Friday, April 15, 2011
Juda-Judahah
Immediate reaction: INCREDIBLE.
Thought out reaction: very, very good.
This morning was a good morning for me: I woke up to find that the majority of Judas had leaked online, and like the bad fan I am, I listened to a fanmade "seamless" version, which pretty much turned out to be the finalized version, save for a missing intro. Imagine my joy at hearing that it was decided that Judas would be officially rush-released to capitalize on not losing sales / audience due to the leak; and before 1pm I had my shiny high-quality copy of Judas. By 4, I heard it on the radio. Damn, it sounds sexy on the radio.
Here's the thing. Judas is, pretty much, Bad Romance. Straight down to structure: the same kind of hooks (the woahing: caught in a bad romance vs I'm in love with Judas, Jud-ah-as; the hooks: rah rah ra ra ahh vs Juda Juda-ahah), the same structured chorus, the same placement of the hooks throughout the song (the beginning, the post-chorus). It may seem to be irritating in that sense, that Lady Gaga is stuck in repetition; to be honest, I kinda blame Red One, the producer on - wait for it - Poker Face, Bad Romance, and Judas. If you listen hard enough in Judas you can hear the "Red One Airhorn" - I can't explain it any other way, you'll recognize it if you hear it. (in fact wait. It's crazy evident in Just Dance)
The fact of the matter is that what Lady Gaga does, she does it well. Yes, Judas is 100% formula: but honestly, the formula isn't broken. If it ain't broke, leave it the hell alone. Bad Romance is without a doubt Lady Gaga's best song; to nearly replicate it is smart.
The sound, however - much like Born This Way, regardless of how much I now detest the song - is fresh and progressive. The only comparison you can make to 2011 Gaga is 2010 Gaga - no other artist has yet had a song that sounds anything like Judas. Lyrically, it's impressive - she isn't singing about the fame like she did on, well, The Fame; she's mastered metaphor and timing. I can see this song exploding with controversy - it already is, since she's playing Mary Madgelene in the video - and, honestly, it's what we've come to expect from her, pushing the envelope. No, I don't think it's only for shock value; while the song on surface value is a platform to spew as much blasphemy as possible, it's about falling in love with the wrong person, a "Judas." The message of, say, Alejandro is still intact, it's just a bit more heavy handed.
Like I've already said, her hooks are 100% formula. I loved them the first time around, and I love them even more now. My favourite parts are easily the Juda-Judahah chant as well as the woooooooooah I'm in love with Judas, Jud-ah-as. They're absolutely catchy, and as a pop song, it has done its job: it was stuck in my head all shift long at work.
I can't get enough of this song. It's very familiar while new. It's renewed my faith (pun intended?) in Born This Way the album, as I'm sure the sledgehammer beat and improved lyrics will carry over to the other tracks. Can't wait for the video.
THE NEXT DAY: I wake up to this monstrosity. Yes.. yes, she posted this herself.
This is the real deal. This is the album cover. As horrific as it is it's slowly growing on me.. I think I was so let down because I was expecting so much more. But as it is it's campy and it's pretty much exactly what she set out to do. Still, that isn't stopping me from using the single cover as the album cover on my iTunes..
Labels:
Gaga
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