Why ARTPOP is equally good or even better than BTW (opinion)

[Mythos 3,196]

If course I don't try to force you my opinion, I just explained myself. TFM is a strong body of work but except from some huge highlights (God Romance, Alejandro, Telephone, DITD and Teeth) the other songs aren't that big of a deal. Of course this is 5/8 songs from thr album, ahuge number but it's also and 8 only track EP and you would expect it to be flawless. Imagine if BTW and ARTPOP were only * track albums. They would be extremely solid bodies of work but they wouldn't be as interesting as they are now. TFM is definitely on the same level with BTW and ARTPOP though unlike The Fame. These are all my opinion if course.

 

Ofcourse, thank god everyone has their own opinion  :), i am happy that you love it, but i dont get why are there so many threads about how good ARTPOP is comparing to... Give this album some time, a year and lets hear it than. 

 

Well i love every song from TFM, i can personally relate to monster/speachless/happy i could die, bad romance/alejandro/telephone where great in Clubs and Teeth/Dance are just freaky and amazing.

[VforVendetta 2,024]

Both albums are great. I wouldn't make a comparison but Gaga's vocals on BTW >>>>>>>

It's just an attemp to point out Gaga's progress. You know how much I love BTW! It's not a bad thing to top yourself. The enemy of the good is the better and it's good when someone top himself everytime...

[Bambino 23,630]

It's just an attemp to point out Gaga's progress. You know how much I love BTW! It's not a bad thing to top yourself. The enemy of the good is the better and it's good when someone top himself everytime...

 

Yup. She's improving and trying new vocal experiences. But I kinda feel that her voice was sorta stronger on BTW than on ARTPOP. Not saying that some ARTPOP songs don't sound great but maybe that's how they're meant to be, e.g: Sexxx Dreams, ARTPOP.

[AquaFire Witch 160]

ARTPOP to me is like a dance hits compilation of a decade. Everything she loves about music is embodied into this album. BTW was more experimental and GAGA had something to say. She let the message rule the record and now it’s the other way around. Now it’s her love for dance in the forefront. That is why she says ARTPOP is an idea of something that is already there. I get what she means as complicated as it can be……It’s brilliant really.

[VforVendetta 2,024]

Yup. She's improving and trying new vocal experiences. But I kinda feel that her voice was sorta stronger on BTW than on ARTPOP. Not saying that some ARTPOP songs don't sound great but maybe that's how they're meant to be, e.g: Sexxx Dreams, ARTPOP.

Yes these songs are meant to be that way. Actually I think that ARTPOP and TFM have better vocals than BTW but BTW has better lyrics...

[Bambino 23,630]

Yes these songs are meant to be that way. Actually I think that ARTPOP and TFM have better vocals than BTW but BTW has better lyrics...

 

But isn't everything on TFM better than everything else? Well except Teeth.

[VforVendetta 2,024]

But isn't everything on TFM better than everything else? Well except Teeth.

No Also teeth in one of my favorites :flop:

[Bambino 23,630]

No Also teeth in one of my favorites

 

Apologies

[VforVendetta 2,024]

Apologies

Accepted :flop:

[iloveit123 130]

ARTPOP has made me like "Born this Way" better, lol

[Raikov 183]

I kind of agree with you, but kinda not. I still find it funny how everyone dumped on BTW until ARTPOP came along.

 

Born This Way suffers from the production a lot. Every time I listen to Judas, for example, the vocals are muddy and sound buried in the mix. I don't know if this is an artistic choice and quite frankly I don't care; it doesn't work. Listen to Judas a capella and you'll hear all the beautiful harmonies, especially at "Jesus is my virtue." Why bury it all? Born This Way is overproduced. Marry The Night famously sounds like it was recorded through a tin can - a shame because imo it's one of the most powerful songs on the record. Americano, one of my early faves, is similarly loud and noisy.

 

Born This Way also has a lot of tracks that I don't really care for, even if I end up enjoying them when I hear them. I always skip Hair, Bloody Mary (sorry), Bad Kids, Fashion Of His Love, Highway Unicorn, Electric Chapel, and sometimes the Queen. That's seven tracks on a seventeen track album. In other words, I like 58% of it. The worst part is the remaining tracks suffer from being overproduced (You & I, my favorite track and one which I first heard through a YouTube video of the Monster Ball). The only tracks which in my opinion are acceptably produced are Government Hooker (props to DJWS) and The Edge of Glory. Oh, and in terms of vocal clarity, Fashion Of His Love. Not that you'd know because everyone skips it.

 

I don't want any of the justifications. I know they recorded it on a tour bus, I know it's supposed to be aggressive, I know it's supposed to be 80s. Just because something is supposed to be something doesn't mean it is and it doesn't mean it works. I'd love to hear some of the Born This Way tracks *gasp* professionally re-recorded to not sound like the mess they currently are. I heard about rumors of an acoustic album with Rick Rubin? Maybe she could redo some of the tracks.

