Tuesday, May, 31 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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'Born This Way' cinches Gaga's edge
4
The Mother Monster
of controversial pop
sensation strikes again
By ARIELLE SPECINER
Daily Arts Writer
Whether it's dyeing her hair
black and white, getting carried
in via egg to the Grammy Awards
or debuting a
radio-friendly
song about one
of the most LdyGaga
notorious back-
stabbers in the Born This Way
religious world, lotorsco
Lady Gaga sure
knows how to
get people's
attention. And she does not fail
to continue this legacy with her
sophomore album, Born This Way.
The reigning princess of pop
and fan-proclaimed "mother mon-
ster" hits quite a few high notes
- both literally and figuratively -
on what could be one of the most
influential pop albums of this gen-
eration. Though that may be say-
ing a lot now, Gaga preaches songs
of self-love mixed with sex appeal
in a way that hasn't been done
since our Madgesty, Madonna.
Comparisons aside, Gaga is ready
to continue gracefully weaving her
way through the pop world with
outrageous outfits and outrageous-
ly catchy hooks (Judah-jud-ah-ah
anyone?) found on Born This Way.
The album is chock full of pop
prodigies such as the lead single
"Born This Way" (possibly lov-
ingly ripped off from Madonna's
"Express Yourself"), the smooth-
as-butter "You and I" and the are-
na-ready anthem, "Edge Of Glory."
Born This Way is jam packed with
'80s hairband influence, iiber
European techno beats and a cou-
ple of saxophone solos from the E
Street Band's Clarence Clemons
(yes, really).
In normal Gaga fashion, the
Lady throws some serious curve-
balls on Born This Way. Unusual
subject matter and multiple lan-
guages grace the album as she
sings about seducing John F. Ken-
nedy on "Government Hooker,"
her support for gay rights on
"Americano" and Mary Magda-
lene on "Bloody Mary." Those are
not exactly the key elements one
would normally find on a standard
pop album. And unless you live
under a rock, you know that Lady
Gaga has never been one to follow
standards - which is a prominent
theme on her latest album.
On tracks like "Bad Kids" and
"Hair," Gaga wants her little mon-
sters to know that they can be
whoever they'd like to be and not
to become one among the masses.
On "Bad Kids" she sings, "Don't
be insecure / If your heart is pure
/ You're still good to me if you're a
bad kid baby."
Born This Way not only shines
through Gaga's abilityto write cre-
ative and controversial material,
but also her vocal talent and musi-
cal aptitude. The New York native
knows her way around a solid song
writing session. On the highlight
of the album, "You and I," Gaga
slows it down to reminisce about
her "cool Nebraska guy" and belt
out "I love you." Though this may
seem like a normal pop theme,
Gaga gives it a twist with imag-
ery filled lyrics: "I couldn't listen
to a joke or rock 'n' roll / Muscle
cars drove a truck right through
my heart." In true Gaga form, she
brings gritty, greasy toughness to
t
X MI
0
Don't come too close, she actually does bite.
a love song.
In contrast to the sappy but stel-
lar love song, Gaga pulls out her
normal dance ways on tracks like
"Schiege" (which is 75 percent in
German) and "Judas." The beat
drops are every techno-head's
dream and even to the non-ravers
out there, the dance tracks on Born
This Way aren't too intimidating.
Lady Gaga manages to introduce
her "Just Dance" days to this more
modern and sophisticated scene.
While her devoted little mon-
sters may give this album two full
paws up, Born This. Way falters at
its over indulgence. Though Gaga
is known tobe over the top, there's
only so much over one can go while
still being taken seriously. Because
Gaga is such a public spectacle, she
puts too much energy in the perfor-
mance factor of her songs and that
tends to overshadow her talent. But
quite frankly, it doesn't matter if
you love H-E-R or not - because
realistically, she doesn't care - she
was born that way, baby.
Dance Works elicits inspired contemporary pieces
By ANNA SADOVSKAYA
For the Daily
Ann Arbor Dance Works, a Uni-
versity dance company comprised
of faculty, students and invited
choreographers,
is unveiling its Ann Arbor
26th annual
spring perfor- Dance WorkS
mance this week.
It will feature dune 2-4
dances by both t 8p.m.
new and return- Betty Pease
ing choreogra- Studio Theater
phers, as well as
reinvented and Ticketsfrom$10
digitally inspired
pieces.
"The opportunity to work with
faculty, guest artists and really tal-
ented dancers creating new work, is
what we live for," said Jessica Fogel,
artistic director and co-founder of
Ann Arbor Dance Works.
Fogel has been with the Uni-
versity for over 20 years, teaching
dance and inspiring young adults
to pursue an understanding of the
fine arts.
"This generation of dancers real-
ly wants to engage with audiences
that don't necessarily always view
the shows, that don't always attend
the concerts and performance,"
Fogel said. "The idea of having
encounters through performance
and dance with a new audience
excites our dancers."
For the 2011 Spring Season,
Fogel explained that it is more than
ever an expression of inspiration
on the part of the choreographers
and dancers alike.
"This is the creation and the
revival of dance. The show fea-
tures artists and choreographers
coming together," Fogel said. The
performance includes pieces by
Sidra Bell, Amy Chavasse and Peter
Sparling, along with Robin Wil-
son's "Feets!," "Blues/Crossroad"
and Bill DeYoung's "Tenfold."
"One of our choreographers,
Sidra Bell, was recommended to us
by many different people," Fogel
said.
Bell, the artistic director of Sidra
Bell Dance New York, has had her
work represented nationally, along
with featured debuts in Germany,
Greece and Denmark among other
European countries.
"It was interesting to see her
building a new work with our danc-
ers over the past two weeks," Fogel
said. "She's pulled together a very
stylish, exciting contemporary
work."
Along with Bell, resident cho-
reographers have also created
pieces to evoke appreciation for
dance from the audience. Spar-
ling's "Patient Spider" is a digitally-
enhanced screendance, featuring
the music of composer Yehuda
Yannay, and words by Walt Whit-
man from his "A Noiseless Patient
Spider." It mixes media and live
movement to produce what Fogel
describes as a "graphically beauti-
ful work." Furthermore, "a person
can view ('Patient Spider') on their
computer and it would be a visually
stunning piece," Fogel said.
Although there is an abundance
of dance fashioned online, some
works only come alive in person.
Amy Chavasse's "What Passes for
Tenderness" is a "wonderful piece
for six women, trading ideas about
tenderness, and cruelty, and the
double edge of that." According to
Fogel, Chavasse, through collabo-
ration and improvisation, explores
the ideas behind what defines ten-
derness in the 21st century and
what is contrasting to its definition.
"It's a very vivid way of experi-
encing one's own sense of meaning
through movement," said Fogel.
"And having an encounter with
the performance and then with the
audience."
AddedFogel: "Thisshowfeatures
really top caliber dance works, with
fabulous dancers. It's a great, inti-
mate performance experience, and
it's an opportunity to see things
close at hand."
q
a
cOURTESY OF GLENN BERING
Dancer Tehillah Frederick performs at 25th annual Ann Arbor Dance Works.