The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga

Say whatever you want about Lady Gaga. Call her weird, freaky, crazy, but never deny that the girl can make some good music. For The Fame Monster, Gaga worked with an array of excellent producers, including Space Cowboy, her official tour DJ, RedOne, who clearly influences the album with his Europop beats, Darkchild, a Grammy-award winner, to create a hit album.

The Fame Monster, captures the darker side of fame, which Lady Gaga often compares to "a monster". Gaga explains her inspiration behind the songs, saying, "On my re-release The Fame Monster, I wrote about everything I didn't write on The Fame. While traveling the world for two years, I've encountered several monsters, each represented by a different song on the new record: my 'Fear of Sex Monster', my 'Fear of Alcohol Monster', my 'Fear of Love Monster', my 'Fear of Death Monster', my 'Fear of Loneliness Monster' etc." Each song on the LP sounds as though it could be a massively popular single, with Bad Romance already leading the pack.

Gaga is a gifted musician and lyricist, and what makes Gaga so captivating and relatable, despite all the crazy stunts she pulls, is the honesty in her lyrics, something refreshing in today’s pop world. "Bad Romace", of course, already caught everyone's attention with its unusual lyrics, "I want your ugly, I want your disease". "Alejandro" is another great song, with snarling rejection lyrics ("Don't call my name / I'm not your babe.") and ABBA-style beats.

“Monster” is a pop song stretch, more eerie and creepy than bubbly. But that's exactly what makes Gaga stand out, and with its almost disgusting metaphor and stuttering repetition, (“He a-a-ate my heart.”), “Monster” is strangely addictive.

“Speechless” is a heart-wrenching ballad written for Gaga's father, who suffers from a heart disease. Gaga's father decided not to accept surgery, and Gaga shows her feelings brilliantly by belting, "I can't believe what you said to me, last night we were alone, you threw your hands up, baby, you gave up, you gave up". It's full-on Queen, incorporating both piano and guitar rather than techno beats, making it glam-rock than any of the other songs.

“Dance In the Dark” is pure Europop. Unfortunately, it’s a weak point on the album and the closest thing the album has to a filler.

“Telephone”, a song that Gaga in fact originally wrote for Britney Spears, has instead become a duet with Beyoncé. In a few months, it's sure to be a radio hit, with its romping club beat that makes you want to get up and dance and carefree lyrics that beg the boy in question to quit calling and ruining the party.

“So Happy I Could Die” is instantly catchy, reminiscent of Britney Spears’ “Touch Of My Hand” with lyrics like, “I touch myself, can’t get enough.” And the album ends with “Teeth”, a crazy, staccato number that refers to the world’s current obsession, vampires: “Take a bite of my bad girl meat, show me your teeth, got no direction, just got my vamp”. It’s an excellent closing, both dark and captivating.

I highly recommend The Fame Monster to everyone, even people who aren’t fans of pop music. Lady Gaga doesn’t need to rely on her publicity stunts. Because, in my opinion, her music stands out on its own.