"Music Minute" - ARTPOP - A track by track review!

Okay it has happened again: a leak! I've had this topic before and I still have to say i do not appreciate leaks and the problems they bring with them. Thing is: Lady Gaga's latest pop epos should have been released earliest on November 6th in Japan, but the album has leaked in full and high quality on November 2nd. And thing is that I could not resist and have listened to it in whole. So now I can give you a track by track review of "ARTPOP". But still I will get my digital copy and my physical copy, which I encourage you to do as well, since we should support our favorite artists. 

I have discussed the cover an promotional efforts of "ARTPOP" in very length. And by that I mean that I have discussed everything concerning "Applause", the "Applause" Music Video, made comments on why Lady Gaga is like Tinker Belle, analyzed the leaked song "Aura" and have been tweeting about the album constantly. As well I have given you some of my opinion on the legendary "ARTPOP" album cover that Lady Gaga has been releasing slowly and part by part via her fans tweets. So we can skip the usual pre-story of the album and hump directly to the songs. Oh and by the way: That one review on a certain bad gossip webside, from a certain Person calling herself a "music journalist" on her twitter actually is so painful to read that i just want to say that never a Madonna die hard fan, and I love Madonna myself, should be allowed to write a review of a Lady Gaga Album. I mean she believes that the hips surgery of Gaga in February 2013 was fake. Yeah, and so was the moonlanding! #Idiot #Fail

01 - Aura

 

I have given you my opinion on the song before. The Studio Version might be a bit different to the leaked ´Version, but actually it is even more magical with Gaga's voice beeing  atonal to the Music at some point. Actually it is a great Album starter and gives you a hint that "ARTPOP" will be a joyride of all the gaga-esque things we love! That leaves "Aura"  with a nice 8/10 in the ranking.

02 - Venus

Released as part of the countdown to "ARTPOP" "Venus" has gotten ist own in depth review from me. Nothing much to add to it so I am just gonna give it a nice "I love it!" and a rating of 9/10 possible points.

03 - G.U.Y.

Wow! I absolutey love the beginning of the song. I mean the intro is very electronic but still very mystical and the song does really do it for me. I mean what is not to love about the rendering of guy to "G.U.Y."? The idea of a girl under you does not mean that one is not a feminist. (Never Forget about 3rd wave feminism!) The whole song raises the qustion of power in relationships and about the power of females in love. Possibly a feminist disco sex anthem with a great electronic undervibe. Typically Gaga - a straight 9/10!

04 - Sexxx Dreams

Definitly one of my absolute favorites on "ARTPOP". It is a  mid tempo song with a twisted and naught sounding beat to it and the way she manages it to use her voice within the music and give it that robotic and electronic but still very sexy twist is just plain amazing, in my opinion. The lyrics are just absolute great and remind em of a mixture of a cheesy love Story with an affair in the middle and a great sexual romance. The song definitely lives up to its expectations and therefore gets the first 10/10 in the review of this album!

05 - Jewls'n Drugs Feat. T.I., Too Short & Twista

I love it when Gaga hits onto new territories and different muscial Genres then her usual pop, rock and electronic. And this one is her first really major venuture into hip hop and rap. Her lyrics are dark and bitchy twisted and typically hip hop and rap. But sadly I have to report that I would have liked the whole thing better with just Gaga and only one of the three doing rappers on it. Even though the beats and the electronic tunes are epic, get you to bring out your inner rapper, the song has not that much Gaga vocals to it, so it is a bit disappointing. Still a great song, but not my favorite. So that gets it a rating of 7/10.

06 - MANiCURE

Very rock, very sexy and very glam pop - you can directly feel Grace Jones and Kiss joining in. But broken down it is another typical Gaga song that will get you on your feet to dance and go up and down to it. It is all about naughtyness and rock chicks having an addiction to two things: men and manicures. But not in that silly Barbie way, but in a very independant women way. Very strong powerfull and a clear 8/10 for me!

07 - Do What U Want Feat. R.Kelly

Another song we have already heared as promotion for "ARTPOP", and also the second single due to ist huge success in the iTunes Charts. (That song has sky rocketed to the number one spot in 70 countries! And that is a new record!) A good song with great lyricas and vocals that gets me totally in the R'n'B mood. (Even though I could also get rid of R.Kelly on it, but aint nobody got time for that!) Make it an 8/10.

08 - ARTPOP

And there is the mystical title track that personally is one of my favorites. The atmosphere it spreads is a mixture of mystical rosegarden meets out of this world art show with rebirth performances. A very refreshing song that really shows how an electronic voice can be used in a high quality to actually make music less mainstream by sing a meanstream technique. Also the song really Shows what "ARTPOP" is all about: bringing things together. Another 10/10 for me!

09 -Swine

Gaga has has a feud with Perez Hilton after he allegedly stalked her. Right after her iTunes Festival Performance was called "Swine Fest" by her. Coincidence? What so ever, "Swine" is an amazingly rck and electro song that deiveres the goods everywhere. With its experimental and rough sound Gaga actually gets deep into the topic of people relation and how oneself can turn into a swine on the inside. Very good sing along song as well, ad hence a clear 9/10!

