Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” Video: WTF?
What is the most WTF moment that Lady Gaga has brought about? Was it the lyric “let’s have some fun / this beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” (from “Lovegame”)? Was it Christopher Walken doing a dramatic reading of the lyrics of “Poker Face”? Was it the TV interview she did where she wore a dress made entirely out of Kermit the Frog dolls? Oh no, dear reader. Those moments have now been usurped by Francis Lawrence-helmed, Kubrik-indebted clip for “Bad Romance”, off of the forthcoming re-release of Lady GaGa’s unbelievably-successful debut album The Fame.
Here, Gaga exists in some futuristic world where women are placed in tight latex suits designed after Max’s wolf costume from Where the Wild Things Are, and are then forced to become Neutral Mask-wearing dance patrons for men with gold-plated chins, all (somehow) resulting in not only one of the most bizarre Gaga get-ups to date (what I shall affectionately call the “gold-studded crab pantaloon”), but also in the delightful reappearance of one of Gaga’s most notable fashion accessories: the “firework bra” (which she wears next to the charred corpse of a certain lover of indeterminable evilness [we think]).
All of these elaborate visuals, however, manage to distract us from a very simple truth about the lead single from The Fame Monster: it’s kind of ... bland. Although Gaga wisely re-teams with RedOne—the brilliant producer who engineered her #1 hits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”—the sexy electro sheen that has become his trademark just doesn’t feel as powerful this time out, the chorus feeling like somewhat of a tired retread of the verses, the whole thing just lacking that extra spark that made her previous hits so guilty-pleasure cool. Instead, the song is best defined by its video, featuring slow-motion diamond drops, druggy supermodels, and one very turbulent use of fire as a way to get revenge on a certain man with a gold-plated chin.
So what does it all mean? Why does she bless herself at 3:18? Why is the dance choreography only partially in sync? Is there a “Thriller” homage mixed into those dance moves or is this just another excuse for Lady Gaga to wear the most weirdass outfits ever designed by mankind? It’s hard to say, but for the time being, why don’t you sit back, relax, and enjoy yet another Gaga-fueled visual assault that she does only too, too well.
Comments
Wtf? was your article about? Clearly you don’t understand anything about Lady GaGa and her style.
Just because its not your squeeky clean pop song that explains to you word for word what the song and video is about you seem uncapalbe to explore the deeper meaning. Clearly you are some thick person who couldn’t understand that her new album is all about the bad sides of Fame and the video is deeper and can mean that fame is changing her and destorying her life. Hense the old pop songs that yes were good but had hardly any meaning and if ones at all were just about sex.
Clearly you sit on your arse in some office or home all day in your plain blue jeans, a t-shirt that says you love star wars and a jumper that has never seen the wash that you have been wearing it since your mum picked it out for you since the age of ten slagging artist who wear high fashion clothes. You have no sense of style or any idea what looks good clearly as Lady GaGa has never look so amazing in her whole Career. You may have done your research on a few of her songs but you oviously don’t understand her love for fashion and her new involvment in the fashion industry.
Go write about other boring videos and leave the art videos alone that are witty and clever!!!
Comment by Michael — November 13, 2009 @ 3:40 am
Ouch, Michael. That was rabid. Still, I also disagree with the article. Lady Gaga has a lot of talent. And people are judging her for her songs’ catchiness and electronic elements, because they damn anything that becomes too popular, regardless of its actual merit. She is enormously talented and experimental. I am a huge fan, one of Gaga’s Little Monsters. And I, too, must stand up for her.
After all, she stood up for me and my kind at the DC Rally.
Comment by JarrodB — November 13, 2009 @ 11:13 am
When I read this article, I felt it took on a very shallow analysis on the music video and the song. It seems that our analyzer is a bit bias on this one. I thought this music video and song was brilliantly arranged and shows more depth to it than her past songs. It will require more effort on the audience’s part to analyze it more than what the author of this article did. Beyond the glamor and disco beat, there is also the references that she drew from pop culture and horror movies. They describe the ugliness, the monsters and the disease that she had experience in her career, which was clearly explained in her vibe.com interview. One of my favorite analysis to this film was about how it referenced Salam dancing to the king, which corresponds to her dancing at the auction in front of the mobsters. In the end she carried out her revenge, burning the mobster to a crisp. The lizard like costume that she had on and the bone skinny part where her spine was protruding her back were all in reference to freaky creatures, elements that people may feel uncomfortable with, but ultimately stands out. The visuals were just amazing and watching it was like breathing a breath of fresh. I wholeheartedly commend Lady gaga on her brilliance and creativity because the music industry was beginning to become a bit bland.
