MAYHEM represents fear

[gagacabana 9,031]

24 minutes ago, GAGA IS GROOVY said:

However, to defend my theory on VIY, I'd argue from the lyrics it could be interpreted as being about a ghost desperately trying to cling to Earth and to its former love - fear of dying. Gaga could've also been ruminating on death and how dead people continue to live on through the memories of those that knew them - fear of being forgotten. It might also explain why during The MAYHEM Ball, before she sang VIY, she would ask fans if they'd still be there for her in 20 year's time, and how she'd play in a small bar if she couldn't sell out an arena anymore - fear of being forgotten. Surely, I'm onto something there?! 

Requiem totally indulges this theory in its otherworldly atmosphere. I also think that to embrace this kind of deep vulnerability it's necessary to walk hand in hand with fear, because we can't ever really turn away from it

Edited May 22 by gagacabana

[GerMonsterNotta 2,165]

 

[ManMan 4,201]

turn out Mayhem Monster is real 

[GAGA IS GROOVY 866]

1 hour ago, gagacabana said:

Requiem totally indulges this theory in its otherworldly atmosphere. I also think that to embrace this kind of deep vulnerability it's necessary to walk hand in hand with fear, because we can't ever really turn away from it

I didn't even consider Requiem, but you're totally correct - it's like a ghostly transmission broadcasted from the afterlife! Requiem could be seen as Gaga embracing fear and conquering it by proudly standing atop the ruins of the opera house!

[GAGA IS GROOVY 866]

1 hour ago, ManMan said:

turn out Mayhem Monster is real 

The MAYHEM monster under your bed...

[monsterdino 32,005]

4 hours ago, TheARTPOPball said:

Isn’t this concept what the fame monster was about? 

Was gonna say this lmao

[GAGA IS GROOVY 866]

6 minutes ago, monsterdino said:

Was gonna say this lmao

Well, Gaga has been accused of 'reheating nachos' during the MAYHEM era...however, I thought the songs from TFM represented 'monsters' in Gaga's life and the dark side of fame, not necessarily fears? 

[gagacabana 9,031]

You're really cooking something here because now I'm thinking about the way not only both TFM and Mayhem are about fear, but also Chromatica is. Each one of them approach it much differently, so TFM is passionately dark about its hopelessness, Chromatica is a place of despair regarding said lack of hope, and Mayhem is finally able to conceive all of these nuances to build faith in spite of/because of fear.

[Ladle Ghoulash 55,401]

3 minutes ago, gagacabana said:

You're really cooking something here because now I'm thinking about the way not only both TFM and Mayhem are about fear, but also Chromatica is. Each one of them approach it much differently, so TFM is passionately dark about its hopelessness, Chromatica is a place of despair regarding said lack of hope, and Mayhem is finally able to conceive all of these nuances to build faith in spite of/because of fear.

I also don’t think MAYHEM’s (and REQUIEM by extension) fascination with death is accidental. In a meta way, I feel like Gaga’s kind of grappling with the way that legacy (via the retrospective component of the album’s scope and sound) is an acknowledgment of ephemerality: that in thinking about how you will be remembered, you are implicitly acknowledging  that one day, you will be gone, which forces the question of how you feel about that. I do also think the album and era, as fulfilled by REQUIEM, is allowing that iteration of herself to die unto itself as means of being reborn (making peace with the Disease that began the journey and “dying with a smile” after having wrestled with and made peace with those fears and demons).

[gagacabana 9,031]

10 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

I also don’t think MAYHEM’s (and REQUIEM by extension) fascination with death is accidental. In a meta way, I feel like Gaga’s kind of grappling with the way that legacy (via the retrospective component of the album’s scope and sound) is an acknowledgment of ephemerality: that in thinking about how you will be remembered, you are implicitly acknowledging  that one day, you will be gone, which forces the question of how you feel about that. I do also think the album and era, as fulfilled by REQUIEM, is allowing that iteration of herself to die unto itself as means of being reborn (making peace with the Disease that began the journey and “dying with a smile” after having wrestled with and made peace with those fears and demons).

And really, death has been one of the most consistent and recurring themes on Gaga's work. At times distant like in a fairytale, at times so painfully real it was unbearable, at times like greeting an old friend, but it's always there, intrinsically (as is fear, as is love, as is hunger, as is faith, etc. 

[Ladle Ghoulash 55,401]

1 minute ago, gagacabana said:

And really, death has been one of the most consistent and recurring themes on Gaga's work. At times distant like in a fairytale, at times so painfully real it was unbearable, at times like greeting an old friend, but it's always there, intrinsically (as is fear, as is love, as is hunger, as is faith, etc. 

100%. The rumination on legacy and the acceptance of death in DWAS feels like the full circle moment from the performance of tragic death at the hands of cruel world in the Paparazzi performance at the VMAs. Miss Thing really has transcended her own self-destructiveness and reclaimed her peace 

[gagacabana 9,031]

7 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

100%. The rumination on legacy and the acceptance of death in DWAS feels like the full circle moment from the performance of tragic death at the hands of cruel world in the Paparazzi performance at the VMAs. Miss Thing really has transcended her own self-destructiveness and reclaimed her peace 

Oh Godga, who died for our sins... no wait this was for the bible camp thread 

[Bronco 28,873]

2 hours ago, GAGA IS GROOVY said:

Well, Gaga has been accused of 'reheating nachos' during the MAYHEM era...however, I thought the songs from TFM represented 'monsters' in Gaga's life and the dark side of fame, not necessarily fears? 

She used to call them the "fear of X monster".

[Lord Axel 944]

2 hours ago, GAGA IS GROOVY said:

Well, Gaga has been accused of 'reheating nachos' during the MAYHEM era...however, I thought the songs from TFM represented 'monsters' in Gaga's life and the dark side of fame, not necessarily fears? 

It's all three of those haha

MAYHEM definitely has a component of fear as well, but the main themes are definitely duality through the mirror motif along with (gothic) dreams and a sprinkling of the "decaying pop star" theme from the original LG5

[Lord Mayhem 3,741]

Mayhem is what we expected Chromatica to sound like but just more polished and conceptual 

Chromatica felt like ARTPOP and MAYHEM in one

MAYHEM feels like ARTPOP and BTW