Musically I Feel Like Gaga Gave Up on Mayhem

[Bronco 21,216]

22 minutes ago, LGAte said:

. I guess you had had to have been there.

I'm 30. I was there. 

[RAMROD 115,612]

whew, little manager is at it again today 

[gagacabana 5,069]

24 minutes ago, bim said:

Just becuse this doesn’t look like other eras or like what other pop stars are doing does not mean she gave up on music.

As usual you are the realest person on this forum 

[InsomniaMonster69 3,664]

5 hours ago, LGAte said:

The Dead Dance HARDLY counts. Die With A Smile does not either.

Well… if you think that two songs that are on the album and have an MV don’t count then maybe you’re the problem 

Edited March 4 by InsomniaMonster69

[PornoDanceFight 1,809]

1 hour ago, bim said:

I’m a bit confused at the point being made by the OP. The title is that musically she’s given up and the post seems to be about how she didn’t push more singles? The interviews this era, particularly the Zane Lowe one was about how she seems to have fallen back in love with making music again. Compare that to Chromatica where she was suicidal, chain smoking cigarettes alone on her balcony, and needed to get dragged into the studio to make music.

We have interviews of her geeking out about the music making process (Rolling Stone and Song Exploder). She’s obsessed with the intricacy of it all. There’s the Disease Antidote and Poison videos we got, and she arranged an acoustic Abracadabra and Perfect Celebrity for Howard Stern. Coachella and Copacabana have filmed live streams. A tour film is in the works, and a reinvented Mayhem: Requiem was performed and filmed. And it’s not related to Mayhem, but we got Harlequin and Harlequin Live, because she literally just wanted to make and perform music that is important to her. Not to mention that Happy Mistake performance was a powerhouse vocal delivery from her.

When she accepted her award at the iHeart Awards she even said she feels like she’s just getting started and entering a new rebirth in her career. The Mayhem Ball proves she fully means it because it’s a fascinating show, where she revisits her entire catalog of music to celebrate what she’s done. We got acoustic Dance in the Dark and Brooklyn Nights, which is something we never would’ve fathomed in the Chromatica era when she was literally giving an advertisement for Oreos laying on a chair being filmed on a phone looking like she wanted to die.

Mayhem is also her best produced album. It seems like this is genuinely important to her now, which I’m glad by. Her albums have never felt as musically polished as this one, so if anything she’s more into the music than she ever has been.

Also The Dead Dance is a great song. It fit perfectly into Wednesday and is such a campy bop. I love having fun, silly music from her. Not every single thing she does needs to be the absolute best, most groundbreaking, boundary pushing piece of work. People seem to want more from her then are constantly complaining when she gives us stuff. We got a whole beautiful album for Harlequin, and people complain that it’s jazz and mostly covers (Folie a Deux and Happy Mistake are insanely good songs too by the way). People want dark music, then complain when Disease came out. People complained about Mayhem because it wasn’t the sound they were expecting it to be regardless of how incredible the album actually is. People want more rock music and complain about the Grammy performance. And people are still complaining that she didn’t give us enough when she’s working her ass of and giving us one of the best shows of her career, while looking healthier and happier than she possibly ever has AND her vocals are better than ever to be honest.

Just becuse this doesn’t look like other eras or like what other pop stars are doing does not mean she gave up on music. Honestly, how can someone even make that statement after watching the opening number of the Mayhem Ball?

You cleared + verbatim what I was about to type.

[TheARTPOPball 1,273]

6 hours ago, InsomniaMonster69 said:

I’m so glad that this never happened!!! I would’ve lost all my respect for her. 
 

Yes but since ARTPOP she never released more than 3 MVs for an era! (Edit: I forgot Joanne had 4 MVs - so 4 MVs for an era is her standard)
so we can call ourselves happy that we got 4 for MAYHEM

 

I still think we should get one more. Idc what anybody says, I do not count DWAS as a mayhem music video because it wasn’t intended for the album and does not fit the visual direction of the rest of the era. I know she has some videos that kind of explore a different visual theming like 911 but they still remain much more cohesive as a visual  project that mayhem including die with a smile. 

[Economy 52,247]

Honestly, theres always gonna be "what if" singles. It means the album isnt full of fillers.

 

We got 4 singles which is about best case scenario these these days. Disease and Abra were absolutely amazing singles, DWAS despite being seen as generic was one dam of an experience to go thru again, smashing the charts like that. And TTD while maybe the weakest single off the album, musically it still wasnt totallu awful and u cant blame the team for trying to get another hit (no other song would have caught on anyway as it was too late after album release)

 

So im happy with how things turned out tbh. Its the first era since BTW i didnt feel was lacking in singles and promo, so im very satisfied

Edited March 4 by Economy

[Economy 52,247]

7 hours ago, River said:

1. The fact that she needed to make a promo deal with both Mastercard and Netflix to release 2 music videos and singles, tell u that after Disease didn't perform well, her promo budget has been cut by interscope.

2. Gagacabana and Coachella are costy, she got paid of course, but for the basics.. so any promo, outfits, dancers + outfits for them, staging, band etc. was on her and on her promo budget from interscope.

