Christ and Pop Culture
This is the third in a several part series, in which I explore the meanings and cultural implications of the top ten most downloaded songs of all time. Read part one and part two.
The Number Six Most Downloaded Song of All Time: Just Dance – Lady Gaga
As the first song on Lady Gaga’s debut album, and the first song that was popularized as a hit, ‘Just Dance’ can really be considered Lady Gaga’s anthem, and the concept that guides her artistic and musical choices.
In our podcast on this subject, we discussed the varied subjects that Lady Gaga addresses with her music and performance, but first and foremost in her music is the idea of existentialist pleasure-seeking and carefree indulgence of life above all else. This song, with its commanding synth intro and the persistent barrage of Lady Gaga’s voice in both the background and the foreground, preach the gospel of “dance” without us having to understand a word. It’s no mistake that, other than “Just dance,” the words that are most likely to grab the casual listener (who is no doubt the primary audience for such a song) are, “Gunna be okay!” followed by what has to be one of the most infectious hooks of the year. The song makes its case before we’re even aware of it. The apparent gibberish in the bridge of the song convey the true purpose of the song: “Half psychotic, sick hypnotic. Got my blueprint, it’s symphonic.” We are under her spell, just as she planned.
Pursuit of pure hedonistic pleasure is nothing new to the dance and club scene, as we’ve seen from Flo Rida’s Low and Ke$ha’s Tik Tok. The key difference that lies so clearly within the song is the near disdain with which Lady Gaga seems to view close relationships with anyone around her. Witness the way in which human beings in the first verse are spoken of as mere props: “I’ve had a little bit too much. All the people start to rush (start to rush by). A dizzy twister dance, can’t find my drink or man.” In the second verse, the only reference to another person is to say, “Control your poison babe. Roses have thorns, they say.” The person has become the nuisance.
It’s worth noting as well that the album on which this song was released, Fame, was followed up by a companion album entitled, Fame Monster. It’s in this companion album that Lady Gaga seems to come clean about many of the implications of her previous album’s viewpoints. It is a notably darker album, as evidenced by the title as well as the first few singles, ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Telephone’. It seems clear that ‘Telephone’ is written as a direct follow-up to and clarification of ‘Just Dance’, focusing not so much on obsession with the party (which is nonetheless a key ingredient in both songs), but on the inevitable price this obsession has on a relationship. In essence, it’s a celebration of the rejection of committed relationships for the sake of the party: “Stop calling, stop calling. I don’t wanna talk any more. I left my head and my heart on the dance floor.” That chorus hits hard musically and emotionally.
In fact, it’s phrases like those that point out the awareness with which Lady Gaga sings about relationships and their ultimate demise. Unlike other pop stars before her, who seem to share her worldview, Gaga is strikingly aware of the cost of such an obsession. It could even be speculated that the songs aren’t meant to trumpet these ideas but call them into question. The video for Telephone (watch at your own risk) pushes the implications to the limits: Beyonce and Lady Gaga commit mass murder against a restaurant of innocent people simply because they’re in their way. Yes, the video has been controversial because it’s horrifying, but let’s be clear: it’s horrifying because it’s honest about the implications of the horrifying worldview that exists in 90% of popular music today.
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