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Perfect celebrity : the ghost of a betrayed album


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LOVEDRUG
57 minutes ago, Bronco said:

Love.

Every single song, in some format is about relationships &/or love. 

Her relationship with herself as Gaga & her relationship with Fame.

Her relationship with Michael.

Some speculation about Vanish Into You being about Tony, but no matter what its a love song. 

Zombieboy is her friend Rick Genest.

Every single song is talking about love, sex, relationships and heartbreak. And if Mayhem & Chaos aren't perfect descriptors for how we all experience those things, I don't know what is.

I think honestly you'd be hard-pressed to find a single album by any artist you couldn't somehow interpret as being about love or relationships. It's the most common, expansive theme in music history.

All of Gaga's albums consist of tracks that come together to make something greater than just the sum of its parts. Mayhem is the only album where I don't see that. It's still probably my second favourite album, I just wish it had a stronger statement to make.

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elegidadedios
8 hours ago, hELXIG said:

Idk why people are debating this fact. Die with a smile was never written for her album, but she later on decided it fit and threw it on Mayhem. She said herself she went to visit Bruno in the studio, he was already working on the song for his own album, and she decided to jump on it. She started more like a feature on Bruno's song, but they clearly decided to release it as a duet because she did so much work on it

That makes ONE song fitting into the album, not every single song being added last minute because the whole thing was re-shaped...

Edited by elegidadedios
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14 minutes ago, LOVEDRUG said:

I think honestly you'd be hard-pressed to find a single album by any artist you couldn't somehow interpret as being about love or relationships. It's the most common, expansive theme in music history.

All of Gaga's albums consist of tracks that come together to make something greater than just the sum of its parts. Mayhem is the only album where I don't see that. It's still probably my second favourite album, I just wish it had a stronger statement to make.

I mean on the first part, you are largely right. 

But there's not been a Gaga album that's been so cohesively and singluarly purposed around the theme. And that's the statement. Gaga's the happiest she's ever been, she's the most creative she's been in a decade. She's exploring musical genres she's always been inspired by and has previously scrapped out of fear. It's truly a Ray of Light moment where a new perspective has taken over the singer and led them to the new album. 

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HayThurJack

I'm skeptical. I wouldn't say Shadow of a Man fits the same bill as Disease/Abracadabra/Can't Stop The High/Perfect Celebrity, and that was the first song teased.

Garden of Eden leaked a long time ago. LoveDrug lyrics were teased on the Harlequin cover and that photoshoot was done on the 2nd of July (before Die With A Smile & The Chromatica Ball Special).

Edit: Vanish Into You was also the first song written for MAYHEM

Edited by HayThurJack
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elegidadedios
9 hours ago, REALITY said:

4. The artistic process is a process.

Y'all need to understand that making art doesn't have a straightforward path. Things change and evolve. One minute you might think one type of sound is interesting, and the next minute you think that another type of sound fits better. As an artist, you're constantly inspired by many things, and those inspirations can take you in different directions. It's not wrong, and it's not bad. We need to stop this narrative that's been happening since ARTPOP that she "changed the original concept of the album." Concepts change all the time! That's why they're concepts and not the finished product. There's a reason why she's the artist and we're the public :trollga:

I absolutely agree with every point! And let's face it, this narrative of scrapped ideas will continue with her upcoming albums as far as she takes years in between to release them. TFM was released a year after TF. BTW two years after the prior, and ARTPOP was already being TEASED before she was even done with the BTW era. What I'm trying to say is: things DO change through a process of 4/5 years! Imagine her staying the same from 2020 to 2025... (Even though this ain't even the case because as many have said, PC wasn't the first record done for this project and all she did was staying true to the entire journey)

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LOVEDRUG
7 minutes ago, Bronco said:

I mean on the first part, you are largely right. 

