Album review: Lady Gaga, 'Born This Way'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

Lady Gaga knows the game. She may come across as all hard edges and provocative poses, but for her divisiveness is a dead end.

As she insists on “Born this Way” (Interscope), one of the year’s most anticipated albums: “I can be anything, I’ll be your everything.”

Inclusiveness is the unstated goal of most mass-scale pop music, whether it’s the adolescent sincerity of Taylor Swift, the girls-gone-wild pandering of Katy Perry or the adult nursery-rhyme simplicity of Black Eyed Peas.

But no one does “everyone in” more inventively than Gaga. Her music is aimed at outsiders: she has been a vocal advocate for gay and transgender rights, but she’s also spoken out on everything from racial discrimination to high school bullying. 

Album review: Britney Spears, 'Femme Fatale'

Rating: 2 stars (out of 4)

It takes a village to keep Britney Spears doing what she does best: Selling stuff.

No fewer than 28 songwriters and 13 producers manicured the 12 songs on “Femme Fatale” (Jive), Spears’ seventh studio album. In that respect, it is scarcely different from most of her previous albums, committee efforts that position Spears as a brand rather than an artist with potentially dangerous thoughts of her own.

In a world where Lady Gaga aspires to turn dance-pop “entertainment” into an art form, Spears is perfectly happy to let her collaborators do the heavy lifting and the heavy thinking.

To her credit, she has never pretended to approach it any other way and it has turned her into a very wealthy icon, with more than 100 million album sales worldwide since her 1999 debut. On “Femme Fatale” she doesn’t even bother to shake down a songwriting credit, preferring to let the highly paid professionals do it instead. If nothing else it only adds to her aura: That of a teen-pop heiress entrusting the hired guns to do her bidding – or to use her any way they choose so long as they keep her in the Top 10.

Concert review: Lady Gaga at the United Center

Photos: Gaga fans

"It’s raining unicorns and gay teddy bears,” Lady Gaga said Monday at the sold-out United Center as the audience hurled gifts at her. Then she bit the heads off several dolls, but allowed a mini-Paul Stanley to live another day and watch the show from the lip of the stage. Kiss, and Kiss-style spectacle, still rules in the Land of Gaga.

The singer appreciates the circus of performing, and has turned herself into the pop world's most incisive commentator on its seductions and pitfalls. Every eye-catching moment had a few more layers to it that made this 100-minute performance something more than just a collection of stunts.

Last time through town, headlining the Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park in August, the singer born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta 24 years ago wore a chip on her shoulder the size of one of her oversized stage props. She was ranting, raving and doing a lot of preaching while her concert proceeded in fits and starts.

Tonight's top show: Lady Gaga at United Center

Lady Gaga: The Monster Ball continues to roll through North America like the stiletto-heeled juggernaut it is. Visually, Gaga delivers everything you could want from a concert that promises spectacle, and she’ll likely find room for her latest hit, “Born This Way,” 8 p.m. Monday at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison, $49.50. $75, $125; ticketmaster.com.

greg@gregkot.com

Lady Gaga debuts 'Born This Way'

    Hyped for weeks, with cover art and then lyrics revealed as if they were sacred objects, the new Lady Gaga single, “Born this Way,” debuted Friday on her Web site.

    It’s a big blast of disco fever – thumping drums, rattling percussion, an army of synthesizers, a huge wave-your-glow-sticks chorus -- in the mold of self-empowerment anthems such as Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Madonna’s “Express Yourself.” In fact, it sounds so much like the 1989 Madonna classic that it will only fuel the convictions of those who feel that Gaga is just a 21st Century knockoff of the Material Girl, herself a canny appropriator of past genre- and gender-bending artists. 

    Gaga’s be-yourself lyrics amplify a message that underlines many of her songs and videos, but never as explicitly as this. It’s her life story recast as a pep talk from her mother: “ ‘There’s nothin’ wrong with lovin who you are’/ she said, ‘Cause he made you perfect, babe.’ ”

        Her celebration of otherness echoes Michael Jackson’s 1991 single “Black or White,” and takes it several provocative steps further to explicitly encompass the gay community: “A different lover is not a sin” and “Don’t be a drag, just be a queen.” 

