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Post by Rocky on Nov 11, 2013 11:00:40 GMT -5
I'm not really shocked. There's people who would rate her low no matter how good the album was, let's be honest. It will probably even out more and have a similar rank to her other albums eventually. I know right. Do you all remember that ridiculous 0/100 review for BTW? I would never rate something less than 40%, but even if you hate something you just can't give a 0 for it.  |
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popbox
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Post by popbox on Nov 11, 2013 11:21:49 GMT -5
Reviews don't surprise me. This album is the definition of a grower for most tracks, and critics don't take the time to let songs sink in. I thought it was distant third in her discography on my first playthrough, but now the album is closing in on BTW for me.
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Mack
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Post by Mack on Nov 11, 2013 11:29:19 GMT -5
^ It was the opposite for me. I loved basically the entire album (minus 'Jewels 'n Drugs' and 'Dope') on first listen, whereas it took Born This Way and The Fame more than a few listens to grow on me.
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Post by Push The Button on Nov 11, 2013 12:19:10 GMT -5
100k in pre-orders only translates to "potentially" hitting 350k?
20/20 had 156k I believe, a new record, when it dropped in March. Obviously she's not coming anywhere CLOSE to that 968k total, but why the large disparity?
Has Gaga lost the all-important Pulse barometer, the "general public?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2013 12:29:02 GMT -5
The app is really weird, but really cool!
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theflying
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Post by theflying on Nov 11, 2013 12:31:51 GMT -5
Gypsy highest non promo track on iTunes <3
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Agent Yoncé
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Post by Agent Yoncé on Nov 11, 2013 12:37:02 GMT -5
Got my copy of "ARTPOP"!!!!!  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2013 12:40:55 GMT -5
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on Nov 11, 2013 12:45:38 GMT -5
I see pics of the album from people on Instagram, yet i can't buy it today because it's not available in Canada. :(
Unless Starbucks is carrying it?
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ILLUSION
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Post by ILLUSION on Nov 11, 2013 12:47:26 GMT -5
Unless Starbucks is carrying it? Might be. Could you order it digitally? |
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Nov 11, 2013 13:04:15 GMT -5
Or wait until tomorrow?? lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2013 13:10:28 GMT -5
I see pics of the album from people on Instagram, yet i can't buy it today because it's not available in Canada. :( It is available in Canada though.  |
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Post by Rocky on Nov 11, 2013 13:13:39 GMT -5
After two listens: 1. TFM =2. BTW =2. ARTPOP 4. TF 1. Aura - 8/10 The chorus is the best thing on the entire album, and got used to the verses in September. 2. Venus - 8/10 It's not nearly as bad as some people want to believe. 3. G.U.Y - 10/10 The snippet was a big surprise for me and the full song lived up to my expectations. The intro is cool. 4. Sexxx Dreams - 10/10 My fave song from the iTunes festival and the album version is as great as the live one. 5. Jewels n' Drugs - 7/10 I thought I'll be like: "Meh, I don't use", but it's actually decent. 6. Manicure - 9/10 Didn't understand its appeal after the live version, but the beat + the content got me. 7. Do What U Want - 10/10 The best song on the album. Wise choice, hope it'll be a big hit. 8. ARTPOP - 8/10 Something just isn't right for me with the final version, it almost completely lost its vibe. Still a good song I guess. 9. Swine - 10/10 Another song I didn't use after the festival, but hearing the studio version it clicked with me instantly. Those drops. :'( That "Swiiiiiiiiiiiine"-belt. The 'hiccups'. I'm done. I'll play the scheiße out of it. 10. Donatella - 9/10 It's still so new to me, but I think I like it. Nothing amazing though. 