Albums with a misleading title/image/sound

[TheFrenchGuy 5,626]

3 hours ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

She did, but per my previous comment, she often diluted it with a lot of convoluted, ad hoc art/cultural philosophy + critique, which is why I praised MAYHEM’s streamlined approach to that message 

ARTPOP was the student in art school making a 12 hour piece about the meaning of life (and most of it is empty nonsense but there's a very good heartfelt 5 minutes in there) 

Mayhem is the seasoned artist looking back at younger self with the ability to filter her ideas to the core 

But tbh as a theater kid I lived for ARTPOP and the crazy performance art she did back then. If felt so rebellious in the context of what she was going through at the time. 

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,040]

6 minutes ago, imogen2133 said:

I predicted people would do this and use it to defend how incohesive the album is when the album was announced so I am not really surprised. 

Or, and hear me out: people interpret it differently than you.

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,040]

58 minutes ago, HotLikeMexico said:

MAYHEM and the people saying “well… it’s called “MAYHEM you dumb bitch” are reaching. The photoshoot, the aesthetic doesn’t match what the album ended up sounding like. 

Eh, Gaga’s always played with the contrast between the sonic and visual aesthetic in her work and I don’t think MAYHEM is really any exception. 

Edited Thursday at 11:39 PM by Ladle Ghoulash

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,040]

2 minutes ago, TheFrenchGuy said:

If felt so rebellious in the context of what she was going through at the time. 

Absolutely. I think what she did was incredibly important for her as an artist: breaking down preconceived notions, breaking her own taboos/orthodoxy, speaking out against the objectification of artists through refusing to be clean, commodified, and ready for consumption. Watching it in real time was incredibly inspiring, to be sure. 

[TheFrenchGuy 5,626]

2 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Eh, Gaga’s always played with the contrast between the sonic and visual aesthetic in her work and I don’t think MAYHEM is really any exception. 

This. Her album covers are always more a reflection of her mindset going into an album than of its sound, even if the two usually line up. Mayhem is no different: the cover is a nostalgic, fractured look at her identity. The mirrors, the dark hair, the fact that she's looking right at the camera and it still feels distant from the viewer, like a memory. it all tracks with the way she talks about the creative process behind it.

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,040]

Just now, TheFrenchGuy said:

This. Her album covers are always more a reflection of her mindset going into an album than of its sound, even if the two usually line up. Mayhem is no different: the cover is a nostalgic, fractured look at her identity. The mirrors, the dark hair, the fact that she's looking right at the camera and it still feels distant from the viewer, like a memory. it all tracks with the way she talks about the creative process behind it.

It’s the same way she relates to narrative, theatrical staging, and MVs: they’re intersexual. In almost every live show or MVs with any kind of narrative or concept, she’s never simply staging the song in the most obvious way, she’s always adding layers of meaning through recontextualization and I think the same applies to her visual aesthetic more broadly. Gaga’s brand has never been delivering the expected, it’s always taking the familiar and putting a new spin on it.

[zevthepaparazzo 2,429]

Björk's Volta didn't seem like much of a volta; ie a sudden change in tone

[HotLikeMexico 6,566]

5 hours ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Eh, Gaga’s always played with the contrast between the sonic and visual aesthetic in her work and I don’t think MAYHEM is really any exception. 

Meh. I still think it’s a ****ing reach. 

[nATAH 57,016]

1 hour ago, HotLikeMexico said:

Meh. I still think it’s a ****ing reach. 

not really, the split visuals very much match the album

doesn't take a genius to pick it apart and analyse that, that's why the webstore album cover is miles better than the original 

[llemesm 2,095]

this thread reminded me to this. we thought the album was gonna darker and serious 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 08:06 AM by llemesm

[llemesm 2,095]

[Future Lovers 7,588]

On 7/29/2026 at 1:22 AM, AVeryGagaHolyDick said:

Well, find the mayhem in question

 

On 7/29/2026 at 10:46 AM, Controversiaga said:

Disease visuals fits disease. But does disease fit the rest of the album it’s on?

the album is only mayhem in the sense that it’s a compilation of random songs she made over the last 6 years or so and no cohesion or reoccurring theme. 

I can’t tell if you all are just trying to rage bait or if media literacy has just gotten that bad

Edited yesterday at 08:23 AM by Future Lovers

[Ultimecia 6,874]

10 hours ago, HotLikeMexico said:

MAYHEM and the people saying “well… it’s called “MAYHEM you dumb bitch” are reaching. The photoshoot, the aesthetic doesn’t match what the album ended up sounding like. 

Gotta love seeing the same people bend over backwards over and over again to justify a poor album concept, and a clear lack of vision.

[Bronco 25,129]

10 hours ago, HotLikeMexico said:

MAYHEM and the people saying “well… it’s called “MAYHEM you dumb bitch” are reaching. The photoshoot, the aesthetic doesn’t match what the album ended up sounding like. 

The photoshoot and aesthetic match the lyrical content. 

The themes of the Mayhem era through the music, artwork and performance are genuinely her most consistent era she's ever done. 

Y'all just genuinely have terrible media literacy.

[Controversiaga 16,077]

1 hour ago, Future Lovers said:

 

I can’t tell if you all are just trying to rage bait or if media literacy has just gotten that bad

Was anything I said untrue tho