Musician: Lady GaGa
Label: Interscope
Copyright: 2008
Summary: Lady Gaga's first album consists of songs that all center around the glamorous life of someone who lives in the spotlight, from Paparazzi to the Fame. Each song has its own mini-theme underneath the lyrics, such as that of Just Dance whose heavy-club beat which also carries undertones of someone attempting to drink their troubles away, which is something that many listeners could appreciate. LoveGame focuses on what the title clearly states, the game of love and sexual tension. Paparazzi's lyrics are reminiscent of poetry in their structure while the words themselves are more akin to that of a stalker in nature. Like many of her other songs, it depicts the disturbing side of fame and stardom. Beautiful, Dirty, Rich's lyrics are simplistic in nature if viewed on paper, but when listened to, it becomes almost a mantra accompanied by the heavy club beats that promote the party going life despite difficulties.
Critical Evaluation: The overall tone of the CD is upbeat and makes listeners want to dance, or at least nod their head to the beat. The lyrics themselves varied between the songs, from those which would make listeners wonder what the songwriter was thinking at the moment, to those which cause people to shake their heads at the writer's audacity. A perfect example is the song LoveGame, in which the lyrics state sexual tension between the singer and someone in the club: "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." While some criticize Lady Gaga for innuendo of that nature, many other popular songs contain similar lyrics, if not much worse. The childish rhyming nature of LoveGame's lyrics almost has a sense of her poking fun at the abundance of sexual themes in music. The sprinkling of slower songs near the end of the album is quite similar to the general downward slope of a novel's plot after the climax and was a positive way to end the CD.
Listener's Annotation: A blend of the now-famous Lady Gaga's top hits, The Fame is a Platinum ranking album that will make listeners want more.
Information About the Musician: Lady Gaga started off as a song-writer before being signed as a performing artist. Her first album, The Fame, catapulted her into celebrity and she continued with two more studio albums.
Lady Gaga is famous for her outlandish costumes and catchy club songs. Follow Lady Gaga at her website.
Genre: Pop; Dance
Curriculum Ties N/A
"Booktalking" Ideas:
- The CD that started it all, The Fame is Lady Gaga's first released album and contains four #1 songs, while the rest are all recognizable to those who listen to Pop radio. From LoveGame to Paparazzi and Just Dance to Poker Face, those who love Lady Gaga or to those who haven't heard her yet, The Fame is an entertaining and energizing CD that will make you want to move.
Listening Level: 16+
Challenge Issues:
- While some of the lyrics within the album's songs have racy innuendo, it is not much worse than any other music that can be heard on the radio.
Why This CD?: Platinum Album
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