11. Fashion! - 9/10 I was waiting for something - sic - more interesting. That's always a problem with a few of her album tracks imo. 12. Mary Jane Holland - 9/10 "Russian hookers and cheeeeap gin..." Too many YAAAAAAS'! 13. Dope - 8/10 I f**king want the live version back. 14. Gypsy - 10/10 The TEOG of the album, definitely single material. Hope they won't mess it up. 15. Applause - 10/10 Still a ten out of ten for me after almost three months. This song means so much for me. Total: 9/10Personal favorites after almost a week: The album's rank didn't change. 01. G.U.Y. 10/10 In my opinion "G.U.Y." is the best song on the album. The intro is lovely with it's weirdness and gets me excited. The pre-chorus is a pop perfection, I mean both the "I'm gonna wear the towel..." and the "Touch me, touch me, don't be sweet"-part. It's my most played song this week. I will cut them if this won't be a properly handled single at one point.02. Do What U Want 10/10 It was a good decision to release this as the 2nd single, it has the potential to become one of her biggest hits ever. Still waitin' for ya Gaga and Interscope. R. Kelly sounds good on it, her voice fits perfectly for these kind of songs.03. Applause 10/10 Won't forget this one, despite listening to it for 3 moths now it still sounds so fresh. It's so good with earphones as you can discover new layers every time you put the song on. Well, we got weirder verses on the album and I grew to love it anyway. 04. Sexxx Dreams 10/10 It didn't chance much from the version I know well for two months. In fact it didn't need to, it was full already. It's very sexual without being obscene and I love every bit of it. The whispers, the "I can't believe I'm telling you this, but I've had a couple drinks and oh my god..." line. I'm still praying for a Rihanna feature or remix or whatever.05. Gypsy 10/10 It's at a great spot. After an emotional low it wakes you up with its positivity. It has a well defined hook and reminds me a lot of "Marry The Night" but in a good way. This is all MTN wanted to be.06. Swine 9.5/10 It's a great complextro track and her vocals are amazing again. My only issue is with it that right before that huge drop the buildup gets quite annoying. I'm sure its sounds great in a club, but not for home listen.07. Dope 9/10 I was severely disappointed by what they've done with "I Wanna Be With You" but took some time listening to it more and realized it didn't change at all lol. Yeah the lyrics are quite cliché, but look other artists made career of writing songs with just using one cliché after one. So "I Wanna Be With You" "Dope" is acceptable, I guess. The melody got me with its Broadway-style malancholy but something still bothers me about her voice at the beginning otherwise her vocals are one of the best, especially during the chorus.08. Venus 9/10 The first verse is epic and the chorus is explosive. "Rocket #9 take off to the planet, VENUS." I only gave it a 9 because I'm still freaking out of the "don't you know my ass is famous" line after 3 weeks. Phenomenal! 09. Jewels n' Drugs 9/10 "This family is stupid attractive"
It has grown on me big time, her parts are amazing and the bridge is my favorite. T.I. is good as usual, I like Too $hort as well. Twista, sis.
10. Donatella 8.5/10 Zedd made a good work on this track, but the lyrics... lol. "Voodoo, Voodoo, Voo-Don-Na-Na" "Just your gay friend's their advice, before you
Get a spray tan on holiday, in Taipei"  I still love it and I hate myself for that. Should've rank it last.11. ARTPOP 8.5/10 "I just love the music, not the bling... Music NOT THE BLING"
This was the song she played in her car last summer and knew it will be amazing.
12. Aura 8.5/10 To quote Rihanna: "Not really sure how I feel about it". Can't judge it the same way as the other tracks because I heard it before everything else on the album.13. Mary Jane Holland 8.0/10 I still love it but gave it too much points. 14. MANiCURE 8.0/10 I'm already bored with this one. Pretty good though.15. Fashion! 7.5/10 I like it more than like three days ago, it's a typical Gaga album filler. Funny how this is the low point of the album and it's not even half bad. 
