LG7 and TCB (spoilers)

[OMonster 14,581]

Gaga is clearly going through something of a creative rebirth and rejuvenation with TCB. Everything about it is laser-focused, polished, properly-defined and committed. I haven’t seen this from Gaga in a very long time, since at least the early days of the ARTPOP era. 

The tour is dark, stark, haunting, minimalist, refined, claustrophobic, self-referential but in a really elevated and considered way that’s not reductive or 'cosplayish' like Enigma was. It really is the greatest representation of who Lady Gaga is, and what she’s capable of. It just feels so right and so full circle, without re-treading old ground for the sake of it.

This got me thinking about LG7: do we think she’ll bring this energy, focus and commitment to her next album? I genuinely think she might. She seems to have recaptured a fire in her soul for pop music that has been at least partially dimmed for a decade now.

Enigma clearly inspired the aesthetic for Chromatica, which could’ve been much darker (discussed here) as the ball shows us. Maybe LG7 will follow in the ball’s direction now that Gaga is enjoying revisiting ‘the art of darkness’ so much? A concept, let’s not forget, we were sure was the ‘original’ LG5 before Joanne came along. 

Thematically, I am not sure what to expect from LG7. I don’t think she would ever release an album that’s not rooted in ‘something’. Even Joanne had a concept. Chromatica was about trauma, pain and healing, but I do wonder if perhaps TCB might inspire her to revisit this again with a different lens now she - I hope - won’t need BloodPop to force her to get writing. It would be fascinating to see what she would produce in this vein on her own accord. 

Here’s an idea: chaos theory is something Gaga has hinted at a lot over the years. In fact, I wrote a thread about it a couple of years ago now, which theorised that LG6 would tackle this theme. In short, chaos theory and the butterfly effect is a commentary on how “small alterations can give rise to strikingly great consequences". This consequential process is best demonstrated by the butterfly effect: the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the planet, can be traced as the reason for a hurricane on the other side.

Gaga’s career, pain and ongoing recovery could all be explained by chaos theory and the idea of having to piece everything together again after the storm. She achieved her dream of fame, got trapped in it, struggled in the chaos, lost herself and then ultimately found herself again. Had she not suffered so much, she would not be the stronger person she is today. Chaos theory and the butterfly effect would both lend themselves to a very dark theme, similar to what we see in TCB. It would be fascinating if she used this theory to tell a story about her recovery and how she has found herself again. Although it might feel a bit repetitive to Chromatica?

Anyway. Apologies for the long thread! I guess the crux of this is to say how hopeful I am that TCB could be indicative of LG7. What do you think?

[AnglerfishbraBENUS 5,636]

i’m here for the art of darkness theme to come back. 

 

[HeavyMetal Halcyon 1,515]

I really hope we get a follow-up to Chromatica in some way. Like you said, without anyone forcing her to write music. I hope she doesn't take a hiatus after TCB, and puts out an album. I love the concept of the Chaos Theory. 

[elijahfan 25,016]

I think it's way too early to tell, and I'd be surprised if she'd already started thinking about the next record in any serious way.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I disagree with the assumption that Gaga wanted Chromatica to be darker and was forced to make it more colorful. The journey was dark, the destination was not. At the end of the day, she's the boss, and I'm pretty sure the album ended up the way she wanted it to be. If Joanne taught us anything, it's that this woman will end up doing exactly what she wants to do even if it means scrapping entire projects, so don't overestimate the control of her collaborators over her work.

[HeavyMetal Halcyon 1,515]

9 minutes ago, elijahfan said:

I disagree with the assumption that Gaga wanted Chromatica to be darker and was forced to make it more colorful. The journey was dark, the destination was not. 

I second this. I think BloodPop helped her write music and forced her sometimes to write, but the decision and art direction were up to her completely. 

[cetacea 21]

the voices in my head say that she will follow a more experimental path sonically within electronic pop music, and with a simple, almost minimalist aesthetic, but full of personality.

Spoiler

 

[OMonster 14,581]

31 minutes ago, elijahfan said:

I think it's way too early to tell, and I'd be surprised if she'd already started thinking about the next record in any serious way.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I disagree with the assumption that Gaga wanted Chromatica to be darker and was forced to make it more colorful. The journey was dark, the destination was not. At the end of the day, she's the boss, and I'm pretty sure the album ended up the way she wanted it to be. If Joanne taught us anything, it's that this woman will end up doing exactly what she wants to do even if it means scrapping entire projects, so don't overestimate the control of her collaborators over her work.

That was never my assumption. My 'assumption' is that Gaga, with her mindset today, would've brought Chromatica to life as a concept in a very different way. I do not assume that she was 'forced' to make the era more colourful. I do think she was influenced by BloodPop's style but, clearly, she presented the album as she wanted to present it. I just feel that TCB shows that she could've interpreted it very differently. I don't think she was in the right headspace to do that back then though. She was creatively stifled, by her own admission. She said that 911 reignited a fire in her. That fire is now burning much brighter than it has for years in TCB. 

And as for her not thinking about LG7 yet, her career so far would tell us she has already started to work on it. She might take a different approach now but there's literally not been a career since she debut where she hasn't been working on music. 

[elijahfan 25,016]

21 minutes ago, OMonster said:

And as for her not thinking about LG7 yet, her career so far would tell us she has already started to work on it. She might take a different approach now but there's literally not been a career since she debut where she hasn't been working on music. 

While this might have been true for the beginning of her career when she never stopped writing and we went from one era to another in a seamless way, the same can't be said for the latest years. Nowadays, she'll take a couple of months off to focus on making a record and will do that only in that specific timeframe. Joanne, ASIB and Chromatica were made in a relatively short amount of time, in opposition to her earlier records that were made in a continuous way through years while she was busy with other things.

Now, it seems she likes to focus on one thing at a time: while I have no doubt she always writes songs and ideas, I strongly doubt she's in the process of materializing all this into a project just yet. Her mind is busy with the tour atm, then she'll likely shoot a new film later this year and she'll have to plan a new Vegas show for 2023, so I'm not picturing her seriously getting around a table with producers to kick off a new musical project before at least a year.

[TimotheeChalamet 4,871]

She will do something completely different