| |
Celeb News: MTV: "Perfect Illusion" Extensive Critical Review
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 30,642
|
MTV: "Perfect Illusion" Extensive Critical Review
Quote:
|
Every week, MTV’s writers and critics assemble and weigh in on new hotness, chart trash, and glimmers of hope in the pop-music landscape. This week’s roundtable includes Hazel Cills, David Turner, Jessica Hopper, Simon Vozick-Levinson, Eric Torres, Doreen St. Félix, Sasha Geffen, Meredith Graves, and Ira Madison III.
|
Quote:
|
Hopper: The anxious 4/4 stomp of this I hear less as the “rock and roll” vibe folks have been tweeting about — with those key changes I just hear valiant disco, especially in the bridge. Her voice here is going a lot of directions, some of which are unexpected, but the first half of the song sounds like a thoroughly workshopped, taped-together map of how to get to the triumph of the last 74 seconds.
|
Quote:
|
Cills: Maybe I’ve been brainwashed by all the super thin pop vocals out there but Gaga’s voice seems weirdly, badly produced here, like they just sort of threw her vocal on top. I feel like by the time we get those last 74 seconds we’ve already been riding on that same high. There’s just nothing meaty in “Perfect Illusion” — it’s a throwaway pop song that relies on sounding a few degrees separated from “Eye of the Tiger.”
|
Quote:
|
St. Félix: The vocals here are unearned. They are massive and extremely cold. For all her musical-theater tendencies, Gaga always worked in subtleties, modulations, even accents à la Nicki. That’s what made songs like “Bad Romance” singable, in the karaoke way, while also being platforms for her range. All in all, “Perfect Illusion” is inoffensive and ironically named — it looks like an oasis in the Gaga-less desert we’ve traversed for years, but when you listen a few times, there's no ‘there’ there.
|
Quote:
|
Turner: After a few listens to “Perfect Illusion,” I went back to “Just Dance,” the saccharine song that introduced Gaga to the world. The sonic contrast was immediate, but there was a familiar structural messiness to the song. Even in the brief moment when Gaga ruled pop, none of her songs had the rote of Katy Perry or the belabored perfection of Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. “Perfect Illusion” is too tight for a three-minute running time
|
Quote:
|
Graves: My listening experience was preempted by the single’s artwork. What a misread that was. If you ran into “Perfect Illusion” at a poorly lit house party, you’d probably think it was “Tik Tok,” so you’d call them Kesha multiple times before realizing you’d confused them for someone else, and you don’t even finish your beer, you just leave because you’re embarrassed. The key change is remarkably well-performed, though. She’s incredibly talented, she just deserves better songs.
|
Quote:
|
Vozick-Levinson: Everyone here is right! “Perfect Illusion” is shameless trash. It’s a big, bold slap in the face to the very idea of subtlety. It’s a bedazzled skeleton glittering in the depths of an uncanny valley between Disco Mountain and The Church of Bon Jovi. It’s ... what’s the phrase I’m looking for ... right on the tip of my tongue ... a Lady Gaga song. Is that a bad thing now? The chorus was stuck in my head way before the YouTube clip was over, and I call that an unqualified success.
|
Quote:
|
Torres: Americana Gaga is just so underwhelming for me on first listen, but I also got really into “Yoü and I,” so I won’t write this off completely. But there’s nothing very … fun about this? I do enjoy those chanted background vocals before that glorious key change, though, which remind me of some of the breakdowns on Fame Monster. I was also expecting a lot more Tame Impala–grade guitar noodling here, but hearing this, we were probably spared. I just don’t really see myself revisiting this song unless I have to.Can we just have the disco revival Gaga we deserve?
|
Quote:
|
Geffen: Gaga, Ronson, Parker, Blood, and Homme are way too many cooks for the handful of notes that make up the main melody here. I don’t think I’ve ever made enemies with a key change like I have with this key change, which crashes in about two full minutes too early. You can’t shift keys on a chorus this flat! How are you going to nod to ’70s and ’80s greats (Eurythmics, Queen) and settle into your first hypercaffeinated chorus 30 seconds into the song? There’s no space for anything to breathe: not Gaga’s voice. I feel like Gaga and her meat dress are shrink-wrapped and asphyxiating in some well-intended but ultimately misguided PETA protest. I feel like my hemoglobin levels plummeted by the second listen.
|
Quote:
|
Madison III: This messy queen. I actually … can’t get this song out of my head. She’s good for an earworm always, but there’s so much going on in this song. Why isn’t she actually singing? I will actually disagree with Doreen and say that this song is hella singable. It’s singable in the way that “Cherry Bomb” is. It’s already a karaoke and jukebox classic and it’s been out for less than 24 hours. The song feels epic, but it’s not really. The key change is epic, though. I’m just glad she’s back.
|
http://www.mtv.com/news/2930214/our-...-and-tomorrow/
Had to delete some little details here and there from nearly every paragraph so check out the full review in the link if you'd like.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 6,474
|
Music not the bling, or something
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 4,821
|
Their most recent award show was an absolute tragedy (sans a few performances), but I'm sure they're convinced it slayed, so they can hush.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 9,012
|
Music critics try so ****ing hard to create the most far-out abstract random ****ing things they can think of combined together to describe a song/album.