10 - Donatella

My personal favorite from "ARTPOP" is Lady Gaga's hommage to Donatella Versace. The beginning, where Gaga sings: "I am so fab! Check out: I am blonde, I'm skinny, I'm rich and I am a little bit of a bitch!", could easily become her new: "I want my whisky mouth, down over my blonde south.". The lyrics are actually so wrong sometimes that it is campy to such an extend that we have to read them ironically. The chorus gives me the shivers and the line "Walk down the runway but don't punke // its okay // you just had a salad today" gives me the big smile! A clear 10/10 for me!

11 - Fashion!

The first one where I really raise my eyebrows. I hear the will.i.am in this! And, even though I love the BEP, i am sick of will.i.am and his endeaours in music. The song is more on the slow side and sings about all things "a la mode" and fashion. But basically it is the developement of her earlier song "Fashion". Sorry Gag's but this one is just okay for me, so its just a 6/10, cause compared to the rest it seems pretty weak.

12 - Mary Jane Holland

And another favorite of mine. To get Madeon in the boat of "ARTPOP" producers was a great idea. I mean this drug inspired song is just amazing. "Russian hookers and cheap gin" is easily another remarkable and iconic lyric line that makes its way directl into my heart. And the sich and twisted beats this song has gets you to bounce your cool out and be all sexy, naughty, dirty! A definite must listen in "ARTPOP" with the guarantee of controvery! A clear 10/10, even though it really is all about weed ;).

13 - Dope

Earlier the song was presented as "I Wanna Be With you", but now changed to "Dope". But the basic message to the fans is the same since it says that Gaga is nothing wthout her fans and that she really is only half and completed by her little monsters. The first ballad on "ARTPOP" and definitely a good one. BTW: to change to "Dope" to make the Little Monsters her new must have or otherwise she'll die drug is a good shift... in my ears. A good 8/10.

14 - Gypsy

Already hyped as THE new Gaga song, I must say that I don't think so. I mean I like it and it really is a description of what Gaga is living: the live of an always wandering gysy. And this of course brings certain problems. But anyways: the song is a nice ballad at the beginnig and then turnig more and more pop and classical Gaga. A really nice song about her life and a perfect 9/10.

15 - Applause

"ARTPOP" has been described as a night at a club, a musical journey and an experience in whole. And ehat usually comeas after such things is "Applause". A perfect album closer, since it goes iout with a big big bang! I have reviewed the song already, and you should not hesitate to read the review here. A very solid 8/10.

In summary: "ARTPOP" is a damn good album that really shows Gaga's abilities as an artist. The songs s´might not be tht chart friendly and radio playable to some points but it is more experimental then ever! With "ARTPOP" Gaga has proven to be in it for the long run and that she can combine genres, art and pop, pop and art, sex sells and feminism, self referencing and hommage and has given us a hell lot to be excited about with it. Is "ARTPOP" the best pop album since Michael Jacksons "Thriller"? Well, it sure has all the potential for it, but time has to show this. Is "ARTPOP" better than her previous albums? Hard to say, but as each Gaga album it is special. Pointwise "ARTPOP" has gained 129 out of 150 possible points which make it average at 8,6 points per song. And that is a hell of a lot and has beaten Miley Cyrus "BANGERZ" from the throne which had a song average of 8,4. So now it is up to you what you think and to Gaga, what she does with this amazing piece of music called "ARTPOP".

"Music Minute" - Lady Gaga "Venus" - A reference review

After two very different sounding snippets of her song "Venus" have been released, Gaga furthser teased her fans by tweeting three different possible covers or the single: all photographed by Steven Klein.

And we should start off the whole thing about "Venus" with the covers. As one can see: all of them are daring and different, and do not continue the white look of the cover from "Applause" and "Do What U Want". And I have to say that I really enjoy the dark side Gaga brings to the covers. In cover number one we have her with a scorpion on her face, and clearly this is a reference to Marina Abramovic an her portrait with a scorpion. She channels the version with closed eyes. What is to be mentioned her is the wound she has under her arm. Question is: has the scorpio cut her, and is this to be understood metaphorically? Cover number two is, if I am not wrong, a bat, which is beautifully lit an set in pose. Actually it is my favorite cover. I don't know why, but the composition is somewhat magnificient and daring in a dark and haunted way. Cover number three is Gaga, once more in the nude, with a tacco (?) in her mouth, which could be a reference to a meat eating plant. I don't know, but still it is fascinating. The fourth cover is the one that is displayed on Gaga's VEVO channel. There she channels Marina again, but this time her eyes are open  and her face, including the scorpion is lit in green and purple. Either a very Warholian colour blocking or a remeniscence of the rainbow. Anyways: It looks great!

