Lady Gaga

AOG, Madrid

A new song from her album proves to be yet another borefest.

Lady Gaga; we all know of her, and her new album -ARTPOP- has been one of the most waited-for items of the year.

But will it be worth the wait?

Well, it is hard to say.

First we had ‘Applause’, which left us more or less not applauding, and now, although not the ‘official’ second single (that honor will go to ‘Venus’ it seems), we have ‘Do what you want’, featuring R. Kelly.

So…what does it sound like?

 

The single starts off to a pseudo 80s electrobeat, and it does get you excited.

 

You start to think yes, this is going to be good!

But then she starts to channel Christina Aguilera in the worst possible way and it quickly turns into one of those songs which sound like any other song that didn’t make it. 

And you start to get bored.

And then R. Kelly kicks in, mellowing the song out, and you, as a listener are left wondering if this is a Gaga single, or a Kelly single. 

The whole thing sounds like two songs combined in a non-fortuitous way.

Why did she collaborate with him?

Is she looking for a different kind of Monster to join her club? 

I’m all for that, but please, make sure the music is up to scratch. 

This song, in my opinion, just isn’t. And when you listen to R. Kelly you soon realize why not. But by then you realize just how bored you are, and how little you care for this non-catchy tune.

Click here for the YouTube link.

I almost dare not say it, but is Lady Gaga incapable of writing a good tune unless it is Madonna-inspired?

If we take this song as an example, the answer would be a loud-sounding, NO. 

As far as a tune is concerned, this is very much neither here nor there. 

Too familiar to be a hit, and too samey to be really original.

So is ‘Do what you want’ a hit?

Not if all you want to do is turn it off.

Sorry Lady Gaga, but this is not up to scratch.

Gaga Fans, fear not, I’m sure somebody somewhere will ensure that, just like with ‘Applause’, the remixes will make this turnip of a tune into a dance hit somehow.

 

 

MIchael Jackson

AOG, Madrid

In 1977 Elvis passed away. My family were living in Mexico. I still remember watching the news and not knowing who the "King" was.

I remember waiting for my mother to come home to tell her about it. She knew who he was. She was sad and surprised.

Yesterday, another king passed away.

His music has been in my life for as long as I can remember.

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Rock With You

These songs populated my childhood before I even knew who he was.

I remember the event that was Thriller. We were in Houston then. Everyone was talking about it. I remember thinking that the song was ok, but the video was something else. Here was a different scale.

A different magnitude associated with music and a performer.

And even more hits:

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
The Girl Is Mine
Beat It
Billie Jean
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

These songs stood out in my mind. Their sound, their feel. I don’t know. Magic?

When Bad came out, we were living in San Antonio. More great sounds.

The Way You Make Me Feel

Another Part Of Me

Man In The Mirror

I Just Can't Stop Loving You

Dirty Diana

In 1991 my family had moved to London. Another great album- Dangerous -, yet my interest had begun to wane slightly. Obviously other things occupied my mind.

But there were still good songs to play as background music to my life:

Remember The Time

Heal The World

Black Or White

It was in London when the press first started to pick on him. Or at least it was there where I first became aware of it.

From then on, the albums just seemed to re-release old stuff. I don’t know what happened.

He became more farce than real. His life, his skin, his children, he himself grew out of all proportion.

Finally yesterday he passed away. I was not aware of it, but a small part of me passed away with him. I guess it is true what they say, you don’t know what you’ve got until its gone.

Wherever he is, I hope he is happy. He left a great legacy behind.