Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"

Lady Gaga - Born This Way
2011, Interscope

1. Marry the Night
2. Born This Way
3. Government Hooker
4. Judas
5. Americano
6. Hair
7. ScheiBe
8. Bloody Mary
9. Bad Kids
10. Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)
11. Heavy Metal Lover
12. Electric Chapel
13. You & I
14. The Edge of Glory

*sigh*

Well... it was nice while it lasted. At least Born This Way was only $1. I loved The Fame. In fact, it was one of my top picks for last year. I don't usually buy pop albums, but Lady Gaga's quirky pop songs were pretty infectious. Sadly, when "Born This Way" came out I didn't like it at all. After all, it's just Madonna's "Express Yourself" with different lyrics. The biggest problem with Born This Way the album is that a majority of the songs here sound just like "Born This Way." What happened to the syncopated beats? The little catchy raps? The simple dirty songs about sex? The cool electronica? Ugh...most everything here is grand and over-produced and, worst of all, not very fun to listen to. The braying in "Americano" is particularly annoying. My favorite songs tend to be the ones that don't sound like "Born This Way" - namely "Government Hooker" (my favorite on the album), "Bloody Mary," and "You & I." That last one there almost sounds like a techno-country song.

I also find the lyrical themes rather tiresome. I get it - we should all love ourselves. You should just be you - whether you're a good person or a total jackass... YOU WERE BORN THAT WAY, BABY! You don't need to change! You don't need to try and be a better person or do any self reflection! Ugh (have I said that already?)! Oh, and let's not forget "Hair" in which Gaga actually sings about her hair. No, really. Her hair and about how free it is. I miss the days when she would just sing about Disco Sticks and dancing. She's also mixing some good ol' Catholicism in with all this self love. Okaaaay... but didn't Madonna do that like decades ago? Suffice to say, I'm not impressed with Born This Way.

Ooh... look... she's a motorcycle!(?)

Useless Fact: There's a few bonus tracks that I missed because I got the $1 download version. Those songs are, "Black Jesus + Amen Fashion," "Fashion of His Love," and "The Queen." Unlike with Panic! at the Disco - I couldn't care less if I have these songs.