Now lets get to the song. The beginning is very dark techno club anthem like, and then adds a throbbing beat after a few seconds. Her voice jumps from high pitched singing to her dark voice saying the word "Venus". As she turns into her singing voice we get the Gaga we know, and very soon the sog jumpes into a twisty dark electronic pop song with all the classical twisted Gaga-ness to it, including some wierd, but absolutely genious sounds. The song in whole is building up all the time and is kind of unpredictable, which i actually prefer. The overall sound is dark and new, but definitely not radio unfriendly. But it is a more experimental sound then "Do What U Want" - fine with me, since the experimental Gaga is the one i am madly in love with. Lyrically the song contains a high number of references to planets, roman gods, love and sex. If "Applause" was her Botticelli piece then "Venus" is her reference to the roman goddess and all the myths around her.  But lets have a closer look at what Gaga sings:

In verse one Gaga gives us all sorts of space, renaissance and mythica refrences: "Rocket #9 take off to the planet // To the planet // Venus // Aphrodite lady seashell bikini // Garden panty // Venus //Let's blast off to a new dimension // In your bedroom //  Venus // Aphrodite lady seashell bikini // Get with me // Venus" - That gives me some feeling of her "Applause" video and VMA's performance. Remember that seashell bikini? If not, have a look to the left! Before the chorus Gaga sings: "I can’t help the way I’m feeling // Goddess of love please take me to your leader // I can’t help I keep on dancin' //Goddess of Love! // Goddess of Love" - Uhh, I am getting the naughty vibes here. Go sexy Gaga! And as the chorus hits there is no wondering what: "When you touch me I die // Just a little inside // I wonder if this could be love // This could be love // Cuz you’re out of this world // Galaxy, space and time // I wonder if this could be love" could mean.  So far we have references to Venus as a planet, the diety Venus and space travel. Verse two does not let us down, concerning the reference scale. "Have an oyster, baby // It’s Aphrod-isy // Act sleazy // Venus // Worship to the land // A girl from the planet // To the planet // Venus" - Okay we have oysters here, with the mention of them being an aphrodisiac, and somewhere on the road here I  get the feeling that this on eis going to be an erotic but hell of a lot disturbing music video! And Gaga even recounts most of the solar systes planets in the bridge, with a great reference to the fame her gorgeous ass has gotten over time. And I have to say that my "Do What U Want" Review supports that ass! 

All together the song is experimental and sounds new  in the realm of Gaga's music. So I am going to give it a great 9/10. The point missing only is due to the fact that one point the song could set its peak. But still, the eferences she makes in it, all the sexual innuendos and the double entendres make "Venus" my space age, renaissance insired sex trip to the deep universe. And what is nnot to love about that?

"Music Minute" - Do What U Want or Fuck Them Haters - A Review

So far "ARTPOP" has been a pretty good thing for Little Monsters and 2013 in musical terms. And now Lady Gaga reloads her guns of genious wierdness and freakish artness to hit us hard again with a lil promo song from "ARTPOP" called "Do What U Want" Feat. R Kelly. 

The "Born This Way" singer has made the song part of her countdown to the release of her latest pop epos on November 11th. The single cover has been released by her on Twitter and the girl has gutts... and an ass! I mean hello! Take a good hard look on this one, then go home and cry/or get horny on the sight of it, hit the gym later and come home agan and cry about your orange skin and her perfect skin. That ass is gorgeos and probably even gay men are strangely attracted to it. And the blonde wig! Hell yes! 

The only ting discussable is the thong. Im not sure yet wheter to like or dislike the pattern, but I actually don't really care because I am too much distracted by that ass. Okay im gonna go cry now that my ass is nowhere even near a state that is close to this ass-perfection. Its like that one line in her "Marry The Night" video: "Check out that nurse on the right. She has got a great ass. BAM!"- Yeah, this ass is not a BAM, this ass is a BAM BAM and you are freaking dead. So lets get to the song, before I get completely lost between that great asscheaks and all. I mean they are just too perfect and.... See, that is what I meant by "distracted"!

The songs beginning lets me think of some 80's fightclub scenery thing and just blows my mind. I mean it is actually R&B mixed with some great electronic beats. Im sold, already. When it comes to the chorus I am one happy fan. "You can have my heart, but you can't have my mind" - Man these are some good lyrics. I am kinda sure that this one is a slam against the freaking critics, since Gaga has ranted on twitter about what has been thrown in her direct way. The vocals she gives us here definitely are a reminder of the songs of Christina Aguilera when she actually knew how to make good music. Like it, since it shows that Gaga has a power voice. Then comes the part I am not that crazy about. The R. Kelly part. I mean it sounds good and all but actually I would have wished he would not be on the song. Because when he sings it, it sounds kinda very much like an R&B record we all know and kinda not that special anymore But dring his part it becomes clear that this one is a big FU to the haters. 

So far the song is very good, and lets us see another fact of ARTPOP. I kinda like it, but to be honest it is also not that much of a banger as it could have been, but still it is a solid and good, radio friendly 8/10, with the security of getting us hungry for more!

"I Love Art" & "Music Minute" - The ARTPOP cover is real Pop Art

We have all been desperately waiting for Lady Gaga to finally smash us wit her cover for ARTPOP and make the wait for the album a little sweeter. And today she gave fans the chance to unveil it by tweetig up a storm using #IheartARTPOP, and uncovering it piece by piece. And hell,  I love it!

From the very first moment on we knew that ARTPOP was going to be all about the fusion of high concept art and pop art with high concept pop and pop music. And Gaga has left us without any doubt that she has the intend to make this album part of pop culture history and to defend her crown as the queen of contempory high concept pop superstardom queen. (Jeez, that was some fucking complicated sentence!) Okay now lets get directly to the cover:

Hello, cover! It is quite disturbing I have to admit. The cover is definitely not one of the covers you love on first sight if you are not immersed into the pop and pop art discurse. You might not even like it on the second, third or fourth view. Chances are: If you are not a Jeff Koos fan or appreciator you might find this one actually just disturbing. But I love it. It has the appeal of a graffiti merged with a Botticelli painting that has collided with a scissor. And then we have slashed on some pink paint and thrown it into the mixer. 