Comment by KellyJ from Binghamton — November 13, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
How is her “disco stick” lyric anything worse than what is already in mainstream music? People sing about having sex. They have been singing about having sex for years. She wields a “disco stick” on stage which is representational of a phallus, thereby signifying her control and her bisexuality.
The video is not Kubrik-indebted at all. How do you figure?
The costumes, especially Gaga’s, are all from major fashion houses. You know, fashion houses that make millions of dollars every year. They weren’t hers alone. They may not be your cup of tea, but they sell. Clothing can be art, not just a necessity.
I do, however, think you need a breakdown of the video Barney-style since it seems that you have a problem understanding abstract concepts. Lady Gaga is in the “bath haus” to wash away her sins and feelings of uncleanliness due to her fame. Beautiful supermodels, angered and jealous of her, capture her, drug her (with vodka), and steal her away to be sold to the Russian mafia. She realizes that she cannot get out of the situation by fighting, and instead entices the leader of the mafia to purchase her. (She blesses herself because she knows that she is committing a sin, and must commit a further, more heinous sin later.) After he purchases her, she has sex with him… and kills him.
So, there you have it. Or, you know, you could listen to some twat like Britney Spears or Taylor Swift who are about as deep as a papercut.
Comment by Lola — November 13, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
Wow. I applaud all the previous responses for representing everything GaGa stands for. The over simplification of a such a complex work of art really disturbed me. Lady GaGa is an entity bigger than words and I thoroughly enjoyed GaGa’s artful production.
Comment by Gaga's Monster — November 13, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
I believe the “get-up” that you deemed “gold-studded crab pantaloon” was referring to Alexander McQueen’s latest masterpiece. It’s an awe-inspiring work of art and probably not so easy to walk in.
Hello? Close-minded aren’t we?
Comment by Megumi from Houston, TX — November 13, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
Wow, Lola, thank you for that analysis! I understood most of what happened in the video, but I somehow missed her blessing herself. Your analysis makes a great deal of sense, indeed.
There’s also an alternative analysis of the video on Gaga’s forums where her the gradual increase in the ornateness of her costumes show her progression in darkness and perversion, and that the Gaga at the beginning of the video is the Gaga she becomes after the events of Bad Romance—-she becomes the new leader of the mobsters and a monster herself. At the beginning, she is sitting on her throne and reflecting on what she has done and how much she has changed since she was “born” out of the Monster casket.
Again, I agree with both analyses and appreciate that minds much deeper than my own were able to peel such meaning out of her work. I’m afraid I lack the ability to discern abstract concepts from works of art, but I recognize when they exist and appreciate them all the more when the meaning goes over my head. Too bad the author of this article didn’t even try and just jumped onto the Gaga “hater” bandwagon.
Comment by Tracy — November 13, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
Lady Gaga is the Devil and she is tempting everyone with the intention to BRAND YOU WITH HER EVILNESS! DO NOT look at her! You’ll burn for it.
Comment by Lola from Liverpool — November 14, 2009 @ 7:34 am
This article was just a really bad interpretation of GaGa’s style and herself as a person. She’s in a position that most artists only dream of; she’s in control of everything. Most artists have to negotiate with their label just to try and
take a different direction with a new album. To me, what was really bland was most of The Fame in itself. That album was specifically made to catch the eye of pop music lovers with
catchy hooks and choruses but besides the chosen singles, it was extremely generic. With The Fame Monster, GaGa
can pull all the stops with a sophomore album with only 8 tracks that will undoubtably will all be memorable and number one hits; do you think Madonna or Britney Spears could do the same if they released an 8 track album? No, because it’s the producers and writers who choose to only focus all the album’s potential on a handful of songs whereas every song off of The Famr Monster have the potential to all be number one singles.
If you can’t appreciate the Bad Romance video then more than likely you can’t understand her. She’s ‘bizzare’ not only because it sells, but because she doesn’t believe in having to use sex appeal like Britney Spears in order to be a pop icon. She is so big on fashion and showing her concepts because
regardless if you find it bizarre, it’s what you want to see and it’s going to set a new standard in how music will look and sound. She’s already influencing other artists to take her lead.
Obviously she’s doing something unbelievably right. Look at the iTunes chart if you have doubt. The Fame came out over a year ago and the album and it’s singles are still at the top of the charts. It wouldn’t hurt to appreciate that she’s just a breath of fresh air for the music industry.
Comment by Brian — November 14, 2009 @ 9:59 am
You’re an idiot. It’s a futuristic take on Russian bath houses where women have been sold to suitors before. It’s a play on modern romance.
I wish people would be smart and make abstractions, not just use the literal layed out before them.
