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Discussion: Pop Queens Showdown ▲ Thank you everyone!
Member Since: 8/31/2013
Posts: 9,162
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Member Since: 8/28/2012
Posts: 34,863
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I'll do this. Deadline in October though? 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 30,842
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I'll bring the deadline forward to whenever Katy decides to drop her lead single. 
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Member Since: 2/12/2012
Posts: 27,814
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Quote:
Originally posted by conatus
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I am disappointed in you, connie 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 30,842
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My SHICD stanning making everyone turn against conatus. 
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Member Since: 2/12/2012
Posts: 27,814
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I am in.
I am gonna drag some songs
But why october? So freaking far. UK Single release teas.
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Member Since: 2/12/2012
Posts: 27,814
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Quote:
Originally posted by Prismatic
My SHICD stanning making everyone turn against conatus. 
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You better stan 
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Member Since: 8/28/2012
Posts: 34,863
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The deadline should be in like 1 month at most 
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 10,514
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For your rating consideration:
Quote:
It's easily her best written song. I mean, I'm hard pressed to even think of another song with a triple meaning in it, let alone another Gaga song. The entire song revolves around the concept of Gaga "touching herself." The brilliance is in the really well-constructed lyrics in which Gaga makes this a triple entendre. When we first hear "I touch myself and it's alright," we immediately think of masturbation, which Gaga herself directly references in the opening lines.
I love that lavender blonde
The way she moves, the way she walks
I touch myself, can't get enough
However, she quickly opens up another possible interpretation.
I am as vain as I allow
I do my hair, I gloss my eyes
I touch myself all through the night
Vanity is introduced as a theme, and we're now aware that Gaga's "touching herself" means fixing her hair, putting on makeup, etc. Unlike the vanity explored on The Fame, however, this brand seems much darker in the context of the song. Whereas "Money Honey" and "Vanity" mock-celebrated this institution, So Happy I Could Die paints it as a way for Gaga to keep herself together during darker times. She is the broken wannabe-starlet doing her makeup in a seedy nightclub bathroom, not the post-Fame blonde we saw in her first era.
Finally, the third and darkest interpretation of "touching herself" rears its head with multiple listens and a little help from Gaga herself, who says that the song is about addiction:
And in the silence of the night
Through all the tears and all the lies
I touch myself and it's alright
Usage of heavier drugs, such as heroin, is associated with "touching oneself." Shooting up heroin would require touching yourself in order to properly inject the drug. Gaga reinforces this idea with the line I touch myself 'til I'm on track, and gives it a much darker meaning than what we initially see. Drug injection leads to darkening of the veins which are then called "tracks," hence the term "track marks." It really makes you reconsider the line "I am as vain as I allow." Maybe "vein" is the more appropriate spelling. It is this way in that the meanings fold in on themselves that makes this song so incredible.
I touch myself, can't get enough.
Everything about the song becomes twisted and more and more complex as the meanings unfold. Gaga can't get enough of herself in her unending vanity? She can't get enough of whatever drug she's addicted to? Suddenly what initially seemed like a throwaway guffaw about masturbation reveals an undercurrent of meanings. Even "Just know when that the glass is empty, that the world is gonna bend" is left open to interpretation. Is Gaga referring to the glass of "red wine" mentioned in the chorus, or to a syringe of drugs?
Finally, we get to the chorus, which perfectly exemplifies why this song is so powerful. It's one thing to write a song about depression, addiction and vanity with lots of meanings. It's another to wrap it in the tone that Gaga chooses. She sings in an ironic, floating, pop-voice and seems genuinely thrilled as she sings
Happy in the club with a bottle of red wine
Stars in our eyes 'cause we're having a good time
Eh, eh, so happy I could die
Be your best friend and I'll love you forever
Up in the clouds, we'll be higher than ever
I know the first time I listened to this song I didn't think of the chorus as anything but sugar-sweet pop perfection, something that would make me think of good times with a friend. However, when you apply the other meanings discussed, even the bubblegum chorus is sinister. "Up in the clouds, we'll be higher than ever" seems to be extolling how happy Gaga and her friend/lover/whoever she is singing to will be, but is also talking about death by overdose. She really will be "higher than ever" if she ODs and is sent to heaven, "up in the clouds." This is a really clever but dark play on words, given all the more impact by her dreamy delivery.
Meanwhile, the entire song is decorated with "Eh, eh, aha, ahas" clearly meant to sound euphoric, but something is off about them, as if Gaga is faking the entire song. She is pretending to be happy and cheerful, but is depressed, alone and addicted to drugs. She puts on her makeup and does her hair and projects an outward joy, but has demons on the inside.
Meanwhile, who is she talking to? The object of "Be your best friend and I'll love you forever" and who she's telling to "Just give in" is made incredibly vague and obscure. "The opening "lavender blonde" line may give us a clue that Gaga is talking to herself, again forcing us to reanalyze every line and watch new meanings unfold. It also reinforces the lonely, empty, echoing quality that the song has. Gaga is giving us the most unadulterated view we've ever had into her psyche.
In my opinion, So Happy I Could Die is one of her strongest songs because it shows how powerful pop music is. A lot of detractors of the genre think that pop has no deeper meaning and is just cheerful, disposable music. Gaga twists this expectation by giving us a perfect pop song: cheerful, seemingly expendable with a bubbly chorus about drinking and having fun. But underneath it all is her leviathan of drugs, sex, addiction, loneliness, fear of death, vanity and depression. "So happy I could die, and it's alright," she insists unconvincingly.
I could go on, this song is much too layered for me to ever say that there's nothing left to dissect, but I wanted to show how So Happy I Could Die is truly Gaga at her most Shakespearean. Dance In The Dark, frankly, pales in comparison to the subtlety and sheer brilliance contained in this sadly overlooked and underappreciated masterpiece. And my favorite part? You really can listen to So Happy I Could Die either way, as a happy pop song or a work of dark inner turmoil. It's a psychological experience and a true work of genius. It embodies everything that is right about The Fame Monster and everything that I love about Gaga's writing and take on pop.
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All of this and the flawfree production >>> 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 30,842
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Okay, ballots are due by early September and results will be revealed in early October. 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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Quote:
Originally posted by TheGreatestThing
For your rating consideration:
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Not this again. 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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@TGT 
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Sent.
Brit got 1 ten
Gaga got 2
Rih got 5
Bey got my 11
But sis, the deadline should be August 31st!!! Then start the results
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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Quote:
Originally posted by Prismatic
My SHICD stanning making everyone turn against conatus. 
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It's already been established my scores are often... Controversial.
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 10,514
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Quote:
Originally posted by conatus
Not this again. 
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Queen of comebacks.
Don't forget to give "Monster" and "Alejandro" tens as well. 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 2/20/2012
Posts: 17,203
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I can't just give one 11. I mean, there are at least five songs that deserve more than a 10!

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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 30,842
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Can't believe I forgot that the iconic Radarsus is in this rate. 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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Quote:
Originally posted by TheGreatestThing
Queen of comebacks.
Don't forget to give "Monster" and "Alejandro" tens as well. 
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I like Monster. Alejandro is tolerable. Y'all really overrate DITD to the high heavens, though!
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 30,842
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Quote:
Originally posted by Supersymmetry
I can't just give one 11. I mean, there are at least five songs that deserve more than a 10!

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If Radar or SHICD is one of the songs, then give it a 11. Easy.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Quote:
Originally posted by Prismatic
If Radar or SHICD is one of the songs, then give it a 11. Easy.
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Radar 
SHICD 
Love yourself girl
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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At least I know my 11 is going to one of two girls. 
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