AURA – Sitting in the middle of a dessert with my banjo watching Kill Bill (slash that), starring in Machete Kills! Cool guitar intro into Terminator effects & edgy electronics. Do you want to me see me naked? It’s club ready, spacey, taking off to another planet. It’s perfect for the Robert Rodriguez film & I look forward to seeing the movie, as well as her acting debut. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6qXX82I-Hs

VENUS – We’re dropped off in Venus on Rocket #9 & I feel like I’m in an Austin Powers movie. I want to be taken to the leader; I hope it’s the Fembots! I love the changes in the track & the chorus. Gets a little cheesy when she’s saying all the planets, otherwise, it’s a little out there & I like it. And I do feel very Aphrodite in a seashell bikini while hearing it, or rather, a fierce spacesuit.

G.U.Y. – We’re now watching a live performance via Skype from the planet Eros, God of sexual desire… and the track is just that. Out comes the alien seductress who wants to be his GUY (Girl Under You), b/c she’s from another dimension, role playing & she wants to unearth you! It’s like an old freestyle track, with hyped electrodes & a sensual baseline.

SEXX DREAMS – Now we’re in a underground 80s house party, it’s hot & people are having naughty sex! It’s thumpy, humpy, RnB, dirty, doing nasty things & masturbating … then you’re making love to Optimus Prime… and then you wake up & realize it was all just a dream… or was it?

JEWELS N DRUGS (Feat T.I., Too Short & Twista) –ErrrrrrrrrrT! Featuring… “I’m not featuring it!” What’s this track doing here? Not Gaga at all. She obviously did this one to reach new audiences & compliment the RnB & hip hop aspect but it’s not really working… fast forward!

MANiCURE – It’s Grease & a little bit rock n roll. Is it a salon manicure, or having a man cure you? Oh it’s both? Ok, either way I’m boppin’ away & I’m addicted to love, feeling like a teen-aged cheerleader while rolling on my bed singing into my brush & kicking my feet up in the air, then trying on clothes back & forth in the mirror cause I’m feeling like a mannequin. I thought that was the name of the song & I think it would’ve better & made more sense with the cover of the album & tracks in general.

DO WHAT YOU WANT – I love the slow, deep baseline, simple, not over sung or overproduced & R. Kelly adds some flavor to it. I really can’t take him sometimes but who cares, I’m turned up in the club with a drink in my hand & taking shots in the back. This just hit the radio here in FL(we’re a little behind) & I’m sure it’ll be nice for the winter, time to make some babies. But, what was that performance on SNL?

ARTPOP – It’s grown on me & I’m really digging this Tetris track. It’s very much what she’s about & whatever theme or effect she’s giving really could mean anything if you pay more attention. Perhaps she’s becoming too artsy fartsy for some & losing a few along the way. She did a short film for this she just released yesterday & funny people ask, “What does it mean?” Well, she just told you, just like art, her art pop could mean anything.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jHhJavMik

SWINE – This one is a bit loud & obnoxious, like the message. I like the words but not the music. She supposedly they say she wrote this for Perez Hilton. On Howard Stern interview she says how Perez was trying to get a place to live next to her & just harassing her & being mean, and lots of people think he’s a pig.

DONATELLA – It’s an upper class, rich bitch runway track… nose in the air feeling fru fru, very Miami & LA. A bit shady, yet complimentary to Ms. Versace. It’s perfect for the next show, which brings us into…

FASHION! – A throwback to David Bowie, now turn to the left, now to the right. I love this track, more in the beginning than in the end. “I own the world, we own the world!” And let’s face it, when it comes to fashion, she really is on top!

MARY JANE HOLLAND –Amsterdam truly does have the most magical herbs, I know! The track is chill, smooth, relaxed & lit up! While everyone else talks about “smoking the best shit”, she’s taking a different approach& actually picturing herself as Mary Jane Holland, a star. It’s as if you were coming into a room with a bunch of the best weed for all your friends &was like, “Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you… MARY JANE HOLLAND!” And the crowd goes wild… cause you know now-a-days, weed is the celebrity everyone loves!

DOPE – Sounds like I’m sitting at the piano drunk as hell& I wouldn’t doubt it if she was when recorded this one, it’s pretty raw, melancholy, honest & out there. They say the references to drugs on this album prevented some moms from buying it. She pushes the vocals! She’s talking about how she needs her family, boyfriend & fans more than dope. She mentioned it on Howard Stern & I think it’s had some effects on her along the way. It explains the hurting low (inside) from being high for so long (fame& drugs). She lost lots of audience members on the YouTube Awards when she performed this live cause she got all emotional, but she sang the shit out of it, as sloppy, sad & drunk as she appeared, but in an artful &detached way. Then, she performed it again in Brooklyn at the iHeartMusic release after a few words on how she’s still dealing with things & wow, she can really fucking sing & had much more control… it was pretty dope! You can check it out here.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMyfd5w9kF8

GYPSY – She’s on a new path, out on the road, fresh, alive& looking on to the future from a new perspective. She no longer wants to be alone with the night. It also reminds me of one of my favorite movies, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” when the girls wanted to compete in the dance competition… a little flash dance & also reminds me of the studio dance scene in Marry The Night, which I keep hearing.

APPLAUSE – Now she’s back on stage & loving the applause, poking at both sides of it. She explained this one enough, it’s not about the ego of it all (but one can interpret it that way), more about how she does what she does to make people happy & that’s the end result. The video really enhanced the track & I appreciated it more after watching it. You can see the transition from leaving behind the Fame Monster & into a higher artistic form, lighter & more colorful.

Overall, she gives you a bit of everything, one track follows the other & plays along the themes of otherworldly, EDM, rock & RnB, sex, drugs & fashion, so it’s not that out there, just sounds different to lots of people b/c she’s trying to mix up so much. She admitted it was a little heavy but that was time she was going through, so you can feel the highs & lows on this album, as well as in some tracks. It’s my least favorite album from Gaga but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad one. It’s fun, upbeat, laid back & enjoyable if you give it a chance. I’ll give it a 6.5/7 out of 10 stars!

One Love,
Carlos (CJ) Mendez