Gaga's Sophomore Success

Lady Gaga’s name has become synonymous with shock and her new album, “Born This Way,” lives up to the title.

Its condemnation of religion and government, both subtle and blatant — a song titled “Government Hooker,” anyone? — is poised to cause controversy.

Despite this and its sometimes overly Madonna-esque sound, her sophomore effort is a well-written group of songs that manage to convey complex ideas while still staying
 top-40 equipped.

Listening to the heavily-rotated debut single, “Born This Way,” it’s hard to give Gaga credit for anything extremely original.

The lyrics of the song don’t say anything that hasn’t been said before but work as a refreshing contrast to Gaga’s sometimes overdone efforts to continually shock.
The track is a user-friendly, love-everyone ode to high self-esteem in the vein of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Telling your listeners they’re awesome is a sure fire way to sell a few songs, but “Born This Way” is one of the least artistic songs on her album and a somewhat bland first single compared to the rest of the catalogue.

The rest of the album picks up the first single’s slack, thankfully.
It bounces between 80s-tastic and more somber sounds to keep you paying attention to every word, which often leaves you scratching your head.

“Judas” and “Edge of Glory” are the two other singles currently in radio play. “Edge of Glory” picks up on the feel-good note that “Born this Way” left off on, but the dubstep-influenced “Judas” seems tailor-made to incite accusations of blasphemy.

Gaga is at her best when she combines controversies with hooks that won’t leave your head for days. While “Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)” is as delightfully cheesy as it sounds, it doesn’t pack the punch that songs like “Scheiße” and the genius “Bloody
Mary” do.

Arguably the best song on the album, the engrossingly dark, peculiar “Bloody Mary” features pseudo-Gregorian chanting, one or two scattered screams, religious analogies, Gaga’s distorted voice and of course a completely indecipherable meaning. The combination makes the song both fascinating and
ground-breaking.

Songs like these distinguish Gaga from her current pop peers and provide the creative meat of the album.

The contrast between the campy and the revolutionary is a message in itself: Gaga can make quality music whether she’s singing about sex with politicians or riding
on unicorns.

By Kelly Fritz