The centerpiece is a Jeff Koons sculpture of Gaga with blue ball, a part of Koons oevere, covering her v-jay jay. Actually that is qauite a good metaphor for giving birth to ARTPOP, a theme we are used to around Gaga since the Born This Way era. The statue of her actually reminds me of the statues in the Korova Milk Bar in "Clockwork Orange". The pose might be a revealing one and could even be labeled as exploitation of the female body, but in the content of pop culture and Koons it actually is a criticism of female exploitation, an absurism in the sense of classical art and an hommage to the naturalness of the act of birth and motherhood. Besides that the Botticelli background gives us all we need to see that a renaissance of pop and art and art and pop is eminent on ARTPOP, so get your tickets to the museeum and pop some shit up!

"Music Minute" - Applause for the APPLAUSE VIDEO by Lady Gaga

Today has been the day that the reigning queen of pop, Lady Gaga, has released the music video for her first single off her third studio album ARTPOP. The single Applause was released early last week due to hackers and leaks, and has since been compared to Katy Perry's "Roar". But when Gaga entered Times Square in a black convertible with red leather seats to go onto Good Morning America it was clear that at this day Katy perry would play no role. 

When Gaga entered the studio she wore a stunning white dress, short brown or brunette hair and metallic high heel boots. In an interview before the music video premier she declared that the video will feature many images of her, all versions of herself. She also stated that the video was paying homage to her obsession with transforming herself. The video is a mixture of Tim Burton meets Alice in Wonderland meets Circus meets vampires and angels meets fashion and disco. Tons of outfits, flashing lights and a dance routine that seeks out for competition. An absolute complex, stunning and amazing pop music video that says one thing: art. It really is a video about obsession, rage, love, dance and art in combination with pop. A true iconographic piece that will go down in music history, at least it should! But don't believe just me, go an check out my arguments below!

*Copyright mention: I do not own any of the pictures on display here. Just used for entertainment purpose. All pictures are courtesy of Interscope Records.*

For those of you who haven't seen the video yet, and can not watch it on Youtube due to Vevo, just head over to Ampya and watch it there! So I think we should get right to it, and analyze it in every frame! Lets dive in:

I absolutely love the writing! Can not wait to see more of it. What we can see of the scenery just gives me the chills. Very central, very power oriented and absolutely Metropolis meets horror. The stage is like a circus arena curtain that opens. I love it to death!

Gaga mattress. And her body is banging! I mean seriously there hasn't been anything that hot since the last supernova! Her shoes are a high-heeled killer boot that makes my hear for fashion go pitter-patter. 

Gaga on a podium, with wings. Wait wings? Yes! Wings! And for me they look like the wings of death. She is flying over the podium and giving me further reasons to fangurrl!


Continue to read after the jump!

Academia - "Lady Gaga: The Mother Monster Identity - Deconstructing a Pop Star"

Right now I am working on an essay for the university titled: "Lady Gaga: The Mother Monster Identity - Deconstructing a Pop Star", and I have seen some amazing ARTPOP and APPLAUSE promotion done by some monsters. And I was really blown away by a video I found on twitter.

@BadKid_Earthfan and @Whisk3y_M0uth made a video where the talked to strangers about APPLAUSE and ARTPOP and also had the brilliant idea to relabel soup cans ins supermarket as APPLAUSE CAMPBELL. Check it out below! I will definitely use that as an example in my essay. So just wait for the 27th of august for my essay and follow them on twitter. And don't forget to watch their video! 

"Music Minute" - What unites "Tinker Bell" and Lady Gaga? - Lets have a look!

We all know the story of Disney's "Peter Pan". And we all know that Captain Hook is a pretty much a fucked up character, Peter Pan is crazy (Because I don't want to bee a teenager forever. I mean: you can't decide for yourself!) and that Tinker Bell is much more a symbol than such a sweet sweet little thing...

Picture from Lady Gaga's Twitter account.

Because Tinker Bell is a symbol for the power of believe and an innocent, or sometimes naive, nature. Thing is that his cute little fairy just can survive if she is believed in. When people stop believing in her, in magic and in possibilities she fades away. See the relation to an artist? An artist, might it be an art artist, a musician, a performer or whatever just exists when he or she is known. An artist thereby can be related to a stage character, and basically displays the question of wether something is there if we do not see it.

So where we can match Lady Gaga and Tinker Belle is that question: And we can answer it with her stellar performance in her tour DVD: "Lady Gaga presents: The Monster Ball Tour from Madison Square Garden". In there Gaga basically says: "You know, I am kind of like Tinker Bell, You know Tinker Bell? You know how she dies if you don't clap for her. Do you want me to die? Scream for me!"(By the way, check out the  video of Gaga saying that below!) I think we got our hint, don't we? An artist just can exist if her or she is believed in. And what better way to be believed in then by screaming, clapping and applauding fans? 