Comment by Aly from Maine — November 14, 2009 @ 11:13 am
also, let’s talk about genius: her goal is to shock people, to inject the obscene into culture and change perception. Check.
Her music is catchy and she enjoys writing pop music that says more than what meets the eye. check.
She is classically trained and very talented, she isn’t doing this for money. check.
She’s happy, she’s hardworking, she’s smart and talented. who the hell are we to hate on that?
Comment by Aly from Maine — November 14, 2009 @ 11:24 am
Bland? You think this song is bland? You must be out of your fu**ing mind if you think this song is bland. This song for a dance pop song is epic. Not only is this song better than Poker Face, but the video that accompanies the song is one of the best music videos EVER made. Straight up!
Comment by Bluzulu — November 15, 2009 @ 6:48 am
Lady Gaga is talented and amazing. Bad Romance is a great video but I don’t understand it, could someone explain the meaning to me.
Comment by Mimi from London — November 15, 2009 @ 8:04 am
russian mafia? maybe i’m not a big fan but it seemed to be sadism with the costumes and dance representing the mental torment of the relationship…that said, whatever it is…I LOVE THIS VID!
Comment by tricia from frankfurt — November 16, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
I agree that this video is extremely deep. I love Lady Gaga’s music for the intrinsic provocative nature. One needs to really think about the song, or in this case video, to truely understand it’s meaning.
All of the analysis suggested have made great sense to me and helped me understand the song better. I believe that the beginning is the monster she became and she was reflecting on the events. The beginning obviously shows her monster birth. Something I also picked up on, was the use of color and symbolism. She is white when she is born and once she decideds to sell herself to the mafia man, she dances in red clothes, symbolizing that she knows she is commiting evil.
The great part about this video, is that it is completely up to interpretation. I encourage those who have picked up on small cues to continue to share them with the rest of us, to get a really great understanding of this video. 2 minds are better than 1, etc.
Comment by Bria — November 17, 2009 @ 10:03 pm
— PopMatters sponsor —
One of the analysis I have seen referenced in a few places is about the world of BDSM Romances.
The forcing to drink before the auction is commonly known as forced intoxication and is usually used to make submissives and slaves easier to mold into the owners will.
The skin n bone in a caged area is represntative of the caging and starvation of slaves owned in a 24/7 relationship (or is it a dig at too skinny celebs??)
The slave auction sort of speaks for it self lol, and the killing of the “owner” is a representation of overcoming your own submissvness and weakness and overcoming the dominance and power of the one who owns you.
I do agree that this article is awful, one sided and at best boring. The person writing that needs to get a real job instead of sitting at home in his pants writing crap on his own “major website!. Hes just a loser with a blog listed on google lol.
Comment by Hailee from uk — November 30, 2009 @ 6:03 pm
Here’s my little story.
Over the first year of her career, I tried to like Gaga, tried so hard to see what the appeal was but just couldn’t. Through her first few singles she sounded as though there was too little depth to the songs, that it was all about the show, the shock value.
However, her performance of “Paparazzi” at the MTV awards made me pay a little more attention - in fact I consider it the best live performance of the last decade and one of the best of all time - and, upon hearing that a new album was imminent, decided she needed another chance.
Around 2 weeks before The Fame Monster was released I heard Bad Romance on the radio. When I got home I watched the video on Youtube around 45 times (late night). I counted the days until the album was released and bought it immediately.
And on to the song;-
It’s wonderful. Dark and beautiful in equal measures. She tells us how sick and disturbed the relationship is - saying “I want your Psycho, your Vertigo shtick; Want you in my Rear Window, baby you’re sick” then tells us that she doesn’t care how wrong they are “I want your love” - incidentally, the Hitchcock references are superb, showing that she loves even the parts of his personality that resembles the chacters in those films.
She wants all of him even his “lovers revenge”. This theme reaches it’s zenith with the stunning, slurred, almost desperate delivery of “I don’t wanna be friends”.
And then there’s THAT chorus. God it’s good. The little spoken-word build-up, with synths pulsing below it crashes into you leaving you breathless. And it doesn’t seem to let up. Between lines we get the (for want of a better word) yodel that we last heard at the beginning, leaving us gasping when we realise that we haven’t taken a breath for 40 seconds. Even then it’s only a short breath as the “Ga ga, oh la la” hook rumbles around us.
The only problem is that it ends, leaving us utterly refreshed and offering praise to the person that invented the ‘repeat’ button.