        One of Gaga’s charms is that she is not the typical diva – she goes out of her way to accent her differences, her lack of conventional beauty, her refusal to conform to mainstream notions of sexiness or femininity. “Born This Way” puts that stance in strong, sometimes hamfisted language. Nothing like delivering a message and then banging your audience over the head with it, right down to the hand-clapping gospel-tinged outro. But it’s a message not heard often enough in pop music, and it’s a bold move for one of the top-selling artists of the last couple years to be delivering it.
       
        Lady Gaga’s next album, also called “Born This Way,” is due in May.
       
        greg@gregkot.com  

Top concerts 2010

As 2010 winds down, we’ve still got a bunch of potentially terrific shows to look forward to, including Ludacris at the Allstate Arena (Sunday), Elvis Costello at the Chicago Theatre (Monday) and the Hold Steady at Lincoln Hall (Dec. 30), plus a gaggle of New Year’s Eve shows that we’ll preview in future columns.

But it’s also time to take stock and look back on a year of heavy-duty concert-going. Out of more than 100 shows I attended, here are my favorites from 2010:

1. Gorillaz, Oct. 16 at UIC Pavilion: The cartoon band invented by Blur’s Damon Albarn and Jamie “Tank Girl” Hewlett more than a decade ago has morphed into a real band, with more than 30 musicians and singers, including a core group built on former Clash members Mick Jones and Paul Simonon. Albarn orchestrates it all, blending hip-hop, dub reggae, Eastern music, punk, soul and myriad other genres into a soundtrack for a dying planet that doesn’t sound like a eulogy at all. Instead, it becomes one the year’s biggest dance parties. 

Lollapalooza 2010: Day 1 in review

Video by Kevin Pang
 
It was supposed to be Lady Gaga’s night, and there was no doubt that a majority of fans Friday at Lollapalooza were there to see her. But Gaga hasn’t got anything on Mavis Staples, who threw down in her set with an urgency and passion that belied her 71 years. She was accompanied on a couple of songs by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, but even Tweedy stood humbly in the soul queen’s shadow, the force of her performance demanding everyone’s attention.

Lollapalooza is open for business in Grant Park for the weekend, and we were there to cover it all -- “we” being my colleagues Bob Gendron (BG), Andy Downing (AD) and yours truly, Greg Kot (GK). Kevin Pang was everywhere with his camera and edited our series of video reports. Here’s how it went down Friday at the biggest ever Lollapalooza, with eight stages spread out across 115 acres in Grant Park (up from the usual 80). 

11:13 a.m.
Fans patiently stand in line until the gates open, clear security, then sprint toward the main stage in hi-heels, fishnets and “Lady Gay Gay” T-shirts to position themselves as close as possible for Lady Gaga’s headlining performance nearly nine hours later. Hope they packed sunscreen. (GK)

11:20 a.m.
This must be dress-up day at the festival, as Lady Gaga wanna-be’s in blond wigs or monster suits (I see at least one “lion” with a tail) compete with Devo fans wearing the band’s trademark “energy domes” (blue flowerpot hats). (GK)

11:25 a.m.
These United States frontman Jesse Elliott reports on a "dire situation." The beer truck that is responsible for getting artists their beverages is apparently delayed in traffic. However, a concertgoer offers up his brew to the thirsty singer, and moments after, the day is saved when a tray of 16-ounce cans arrive onstage. The Kentucky quintet, the first band to play at this year's festival, earns its liquid rewards. Steeped in crunchy guitar tones and twangy accents, the band's loping roots rock references good-time Southern heritage. "The Great Rivers" slips and slides, a veritable invitation to go skinny dipping on a sunny day. With a handkerchief hanging out of his back pocket, Elliott hops around on the equally tuneful "The Important Thing," and pedal-steel guitar lines inspire spontaneous fits of dancing during the Bakersfield-flavored "Honor Amongst Thieves." A fine way to begin the day even if the crowds are still sparse. (BG)

Afghanistan war-zone remake of Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' video a viral hit

Lady Gaga is a polarizing pop star; love or hate her, we are rarely bored, which by definition makes her an oddly appropriate headliner for Lollapalooza this summer.

