My issue with criticisms of "The Cure"

[John Slayne 4,154]

it's sad but this happens to every iconic musician in the industry  imo we should stop caring about what people say, it doesn't matter, she's already an icon and has lot of money to do what she wants

[PartySick 160,199]

48 minutes ago, juju said:

tldr; She is damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. If she goes completely left and does something unlike anything she's done before, it'll be met coolly and not appreciated for what it is. If she does something right on the nose of current pop trends, it'll be met coolly and not appreciated for what it is. And, simply put, it's making me tired.

You are so right

5 minutes ago, Slayer said:

I feel like I should be disappointed that she hopped on the 'tropical house' trend, but I'm just... not?

She has proven how innovative, creative and brilliant she is, time and time again. If she wants to use ONE freaking tropical-house riff in a bloody great pop song, then she can do whatever the f*ck she wants. She has nothing more to prove. To anyone.

And in case nobody else realised, back in their heydays, Michael Jackson and Madonna borrowed heavily from the 80s synth sounds that dominated the airwaves. They didn't have to push the boundaries with every single song they made. And nobody accused them of following the pack either. I think Gaga just gets a bad rep because she set the goalposts too high so early on into her career. That has always been her greatest failing.

With that said, I do kind of love the hypocrisy of all the Little Moaners who hated 'Joanne' for being too country, and are now complaining that 'The Cure' too radio-friendly. Already making notes so I can tag and expose y'all. 

 

Exposing is my favorite thing 

I agree with you too  Imo, Gaga is faultless no matter what she does. She's proven herself and I could never think any less of her because she's just that amazing

[TSUNAMI 21,007]

Very nice read. 

 

I have nothing more to add to the OP. Almost as I wrote it. 

[juju 18,907]

4 minutes ago, Bebe said:

I don't know, I don't concern myself much with people's opinions. With every song she releases there are going to be people that love it and people that don't. 

I haven't actually expressed my thoughts on The Cure yet so here it is: 

I think she sounds good vocally, but the production and instrumental do nothing for me. I really dislike the generic synths at the start and throughout  I don't want to dislike the production, but I do, I don't have a problem with 'trendy' music I just don't like this particular trend she is dipping into.

With that said, I'm not complaining. It was a nice surprise - I don't expect an EP or another album will follow (although if it does I'm sure there will be songs that I like in said EP/album).

My point is really that people are allowed to dislike the song, people are allowed to criticise it for being generic. Of course as an artist Gaga can make any sort of music she wants, but that doesn't mean every fan wants a song like The Cure.

While I will most likely catch flack for this (I'm going to bed after I post this so maybe I will wake up to a mess) I think musically as of now her contemporaries are making more interesting music. I'm not a huge fan of Katy personally, so I'm discounting her, but the pop/rnb girls like Rihanna and Beyonce have some interesting tracks. I listen to songs like Consideration from Rihanna's last album and I'm like "Shiit this is a unique track only Rihanna could do (with help from SZA in the chorus obviously)" but throughout the album there is cool production and a feeling that it's totally Rihanna. Even her lead single Work featured Jamaican patois and Creole and felt like a song only Rihanna could pull off.

I listen to a albums like TF/TFM/BTW and ARTPOP and feel like "Yeah, this is totally Gaga" even Joanne which is a musical departure from her old work still has the feeling of "I don't see her contemporaries or anyone else really being able to pull this off like Gaga can." At least for the vast majority of the album. 

I don't get that with The Cure, maybe for the first time since she came out. It sounds like the sort of pop music I hear all the time and it doesn't feel, to me, like a "Gaga" song nobody else could pull off - you know what I mean? It sounds like a whole lot of songs on the radio that everyone does.

People here might not like that criticism and might disagree, I'm sure most people here do  with that said - I'm just not feeling the song, it doesn't feel uniquely Gaga and it doesn't hit on any trends that are personally interesting to me.


Gaga is still my favourite artist, nobody captivates me like Gaga does, I love her voice, I believe in her talent, her theatrical and energetic performance style excites me in a way that none of her contemporaries excite me - I'm still f*cking obsessed. I'm nowhere close to leaving, I don't even feel unsatisfied or upset with her.

I'm not mad that she released The Cure, like I said - It was a nice surprise to get new music, it's just not a song that excites me like her other records have and it has nothing to do with me expecting Gaga to go all avant garde and be totally groundbreaking with every song she releases - It just doesn't feel uniquely Gaga to me, it sounds generic, and I think her contemporaries atm have managed to release great pop singles with productions that feel uniquely 'them' even while they capitalize on certain trends. 

Yas continue the discourse  

My main point was, it's perfectly fine to not really care for something because it doesn't suit your tastes, but these criticisms that imply Gaga constantly needs to be pushing a boundary are exhausting and unfair to her as an artist, especially when they aren't being applied to anyone else. It isn't allowing her work to speak for itself.

6 minutes ago, SEANGT said:

The expectations everyone puts on her are insane to be sure. She deserves a hit with The Cure, it's an amazing bop. But you could say PI wasn't that great even though it was off-trend. It was loud and hard to replay over and over for some. It even had a weird message about social media that nobody was really buying. If you're going to go on-trend, you should have a strong message, but The Cure doesn't really. 