3. the tour, everything costs money.

She basically from budget pov, she can't release new singles and new videos. there's no money for that.

You raise an important point here. Labels these days take a lot of cut and big productions these days also cost a lot.

 

Her actual personal earnings are only a fraction of the headline grossings numbers and when ppl (rightfully) hate on how much concerts cost these days at least we should keep perspective that Gaga herself isnt making all that (tho admitedly yes, shes still making way more than any 1 person needs)

[nATAH 55,006]

2 hours ago, bim said:

Just becuse this doesn’t look like other eras or like what other pop stars are doing does not mean she gave up on music. Honestly, how can someone even make that statement after watching the opening number of the Mayhem Ball?

can we screenshot this and put it as the website banner?

[MACATL 2,021]

7 hours ago, LGAte said:

I have some feelings about Mayhem that are not popular, full disclosure. But, ironically, I feel like these could have been soothed a bit if she had, (or maybe still can) push one more Mayhem single. (I'll get to that later.  )

It's not my favorite album, but I think not giving it more singles is a genuine mistake. Even if they don't chart top ten everytime, I think with this era the songs would have had slow-burn success. I think promoting Vanish Into You in the Spring after Abracadabra had been out a few months could have been a moderate-fairly large summer hit for her that could have grown in the long run as a re-performable hit for her. I think if not that, How Bad Do U Want Me would have made sense for a summer sleeper hit, especially if she somehow could have pulled in Taylor to feature on it as a surprise re-release. And I also think even Zombieboy during September/October before Halloween would have made a huge viral impact had she pulled something at VMAs like she did at the Grammys, with a surprise single release.

All of these strategies could have worked. But like....look what we got. 

The Dead Dance.

I feel like this is what we go through as fans often with her team- an exceptional world being built and then the buildings in the world sitting half-empty...not because the demand isn't there...but because the proper promotional channels weren't explored. Gaga IS a visual artist, despite the popularity of the music video, it is who she is. And even the newer pop stars are still releasing videos so the narrative that the music video is dead is a bit of an exxageration there. There 100% is a demand for visuals. And the idea that it looks desperate and cheap- who cares? It should be about art. If you're really an artist. 

People pick up on vibes more than ever and it came off to me that she didn't believe in her own hype and this is something Michael Jackson or Madonna never fell for. At the end of the day, all commercialness aside- they had a vision- they artistically executed it- and they finished it. Everytime. They didn't bail out mid-era (like everyone does nowadays) because something didn't work out commercially. 

To me it ironically cheapens the brand of an artist when they do this.

 

One last note....I will say I do believe there is still one secret gold mine left on this album/era that most would doubt me on but I think they are wrong and I think it would work: LoveDrug Summer. 

Think about it. It's a very very very good polished track. It's her "Style". It's her "Love on the Brain". It's her "Criminal". It's a late era song that screams relatable, catchy, ear-itchy gold.

You’re spot on with then singles take - those releases would most definitely have gotten traction with the GP.  There’s not doubt in my mind.  Such a wasted opportunity for maybe the best album of her career.  

[bxr 1,656]

2 hours ago, bim said:

I’m a bit confused at the point being made by the OP. The title is that musically she’s given up and the post seems to be about how she didn’t push more singles? The interviews this era, particularly the Zane Lowe one was about how she seems to have fallen back in love with making music again. Compare that to Chromatica where she was suicidal, chain smoking cigarettes alone on her balcony, and needed to get dragged into the studio to make music.

We have interviews of her geeking out about the music making process (Rolling Stone and Song Exploder). She’s obsessed with the intricacy of it all. There’s the Disease Antidote and Poison videos we got, and she arranged an acoustic Abracadabra and Perfect Celebrity for Howard Stern. Coachella and Copacabana have filmed live streams. A tour film is in the works, and a reinvented Mayhem: Requiem was performed and filmed. And it’s not related to Mayhem, but we got Harlequin and Harlequin Live, because she literally just wanted to make and perform music that is important to her. Not to mention that Happy Mistake performance was a powerhouse vocal delivery from her.

When she accepted her award at the iHeart Awards she even said she feels like she’s just getting started and entering a new rebirth in her career. The Mayhem Ball proves she fully means it because it’s a fascinating show, where she revisits her entire catalog of music to celebrate what she’s done. We got acoustic Dance in the Dark and Brooklyn Nights, which is something we never would’ve fathomed in the Chromatica era when she was literally giving an advertisement for Oreos laying on a chair being filmed on a phone looking like she wanted to die.

Mayhem is also her best produced album. It seems like this is genuinely important to her now, which I’m glad by. Her albums have never felt as musically polished as this one, so if anything she’s more into the music than she ever has been.

Also The Dead Dance is a great song. It fit perfectly into Wednesday and is such a campy bop. I love having fun, silly music from her. Not every single thing she does needs to be the absolute best, most groundbreaking, boundary pushing piece of work. People seem to want more from her then are constantly complaining when she gives us stuff. We got a whole beautiful album for Harlequin, and people complain that it’s jazz and mostly covers (Folie a Deux and Happy Mistake are insanely good songs too by the way). People want dark music, then complain when Disease came out. People complained about Mayhem because it wasn’t the sound they were expecting it to be regardless of how incredible the album actually is. People want more rock music and complain about the Grammy performance. And people are still complaining that she didn’t give us enough when she’s working her ass of and giving us one of the best shows of her career, while looking healthier and happier than she possibly ever has AND her vocals are better than ever to be honest.