That she has fans all over the world goes without saying, but who knew that she was rocking American soldiers in Afghanistan?

A homemade video by troops of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Southwest Afghanistan pays tribute to Gaga’s latest hit, “Telephone,” complete with choreography and costumes echoing the pop singer’s original video. The war-zone video has gone viral  with more than 2.4 million views on YouTube.

The original “Telephone,” is typically high-gloss entertainment. It boasts the kind of choreography that has everyone from soldiers overseas to teenage girls replaying it in slow motion to precisely mimic each twist of the hips, each flip of the wrists. Gaga’s previous videos have all been loaded with little asides and references to classic movies. “Telephone” plays like an homage to biker-gals-in-prison B movies, while the interplay between Gaga and co-star Beyonce references Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 avenging-females opus “Death Proof.”

But the troops' "Telephone: The Afghanistan Re-make," led by one Aaron Melcher, does Gaga proud on a much more modest budget. By the end, eight costumed soldiers are involved, but it’s Melcher’s enthusiastic dancing that makes the video so watchable. Contacted by the Smoking Gun Web site, Melcher said the video was intended to be for "a couple of our friends and family and you can see that it has blown up way more than that...nobody in the video would like any further media coverage."

It’s too late for that. When Melcher uploaded the video a few days ago, he told Facebook friends to “share it with the world.” Mission accomplished.

greg@gregkot.com

Lollapalooza 2010 headliners near confirmation: Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Strokes, Soundgarden, Green Day

Lady Gaga, who is rumored to be a headliner at Lollapalooza 2010, performs in Rosemont on January 8. (Tribune photo by Chris Sweda)

The Lollapalooza rumor mill has been buzzing for weeks, and five of the six headliners are nearing confirmation for the Aug. 6-8 festival in Grant Park, according to music-industry sources with knowledge of the negotiations: Lady Gaga, a reunited Soundgarden, Green Day, Arcade Fire and the Strokes.

Gaga, Soundgarden and Green Day were named Tuesday by the Daily Swarm, a music Web site that cited “multiple industry sources” in its report.

The Tribune has learned from its own sources that negotiations are progressing with Arcade Fire and the Strokes. The Lollapalooza lineup also will include several coveted rising bands, including Yeasayer, the xx, and Dirty Projectors, as well as veteran dance-oriented acts Cut Copy and Hot Chip, sources have confirmed.

A representative for Texas-based Lollapalooza promoters C3 Presents would not comment on any of the reports.

Gaga’s appearance wouldn’t be a big surprise, given that she first played the festival in 2007 as a virtually unknown side-stage act. She is represented by the powerful William Morris agency, whose Marc Geiger partners with C3 in presenting the annual lakefront festival.

Soundgarden’s reunion has been in the works since last year, and was confirmed Jan. 1 when singer Chris Cornell announced that “the 12-year break is over and school is back in session.” The band’s live appearances are complicated by drummer Matt Cameron’s ongoing membership in Pearl Jam; to play Lollapalooza and other tour dates, Cameron needed a “hall pass,” as one industry official called it, from Pearl Jam so he could play with Soundgarden.

Arcade Fire is expected to have a new album out this year, and played a triumphant, sun-baked set at the inaugural Grant Park Lollapalooza in 2005.

The Strokes have not toured since 2006, and singer Julian Casablancas recently released his first solo album. But the band also is working on its fourth studio album, and has already booked a couple of European festival dates.

greg@gregkot.com

Related:

Lollapalooza 2009 photos

Lady Gaga in Chicago

2010 Pitchfork lineup news

Concert review: Lady Gaga at Rosemont Theatre

Lady Gaga performs at Rosemont Friday, January 8. View more photos of the Lady Gaga concert HERE.  (Tribune photo by Chris Sweda)

       Lady Gaga paused in the middle of her concert Friday at the Rosemont Theatre and momentarily basked in applause from her geeked-out fans, many of them accessorized in Gaga-like finery. Then she yawned and examined her fingernails.