9/10, not perfect by any means, but close to it. |
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Ivy Leegue™
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Post by Ivy Leegue™ on Nov 11, 2013 13:21:57 GMT -5
This album tho…first time hearing the whole thing in full. I'm not sure why anyone would ever want ManiCure to languish as an album track. It's easily one of her catchiest songs. I would rank it better than most of her singles, really. I love how it slows down to a hip-hop beat in the second half. Yeah, this is a no-brainer as a single. Also, DWUW really is catchy as hell. The more I hear it, the more addictive it becomes and I love that it's R. Kelly and Gaga together. It's one of her best singles.
Sexxx Dreams and JnD are still highlights to me.
Outside of the ITUNES live thing a while back, this is the first time I am hearing the studio version of the title track. What an extremely catchy song. It could also be released and do pretty well, I would imagine.
G.U.Y. still remains average to me. It's fine and there are parts I love but overall, it kinda falls flat.
I went into this album expecting something REALLY grating on the ears - like some grinding, electro-thrash or something based on some of the things I have read here in terms of the noisiness. I think everything sounds impeccably balanced, actually. Swine would probably win the award for noisiest and even that song has a structure. It's not a random, atonal mess, which was what I was expecting. For the record, Donatella is less annoying than I thought it would be. As a slightly Sapphic tribute from one female to another, it beats the hell out of International Smile, that's for damn sure.
Fashion should be played at every shopping mall across America. People would be buying things and not even knowing why.
So far, I think this is better than BTW. I might be in the minority and think The Fame/Fame Monster combo was Gaga at her best but this is better than a lot of the sloganeering or senseless filler from BTW. That album was cool but I really only use the singles from it and Scheibe, of course.
MJH needs to kindly vacate this album. It sounds like BTW-filler. I mean, it's slightly better than some of those unremarkable songs but…that's not saying much.
I actually could have used more of the songs that make her detractors or non-fans stop and take note of her raw talent: i.e. the songs that seem to give the fine people of Pulse much pause. I'm talking the drunken, painted whore falling over the piano, slurring, whiskey-soaked ballads. If MJB kept that breakdown throughout the whole song, I would like it a whole lot more. Sigh…what could have been. I'll take Dope though because I LOVE that style from Gaga. In fact, You & I, Speechless, and the oft-maligned Brown Eyes are in the top 10 of my favorite Gaga songs, hands down. Dope might be better than those songs because of the message. Oh…and Gypsy needs to be released next. I want to hear that song all over the place. There is no way this song wouldn't be absolutely massive.
My ranking:
1. Gypsy
2. Applause (damn, I must have had a basic version because this one has a lot of extra effects and some high-notes before the last pre-chorus that I have only heard her do during the live version…still one of my top 10 Gaga songs of all times and a perfect album closer)
3. Do What U Want
4. Manicure
5. Dope
6. Jewels n Drugs
7. Sexxx Dreams
The rest.
B+
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on Nov 11, 2013 13:28:18 GMT -5
I see pics of the album from people on Instagram, yet i can't buy it today because it's not available in Canada. :( It is available in Canada though.  Digital, yeah, but all the stores here are closed. Unless the giant cities are exempt? |
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on Nov 11, 2013 13:28:46 GMT -5
Or wait until tomorrow?? lol I've waited LONG ENOUGH. #madface |
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August
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Post by August on Nov 11, 2013 13:33:43 GMT -5
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Agent Yoncé
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Post by Agent Yoncé on Nov 11, 2013 13:47:45 GMT -5
I'm on 'MaNiCURE' rn. So far, it's pretty good. A lot of over productions, but I guess that works b/c some of the songs are a bit flat in certain parts of songs & they're not as catchy like her past material.
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ILLUSION
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Post by ILLUSION on Nov 11, 2013 13:48:05 GMT -5
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Agent Yoncé
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Post by Agent Yoncé on Nov 11, 2013 13:58:08 GMT -5
Or wait until tomorrow?? lol I've waited LONG ENOUGH. #madface Oh Maxy :'( |
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jazzyskye10²
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Post by jazzyskye10² on Nov 11, 2013 14:07:03 GMT -5
Got my copy from Target.