Get the second clue? Applauding fans? Lady Gaga releasing Applause?  I mean her latest single basically is the prove that Gaga knows about the rendering of all that. Smart one, isn't she? She sings: "I live for the Applause! Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me." Yes, she does live for the applause. But the applause needs her as well. She needs the applause to be cherished and exist, and the applause needs her, or better said the fans need her to cheer on someone. Uhlala!

And you know what? Tinker Bell does not only serve as a symbol, but also for a reminder for us. A reminder that the concept of pulp, of low brow culture as high art culture, of pop art as important and valuable. And we are ensured as well through the lyrics of "Applause": "One second I am a Koons fan, suddenly the Koons is me. Pop culture was in art, now art is in  pop culture, is in me." What is described by that? Well that pop culture is art art is pop culture and the exchange of both in Lady Gaga is ARTPOP. What a great reminder that popular culture is more then what meets the eye. And well.. isn't that a reminder of camp? Basically Gaga ironizes, and parodies the innocent notion of Disney and reminds us of the nature of the artist: constructed by attention. 

And Gurrl! Gaga is feeding the pop machinery! We got the video coming up on monday, the V-Magazine September issue with 4 covers and different photo stories, the album coming up, a short video "Lady Gaga is  over!" (Which I will talk about, when I give you the full range on Marina Abramovic.) and a VMA performance. I guess the "Applause" singer probably will be pretty much existent with all this cheering, screaming and applause. Tinker Bell will live on, for sure!

APPLAUSE OUT TODAY

Picture from Gaga's twitter!

Today has marked a sad and genius day for little monsters and music lovers from all over the world. There have been extremely many leaks of snippets of "Applause" by Lady Gaga on the web, and today is the day Katy Perry's "Roar" has been released. And to stop all that leaking madness Gaga has taken her twitter and released "Applause" today!

Sorry Katy that Gaga stole all your thunder! Your song also is a good pop song, which I wanted to review today but now I will have to give Gaga the first and give "Roar" a shout out some other day!

Gaga announced the early release "Applause" on Twitter to be faster then these damn hackers! And man, was I mad at first! We could have also waited 7 more days, but apparently not. Good thing we still have the video coming out on the 19th! Lets get straight to the song now: It is a new Gaga, it is a new sound. The song basically is very clear, it is very disco, it is very 90's and very electronic but still radio friendly. It is very much how I expected it to be. It is less of a "rock-electro-pop" thing but rather an "electronic-disco-pop" sound.

Topic wise it is about the artist, that would be Lady Gaga in this case, lives for the applause, the appreciation of the fans. When she starts the song she sings that she waits for the fans to crash the critics. Very much Warhol! This song definitely befits the message of ARTPOP!  Then the song brilliantly goes on to say: "I overheared your theory, nostalgia's for geeks. I guess Sir, if you say so, some of us just like to read." What a great smash into the direction of research in art and referencing basically this could be Gaga's version o saying: "Go and pick up a book!" Directly afterwards she adds: "One second I'm a Koons fan (Jeff Koons, the pop artist), suddenly the Koons is me." Well that is actually true. Jeff Koons reproduces everyday products in glamorous ways and makes them icons. See the connection to Gaga?

I could go on, and fangurrl till you all fall dead, but that is basically the best pieces of the song. So just go and buy it and listen! Oh and the picture Gaga released along the release is amazing! Check it out above! 

"I Love Art" - Lady Gaga, the beauty that deconstructs beauty, using camp.

Monsters, it is only eight days until APPLAUSE from ARTPOP is released. Meanwhile I will continue to sweeten the wait with drawings of Gaga. And isn't she just a beauty? But...

... did you know that Gaga, as our generations pop diva, makes extensive use of the performative class of camp? What you don't know what camp is? Well basically camp is the celebration of passionate failures, it is aesthetics over content which makes camp the perfect thing to criticize the dominant discourse by appearing as a form of it. But basically camp is a masqueraded way of criticizing through the use of irony, parody, aesthetics and theatricality. If you still don't have a glimpse at what camp is, you should really read about it. Probably the best would be to start with Susan Sonntag's essay "Notes on Camp". But listen up: she leaves out camp as a political thing... Alright, that brings me to the following: I have to fucking write about camp.. but in another post! Just enjoy the picture! XOXO

"I Love Art" - While we wait for ARTPOP, I will sweeten the wait!

Well we all wait for ARTPOP and I have done some drawing lately to sweeten the wait, so lets get to it, shall we?

And what do we see here? Gaga giving us face, and may I say: she is very good at it!

"I Love Art" - Marina Abramovic featuring Lady Gaga in "The Abramovic Method"

Hey there! Like you know I love me some good, great, iconic and interesting art. And that includes performing arts as well as the creating arts. And who is one of the biggest names n performing arts? Marina Abramovic. And she is about to start up the "Marina Abramovic Institute" and got a lil promo help from the one and only Lady Gaga.

Picture by Christian Grömer, used under creative common rights.

Marina Abramovic is now 60 years old and still looks like 40. Yes I know that is not the most important to mention at first when you write about such a great contemporary artist, but look at her! She is gorgeous! But now back to the real thing: her art! Abramovic is one of the most discussed, controversial and devoted performance artists ever. Her oeuvre is a wide range of border experiences of the body, very often linked with risk for her life and safety. Her biggest project jet was a retro perspective of her work in the MOMA in 2010. there she instructed others to redo her old performances. And she managed to sit still on a chair each day of the exhibition. This performance run under the name of "The Artist is present". the preparation for the exhibition was captured in the documentation film: "Marina Abramovic - The Artist is present". 