But there's not been a Gaga album that's been so cohesively and singluarly purposed around the theme. And that's the statement. Gaga's the happiest she's ever been, she's the most creative she's been in a decade. She's exploring musical genres she's always been inspired by and has previously scrapped out of fear. It's truly a Ray of Light moment where a new perspective has taken over the singer and led them to the new album. 

I don't entirely disagree with you, I'm glad we got the songs we got (I feel like I'm the only person who likes Don't Call Tonight), I just think the album itself, as a separate entity, could do with a little work, whether it's the track order or album cover or something, I just feel like something could've been tweaked a little more before being finalised, as *to me* it just feels a little bit jumbled and unclear.

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4 hours ago, jillianwoj said:

wow. this gave me chills. you just described my (lack of) artistic process so well. my ocpd/perfectionism is often the thief of trying new things, leaving room for failure in the interest of growth/learning a lesson, even profitability in my small wfh business.  i needed to read this. i vow to bust out my art supplies this week and just make something--anything. thank you for the inspiration and for holding up the mirror in such candid words. it may seem small, but you impacted my life for the better, and for this i am grateful and owe you one. 🩷

I'm so proud of you. It takes courage and will to admit to yourself it's time for a change, and those are two qualities that can take you far. I can't wait to see your art!

It's my pleasure to share these thoughts -- I've been there, and I've made it my vocation to help other sleepyheads wake up to their potential.

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8 minutes ago, LOVEDRUG said:

I don't entirely disagree with you, I'm glad we got the songs we got (I feel like I'm the only person who likes Don't Call Tonight), I just think the album itself, as a separate entity, could do with a little work, whether it's the track order or album cover or something, I just feel like something could've been tweaked a little more before being finalised, as *to me* it just feels a little bit jumbled and unclear.

I love Don't Call Tonight. 
And tbf I'm not saying Mayhem is perfect sonically. I definitely agree there needs to be a better gradient between Perfect Celebrity & Vanish Into You. 
I think the album would flow better if Vanish Into You was pushed later into the tracklist, Perfect Celebrity into Killah would have made the transition to funk & disco more palatable I think to people's initial expectations for the album. 
I also dislike the trend of just shoving the big ballads at the end and calling it a day. 

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Elderflower
1 hour ago, Bronco said:

I love Don't Call Tonight. 
And tbf I'm not saying Mayhem is perfect sonically. I definitely agree there needs to be a better gradient between Perfect Celebrity & Vanish Into You. 
I think the album would flow better if Vanish Into You was pushed later into the tracklist, Perfect Celebrity into Killah would have made the transition to funk & disco more palatable I think to people's initial expectations for the album. 
I also dislike the trend of just shoving the big ballads at the end and calling it a day. 

This might be outside the topic of this thread, but I'm curious to know how you would have structured the tracklist. I've been reading your posts here on GGD for a little while now, and I like your mind :hor: 

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1 hour ago, elegidadedios said:

That makes ONE song fitting into the album, not every single song being added last minutes because the whole thing was re-shaped...

I didn't say that :blink:  I just said I don't know why people think she wrote Die With A Smile specifically for Mayhem

I'll be myself until they fūcking close the coffin.
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22 minutes ago, Elderflower said:

This might be outside the topic of this thread, but I'm curious to know how you would have structured the tracklist. I've been reading your posts here on GGD for a little while now, and I like your mind :hor: 

I'll put it behind a spoiler so it's not a bulky comment and people can skip past. 
Spoiler - Blade of Grass doesn't fit anywhere you put it lol 
 

Spoiler

My layout basically turns it into two 8 track EPs as a double album (think Marina's Love + Fear). 
1. Disease
2. Abracadabra
3. Can't Stop The High
4. Perfect Celebrity
5. Killah 
6. Garden of Eden
7. Zombieboy
8. The Beast
9. Kill for Love
10. How Bad Do U Want Me
11. Blade Of Grass
12. Vanish Into You
13. Die With A Smile
14. Love Drug
15. Don't Call Tonight
16. Shadow Of A Man

 

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