Satori

Almost every celeb perfume/cologne I've smelled is horrid. /Glow/ by J.Lo is an exception--it was startlingly effective and I still remember the first time I smelled it. It was strong and distinctive like designer fragrances without some of the garish or sickly-sweet notes that so many celeb offerings have. Another one that comes to mind (although it's not from one of the faves) is /Lovely/ by Sarah Jessica Parker.

I didn’t care for it on first listen but I love it now and the hate it’s gotten honestly makes me like it even more. All those criticisms screenshotted in the OP are racially-inflected trash

THIS. My favorite song on the album with Exile and one of her best songs ever IMO. I saw some bullshit review saying the album needed to be edited down and this was the song they suggested cutting first and I was ready to fight.

I didn’t mind it and it was def catchy at moments but it felt more like a gimmick than a song.

*nuclear bomb gif i-*

Idk it works for me. I was expecting to hate it, because the single artwork and the title of the song just struck me as awful, and I didn’t listen to any of the leaks. But from the first time I heard it this morning I loved it. There’s something refreshing about hearing a plain and simple maximalist pop girl banger like this again. One could say she was trying to reinhabit her pop heights but to me this is both a throwback and a step forward in the best of ways. It’s more well-produced than any of her singles since The Fame Monster (not shading BTW or Artpop)—it just sounds polished, which isn’t surprising given Max’s involvement. But it also feels like she’s doing something new—I can’t remember the last time a Gaga song had this much joy seeping from it. Her upbeat stuff has traditionally been so aggressive (which is fine), but this feels like she’s adapting to the genre rather than bending the genre to her will. You could say that makes it less original and experimental, but it certainly doesn’t make it less infectious and listenable. It’s the one Gaga song I can think of that makes me smile as soon as it starts. And as far as the video, I don’t really buy the easy dismissals of the camp defense. All prior Gaga weirdness across her eras has been way too self-serious for it to ever be truly camp... there was always a solemnity behind the crazy costumes and the hyper charged beats. The music was always delivered with a conviction that she was doing something important™️.... whereas this feels like a much more healthy and charming version of self-awareness. The occasional “missteps” in the costumes and production design arrive with a wink, and more importantly, with a smile. Have you ever seen the girl look like she was just there making a video to have fun? Yes there’s the clumsy built-in mythology in the storyline, but this is a three-minute pink explosion shot on an iPhone. It’s not presented as an epic—it feels intentionally of the moment, ephemeral, and joyous the way all pop music that endures does, precisely because of the thoughtless emotion it evokes. (There are exceptions, but “meaningful” pop music isn’t really pop.) I’ve talked to a bunch of my cohortmates today about it and a lot of the Gaga fans don’t care for it while the casual listeners, and the people who had tuned her out for a while like me, love it. And they pinpointed they same things I did: it was fun, and it felt tongue in cheek in a way that was different for her, and above all, it was a bop. So I say good for her.

Some unexpected flavor in this tea

1. Dark Ballet 2. Future 3. Killers Who Are Partying 4. God Control 5. Crave 6. Crazy 7. Extreme Occident 8. Looking For Mercy 9. Faz Gostoso 10. I Don’t Search I Find First Single: God Control Countdown Promo 1: Faz Gostoso Countdown Promo 2: Extreme Occident Second Single: Dark Ballet Third Single: Crave (US); Future (International) Fourth Single: Medellín (Album reissue with this as a new song, coinciding with the launch of the tour. XD) Disclaimers: I cut out some songs I really like because making it ten tracks only made it more important to find a narrative arc for the album. I like the idea of it ending with celebratory upbeat numbers. Faz Gostoso is easily the best first single material here, but it’s a cover, so it never would fly. God Control is the obvious choice, therefore. I have a few reservations about the production, but it would have been a spellbinding way to begin the era, a true return of Politicsdonna. For the Medellin-led deluxe reissue, I’d also add I Rise (SANS EMMA!) and Come Alive, which I love.