Her work is very often a reminder for the presence of a human in the world and that a human should be aware of this. Well at least in my opinion. Also her performances channel the performer and work to make the artist and the audience aware of the space around them. Her work is also widely open to interpretation and is very exquisit. 

Well the interpretation of that is pretty hard. The nudity of hers maybe says that the performer needs to be nude to be vulnerable to really experience the world. Well work it ad gag on the complexity of that performance. Also Gaga is steaming hot!  I also think that performing without spoken word is a thing reminding us that communication is more than words. Its sound and movement. Also Gaga has blended senses out, like her sense of sight. So she experiences the world differently. Come along Gaga and Abramovic also experiment with the notion of the sense of human life in the chair scene. For me it is very nihilistic. 

Well lets come to the latest video of Abramovic promoting her institute. It features Lady Gaga as Gaga will feature Abramovic in the ARTPOP era. The video is called: 

"Music Minute" - Aura/Burqa and the thing with Leaks...

As probably all the world already knows a song of Lady Gaga has been leaked onto the internet 2 days ago. The song is an early demo of the song Burqa: The leak has been confirmed as true, but the song is just an early demo. Thing is: Gaga has not started ramping all over the place in a roar, but has said that she would like to see all those links taken down. And that has happened somehow.

Well the thing with leaks is that they can not only cost the record company millions and prevent the artist from making money, but also they ruin our perception of music. When we wait for music we start to build up anticipation and all sorts off stuff like that. We exchange our expectations over the song or album. And by that we feel music way before we  can hear it. And a leak destroys that. Even though I am as excited as many others for new music I am strictly against a leak. Also the loss of money means that the artists can not put the money into their show, which also will lower the experience for the fans. The Burqa stuff has been introduced by Gaga via Twitter and during an appearance of her at the fashion show of Philip Tracey, when he returned to the fashion world. She performed at the show in a pink burqa, which you can see above. It s not the first time a burqa has been worn and or been used by a western pop star in a song or worn in public. It may be discussable that the burqa thing is controversial, and may not be good for the relations between the oriental and western world. 

But enough of something moral, lets come to the lyrics of the leak. And no I won't give a link to the song anywhere or so, because I also want them all to be taken down. So lets get to it, shall we?

I killed my former friend,

left her in the trunk on highway 10.

Put the knife under the hood,

Send it straight to Hollywood.

I love it, seriously? It is amazing! And the oriental sound of the guitar in the beginning befits it perfectly. Okay when we go to the analysis the question of who is the "former Friend" occurs. Why did she have to die, who is she and why the fuck has this happened on the highway 10? Could also be that the friend is not a friend  but rater a former version of Gaga, which she killed in order to become the Gaga which will be the hybrid of pop and art. Well that is the ARTPOP era! And why should we send the knife to Hollywood? Well, in my opinion a knife, gaga from New York and sending it straight to Hollywood? Well, maybe it is an attack on the rotten Hollywood system. 

I am not a wandering slave,

i am a woman of choice.

My veil is protection,

for the gorgeousness of my face.

You want to fancy me cause,

there's always one man to love.

But in the bedroom,

the size of them is more then enough.

The beat is sick! It is amazing! What is remarkable is that the orient sound mixes so well with the electronic sound. The lyrics are also very much a tae on the use and stuff of a burqa. She sings she is not a slave but more a woman by her own decision. Pretty much female empowerment or not? She sings that the veil of her burqa is the protection of her gorgeous face. So the burqa in this case is not the thing to keep women down, in the western sense, or better said in the sense of Lady Gaga, is rather more the thing of protection. Men want to fancy women, and there is always one man to love. And then she gets to the bedroom and says that their size, is more then enough. Well, its not all about the seize, or is it?

Do you wanna see me naked lover?

Do you wanna peak underneath the cover?

Do you wanna see the girl who live behind the aura,

behind the aura?

Do you wanna touch me cosmic lover,

do you wanna peak underneath the cover?

Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura,

behind the aura, behind the aura, behind the aura.

A series of questions? Well lets see what is up with all that? Lets see! okay the first two questions are all about burqas and men seeing the women underneath them, and if I am not wrong burqa may have gotten some erotic features in this lines. And the third question is that perhaps the burqa is more than a cover up. It might be a peak behind a veil but also a peak into a persons soul. The next lines are relatively the same but only that the fist line is about the desire of a cosmic lover to touch her. 

Enigma popstar is fun,

she wears burqa for fashion.

It's not a statement as much, 

as just a move of passion.

I may not walk on your street,

or shoot a gun on your soil.

I hear you screaming,

it is because of pleasure and toil.

Okay, a reference to Enigma? That is some good stuff. Enigma is a symbol for decoding and encrypting something, and Lady Gaga loves it to be cryptic. And apparently Gaga enjoys it to be mysterious. And I can pretty much understand it, because being mysterious is fun. And Gaga wears a burqa for reasons of fashion and for the reason of being mysterious. So Gaga wears a burqa out of free choice! She then goes on that wearing a burqa is not a fashion choice but more a choice of passion. And maybe that passion is a move of compassion and a move towards women. She says she might not be on the streets of the country where women have to wear a burqa but she hears them screaming from work and pleasure.

