Lady Gaga's ridiculously highly anticipated album Born This Way leaked two days ago and I've spent the last 48 hours listening to all of the tracks (I pre-ordered the special edition on Amazon, by the way) virtually non-stop. To be honest, I went into my listening spree with Gaga's proclamation that BTW was the best album of the decade in mind, which probably wasn't wise. Reviewing an album with preconceived notions is never smart, unless you are trying to be deliberately biased.
Luckily for me, I chalked up her statement to the usual Gaga braggadocio and didn't take it too seriously. It made for an excited listening experience.
After hours of rapid listening, jumping on my bed, dancing in my room, walking around the neighborhood with my iPhone on full blast, and irritating the hell out of my mother with my auditory antics, I made a pretty significant decision about the album, and Gaga's discography overall.
There is a song on the album called "Scheiße". If you are an active music and/or fashion fan, you've already heard the remix used in the Mugler Menswear Fashion Show months ago. Back then, it sounded pretty awesome, a new direction for the pop phenomenon. It was the track I was desperate to hear most from the album.
The album version of "Scheiße", suffice it to say, met my expectations on the first listen.
By the 30th listen, I realized it was an absolute masterpiece.
"Scheiße" is both classic Gaga and Gaga in forward motion. Produced by a top-form RedOne, the beats are razor sharp, dark and twisted, yet crisp and clean. It's an incredible sound, only buoyed by the fascinating structure of the lyrics. She starts the song saying she can't speak German, but she can if her lover likes. She then unleashes a bunch of German-sounding gibberish, coldly, yet defiantly. In a surprising twist, the song ends up as an anthem of female empowerment, with Gaga crying for strength with the "scheiße" (that's real German for shit).
The whole song gives off a glacial, euphoric, incredibly danceable vibe that is best suited for a party in Gaga's Russian bathhouse from "Bad Romance". Speaking of that iconic single, "Scheiße" is its true heir (sorry "Judas"), sounding like nothing else on radio while maintaining a mainstream pop sense. It's the kind of song that, if released, could change the definition of pop music, kind of like what "BR" did.
Listening to this song alongside the rest of her music, it's kind of mind-boggling how much she has grown and changed since the days of the disco stick. What's clear is that she changing the right way, morphing into a superstar we haven't seen since (I know how cliché this sounds, by the way) Madonna.
My only hope is that her next change leaves behind those unfortunate horn things.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment