What Is Gaga's Best Concept Album?

[imogen2133 576]

Now so there aren't a bunch of follow up questions I will clarify I don't mean which album that has a concept is the best or which is the best of these albums overall but which out of her concept albums has the most songs on it that fit that concept/has the most songs that fit overall?

For reference these are the stated concepts/ideas for each album:

The Fame: The idea that one can have an inner sense of fame and carry yourself with confidence and star power even without being rich or having access to high/expensive fashion or being known by the public, this can be achieved by walking around in a way that makes people want to know who you are or by dressing in glamourous ways using small amounts of money.

The Fame Monster: Explores Gaga's fears she encountered whilst on tour with The Fame Ball like fear of love, sex, men, suffocation, self, the truth, addiction and death. Also obviously tackling darker themes to do with ones self image, fame, personal issues and external pressures.

Born This Way: The idea of loving yourself and accepting yourself as you are completely and feeling empowered in your identity whilst recognizing you can change over and over throughout your life through various experiences until you reach your ultimate self/destiny.

ARTPOP: The idea of merging ART and POP together to create a hybrid, bring high art concepts into pop music and it is Gaga's pain exploding in electronic music/exploring her life at that time.

Joanne: Dedicated to her Aunt but personal to her as well and about her family, friendships and journey.

Chromatica: The idea of dancing through your pain and finding joy, happiness and help amid struggles. Also explores Gaga's personal struggles around that time and her journey towards getting better.

Mayhem: The idea of exploring gothic dreams and ones inner mayhem/demons and about Gaga's experiences with love and finding Michael.

 

Also what I mean when I say which one fits the concept best I mean lyrically not sonically. (Provide examples)

 

 

[PornoDanceFight 2,151]

Harlequin 

[bxr 2,281]

Was part of ARTPOP‘s concept the decay of the blonde pop star or was that a fever dream reverse birth of venus de milo memory manipulation?

[codymonster 8,900]

To me, ARTPOP. The whole experience of the album brought the concept to life (her different characters as she left hotels, her art references, the living portraits, and all the creative things she explored). It really felt like she lived in the concept. 

In terms of the album and performance, Mayhem probably. The live show really brought out the themes of the album in a way I feel she hadn’t achieved before.

The Fame and Fame Monster had the best concept, but I feel wasn’t fully utilized for the rest of the album cycle.

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by codymonster

[codymonster 8,900]

8 minutes ago, bxr said:

Was part of ARTPOP‘s concept the decay of the blonde pop star or was that a fever dream reverse birth of venus de milo memory manipulation?

Yes. She was obsessed with Disney princesses and wrote Princess Die early on. I think she kind of pivoted, but the ideas were still there (unfortunately in her real life too…)

[Purrrrrr 18,137]

18 minutes ago, bxr said:

Was part of ARTPOP‘s concept the decay of the blonde pop star or was that a fever dream reverse birth of venus de milo memory manipulation?

 

8 minutes ago, codymonster said:

Yes. She was obsessed with Disney princesses and wrote Princess Die early on. I think she kind of pivoted, but the ideas were still there (unfortunately in her real life too…)

during the BTWBall yes she had an era about the decay of the blonde pop star

you're also completely missing princess die being a play on Princess Diana  whom died in a car crash being chased by the paparazzi

[bxr 2,281]

18 minutes ago, codymonster said:

Yes. She was obsessed with Disney princesses and wrote Princess Die early on. I think she kind of pivoted, but the ideas were still there (unfortunately in her real life too…)

In that case … ARTPOP and The Fame … Born This Way is a close second … but The Fame and ARTPOP completely dismantled the fourth wall … the concepts became pop canon … the auraboros of it all … you really can‘t script those electronic blueprint symphonics … and really, both are so inextricably her … no other artist could live those concepts into contemporaneous cultural reality … but that‘s just from my POV … it‘s all subjective, really …

ETA: In immediate retrospect, somehow Joanne (BTW-adjacent close second) feels like it fell into the realization of its own conceptual capture … I don‘t know how but something undercurrent from Five Foot Two and the NYT Magazine clip maybe … something about working through or figuring out that liminal space … fractured flaws and all

Spoiler

 

Edited 1 hour ago by bxr

[Controversiaga 16,412]

THE FAME

Some highlights in terms of concept:

lovegame

paparazzi

beautiful dirty rich 

the fame

money honey

starstruck

paper gangsta

truly her BEST CONCEPT ALBUM with born this way right behind it.

the rest of her albums have no concept.. they’re just compilations of random and unrelated songs with a verbal explanation from Gaga really reaching to make them be connected to one grand theme 

Edited 1 hour ago by Controversiaga

[Lord Mayhem 3,455]

ARTPOP but the execution and public criticism ruined it...

[Ladle Ghoulash 54,060]

Easily BTW. 

12 minutes ago, Controversiaga said:

compilations of random and unrelated songs with a verbal explanation from Gaga really reaching to make them be connected to one grand theme 

The way this description also perfectly fits TF lol

[Controversiaga 16,412]

4 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Easily BTW. 

The way this description also perfectly fits TF lol

Hahah right no coincidence that all the songs I listed from that album have a lot to do with or mention fame 

it’s the same as BTW. Half the songs are about being yourself, the other half are random and unrelated. Cause wtf does government hooker, Judas, electric chapel, you & I, Bloody Mary, fashion of his love have to do with BTWs concept 

Edited 1 hour ago by Controversiaga

[Ladle Ghoulash 54,060]

10 minutes ago, Controversiaga said:

Hahah right no coincidence that all the songs I listed from that album have a lot to do with or mention fame 

it’s the same as BTW. Half the songs are about being yourself, the other half are random and unrelated. Cause wtf does government hooker, Judas, electric chapel, you & I, Bloody Mary, fashion of his love have to do with BTWs concept 

Yeah and that’s less than half of the album. Fact is: she doesn’t really have any single album that functions especially well as a wholesale concept record and, at best, has albums with shared themes. But BTW is way more thematically consistent than TF, imo. 

[Bronco 25,978]

She has themes, not true concept albums tbh.

I think Mayhem & Born This Way are the only albums that stay consistently on topic when it comes to the themes she was exploring. 

The Fame does its thematic tracks very very well, but there's a significant amount of detours as well. And some tracks would break your back trying to bend to fit them to the theme lol

ARTPOP needed a Coco Chanel "before you leave the studio, take one thing off" approach. The album is in such a position of its concept or theme being so broad that it ceases to have a true unifying idea behind it in the end. Part of its beauty but equally its problem. 

Joanne is 2 albums forced into an uneven coexistence that makes the album disjointed. 

Chromatica is very cohesive, but I think the way the era played out ruins its cohesion because the original vision didn't get to come to full fruition so the visuals confuse the album.

 

[Controversiaga 16,412]

15 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

Yeah and that’s less than half of the album. Fact is: she doesn’t really have any single album that functions especially well as a wholesale concept record and, at best, has albums with shared themes. But BTW is way more thematically consistent than TF, imo. 

What’s less than half the album? More than half the songs on the fame mention fame, money, glam, or lifestyles or rich and famous / life Gaga aspired to live at that time.  I’d argue it’s 70/30 or 60/40.
 

also I forgot to mention edge of glory , that doesn’t have anything to do w btw theme. Btw is maybe 70/30.. id argue only 9 out of the 17 track fit the theme. I’d say both albums are equal . but the fame still wins for me. Xoxoxoxox 

Edited 1 hour ago by Controversiaga