I don't really agree with those arguments, but I think that's how the songs were received and I can see where it comes from. 

I see where some people may think this, yes. But I feel like The Cure's overall narrative is very on-brand for Gaga, so it shouldn't come as too much a surprise that she release a song quite like this one. 

4 minutes ago, Slayer said:

And in case nobody else realised, back in their heydays, Michael Jackson and Madonna borrowed heavily from the 80s synth sounds that dominated the airwaves. They didn't have to push the boundaries with every single song they made. And nobody accused them of following the pack either.

Absolutely . All comparisons aside, if two artists such as MJ and Madonna can be considered icons in this day and age without having had to reinvent the mainstream with each and every release, what kind of preposterous standards are people holding Gaga up to? I literally cannot...  

8 minutes ago, Slayer said:

I think Gaga just gets a bad rep because she set the goalposts too high so early on into her career. That has always been her greatest failing.

MTE, her early successes were both a blessing and a curse... it would be "reductive" and looked down upon if she were to replicate the formula of her early career and do the exact same thing over again... and yet, that's exactly what people seem to want from her.  Like what is the ****ing truth  

[juju 18,907]

9 minutes ago, John Slayne said:

it's sad but this happens to every iconic musician in the industry  imo we should stop caring about what people say, it doesn't matter, she's already an icon and has lot of money to do what she wants

Girl yes, I just had to get it out of my system. I already feel lighter  

[brizoda 3,855]

For me :

What the people really want from Gaga is a new Bad Romance (a new big and good sonically revolutionary song)

[vpez 1,250]

1 hour ago, juju said:

I'll admit that The Cure isn't pushing any agendas, but at the very least, I consider it a damn good pop song. And if that's OK for any other artist, it should be OK for Gaga as well.

THIS!
I couldn't have said it better. I totally understand what you're saying and yes, you're right for some people everything she does will never be enough.

I'm just happy that she's growing as an artist, and trying out whatever she wants. 
As little monsters we should be happy that she's still releasing music, and shouldn't criticise every single thing she does.

If she's happy, I'm happy too.

[Monsterish 5,520]

1 hour ago, juju said:

I'll admit that The Cure isn't pushing any agendas, but at the very least, I consider it a damn good pop song. And if that's OK for any other artist, it should be OK for Gaga as well.

 This is one of the best threads I've ever read it

[juju 18,907]

4 minutes ago, vpez said:

If she's happy, I'm happy too.

At the end of the day, this should be enough for all of us, period point blank end of discussion. The industry has tried again and again to crush her, and she still has the strength to smile and persevere.  

1 minute ago, Lil Mxnster said:

 This is one of the best threads I've ever read it

 it came from the heart but thanks hun  

[vpez 1,250]

1 minute ago, juju said:

At the end of the day, this should be enough for all of us, period point blank end of discussion. The industry has tried again and again to crush her, and she still has the strength to smile and persevere.  

Yes, that's why I love Do What U Want so much, (for me) the song is exactly about that. 

Btw, your writing skills are awesome too 

[TeenIdle 126,590]

@juju Where did the 'bae' go? 

[anomdepllume 393]

Wonderful post. I had to warm up to The Cure because I personally really fell in love with the Joanne sound, but it's a really well done pop song. That's why I love Gaga, she can do whatever the hell she wants and there's always something interesting or enjoyable about it. It might not be my cup of tea (I'm not really into tropical house) but it's Gaga's take on it as opposed to something more basic. I've said this before, but it's definitely the perfect Coachella track. Releasing it how she did was genius, and shows that she can still surprise all of us.

It amazes me how all the little hypocrites so hungry for a radio friendly sound have suddenly turned heel back to wanting the Joanne aesthetic. 

[blackcoffee 1,264]

So much truth and great points in this thread. I totally agree with ya @juju and @Bebe. Thank you for taking the time to do eloquently explain your feelings about this...you hit a nail on the head for some of us and I know I am one who feels the same way as y'all. Like it's a weird feeling. Don't hate it, it's nice, but I feel this huge sense of disappointment with it, especially after Joanne, which I love and am a huge fan of, especially the sound.

[Panchecco 17,634]

I agree on everything you said

Gaga is somehow always judged for whatever she does not only by the public but by her fans as well, and when fans try to put gaga in a box or simply won't let her express herself as she likes it's extremely annoying and actually disrespectful 

we truly don't deserve her and her talent

 

[sipthistea 21,099]

I agree with most of what you wrote, because you described how Gaga's career has evolved and how she has handled it in a way that's always unexpected. Some people may say she's "trying too hard", or that she's just "weird", or even with Joanne she was called "boring" for bringing back a sound that she loves. But that's what she's all about, changing, evolving, and doing what she feels like to do. 

However, all these changes and all these unexpected career moves were genuine, and they represented something. Even when she was too over the top, it was her. There was always an intention behind. When The Cure came out, I felt like she was giving up. The sound and the lyrics are made in a way that it's just too simple and too easy to digest that they feel empty. Like it was just made strictly for the charts. So the reason why I didn't like this is because it goes against the art, the idea, the creation. Even if the lyrics are about healing and loving, neither the vocals nor the production showcase that. And it makes me wonder if she will continue to do music for the charts, because it's not the same and it lacks the Gaga factor that makes her music exciting.