BTW - Bonus Tracks Strategy?

[JustJames 992]

Inspired by the thread dedicated to The Queen, I ask- what was up with all of the bonus tracks off Born This Way? That album is so unique in my opinion and her approach to it was so unlike any of her others; normally, I'd be all for her opening the floodgates and giving us studio recordings of her art. But, when we know she left songs like Animal, No Way, and Reloaded on the cutting board when she released the 8-track Fame Monster, I have to wonder why The Queen, Fashion of his Love, and Black Jesus + Amen Fashion were added to an LP that was already loaded up with songs that seem like 'filler' in hindsight. 

For me, the songs don't seem to fit well with the themes of the album; Black Jesus had the religious aspect but the holy trinity of Judas/Bloody Mary/Electric Chapel had a much harder sound and more intricate lyricism, and all 3 were related to love, while Black Jesus didn't dig so deep. The Queen is to Marry the Night what The Cure was to Heal Me, IMO. Beyond the holy trinity, the core of BTW the album - for me - was centered on MTN/BTW/EOG/You and I, which were all rock-influenced and had a message about loving yourself and living life to the fullest. The Queen was a bit too introspective and self-assured; those 4 songs seemed to take us on a journey that she had already gotten through on The Queen.

Do you see a story in the additional songs? Do you wish she had released other material as bonus tracks instead?

I feel like Black Jesus and FOHL could have been worked onto a different version of ARTPOP that had more references to fashion like Aura had with the burqa metaphor, Fashion! (obviously) and Donatella. The Queen, IMO, would have been an interesting single as part of an unreleased collection EP she could have released between eras.

[Enzo 37,977]

1 minute ago, JustJames said:

For me, the songs don't seem to fit well with the themes of the album

That's why they are bonus tracks

[MANiCURE 6 10,295]

They are underrated BOPS that complete so well the themes and ambiances of the album :-)

FOHL for the 60's - 70's sound.

BJ+AF for the religious references and heavy sounds.

TQ for both lyrics and 70's sound.

[Cookie Tookie 10,546]

BJ+AF is in her top 10 songs 

[ICANTSTOPME 367]

13 minutes ago, MANiCURE 6 said:

They are underrated BOPS that complete so well the themes and ambiances of the album :-)

FOHL for the 60's - 70's sound.

BJ+AF for the religious references and heavy sounds.

TQ for both lyrics and 70's sound.

FOHL gives more 80's Vibes  tho

[Jose P 23,341]

This post just reminded me how underrated BJ + AF is in this fanbase 

[NFRatwell 23,290]

33 minutes ago, MANiCURE 6 said:

They are underrated BOPS that complete so well the themes and ambiances of the album :-)

FOHL for the 60's - 70's sound.

BJ+AF for the religious references and heavy sounds.

TQ for both lyrics and 70's sound.

[Lazz Monster 19,353]

47 minutes ago, JustJames said:

I have to wonder why The Queen, Fashion of his Love, and Black Jesus + Amen Fashion were added to an LP that was already loaded up with songs that seem like 'filler' in hindsight. 

I stopped reading here, BTW is pop perfection, there are absolutely NO fillers 

[JustJames 992]

11 hours ago, Lazz Monster said:

I stopped reading here, BTW is pop perfection, there are absolutely NO fillers 

Lol; that wasn't meant to be an insult or that critical.  think BTW the album and era were the most iconic I've experienced in my lifetime. I'm not sure what the actual definition of 'filler' is but, for me, it just means songs that are obviously never intended to become singles and couldn't really stand alone outside of the context of the an album. For example, TFM seemed to have very few 'filler' songs -- very much a quality over quantity approach.

Meanwhile, BTW had several songs like Highway Unicorn, Bad Kids, and a couple of others that just allowed the overall message continuity to be preserved but would seem '???' if released as standalone tracks. That's all -- if another word fits better, I'm all ears (eyes?).

[JustJames 992]

12 hours ago, Enzo said:

That's why they are bonus tracks

Are bonus tracks usually disconnected from the album thematically? I just wonder why these ones were chosen; at the time, and even now, I still like - and love (in the case of The Queen) - each of them. But, then I became familiar with her entire catalogue of unreleased music and just don't know why so many amazing songs were thrown away while she seemed to go a little crazy with bonus tracks for this 1 album cycle. 

@Cookie Tookie @Jose P Would you have preferred BJ+AF to have been included in a standard album then, though? My point was obviously pretty unclear in the OP, but I was more wondering what the point of 'bonus' tracks in general are and why these ones were chosen as such vs. included on a standard album, and separately why TF/TFM/AP/Joanne seemed to have fewer BTs when compared to the chopped demos associated with each. 

[Lazz Monster 19,353]

18 minutes ago, JustJames said:

Lol; that wasn't meant to be an insult or that critical.  think BTW the album and era were the most iconic I've experienced in my lifetime. I'm not sure what the actual definition of 'filler' is but, for me, it just means songs that are obviously never intended to become singles and couldn't really stand alone outside of the context of the an album. For example, TFM seemed to have very few 'filler' songs -- very much a quality over quantity approach.

Meanwhile, BTW had several songs like Highway Unicorn, Bad Kids, and a couple of others that just allowed the overall message continuity to be preserved but would seem '???' if released as standalone tracks. That's all -- if another word fits better, I'm all ears (eyes?).

oh i get what you mean now, but the way i see it, "filler" means songs that are basically skips, they're just there to fill the spots of a 15-song album, which is NOT the case for BTW