Lady Gaga - "Perfect Illusion" and new album 2016

The new single is out now. Involves big key change.

Listening to the iHeart stream because I refuse to buy an m4a.

I like this song. I can envision myself listening to it a lot. The impact of the key change is probably overstated (pretty traditional trick) imo, but it works.

The video stills I've seen look rad. When's that coming?

I... huh. Bon Jovi not out of her system yet?

hmmmm yeah i wouldn't call that key change 'big' considering it basically deflates the little that happens to be there immediately upon impact

i suppose some good things may come out of this album but for me this ain't it

Four writers on this?

Key change deflects from non-existence of any other kind of pop hooks in this. Bleah.

i just heard this on the radio. it's okay i guess.

i really like her voice on this and disco strings are a good look for her. IDK! It's a little undercooked I guess (surprising given Kevin Parker typically isn't afraid of longer songs) but I'm all for songs that endlessly repeat the chorus at the end, which is pretty much all the song does in the second half

I was listening to several Jimmy Somerville things today (Communards, his disco album from a couple years ago, the single with Scratch Massive) and it occurred to me that Gaga and Jimmy absolutely need to do a song together at some point.

that would be amazing.

love her voice on this. love the sound of it overall actually, lots of shit working well together in the production. some more lyrics would be nice imho - the one thing i'm hoping for on this new record is that it won't feel rushed and underwritten and this kinda doesn't give me tons to hope for in that department but who knows. as of right now it's fine, and i could see it really growing on me in a way that the artpop stuff didn't.... just doesn't quite feel like a first single to me.

That I remember only two songs from Artpop w/o looking at the tracklist (and even that only brings back memories of a few others), I see this as a needed bit of fluff. A clean break from over conceptualizing.

The key change is like the least surprising thing in the world.
How did the narrative about the "big key change" start again?

#prnonsense

Just underwhelmed by this, guess it might grow on me later, but she needs something much more immediate if she's to make any sort of impact with this LP.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/09/lady-gaga-new-album-joanne.html

Help from Father John Misty, Florence Welch, and Beck (among others).

Fuckin' kill me now.

FJM "helped out" on Lemonade - Beck wouldn't have been let anywhere near that though

last florence album was good too

still i'm somewhat confused by the FJM adoration from pop ingénues

I just can't with Florence's voice. Maybe she's just co-writing.

Gaga is an ingenue?

FJM writes good songs imho and many people relate to and respond to them so it doesn't seem crazy to me.

Didn't do much for me, though it's a relief she's not going for that grotesque patchwork feeling that's been providing diminishing returns ever since "Bad Romance".

I'm excited to hear Josh Homme's contribution.

I hope the Bloodpop tracks lean more towards "Better" than "Perfect Illusion"

xp: you already can, he's on perfect illusion

new song sucks

xp: Right, but not very much. I thought there was supposed to be a song he co-wrote.

Gaga also revealed that Father John Misty is featured on a track called “Sinner’s Prayer”, and Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal’s Josh Homme plays guitar on a song called “John Wayne”, which she says explores “my incessant need to run after wild men and somehow I get bored of the same old John.” As Rolling Stone notes, Gaga says the album will include some Bollywood and country influences.

the "pop star titles album as her birth name to signal contrite and usually regressive 'authenticity'" trend is among my least favorites ever

I just can't with Florence's voice. Maybe she's just co-writing.

― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Thursday, September 15, 2016 11:15 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

she has a great voice!

i'm not even mega fan or anything but she kills it in concert too

Not a big fan of Beck, but love the album he made with Charlotte Gainsbourg in 2009 (apart from the single) so not put off by the idea of him producing.

Just put off by the actual music I've heard so far.

the "pop star titles album as her birth name to signal contrite and usually regressive 'authenticity'" trend is among my least favorites ever

― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, September 16, 2016 9:15 AM (one hour ago)

SERIOUSLY. and how often does it actually lead to a good album? more worrying than any male names attached to the project imo

I found this really interesting. It's the first piece I've ever read addressing pop music in terms of keys and singing styles/range as trends:

http://themuse.jezebel.com/a-brief-chat-with-a-vocal-coach-on-why-lady-gaga-s-per-1786958721

I guess the rorschach is does Gaga deserve credit for pushing herself to uncomfortable (vocal) places, even if it meant falling short, or did she simply fail at emulating trends?

