Some disorganized thoughts on Lady Gaga’s new album Mayhem
Two things before I get into my thoughts on Mayhem: I had an essay published in Welcome to Hell World recently. It’s on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s proposed “wellness farms” and why those are a spectacularly bad idea. The piece is behind a paywall, but Welcome to Hell World is an amazing newsletter that I always look forward to reading. I recommend subscribing, or reading the un-paywalled pieces on the site.
There’s also big news on the “me being awkward with celebrities and having it captured photographically” front: I met Tori Amos recently and was very excited about it.
Anyway, here are some thoughts on Lady Gaga’s new album. Thanks to my friend s.e. smith for pinging me about the “Abracadabra” video.
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I have a complicated history with Lady Gaga. I wouldn’t call myself a stan, but I enjoy her music. She knows how to write a damn fine pop song. I’ve seen the 2017 Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two, where she experiences fibromyalgia pain flares on camera multiple times — often to the point of sobbing -- and then triumphantly nails the Superbowl Halftime Show at the end. She might be the most famous person who has fibromyalgia, along with the incredible British drag queen and musician Ginny Lemon (and yes, I do think that these two should collaborate on something). I wrote a piece for Bitch all the way back in 2009 about my mixed feelings regarding the disability representation in “Paparazzi.” Like a lot of people, I was grossed out when she collaborated with sexual predator R. Kelly on the 2011 song “Do What U Want (With My Body)”; Gaga and her team eventually took that version of song off of streaming services, and had her re-record it with Christina Aguilera. Also, maybe DON’T perform five live shows after you’ve tested positive for Covid? Putting your fans and crew at risk for potential lifelong health problems is not great regardless of potential fan “disappointment,” just saying.
The press cycle for her latest album, Mayhem, released earlier this month, has been interesting, as has the fan reaction to the video for second single “Abracadabra.” Some people on social media have argued that the song and its accompanying video are just Gaga ripping off her own work. Something about “reheated nachos” has come up quite a bit during this press cycle. “Abracadabra” has things in common with “Bad Romance”—nonsensical phrases being talk-sung throughout, a whole cadre of backup dancers, white costumes that look apocalyptic and futuristic at the same time—and if some fans prefer “Bad Romance,” that is okay! I’m not here to argue that one song is better than the other, although I do very much enjoy the nods to disability in “Abracadabra.” Between the dozens of backup dancers, the warehouse environs that recall the video for “Born This Way,” and the crowd surfing, these nods can be hard to spot.
There’s the red Hellraiser by way of RuPaul’s Drag Race latex dress and giant, spiky hat combo; the dress is styled to look like nails are piercing the chest and shoulder areas. It’s not exactly a reference to chronic pain, but all I could think when it appeared onscreen was, “haha, she and her wardrobe stylists get it.” The white costume that Gaga wears for much of the video’s runtime makes it look like her torso been split down the middle and sewn back up again—this might be a Frankenstein or other horror reference, but something in my brain went, “yeah, that is how chronic pain feels sometimes.” Around the 2:30 mark, there is a sequence that features Gaga and her dancers, all outfitted with black walking canes, lurching forward in a lumpy configuration that recalls both Bob Fosse’s groundbreaking “amoeba” choreography and this Christina Aguilera video from 2002. Then they break into some sexy dance fighting moves, with canes. (Yes, I did have to post that Bob’s Burgers clip.) This sequence looks like the world’s most threatening funeral procession, which is an energy that I can absolutely get behind. I enjoyed this video a lot, mostly because it is a lot.
Lady Gaga has always been extra, and this seems to be something that her fans love, while people who are not fans have less tolerance for it. Sometimes the extra-ness works—who amongst pop fans didn’t love The Fame when it came out in 2008? Other times, it’s felt confusing; 2016’s heavily folk and country-influenced Joanne got a mixed response from fans. My least favorite Gaga album is 2013’s Artpop—other than “Applause,” I wasn’t into the constant beep-boops, drum machine overuse, and synthesizer melodies that are all over the fucking place, often so much so that my ears could not tell where one song ended and the next began. Other than Artpop, I think her back catalog has been admirably consistent even as she tends to go in different directions on each album.
That said: Mayhem is, and I am not exaggerating here, her best album since 2011’s Born This Way. There is a ton here to chew on, musically — I love the high energy of “Disease” and “Abracadabra.” “Garden of Eden” sounds like a creepier version of “Just Dance,” even if Biblical references in pop music are a tad overdone at this point. The VERY Nine Inch Nails/Prince-influenced (Princefluenced?) duo of “Perfect Celebrity” and “Killah” are my favorite songs on this album, and a great example of how to use synths without cannonballing back into Artpop-style goofiness.
If you prefer Gaga’s belters, there’s something for you here, too—“Vanish Into You” is a solid dance pop song that calls back to “Bad Romance” a bit, “Shadow of a Man” makes excellent use of another PRINCEFLUENCED guitar melody, and penultimate song “Blade of Grass,” about her relationship with fiance Michael Polansky, is genuinely moving.
I’m not sure why “Die With a Smile,” Gaga’s lukewarm collaboration with Bruno Mars, is the album’s final track. The song is okay, I guess. Lyrically, it covers the same well-trod ground of that cheesy Aerosmith song from Armageddon that I have vehemently disliked ever since its 1998 release. Musically, it’s just…also okay. “Blade of Grass” as the closing track would have been a perfect choice. Thankfully, the rest of this album makes me forget and/or not care about how the bland concoction that is “Die With a Smile” was just kinda thrown on there at the end.
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