Lady Gaga - Born This Way

[Reverend Su]

i have not given the album a full listen yet, either, but i am a fan of a few of the songs.
a couple of my friends have given me a ration and a half of shit for liking G, but it's not like i give a rat's ass - i like what i like and that's my opinion on the matter.
as few of my other friends love the fact that i'm open to experiencing new music and not just being tunnel-visioned to ONLY [x]

i'm not going to call anyone out for not liking/not liking [thing] or for liking/not liking [something else], and i would love to expect the same from others...

alas, i realize that i invite the ridicule when i openly admit to my love of Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond, and for being punk from way back (i grew up on the Ramones, Bad Religion, etc...and i love me some The Queers)...and for not *loving* Rush, Pink Floyd and some other "classic" bands like that...

let the ridicule commence
it's ok - baby, i was born this way
x

 

[nailz]

The only thing I'm going to ridicule you on is your UM avatar. I keep thinking you're Rockbox1590 and he's you.

 

[Reverend Su]

The only thing I'm going to ridicule you on is your UM avatar. I keep thinking you're Rockbox1590 and he's you.

i was here first!
so you can ridicule the other person with the same avatar

*or*
i can post a pic of me that shows that i am the real version - i'm not bad, i'm just drawn this way xx
*****************
there ya go, Nailz - better?

 

[dcowboys311]

i love me some The Queers

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[DustyV]

I don't know much about Lady Gaga except for the songs I've heard on the radio, which are way too "radio" and "blah" for me..... I still can't stand Katy Perry. Her lyrics are a good example of what's wrong music on the radio today......If I have to hear the two worst songs in the world, "Teenage Dream" or "California Girl" again, it's not going to be a pretty sight...... Unbelievably horrid lyrics.

Again, I don't know much about Gaga, but I don't see how her lyrics can be worse than Katy Perry...

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I don't like most of Katy's songs, but California Gurl is probably one of 2 KP songs that I actually love. I don't know how you can not love it, it's such a fun song. It's like hating puppies and chocolate.

 

[DustyV]

I don't like most of Katy's songs, but California Gurl is probably one of 2 KP songs that I actually love. I don't know how you can not love it, it's such a fun song. It's like hating puppies and chocolate.

I think because "california girl" screams everything I hate about pop music...
fads, horrible 3rd grade lyrics, horrible talentless music and the list goes on....

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I don't think there's anything "talentless" about the song whatsoever. It takes a buttload more skill to write a great hit like that than you think. In fact, I'd say there's more talent in people who understand what makes a song "work" down to every beat and note than some dude on protools going up and down a scale on his guitar. You can learn how to do that in 5 years -- but the art at making a song that catchy is not something you can take a class for.

 

[DustyV]

I don't think there's anything "talentless" about the song whatsoever. It takes a buttload more skill to write a great hit like that than you think.

Part of the problem is the horrible direction pop music has turned today. For example in the 80's at least some of the pop bands were decent...

For example, in old school, I love some of the Carpenters songs. To me, that's a band that did it right and Karen Carpenter could really sing, unlike the cookie cutter singers of today like Katy Perry.

Plus, Katy Perry to me screams Corporate $$$$$$$$$$$$ all over the place. Of course it doesn't help knowing that she's rumored to be a total bitch and not a nice person.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I don't disagree with that. I don't know, I just call a spade a spade! If it tickles my earholes I can dig it!

I definitely think Katy has a great voice though. To each his own!

 

[DustyV]

I don't disagree with that. I don't know, I just call a spade a spade! If it tickles my earholes I can dig it!

I definitely think Katy has a great voice though. To each his own!

I agree, to each their own...
What doesn't help me though is when the radio stations blast the song 1 time every couple of hours and then you heard it in commercials, and recently even as hold music when I was calling about my TV.....

The oversaturation can make me hate many songs, even songs that I may not normally hate....

 

[TheLongshot]

Plus, Katy Perry to me screams Corporate $$$$$$$$$$$$ all over the place.

Every generation has acts like that. Goodness knows that it mostly what American Idol is about, not showcasing those who actually can write and perform a decent song, but those who can sing other people's songs on command.

 

[nailz]

I don't think there's anything "talentless" about the song whatsoever. It takes a buttload more skill to write a great hit like that than you think. In fact, I'd say there's more talent in people who understand what makes a song "work" down to every beat and note than some dude on protools going up and down a scale on his guitar. You can learn how to do that in 5 years -- but the art at making a song that catchy is not something you can take a class for.

So I'll just leave this here for you to watch. I love me some Katy Perry and Lady Gaga (who I think is a little more complex with her skillz than real pop princesses) but pop songs are not exactly difficult to write.

I remember when Glee covered Katy's Fireworks, and Lea Michele just blew Katy out of the water on her own song, and that's when I realized Katy's voice is kind of plain. I think people who say it's awful are just adverse to this style, rather than judging her on her actual talent. She's very much NOT awful, but she's also only slightly above average in skill.