Just becuse this doesn’t look like other eras or like what other pop stars are doing does not mean she gave up on music. Honestly, how can someone even make that statement after watching the opening number of the Mayhem Ball?

Thorough articulation. One element of distinction here (just me, so, feel free to ignore / take with a grain … etc.) is the designation between Mayhem (album, era, etc.) and music. You express with masterful lucidity Gaga’s relationship with music, and how this reintroduction / revival / reclamation of her love and sheer allegiance to music itself has evolved throughout the Mayhem cycle. That being said, I feel as if there is a conflation between Mayhem and music with a capacity — or like if albums are relationships, releasing Mayhem was (tough metaphor but maybe it’ll work) like a breakup … every album you release is kind of over in a way when you’ve put it out into the public (even though the marketing campaign extends the courtship with appearances, etc. even then someone is already thinking through your next suitor (album)) … so “giving up” on Mayhem feels like more about understanding that studio process from a distance … on tour she might be aware of something that plagued her during the recording process, so she pivots how she presents the project moving forward … I think your “rebirth” at the iHeart reflects this well and then the “revisitation” of her work on tour … Mayhem needs to be given up on to move forward … and that’s I think where Gaga should be a year into a project … as she embarks on creating and developing this shift from darkeness (and how so many fans do love the darkness — please let our girl live in the light for a few cycles … even a little blacklight baptism to segue into the full luminosity)

Mayhem is also her best produced album. It seems like this is genuinely important to her now, which I’m glad by. Her albums have never felt as musically polished as this one, so if anything she’s more into the music than she ever has been.

More into music after the process of producing Mayhem the album, it feels like there is a passion she is finding that digs deeper beyond the polish, so to speak … to your point, her projects beyond the studio production itself, the live performances, the explorations of each record’s own character narratives, effectually, how you write about the journey reflects the Mayhem production process as this catalyst for her journey of music rediscovery. And that she keeps pushing the musicality of Mayhem’s genuine message (through creative expression of its sonic identity), with these deconstructions, reconstructions, outright deviations from its own studio standard feels central to this releasing one to reclaim the other (releasing the process of producing that which she is still developing through the process — that doesn’t make sense how I wrote it but it kind of echoes something within the realm of thought). The opening to the Mayhem Ball opening felt like such a clear reaction to Mayhem itself … it sounded and felt like the complete cathartic release of whatever was packaged pristine on the studio cuts … Judas, Scheiße, Aura, do not feel like Mayhem … and yet with Abracadabra in context they felt so alive in the presence

I don’t know, it just feels like these are parallel talking points with ASIB and Chromatica before Mayhem arrived … we now know she was on lithium while filming ASIB, but at the time the movie and project were such a departure from how overworked she was during BTW/ARTPOP, etc. and the fans were heralding a return to form and her unprecedented comeback and Shallow and the Oscars and — so maybe she “gave up” on that stellar birth some point in the process while we were watching apparent success and a return to form unfold in real time. The Chromatica campaign … need I say … the glaring parallels in campaign context … “the producers were amazing by protecting her and allowing her to xyz” and “she said … she said … she said” – at the time … and yet here we are now … she found the music of Mayhem when she “gave up” on the Chromatica experience or process or etc … and even now in interviews, in releasing the truth about her ASIB experience, she is reclaiming something here through Mayhem … so maybe when LG8 arrives, or LG9, etc. we’ll see what realities and revelations about this process surface in her recollections

Sometimes her love of music surfaces due to and despite the studio album / campaigns themselves. The Mayhem process somehow just feels … not that she’s giving up on music but the era was an incredible reflection of the diametric opposition between industry and artistry … and it feels like her most genuine revelation was how the creative emerges in the midst *through* their expression of this resistance … my favorite parts of the Mayhem journey have been her deviations from the studio work itself … because it actually feels human and creative … the Grammys and her live tour vocal reinterpretations / production shifts / etc. just really impress this sense of moving away from whatever contained deprivation she experienced during the studio production process — which, again, the clean, pristine, polish is apparent and it is clinical in its precision, that surgical precision takes on new life when she adds gravity, texture, and soul to the stage shows — and toward something that connects her with whatever deprivation led to this creation

I feel like some of the discourses exist in vacuums … sometimes I also forget how much exists in a 20+ year career …

You have really clear insights, and I don’t disagree, I just enjoy discourse … even if mine makes no sense ( which, *gestures broadly at entirety of aforementioned* )

[gagafan1394 311]

PLEASE delete this thread oh my god

 

[Electric Venom 242]

Okay so Sour Candy MV when?

[lilboyblue 5,963]

When you have way too much time on your hands

[Petie Estie 5,642]

musically? I think you mean promotionally lol.  Nothing in your post supports your title.