 

Also, in what world is Born This Way experimental? Maybe compared to Katy Perry, yeah. The only tracks which, in my opinion, qualify in the pop sense of the word are Government Hooker (disconnect between major key in the vocals during "as long as I'm your hooka-a-a" and minor in the bass) and Bloody Mary (scream, scratchy vocals, Gregorian chant inspired backing track). Hearing Born This Way the song for the first time, I thought it was way too safe musically. Judas struck me as very inspired by Bad Romance's structure. I despised Hair. I originally liked Highway Unicorn, even though it sounds like it was produced by four different people who couldn't agree on a sound for the track, but I'm now tired of it and always skip it. Government Hooker was an early favorite. I bought Born This Way and believe me, I enjoyed it quite a bit. However, there really was very little on that record that I hadn't heard before.

 

ARTPOP is more cohesive, I'll tell you that. In terms of bleh tracks, I skip Jewels N' Drugs (her voice is easier for me to hear live and I'm surprised it's "buried"), Do What U Want (overplayed it, unfortunately), Swine (great song with sparse production; it's like the anti-BTW), ARTPOP (not bad, just prefer the live version), and Fashion! (I still don't know how to approach will.i.am speaking French). In my percentage-of-album scoring, she'd get a 66%! Which... is still not fantastic (TFM gets a 75% from me because I usually skip Dance In The Dark and Teeth; TF surprisingly enough gets a 78%?!) but for an album just two tracks shorter than BTW is pretty good. Aura's verses originally suffered from Judas-like production where I couldn't hear them clearly (though I liked the screaming) but the new verses kinda fixed that problem (while adding a new one). Venus is clunky but not in a BTW-type way. G.U.Y. is great, no complaints (except the autotune on the "your love" was really poorly done). Sexxx Dreams is beautifully done and has some fantastic vocals and harmonies. MANiCURE has fantastic rocky vocals, although the guitar solo at the end is unfortunately buried in the mix. DWUW is pretty well done, though there are a bit too many vocal overlays at times. ARTPOP and Swine, I explained. Donatella's production fits the song well and I'm warming up to the song. Fashion! is... strange. I'm not sure how to feel about it, honestly, which is probably why I run away from it. Mary Jane Holland suffers a bit from BTW-syndrome but doesn't slide down that road completely. Dope is beautifully done and I have no complaints. Gypsy is great as well. Applause is kind of messy and doesn't sound like it should be on the album.

 

Lyrically, it's hard to say which is better just because I don't really listen to Gaga for the lyrics. I feel like Gaga likes to indulge in word salad a bit on BTW ("skeleton guns are wedding bells in the attic," all of Highway Unicorn) and thankfully that's absent on ARTPOP. I feel BTW was more autobiographical with stuff like Marry The Night, You & I, and actually Fashion Of His Love (I know it's supposed to be about McQueen but I don't buy that; she said Brown Eyes was about Freddie Mercury which wasn't true). I feel Black Jesus/Amen Fashion does the fashion theme better than Donatella and Fashion! ARTPOP has moments of lyrical genius ("we could be caught; we're both convicted criminals of thought," "lovers' kites are flown on beaches for public sight," "mine myself like coal, a mountain of a soul," "NEIN ZEDD" ) but I can't say any one song is totally awesome lyrically.

 

"omg you're so picky" Yes I am, actually, which is why I should probably never hear anything on good headphones; I'll find even more stuff to be picky about. Nevertheless, don't think that I hate Born This Way; I've never felt badly about the album and enjoyed it plenty. I think it's a collection of great songs (and some clunkers that really should have been released on something like the app if that had been a thing back then) with unfortunate production. It's also more organic-sounding than Born This Way. I feel like ARTPOP has a lot of Electric Chapels; songs that build up but don't hit as hard as they could. Thankfully I find them to be better than Electric Chapel, which is a skip track for me, but something about the hooks at times seems... mm. Hard to explain. ARTPOP is a song that has a disappointing chorus. The "a hybrid can withstand these things" part is promising but "ARTP-O-O-O-OP" is a diappointing end. Swine's chorus isn't very hooky except for SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.

 

Overall, I enjoy both of these albums. Unless there is a clear difference in quality between albums (example: Ring Ring, Waterloo compared to Arrival/The Album for ABBA; Please Please Me/With The Beatles compared to Rubber Soul or Sgt. Pepper for the Beatles) I find it very hard to rate them. As such, I'm always lost when I try to rate Gaga albums. She's lucky enough to have strong enough albums that I find it hard to rate them. How can I rate Arrival and The Album when both have their strong points? How can I compare Born This Way to ARTPOP? Is The Fame immature or is it sardonic genius? It changes depending on my mood and what I value at any given day. So far, I am happy with ARTPOP, especially since I was very worried about it. I have my criticisms for all the albums (except the flawless TFM/TF nah just kidding; make a thread for that and I'll tear them apart too)  but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy them.

[Luv u Sum 2,160]

I read it and i do see your point Born This Way is the one album i constantly listend to without getting bored :popcorn: . So for 2 and a half years i have been jamming to BTW  . but since ARTPOP came out i have not been able to listen to anything from her past because she has grown and found out what is really appealing and at the same time she can do her thang  . so ARTPOP is better but BTW has been be fav album for the past 2 years so its still in my heart 

[enriquelm 73]

There's a lot of people that will start liking BTW more than ARTPOP because of first week sales 

[GagaDragon 10]

I love ARTPOP but BTW is easily her best body of work so far imo. Lyrically it was just unbeatable.

[ManuelMonsterr 0]

Lol ARTPOP is for party animals. Born This Way is for insecure 15 year olds. nnn so yeah I do think ARTPOP is better.

 

THIS basically