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August
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Post by August on Nov 11, 2013 14:10:44 GMT -5
I think Amazon is doing this in response to the press they received when they sold "Born This Way" for 99 cents. Gaga / Amazon / Billboard got some flack because ~40% of the sales in that first week were because of the super low pricing. Amazon took the loss on the sales of BTW because they were using it as an opportunity to promote their cloud service. Billboard changed their policy a few weeks later so that unit sales for Albums priced below $3.49 during their first four weeks of release will not be eligible for inclusion on the Billboard album charts and will not count towards sales data presented by Nielsen SoundScan. Given that there is no real benefit to Amazon taking the loss this time around, the $5.99 price is probably the lowest they would be willing to go to drive sales on their end and still make some money. I am interested to see how much this contributes to the total during the first week. |
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poplife
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Post by poplife on Nov 11, 2013 14:43:15 GMT -5
Did anyone see any Deluxe Edition copies in stores (in US) w/ the foil packaging? I went to Target, Best Buy and Walmart and it was all just the standard. I ordered the foil edition from Amazon but it hasn't even shipped yet. Anyone else get theirs shipped from Amazon? I'm guessing the only way to get the special edition is either online or at H&M (which I don't live near one).
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Agent Yoncé
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Post by Agent Yoncé on Nov 11, 2013 14:46:08 GMT -5
^ I think you answered your question. When I went to Target, they did indeed only carry the standard edition. I believe the only way to get the special edition or deluxe edition is to order it online or get it exclusively at H&M.
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poplife
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Post by poplife on Nov 11, 2013 14:55:14 GMT -5
Wasn't sure if a small portion were going to the stores. Oh well, at least I got the Amazon preorder, if only they'd ship the damn thing.
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Agent Yoncé
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Post by Agent Yoncé on Nov 11, 2013 15:11:07 GMT -5
I would like to believe some stores will carry the deluxe, not that I see it'll see much b/c it's just three remixes of 'Applause' on it.
It saddens me to say 'Applause' is one of the best songs on the album when I find it to be very basic. It has grown on me a tad over the past few months, but still...
After hearing the whole album, I understand why this is ranked pretty low compared to her previous work. I love the productions on here, but like I said earlier, a lot of it is overproduced & it seems to work in her favor since these songs are missing something & not catchy/bubbly like her older stuff. Naturally I enjoy the themes, however, they are too overshadowed by the loud noise. Lol
'Dope' & 'Gypsy' are my least favorite songs. 'Aura' would be up there w/'DWUW', 'Penis' & 'Fashion!' as my faves had they kept the f**kin' demo version... 'Donatella''s lyrics are pretty obnoxious. Lol
Overall, this is a 6.7-7.2ish out of 10 for me. This isn't as immediate like her other stuff, especially like the first half of "BTW". I enjoy DJWS & Zedd sonically, but they didn't make magic like RedOne or Fernando Garibay have done. I rank this below "BTW" & above "THE FAME".
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poplife
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Post by poplife on Nov 11, 2013 15:57:23 GMT -5
OK, I don't feel so bad now, just found out the H&M version is edited. No loss there.
I did pick up the Walmart version today just for laughs.. X Dreams is so funny!
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ILLUSION
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Post by ILLUSION on Nov 11, 2013 16:21:49 GMT -5
Any news on updated first week predictions?
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DJ General
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Post by DJ General on Nov 11, 2013 16:24:26 GMT -5
100k in pre-orders only translates to "potentially" hitting 350k? 20/20 had 156k I believe, a new record, when it dropped in March. Obviously she's not coming anywhere CLOSE to that 968k total, but why the large disparity? Has Gaga lost the all-important Pulse barometer, the "general public?" I think all of the big fans pre-ordered in advance. Justin was a movement and a press promo frenzy. He didn't get a ton of pre-orders but once he was EVERYWHERE for weeks people knew about the album |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2013 16:49:44 GMT -5
62 on Metacritic after 17 reviews. I'm kinda shocked, actually. It's up to a 64 on Metacritic with 19 reviews in currently. |
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