        It was just one of many little sarcastic asides in a show that played like one long critique of celebrity, the first of a three-night Chicago residency. The 110-minute set had some pacing problems, and a few slack moments. But overall this was a visual spectacle heavy on ideas rather than self-aggrandizing glamor, disturbing and provocative as much as it was grandiose.

           Music? Yes, there was that, too, more of a soundtrack (uptempo electronic music outfitted with rock flourishes) to the visual blitz on a stage that resembled a long hallway of video screens receding into the horizon. The singer born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta 23 years ago has  been in the public spotlight for only about a year, and she already has a handful of catchy hits. The latest, “Bad Romance,” was saved for last. Another, the mega “Poker Face,” was performed twice.

        Gaga owned 2009 in pop music because she grasped that in this over-stimulated, attention-deficit era, each song, each gesture, each sashay in front of thousands of cellphone cameras needs to be an event or it won’t resonate. In an era where singles rule rather than albums, Gaga sold more than 15 million digital tracks last year, more than any other artist ever. Her hits were accompanied by alluring, arty videos, referencing everything from German cult figure Klaus Nomi to Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.”

        She’s taken her high-concept show on the road and toured relentlessly – just a little over a year ago she was an obscure opening act for New Kids on the Block. The current tour has had its share of bumps. A double-bill with Kanye West evaporated when the hip-hop star pulled out last year, and then as Gaga expanded her theater show, she abruptly moved into larger venues, forcing a last-minute ticket exchange in Chicago that inconvenienced fans.

    But there were few signs of dissent Friday, as the audience – a cross-cultural mix that included schoolchildren, gay couples, and packs of Gaga-imitating young women – stood and danced through most of the show as Gaga alternately baited, thanked and sang for them. 
 
        And she really did sing – rather than lip-sync – in a tougher-than-expected alto with some gritty, blues-dipped inflections, from the sinister “Monster” to the instant gay anthem “Boys, Boys, Boys.” She managed to belt out the 18 songs live even while working through some energetic routines with about a dozen dancers, strenuous double-duty that performers like Madonna, Britney Spears and Janet Jackson can’t seem to manage without resorting to canned vocals. She sat alone at the piano to pound out a couple of tunes, including an ill-advised slow-paced “Poker Face”; fortunately she brought it back later in its full-on electronic version.

        Underpinning many of the songs was Gaga’s skeptical take on fame, which took on the physical properties of a predator. Her many costume changes weren’t so much about emphasizing her sex appeal as they were symbols conjured up in nightmares. She embodied a raven and a fang-baring wolf, rarely playing to sex-nymph clichés that plague most pop concerts. Indeed, many of the costumes distorted or disguised Gaga’s feminine features; in videos that separated the songs, she sported antlers and cloven hoofs, wore hideous masks and was the target of a blue-hued stream of vomit. On “Paparazzi,” she was chained to a metal bar, her celebrity a form of bondage.

    The singer reveled in the provocations and salty language, but she also clearly enjoyed expanding the notion of just who a star is and how one should act. Implied in her every unconventional gesture was that there was room for everyone, no matter how much of an outsider, in her spotlight.

greg@gregkot.com

Related items:

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Jason Derulo on touring with Lady Gaga

Click here for photos from Friday night's show.

Lady Gaga set list Friday at the Rosemont Theatre:

1. Dance in the Dark
2. Just Dance
3. LoveGame
4. Alejandro
5. Monster
6. So Happy I Could Die
7. Teeth
8. Speechless
9. Poker Face (Acoustic)
10. The Fame
11. Money Honey
12. Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
13. Boys Boys Boys
14. Paper Gangsta
15. Poker Face
16. Paparazzi

Encore:

17. Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) 
18. Bad Romance 

Sponsored Link: Amazon's Lady Gaga Store