I honestly believe if the key was just a little bit lower, it would’ve been a better move. It’s not a bad song.

Exactly my thoughts since hearing it the first time. I don't think it has to do with trends. I think she was hoping it would bring more vulnerability and emotions to her vocal, but it's just irritating.
It reminds me of "Irreplaceable" in that regard and Beyoncé had to drop it down a key or two to sing it live.

articles like this always end up disappointing and this is no exception. I am not a vocal teacher, a pretty mediocre singer all things considered, but still:

- 99% of the time you hear "there's NO vocal processing on this!" what the critic really means is "I find this vocal Acceptable and Authentic, unlike THOSE brainless pop stars" -- regardless of whether it's been processed, which it almost certainly has. on "perfect illusion" I'd say a few spots in the verses were left un-autotuned when they could have been, but otherwise...? I know this was quoted from a separate article but it's a pet peeve.

- the female passaggio generally is around E or F, not B or C. (well, actually, there are two, but neither of them are usually around B or C.) unless they're talking about comfortable singing range, or where you probably shouldn't be belting, but that's... not the passaggio. (the "sorry if this is too technical" asides also grate, particularly given that this is a man talking to a woman's site. )

- "She’s been experimenting a lot. I know she’s done that pop dance stuff in the past. But this song does not sound like her other songs" is written by someone whose mental image of Lady Gaga is a two-frame GIF of a meat dress and a pantsless leotard. has he never heard such obscure singles as "The Edge of Glory"? "You and I"?

- in general, pop songs are liked or disliked due to a clusterfuck of tabloid and fandom and marketing variables, very few of which have to do with singing technique. if a divine being materialized, told me he had The Answer Once and For All as to why people disliked this Gaga single, and asked me to bet, I'd bet on "Artpop was a disappointment, Gaga's been through the stan wars, and the sound is not what is generally being pushed to pop radio" far before "pop music just belts higher now!"

- the gaga/madonna thing is very played out by now but one of the comments mentioned "Papa Don't Preach" and... so much for your "pop music belts higher than ever before" now theory.

- this guy has an odd focus on ariana grande; her vocal technically qualifies as belting but it's nowhere near the main focus as it is for, say, christina aguilera. later on he attributes Sia's whole faceless anonymous gimmick thing to poor vocal technique, which is... incredibly unlikely. also, 15 years ago it was that artists *showed off* their looks because they had to hide poor vocal technique. basically, anything a woman does that is deemed out of the ordinary or questionable is the fault of their bad singing. and a lot of the commentary about Gaga being "shrill" or "shouty" or "too loud" ends up with that subtext, intended or not.

For some reason, this reminds me of something by The Alan Parsons project. Can't say exactly what.

thanks for that post katherine!

I think it's a lot more common to hear artists singing in too low a register, very hard to pull off live, thought about that when Lana del Rey did her first live performances - just transpose those songs, she'll do fine! But then again, it made for really good studio versions. Anyway, you see it with fx Matt Berninger from the National too and generally perhaps more male than female artists.

I do dislike Sia's singing style because of the belting, not because it's "shrill" but because it seems kinda overreaching or smth to me.

main issue with sia is that it sounds like she's gathering every inch of her vocal cords with every syllable

sia's voice doesn't bother me because she's pretty much been singing this way for 20 years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwuzWdI9s9A

Lol that's exactly what I (and I imagine a lot of other ppl) love abt Sia's voice

Used to hate her voice for that reason and now I love it lol. She joined the ranks of Bjork, Morrissey, and Neil Tennant for singers I did a 180 on

Wow, obvs I can understand having an issue with Bjork or Moz—I enjoy both, and the reasons I also might not are quite clear—but I've never heard anyone say that about Neil Tennant.

i think i accidentally framed my description as a criticism

Tbf I was like 12 years old when I decided he was great after all

update!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYRJ-ryPEu0

Joanne:

1. "Diamond Heart" 3:30
2. "A-Yo" 3:28
3. "Joanne" 3:17
4. "John Wayne" 2:54
5. "Dancin' in Circles" 3:27
6. "Perfect Illusion" 3:02
7. "Million Reasons" 3:25
8. "Sinner's Prayer" 3:43
9. "Come to Mama" 4:15
10. "Hey Girl" (featuring Florence Welch) 4:15
11. "Angel Down" 3:49
12. "Grigio Girls" 3:00
13. "Just Another Day" 2:58
14. "Angel Down" (work tape) 2:20

it seems my fears are being confirmed, at least in part, and this is going to be the boring album done in penance for pop sins

yeah "million reasons" feels so.... formal

also no better than "teeth" really and certainly not "speechless"

this album seems v uninteresting

my expectations for this album were rock bottom and i wasn't especially enthused about listening to it but i really like it! doesn't feel like a boring authenticity play at all. love "john wayne" and "dancin' in circles". that said the worst songs (about 3) are absolutely horrifically shit, including both the pre-release singles and obviously "come to mama"

i like "a yo" but i agree w/ johnny that this seemed kinda po faced and boring

This seems to be perfectly competent.

I've heard it twice and the 19-year-old intern/Gaga fan we've got said, "She sounds like my mom singing in the kitchen."

I've never been a fan but when I've liked her she's garish. This isn't garish.

I want her to stop belting

ha just as I said that "Sinner's Prayer" started and it seems that 2016 is the year that I discover a love of non-country people doing country songs?

"She sounds like my mom singing in the kitchen."
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 21 October 2016 17:38 (three minutes ago)

boom.
despite the fact i have not heard it, i suspect that's the album wrapped up right there.

Florence Welch's last album was more Gaga-esque.

ha just as I said that "Sinner's Prayer" started and it seems that 2016 is the year that I discover a love of non-country people doing country songs?

― ¶ (DJP), Friday, October 21, 2016 1:41 PM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that's low key this whole album, and in this case is certainly why i'm enjoying it by and large

"She sounds like my mom singing in the kitchen."

Vicious!

she's on snl rn. i guess her new album is pop country

wow FJM sure gave her a shitty song

her outfits are fun. her fake twang isn't doing this ballad any favors.

man, I wonder how much of the "non-country people doing country songs" thing is increasingly flailing attempts to get airplay on radio formats other than top 40, which (for numerous reasons) has kind of abandoned the artists

I'm probably projecting, but my biggest gripe with this album is that she seems about as enthused performing these songs as I am listening to them—which isn't very much. She'd claim otherwise, naturally, but she doesn't seem into it anymore. Ever the consummate showperson, though, she's selling it hard.

Yeah it seems like a really halfhearted genre pastiche. I am not getting a sense that the sounds and imagery of country music speak to her the same way, say, cabaret culture did when she was playing with that. Could be wrong of course -- only lady gaga can say -- but she wasn't selling it convincingly last night

A lot of the country comparisons are overstated imo, but it's definitely present in her voice this time around. If Lex is right and this is her authenticity play, it fails. It feels less authentic than any other point in her career, including the Tony Bennett collaboration.

i think "a yo" is pretty sick but this album felt weirdly lifeless to me too...

she sorta missed the pop/country/edm thing by a good year or so didn't she? when avicii and pitbull are beating you to a concept..

This is as much a country album as Young Americans is an R&B album.

i don't read this as an edm or country thing as much as an extension of the americana fetish she explored on "edge of glory" but without the fun kitsch that has defined her career and thus inferior

Yeah, this isn't genre tourism on her part. It's just a mess of her wanting to evolve in some direction away from the Just Dance/Bad Romance years and from what made Artpop a misstep and not really committing to the result. I have no doubt she could've made a good album in the hinterland where roots and 21st century pop meet, but every impulse she has in that regard seems like the wrong one.

Both young NY Times writer Joe Coscarelli and older blog/email guy Lefsetz are fixated on this new album's songs not doing well on Billboard Hot 100 so far

my lady gaga loving friend:

"I think someone found a bunch of unreleased really upbeat Lana Del Rey songs and Lady Gaga bought them and this is the album"

I've softened.

I like half of it.