In the reviews they describe the song as a bedazzled skeleton glittering in the depths of an uncanney valley (???), an oasis in the Gaga-less desert we've traversed for years (?????), getting Kesha confused at a house party (?), Americano Gaga, ??? Gaga'a meat dress asphyxiating innsome well-intended but ultimately misguided PETA protest (WTF?), hemoglobin levels plummeting, and "Cherry Bomb" karaoke ??????????
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 2,678
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Buddy
Music critics try so ****ing hard to create the most far-out abstract random ****ing things they can think of combined together to describe the song.
In the reviews they describe the song as a bedazzled skeleton glittering in the depths of an uncanney valley (???), an oasis in the Gaga-less desert we've traversed for years (?????), getting Kesha confused at a house party (?), Americano Gaga, ??? Gaga'a meat dress asphyxiating innsome well-intended but ultimately misguided PETA protest (WTF?), hemoglobin levels plummeting, and "Cherry Bomb" karaoke ??????????
|
Gaga, ha impact.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/19/2012
Posts: 29,579
|
Quote:
Originally posted by ᴇʀᴏs
Their most recent award show was an absolute tragedy (sans a few performances), but I'm sure they're convinced it slayed, so they can hush. |
this is a fume
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/6/2011
Posts: 10,635
|
This piece was super messy.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/12/2012
Posts: 2,487
|
ummm i guess sir if you say so..
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 5,271
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/15/2013
Posts: 25,228
|
Quote:
|
My listening experience was preempted by the single’s artwork, which got my hopes up for either a hella rude.
|
What does hella rude mean in this context and when did I get old to the point I have to ask that question?
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 11/5/2011
Posts: 6,204
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 4,198
|
not music not the bling it seems
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/13/2011
Posts: 19,555
|
All of those quotes were hard to read.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/1/2013
Posts: 3,374
|
Gaga is a fad, LG5 is over, PI is a flop, eurovision party tricks, etc etc
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/10/2009
Posts: 10,662
|
I wonder if they're still upset she skipped their award show and cost them a grip of (obviously very necessary) viewers?
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/15/2013
Posts: 25,504
|
Quote:
Originally posted by MaryJaneHolland
Gaga is a fad, LG5 is over, PI is a flop, eurovision party tricks, etc etc
|
since 2013 apparently so I don't get the big deal now !
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 12/22/2010
Posts: 3,171
|
The part about the chorus being flat is accurate. The song really goes nowhere at all.
Quote:
Originally posted by Mike91
What does hella rude mean in this context and when did I get old to the point I have to ask that question?
|
Probably meant to be "ride".
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 2,948
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Buddy
Music critics try so ****ing hard to create the most far-out abstract random ****ing things they can think of combined together to describe a song/album.
In the reviews they describe the song as a bedazzled skeleton glittering in the depths of an uncanney valley (???), an oasis in the Gaga-less desert we've traversed for years (?????), getting Kesha confused at a house party (?), Americano Gaga, ??? Gaga'a meat dress asphyxiating innsome well-intended but ultimately misguided PETA protest (WTF?), hemoglobin levels plummeting, and "Cherry Bomb" karaoke ??????????
|
This is so true 
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 4,821
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Artemisia
|
So you think the VMA's were good this year?  (Again, other than a select number of performances.) I'm simply implying that I don't agree with MTV's idea of what's "good" since they put on that mess of a show a few weekends ago which I know they raved about. Just because our opinions don't match doesn't make mine "a fume". 
OT: I disagree MTV!
|
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/14/2010
Posts: 78,921
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Buddy
Music critics try so ****ing hard to create the most far-out abstract random ****ing things they can think of combined together to describe a song/album.
In the reviews they describe the song as a bedazzled skeleton glittering in the depths of an uncanney valley (???), an oasis in the Gaga-less desert we've traversed for years (?????), getting Kesha confused at a house party (?), Americano Gaga, ??? Gaga'a meat dress asphyxiating innsome well-intended but ultimately misguided PETA protest (WTF?), hemoglobin levels plummeting, and "Cherry Bomb" karaoke ??????????
|
Glorified opinionists.
When you rely on the thoughts of others than your own, you may as well be a sheep. Humans their decline.
|
|
|
|
|
|