What comes then is just 3 or 4 simple words: Dance, Sex, Art, Pop or ARTPOP, after that the refrain comes once more. And we are through. Well, my interpretation of all this is very much centered around the burqa, but thing is there sure are millions of other interpretations out there. And maybe I am totally wrong but  the song is great in it self. So I hope you enjoyed my little analysis.

ARTPOP - Applause will mark her artistic rebirth!

Lately I have written like five posts about Lady Gaga and what things she is about to release and what I think we will se coming. But with last nights revelation of her new single cover art work, and her first interview with the world since six months we get a deeper inside of what ARTPOP and Applause will be like. 

Well of course I will put first things first and talk about the most obvious: the cover for her new single Applause, to be released on August 19th. As we can see it is a totally different approach to a cover art then we know from Gaga. If you think of her usual covers, no matter if album or single, tis one does not quite fit the grid. It is first of all white, and never before has there been a cover that has had so much white. Her covers normally are dar and have that edge of violence, power and sex. Bit that white and theatrical, make up smeared and puppet like image wows the community of little monsters once more. if we go in deeper we of course have the chalk white based face. It is like an empty canvas, on which make up is smeared. A deep blue and a fiery fierce orange contrast. Her eyer have a very starring attitude and seem to directly address the viewer. Her hair is caught behind the black turban, and her face surrounded by some white coat. Somehow the cover reminds me of a clown, but in other ways it is almost a reinterpretation of a puppet from a puppet theater, since it is some kind of lifeless. Additionally I am hugely reminded of Picasso and his interpretations of women. Important to notice as well is that there is a resemblance to this picture to classical ballet and performance art. Closing off the picture is underlined with the hand written line "lady gaga applause". The handwriting is very unusual as well, since in the Born This way time Gaga has used either bold fat capitalized letters or edgy writing. definitely a new approach. The whole cover comes off as a painting since it is surrounded by that black line, which would emphasize ARTPOP's most obvious message: the exchange between pop and art.

When it comes to the interview Gaga gave "Women's Wear Daily" she really lets us view deep into ARTPOP and how it really is concepted. She says that it has been worked on for the last 6 months, and she has started from a blank canvas. ATPOP also seems to be about beauty and especially feeling comfortable with your natural side of beauty. She, in my opinion, finally expresses the deepest thought of Born This Way, expresses the inner regions of her, and really brings them outside and makes herself vulnerable, bare and naked. This bare and naked theme has also been reflected in what we have seen until now from ARTPOP images. But she gives us a clear saying that ARTPOP is not a phase to be pinned down by the style of one image or single cover. Not every image defines an era, she just says it is the captured momentum we get to see. The article is headed by a quote, simply telling us: "Gaga: I am every Icon". And what might sound a little to full of herself might be the best way to bring that image she wants us to see and analyze out there. ARTPOP is less about sheer consumption and warholian repetition like "The Fame", less about cultivating deep dark things than "The Fame Monster"  and more then sheer involvement then "Born This Way". When she is asked to explain the single cover, to explain the story behind it, she answers that the interviewer should analyze it first, otherwise it would not be art. And she is right about that. What points out is the "command" to not only consume, create and recreate the seen, heard and experienced by rather to analyze, deconstruct and understand deeply the message behind this and enjoy the craft as  a construct: art. 

Concerning applause she gives away that the video was directed by Inez Vinoodh, as well as her cover shoot for V magazine was done by them. The master class of art in collaboration with the master class of pop. Well that really gives us the reminder ARTPOP is about the clash and collaboration, exchange and work of art and pop together, or as Gaga would probably put it. "When Pop sucks the tits of Art!" What is so interesting about the collaboration is that Gaga stated that she never felt beautiful before she was shot by Inez Vinoodh, which brings up the question: will there be the answer to the question of what beauty really is in this album? Probably not, but wouldn't that be beautiful in its own way?

ARTPOP - It is announced!

Yeah! Finally after an heartbreaking long wait and absence of Mother Monster, Lady Gaga has finally revealed that the new single from her much anticipated album ARTPOP will be called...

..."Applause"! So applaud for "Applause"! Alongside this great revelation she has also announced that due to the overwhelming anticipation or the album and app the pre-order date has been set earlier for the 19th of August,, the day the single will be released! So well count me in to pre-order then! Oh, and if that would not be enough, she has also tweeted a stunning photo of her. As if it would be nothing. Lady sure knows how to create a storm!

UPDATE - Like 5 Minutes ago she announced that the cover artwork for "Applause" will also be released today, and in some Magazines on the cover tomorrow.

ARTPOP - She has taken twitter again!

Okay cut the crap, I have decided that ARTPOP is genius! You want to know why? Well I can tell with a few sentences. So lets start right off!

