The Main Problem with Chromatica

[Folklore Friend 348]

20 minutes ago, Nycboy said:

I guess what I’d like to see from Gaga in the future is good storytelling through her lyrics. This is something that Taylor, Beyoncé (Lemonade), and Adele have accomplished very well. It really puts the listener in the artist’s shoes and allows the listener to connect with the artist on a deep, human level. I want Gaga to take me to a moment in her life and make me feel like how she felt. I’d argue that even Ariana’s TU,N had some degree of personal storytelling and that’s why fans connected with it. It was honest.

Most of Gaga’s iconic lyrics to date have been playful metaphors and silly camp. They’ve been about nothing and everything at the same exact time. This worked really well in 2008-2011 as some of the overly sexual lyrics were seen as “shocking” and the campiness came off as weird, different, or just plain cool (ie, what’s a disco stick? Hitchcock references in a pop song? Woah.) As we all know, 2011’s BTW us combined her previously campy lyrics with political ones — and it served a great purpose in doing so. I’d even argue that back then, Gaga couldn’t write personal stories because she didn’t want to reveal the lady behind the Gaga. The lack of a human element actually contributed to her cool factor. (Is she an alien? Haha)

But what about her lyrics since then? 

Although I love Joanne and Chromatica, they’re billed as personal albums and it’s very hard for me to see them in that way, with the exception of a few moments. What are Sinner’s Prayer, John Wayne, and AYO really about? Does calling herself an Enigma really reveal more to us about her as a human? How are Stupid Love, 1000 Doves, or Sour Candy lyrically superior to any other pop song? Even the songs on Chromatica that do go deep, don’t reveal much. Her struggles are hidden behind metaphors and double entendres rather than taking the listener to a genuinely honest place. “I’d rather be dry but at least I’m alive” and “pop a 911” are about serious subjects — but that’s about as far as she goes with them. I commend her for bravely speaking about these subjects, but unfortunately I don’t see how she communicates the emotion or story behind waking up every day and dealing with such issues.

We all know that Gaga is amazing at writing formulaic pop songs that could be about anything (maybe that’s what she meant by my ARTPOP can mean anything!), which isn’t bad, but I just wish she went deeper rather than hiding behind metaphors all. the. time. Also, as we all know, sometimes Gaga songs require an explanation for her fans to “get” the meaning (perfect illusion is about social media? TEOG is about her dying grandfather?). I genuinely believe that she does connect these songs to specific moments in her life, but are those songs really stories about those moments? 

I guess where all this is coming from is that I’ve been doing a deep dive into Taylor’s work for the first time ever, and I’ve realized how refreshing it is to hear an artist sing about actual, tangible things they’ve endured as a human being. For all the hate that Taylor got for singing about exes, I find it very interesting that you can tie her songs to specific moments in time and to real people. On the contrary, Gaga’s songs don’t reveal much about what it was like to love any of the men she’s loved. Not saying Gaga needs to write about that, but that’s just one facet of herself that she could explore. I mean, Beyoncé wrote a whole album about what it felt like to be cheated on by her husband.

It’s just my wish that Gaga, being my favorite artist of all time, could take me on a similar sort of a trip into her inner world as a devoted fan. I know she’s capable of it. She is brilliant & talented, after all. I absolutely love all of her music and wouldn’t change a thing, and I’m not complaining. This is just me analyzing her music from one very specific lens and offering my opinion on where I think she could go from here.

I agree 100% 

i wish Gaga would do that too

[Suuus 4,343]

1 hour ago, Nycboy said:

I guess what I’d like to see from Gaga in the future is good storytelling through her lyrics. This is something that Taylor, Beyoncé (Lemonade), and Adele have accomplished very well. It really puts the listener in the artist’s shoes and allows the listener to connect with the artist on a deep, human level. I want Gaga to take me to a moment in her life and make me feel like how she felt. I’d argue that even Ariana’s TU,N had some degree of personal storytelling and that’s why fans connected with it. It was honest.

Most of Gaga’s iconic lyrics to date have been playful metaphors and silly camp. They’ve been about nothing and everything at the same exact time. This worked really well in 2008-2011 as some of the overly sexual lyrics were seen as “shocking” and the campiness came off as weird, different, or just plain cool (ie, what’s a disco stick? Hitchcock references in a pop song? Woah.) As we all know, 2011’s BTW us combined her previously campy lyrics with political ones — and it served a great purpose in doing so. I’d even argue that back then, Gaga couldn’t write personal stories because she didn’t want to reveal the lady behind the Gaga. The lack of a human element actually contributed to her cool factor. (Is she an alien? Haha)

But what about her lyrics since then? 

Although I love Joanne and Chromatica, they’re billed as personal albums and it’s very hard for me to see them in that way, with the exception of a few moments. What are Sinner’s Prayer, John Wayne, and AYO really about? Does calling herself an Enigma really reveal more to us about her as a human? How are Stupid Love, 1000 Doves, or Sour Candy lyrically superior to any other pop song? Even the songs on Chromatica that do go deep, don’t reveal much. Her struggles are hidden behind metaphors and double entendres rather than taking the listener to a genuinely honest place. “I’d rather be dry but at least I’m alive” and “pop a 911” are about serious subjects — but that’s about as far as she goes with them. I commend her for bravely speaking about these subjects, but unfortunately I don’t see how she communicates the emotion or story behind waking up every day and dealing with such issues.

We all know that Gaga is amazing at writing formulaic pop songs that could be about anything (maybe that’s what she meant by my ARTPOP can mean anything!), which isn’t bad, but I just wish she went deeper rather than hiding behind metaphors all. the. time. Also, as we all know, sometimes Gaga songs require an explanation for her fans to “get” the meaning (perfect illusion is about social media? TEOG is about her dying grandfather?). I genuinely believe that she does connect these songs to specific moments in her life, but are those songs really stories about those moments? 

I guess where all this is coming from is that I’ve been doing a deep dive into Taylor’s work for the first time ever, and I’ve realized how refreshing it is to hear an artist sing about actual, tangible things they’ve endured as a human being. For all the hate that Taylor got for singing about exes, I find it very interesting that you can tie her songs to specific moments in time and to real people. On the contrary, Gaga’s songs don’t reveal much about what it was like to love any of the men she’s loved. Not saying Gaga needs to write about that, but that’s just one facet of herself that she could explore. I mean, Beyoncé wrote a whole album about what it felt like to be cheated on by her husband.

It’s just my wish that Gaga, being my favorite artist of all time, could take me on a similar sort of a trip into her inner world as a devoted fan. I know she’s capable of it. She is brilliant & talented, after all. I absolutely love all of her music and wouldn’t change a thing, and I’m not complaining. This is just me analyzing her music from one very specific lens and offering my opinion on where I think she could go from here.

There is a discription for every chromatica song on Spotify maybe that helps