Brilliant
Comment by Chris J from A small room somewhere in the UK — December 7, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
OH MY GOD! First off, I have to thank the writer for drawing attention to Lady Gaga. I don’t listen to the radio, and while I’ve seen her face blasted on posters across NYC, I pretty much dismissed her as another fly by night singer wanna be. But after seeing this video I’m very impressed with her. Bland? There is not one ounce of bland in that chick or her video. It’s been a while since a video kept me so riveted. I was disappointed when it actually ended- and what an ending! Now this Lady Gaga is a definite trend setter. I’m going out to buy her CD tonight. I don’t do the download thing. I like to touch, feel, read stuff on the physical package.
I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this Lady…I’m totally GAGA for her!
Comment by Dimon from NYC — December 8, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
Wow. Were you listening to the same song? I wonder what you usually listen to if you think “Bad Romance” is bland?
This is quite simply one of the most dynamic, inventive, fantastic songs I have ever heard. I just love the chorus harmonies. I can’t hear the song enough, I’ve had it on repeat on my ipod back and forth on the train to work all week.
Before this, I’d only heard “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” on the radio. When I saw the video for this, it blew me away and made me realize what an incredible talent Lady GaGa is. She’s amazingly inventive. I became a major fan instantly.
What’s really amazing is that she’s only 23. If she keeps up stuff like this, we are all in for a huge treat!
Scott
Comment by Scott from Walnut Creek, CA — December 10, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
did someone actually say dont listen 2 her ?
anyways she’s a really inspiring person, not that I can sing or anything, but I love her style, it makes you think outside the box and gives you a different view of things. i love art and to me lady gaga is an artist and art piece!
lady gaga is the awsomest.
Comment by skye from place — December 17, 2009 @ 1:20 am
this video makes me sick on the inside, it makes me feel like my guts are going to turn into rotten jello.
my favorite part is how her fans turn into rabid dogs if you don’t like her. brainwashed much? i don’t have to like your music, in fact, i can think lady gaga and her bourgeoise tastes (“she’s so into fashion blah blah blah”) are not only crap, but sociopathic, psychotic, immoral and pretty much satanic. OMG i just wanna go run out and buy some thousand dollar kermit the frog piece of crap dress made from fabric by the slave labor hands of some 8 year old bangladeshi girl? cuz lady gaga is so chic and hip and cares about stuff. right.
BUT considering we live in a culture of death, shopping, fashion, and a bunch of folks who think that this kind of crap is somehow “cutting edge,” i guess it’s no surprise.
but yeah, woohoo for promoting the parts of our culture which is destroying the planet: radical segregation of classes (the rich and famous), underworld/blackmarket/thugs (mafia), the occult/secret societies (masks), integration of technology into our psyches (remote controls/metallic pieces on peoples bodies), drugs (not just for personal use but to take advantage, and control of and to imprison someone), prostitution/rape (yum yum! devirginization by FORCE, note she wears red to signify this, while she starts out “clean” after baptism), murder (having fun yet?), and satanism (see the goat heads on either side of her bed?).. and this is all by WILL, she WANTS this.
she’s not at all putting forth a criticism of these aspects, SHE’S EMBRACING THEM, and wants you to as well.. but not me! peace
Comment by chris from california — December 18, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
you bag this video for the most retard reasons leaving out that she drags a skun polar bear along the floor as a cape thing witch is pretty yuk but the WORST thing is that she has a stuffed bat (as in the animal) as a hat??? that is revolting
but i like the video and her but those two things were wrong :)
Comment by chloe from melbourne, vic — January 28, 2010 @ 1:14 am
She’s the Madonna of the 2010’s. The video is nothing new. To me it’s just another declaration of Grrrrl Power. She wont be bought and sold to the highest bidder, etc. She uses her feminine charms to destroy the male after she’s gotten what she needs.
I would say she’s talented for sure—as a performance artist and someone who figured out how to leverage the club scene and a rabid following of gay men and college age club kids….
But the music is secondary and always will be—just like it was with Madonna. Gaga borrows some good hooks, but she has little depth. As a singer, she’s atrocious. This isn’t good stuff like Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, or Norah Jones, who are musicians first. Gaga is all about being a mega-star. And it’s working. When I think back to the 80s, and all the great pop hits, I certainly don’t think of Madonna songs. Not when there was so much other great stuff. But I do think about her face, her dances, her videos and her look. Gaga’s the same—without the visuals, the music doesn’t hold up any better the songs that she borrows from. Yes, her hooks all come from somewhere else…For example, the hook from “Poker Face” comes from the lame sax riff from an old Glen Frey song. She probably didn’t do it on purpose. It doesn’t matter anyway, does it?
These songs won’t be remembered as great melodies, but as long as Gaga’s a superstar they’ll have a great cultural force.
Comment by rodbrim from United States — January 30, 2010 @ 6:11 pm