Lady Gaga has taken her twitter and updated her cover photography and just by doing so she has created a storm of things in the twitter-sphere. The photo she has uploaded shows her sitting naked on a chair build from computer parts. And the promotional poster she had released weeks ago has shown her without make-up etc. announcing ARTPOP. Well from all that I guess that ARTPOP will be all about the fusion of technology and the natural body, technology and the body melting together, it will be about the idea of technological body enhancement and the question of how to stay human in a highly technologized world. If you still don't believe me, check out the photograph! Oh and by the way: Gaga has been announced to make her stage comeback at this years MTV VMAS, well then I got a reason to watch! 

Picture belongs to Lady Gaga, taken from her twitter account.

"Music Minute" - She is back, massively!

Yeah she did it again, and whooped our sweet little asses by just releasing one photograph and some info referring to the release of ARTPOP. Of course we talk Gaga here. Whom else? Interesting is that Mother Monster, despite all the criticism she get from all over the place sometimes, really has been desperately missed!

MTV entitles that with the info about ARTPOP Gaga has been re-entered the music business and I quote "Gaga comes back to save pop... again!" If that is not a bitch slap in many artists faces! And they do right! I mean she has been absent for about 150 days and during this time period kept quite a low profile. Nearly no Twitter and no performances: well it is called recovery. But during this phase, and I quote once more:

 "And when her activity stopped, so did the endless font of over-the-top proclamations, out-there fashions, and outspoken support of worthwhile causes. In short, she went silent, and whether you like her or not, you've got to admit that the entire music biz — and pop music in particular — has been pretty boring because of that."

So say what you want but not only MTV is hungry for Gaga to slay the charts with ARTPOP but also many others. You want prove? There you got some! And by the way: Yes pop music needs to be rescued once again, rescued from dull and boring sounds and not innovative artists.

"I Love Art" - ARTPOP is for sure fierce art!

After her big announcement of the release date of her new single, her album release date and a stunning promotional photograph of her in natural use Lady Gaga has made it back into the music world with a boom! And certainly I could not resist then to draw this amazing picture, Icon Art Marilyn style! So enjoy!

Get read world of pop, she is back and se doe not take prisoners in the ARTPOP aera.

She is bold, she is beautiful and she is the queen: Lady Gaga. Rocking a natural look for her promotional shoot for promoting her upcoming album ARTPOP.

"Music Minute" - Lady Gaga ARTPOP Press Release

Okay I have not only a little pee running down my leg, but rather lots! Lady Gaga has been silent for some time now, her twitter account has nearly been emptied and put on ice, but one hour ago the queen of pop, social media and the first true superstar of the digital age has released a press release concerning the release of her forth coming third studio album ARTPOP.

On her Facebook account Gaga has released a new photograph of herself to promote the new ARTPOP aera. On the photograph she has a natural look with brown hair, and wears some sort of skiing mask, or painting mask. She showcases her ARTPOP tattoo. Besides the picture the press release announces the following: 

Picture from Lady Gaga's Facebook account. Copyright belongs to Lady Gaga & The Haus of Gaga.

Announcing that there will be an app which combines music, fashion and technology. If this one is good it will so take off! Also the announced collaborations with Inez & Vindooh, Robert Wilson, Marina Abramovic and Jeff Koons are very exciting! I can not wait for August 19th!

"Just in!" & "Music Minute" - The Queen is back, well sort of!

Yes you red it right, the queen of pop music and philantopist queen of the gays (Sorry Kathy Griffin, but you are the "Comedy Queen of the Gays") Lady Gaga is back again! When it comes to her gays Gaga breaks her media hiatus and takes n her twitter to tweet against DOMA!

Yesterday the fierce fashion forward musician and performer took the stage at a NYC pride event and hold a speech in favor of the LGBT IQA community in which she said to the attending people:

"We are not a niche. We are a huge part of humankind. It is time for us to be mainstream. I demand rights! Enough is enough!" 

In my mind I am already imagining the posters for the next presidential election in the states with "Gaga/RuPaul for President!" I'm living it. And of course the Lady has not just left the stage without giving a little performance. So she took the mic and sang "The Star Spangled Banner" in such a beautiful way, that proves she has been doing some voice exercising! Halleluja! (Watch her performance of the national anthem below this post!)

Picture belongs to DarkoMiliadinovski on Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons License.

Another nice thing to know about our Lady in charge is that the annual Forbes list of the most powerful musicians has come out. And the outcome is great since Gaga came out: on top! And what better than that? Forbes ensures their readers that, even though she had to cancel some shows, the Born This Way Ball had grossed about 168 million $ and would have easily earned over 200 million $ is Gaga were not to cancel the other ones, du to the hip surgery she had to undergo. Even better though are the news that her twitter followers (38 million) and her Facebook likes (58 million) have gained her some respect and that everyone over at Forbes awaits ARTPOP to be released in the fall of 2013! Isn't that great?

Gossip allegedly has said that Lady Gaga has rented a luxurious apartment in Manhattan which she furnished with designer furniture matching her taste. The apartment is said to have about 184 meters square, 2 bedrooms, a huge kitchen (Since we know you are Italian, Gaga!), a fire place and a huge terrace with an absolutely amazing view over central park. This kind of apartment is going to be expensive as hell since living space in Manhattan is like a Kardashian with a huge IQ. Right: nearly not possible to find! She is said to pay about 15.000 € rent per month! Gaga, you better work and by that apartment after you released ARTPOP!

So now, enjoy Gaga's performance of "The Star Spangled Banner":