September 2021 Artist – Lady Gaga (Part 1)
This post is part of my Deep Dive Music Project. This month I’m listening to some music by Lady Gaga. Be sure to check out the Lady Gaga playlist I have on Deezer. If want to skip ahead to Part 2 click here.
This month I will by diving into the music of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a Lady Gaga. This is also the final month of the Deep Dive Music Project. This project was originally going to end last month, but I ended up taking the month of April off. That why this is listed as the September 2021 artist since last September I covered Lana Del Ray.
Lady Gaga might seem like an odd choice of artist to pick for this project, because she’s been a pretty influential artist to come about since gaining popularity back in 2008ish. I’m familiar with several of her songs. I’ve heard them on radio, at work, on tv, but similar to artists like David Bowie or Prince just because I know a few songs doesn’t mean I know it all. Lady Gaga is definitely an artist where I know the radio singles, but nothing else. I also can recall the first time I ever heard a Lady Gaga song. I was on holiday and was driving from Moncton, New Brunswick to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and suddenly “Love Game” came on, a song I’d never heard before. Music is strongly tied to memory and “Love Game” always reminds me of that trip (because I ended up hearing it several times on the local radio stations I was listening to over the 10 days of my trip). I’ll also never forget feeling old at a shopping mall when “Radio Ga Ga” was playing and when the DJ said after that song “that was Queen with ‘Radio Ga Ga’ ” a preteen girl turned to her friend and said “omigod that’s almost like Lady Gaga.” These girls had never heard Queen before (and I’m pretty sure Lady Gaga got her name from that Queen song).
I think like some people I’m less familiar with Lady Gaga’s discography, but more familiar with her as a celebrity (remember the meat dress?). And while I know she’s also delved into acting (starring in the most recent remake of A Star Is Born and having a role in a season of American Horror Story) I definitely want to put aside the pop culture, celebrity tabloid aspect of Lady Gaga and focus on her music.
The Lady Gaga Songs I Kind Of Know
Poker Face
Love Game
Born This Way
Just Dance
Applause
Alejandro
Telephone (duet with Beyoncé)
Rain On Me
Stupid Love
Shallow (from the movie A Star is Born)
There are probably more.
Impressions
Before I start diving into the discography for the artists I’ve chosen I want to give a rundown of the impression I get of their music and their work. This may or may not be accurate. The point of this isn’t for me to tell you, “this is definitely what this artist’s music is/will be like” but for me to see if these impressions are correct as I go along. They may or may not be.
I know Lady Gaga is a lot of pop and electronica music, and has sort of helped to influence pop music in the 2010s. And I’m sure I’ve heard this influence in other artists, but I also know she has a more country-focused album, and she’s done a couple albums with legendary singer Tony Bennett (known for pop standards and big band style music). So part of me wants to say it’ll be a lot of pop/electronica music that’s just fun to dance to, but I’m also expecting a few surprises along the way.
The Albums I’ll Be Listening To
The Fame Monster [Deluxe Edition] (2009)
Born This Way (2011)
ARTPOP (2013)
Joanne [Deluxe] (2016)
Chromatica (2020)
For this project I am focusing on the major studio releases by Lady Gaga and mostly her solo work (hence why there are only 5 albums on here). But if there is time I may listen to Cheek to Cheek her 2014 duet album with Tony Bennett. They are also releasing another duet album Love for Sale but it’s not scheduled for release until October 2021. And while I’ve seen the Judy Garland version of A Star is Born I may watch the 2018 remake with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and listen to the movie soundtrack if I can.
What’s your favourite song or album by Lady Gaga?