Lady Gaga
The Fame
Interscope Records
Rating: 5
With an upcoming concert in Sacramento scheduled for sometime in November, I thought it would be appropriate to share with all of you the magic that is Lady Gaga’s album, The Fame. It’s pretty easy to say that Lady Gaga is THE SHIT right now, putting a spell over guys and girls alike with her hopping club beats and banging dance anthems; we’ve all heard “Just Dance,” and we all know what a disco stick is by now. And I’m sure for die-hard fans like me, “Poker Face” has surpassed the 100 mark on your iTunes play count and may have possibly even climbed its way to the top of “Top 25 Most Played.”
But there is more to Gaga than just these smash singles. Her entire album is in fact a musical gold mine, with fourteen tracks that are all equally sensational.
If some artists’ goal is to make you think by penning insightful verses, Gaga’s is to make you dance by providing hypnotic beats and lyrics that flaunt her self-assurance. Many of her tracks, including “Beautiful and Dirty Rich,” “The Fame” and “Money Honey” boast of Hollywood glam and lavish lifestyles, making it easy to lose yourself in the lyrics while you pretend you’re as “beautiful and dirty rich” as Gaga herself – no matter if you’re at a club, party, or simply singing in the car with your friends.
I became witness to the appeal of “Boys Boys Boys” across the gender spectrum when I was outside the library one day this summer. A big truck drove by with its windows rolled down, blasting the song so loud that the car shook and pedestrians from all the way down the block turned their heads to locate the source of the cacophony. I looked up from my magazine expecting to see a teenage girl in the driver’s seat, only to find that seated in the car were two beefy-looking men wearing trucker hats.
In addition to her fun tracks, there are a few songs that illustrate Gaga’s sensitive side. While “Brown Eyes” is not the strongest track, it is a good attempt at versatility, showing that Gaga is capable of more than just fast-paced power hits. “Eh Eh” makes me feel like I’m on a cruise to a tropical destination, while “Paper Gangster” retains an average tempo; neither a ballad nor a club hit. The song “Poker Face,” known mostly for its robotic beat, is actually about Gaga’s bisexuality. Gaga said in an interview that the poker face she sings about is a symbol for the front she puts up to her male companion regarding her sexual orientation.
Lady Gaga is not a wounded soul who pens lyrics about heartbreak or hardships. She disguises any weak spot or limitation she may have convincingly and brilliantly in her music. Her entire album displays a confident woman who combines her strong sense of self with scintillating beats to make for a “half psychotic sick hypnotic” masterpiece of an album.
For fans of: Cascada, September
Give these songs a listen: “I Like It Rough,” “Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”
– Eleni Stephanides