When I was listening to Lady Gaga's new one, Edge of Glory, the only thing I could think was that it was written for Lea Michele to sing. I can't wait to see it on Glee, it's only a matter of time, and I LOVE her voice. It's fucking unbelievable.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

but pop songs are not exactly difficult to write.

The fact they wrote it in 8 hours shows how difficult it is to write. Most metal songs/riffs are written in way less time. But either way, I never said anything about "pop songs", I said HITS. Just because someone can write a song in 8 hours doesn't mean it will be a hit or that it will resonate with millions of people enough for them to buy it. Guess what? Writers like Max Martin and his team get paid big money to write hits. Songs that are guaranteed do well with the audience.

What metal fans don't seem to realize when they say pop is "talentless" is that they're pretending that there's some super talent in metal that nobody else possesses. Anyone can pick up a guitar and learn to sweep pick and noodle around. It's not a special or unique skill. Being able to write a hit though, is in fact much more difficult skillset. Every note and beat has to be thought out, it has to fit the singer you're writing for, etc. And that's just writing it, producing it is another skill in it of itself as opposed to metal production which = fake oversampled drums and over edited guitars and autotuned vocals so that all mistakes are corrected and all the players aren't really playing their instruments on the record.

I guess ultimately my point isn't about how "talented" you are, but how passionate you are about what you're writing and how you are trying to represent your art. Every time I hear the word "talented" I cringe because it's always in reference to this supposed magical ability that nobody else can possess when they're really just talking about some guy who was simply so passionate about his guitar that he spent a few years learning how to play. What makes Michael Romeo do all the crazy fretboard athleticisms that he does, does not make him any more special than what Justice or Skrillex can do with keyboard/samples, or what Lady Gaga can do with writing a song that gets stuck in my head for years.

 

[DustyV]

I don't think I agree with you on the "hits"... The "hits" are so predictable when you first hear them, the music is so predictable. Many times a metal tune can take unforseen twists and turns that you didn't even expect....

Not to mention, I'm a drummer myself, and I remember my drum teacher trying to teach me some pop songs when I first started, and it was so boring and so predictable, and so easy, and that's why I decided to be a drummer in progmetal instead...I like the challenge of all of the time changes and twists and turns and dealling with some passeges that are very difficult(yet fun) to keep up with...

Hits, are all about having a formula. Yea, maybe initially, it's a struggle to find the exact beat and chorus you are going to use, that's going to sell millions of records, but once you have it, you just repeat it 10 to 20 times over 3 minutes and you are done.... The extreme repeatability factor in pop songs can be nauseating some times..

So as a musician myself, I completely disagree with you that pop music is harder to play than metal, unless it's extremely basic metal.

The only thing I agree with you on is maybe coming up with the INITIAL song that's going to sell Millions of CDs, but for sure not the actual difficulty in playing the song...

 

[hoodaman]

Dusty, music can follow a formula and still be entertaining as hell. Pop music follows a formula because it works for a lot of people. There are certain chord progressions that appear in popular music over and over again because that string of notes resonates with a ton of people. It's definitely entertaining to listen to music that does new and different things. That's what draws us to progressive metal. But sometimes you just want to bob your head to the beat and sing along because it just feels good, ya know?

 

[DustyV]

Dusty, music can follow a formula and still be entertaining as hell. Pop music follows a formula because it works for a lot of people. There are certain chord progressions that appear in popular music over and over again because that string of notes resonates with a ton of people. It's definitely entertaining to listen to music that does new and different things. That's what draws us to progressive metal. But sometimes you just want to bob your head to the beat and sing along because it just feels good, ya know?

You have a point. I mean one of my favorite pop artists of the 70s is Neil Diamond. His music was simple and predicatable. Mostly I just like the lyrics of yesterday compared to the lyrics of today.... Today in pop music, everything is Sex, Sex, Sex....(I know, I'm starting to sound like my parents, LOL), but I've felt that way for years...

It's Still boring and non challenging music to play as a musician though,
and that goes for even the pop/light rock bands of the 70s that I love to listen to... Years ago, I played Drums in a Neil Diamond Cover band here in California.....It was fun in the beginning , but man, I was so glad when we called it quits, because as much as I loved to listen to Neil Diamond, playing his music bored me to tears, but I verbally committed to trying it out, so I stuck with it for a few months....

 

[nailz]

There are certain chord progressions that appear in popular music over and over again because that string of notes resonates with a ton of people.

OH YOU MEAN THESE FOUR?

 

[DustyV]

haha, that's awesome nailz!!
At first I thought that was Jack Black, and then I realized, nope it's not, lol....

 

[Rockbox1590]

i was here first!
so you can ridicule the other person with the same avatar

*or*
i can post a pic of me that shows that i am the real version - i'm not bad, i'm just drawn this way xx
*****************
there ya go, Nailz - better?

You guys tying to tell me something? I guess I'll have to add one of my My Little Pony avatars from another board.