame Impala, Bloodpop, Florence & the Machine, Father John Misty, Eagles of Death Metal's Josh Homme, etc... - has embraced folky/"country" influences that give her crossover appeal to a whole new segment of the record buying public, particularly in the US. - has executed a month-long onslaught of radio interviews and partnered with the biggest radio conglomerate in the world, iHeartMedia. - has secured a Super Bowl halftime performance, ensuring maximum visibility for the era.  This is not a criticism of Gaga by any means, and I'm not saying she has made the "wrong" move. But I struggle with identifying 'Joanne' as an "indie" project or a rejection of commercial appeal, because in my eyes, she's doing everything she can to re-invent her brand to align with the taste of the hipster masses. Instead of satisfying the interests of her die-hard dance pop fan base (which skews mostly younger), she's instead working very hard to appeal to the 25+ age demographic (who were there for her during TF/M era, but only from a singles perspective --- not "Little Monsters"). Please don't attack me, as I'm not looking to start a flame war, but just wanted to offer an alternative perspective in our exploration of her "intentions" with this release. Given the underperformance of PI, many of us here have been quick to say "oh well she clearly just doesn't care anymore." But to me, the evidence shows that she actually cares a great deal and is working day and night to reinvent her pop brand from the electronic ashes of ARTPOP. I really think the album cover speaks for itself. This cover, while fantastic, also looks a bit like "Instagram for Dummies 2016 Edition" ...let me leave you with this... I AM HERE FOR IT! I love seeing her explore this style. If I need a hit of dance pop Gaga, I am happy to go back and listen to the hundreds of records she's already released (which I never get tired of) to get my fix. I'm here for something new! And I'm TOTALLY here for her doing what she has to to remain relevant. Especially because I really do think this project speaks to her own artistic interests. But let's call a spade a spade... it's a bid for a different kind of mass appeal. Not "indie." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naufri 6,779 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Is not desperation, is freedom. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roanoke 337 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Its desperation(rejection of popular success).Solve it if your good at math Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werk 13,165 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I respect all of these user's well written thoughts but these threads again?! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReidOne 12,427 Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Just now, Roanoke said: Its desperation(rejection of popular success).Solve it if your good at math   Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDWUW 3,971 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 7 minutes ago, ReidOne said: Instead of satisfying the interests of her die-hard dance pop fan base (which skews mostly younger), she's instead working very hard to appeal to the 25+ age demographic (who were there for her during TF/M era, but only from a singles perspective --- not "Little Monsters"). ME . Gonna wait patiently for LG6. I agree she's also trying to maintain the new fans she's made from C2C. Trying to widen her fan niche. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo GagaGaga 6,541 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I think ARTPOP in my interpretation of it was making music that appealed to the GP (Applause, DWUW, G.U.Y. sort of) but left its message as a message against the critics and commercial music but sort of, I don't want to say tricked, but got them to like music that was rejecting commercialism by being shown as commercial, so I think that album was more of rejecting popular commercial success, and Joanne is just music she wanted to do because she wanted to express her feelings in music that she liked and didn't worry about how people were going to respond because she's proud of what she created. I have no idea if what I said made any sense but I tried Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambino 23,677 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Wasn't ARTPOP supposed to be like that? Anyway, you can never tell. The 1st single is not having "popular success" anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toewsy 1,842 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Probably a bit of both tbh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JupiterDrive 2,788 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 kinda sucks when ur debut album is called the fame lmfao Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiunzhan 996 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Real artists grow and evolve, enough said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReidOne 12,427 Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 3 minutes ago, Bambino said: Wasn't ARTPOP supposed to be like that? Anyway, you can never tell. The 1st single is not having "popular success" anyway. I felt like ARTPOP was her effort to give the younger dance pop fans EXACTLY what they felt was missing from 'Born This Way' (which, if you will recall, got a lot of hate from Little Monsters for being to rock/metal and not enough glittery electro dance bops). I also felt like it was a massive bid for commercial success because in 2013 everyone and their mother was having hits with simple electro pop house tracks (EDM, if you will). Gaga was 100% in her own lane by doing that, because she helped create that trend. So ARTPOP was her way to: - give the dance fans exactly what they wanted (and felt was missing from Born This Way) - have a shot at Top 40 success - deliver an album that capitalized on the very trend that she helped ignite Joanne is different in that she's stepping into territory where she has zero history and no guarantee that her fan base will be interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giskardsb 12,565 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I think her musical interests at the moment lie much closer to those "indie" artists you mention than what is currently playing on pop radio.  I mean it's not a secret for anyone following Gaga's entire career how broad her musical interests are, or the fact that basically all of her major influences have nothing to do with dance pop.  I've never considered dance pop to be the "authentic" Gaga given her history. I think she is just aligning more with the music that she prefers to make.  However, she is a smart enough businesswoman to also know that she has a chance to expand her demographic, and I do think her intent is to expand her demographic for Joanne to include people who enjoyed C2C.  I think for the type of longevity she wants in her career she is willing to trade off rabid dance pop fans for a wider range of people that will not try to force her into doing dance pop the rest of her career ala Jlo or Madonna.  I don't think she wants to do that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyliesChild 16,907 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Please don't attack me, as I'm not looking to start a flame war, but just wanted to offer an alternative perspective in our exploration of her "intentions" with this release. it sucks that you have to say that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xoxo cupcakke 4,781 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I honestly and truly do not find it that deep. Gaga is smart, but she's not that smart that she would actually pull off such a reverse Warholian album era. This album is just not doing so hot, that's what the realist in me says, but to each their own. Still an interesting theory Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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