Lady Gaga’s latest single, “Abracadabra,” is being praised by fans and critics as “a return to form.”
But was Gaga always this bad?
My wife enjoys the song. Which means my daughter enjoys the song. Which means the song is stuck in my head. I tried to tell my dear ladies that the song is neither good nor original, but they just looked at me like I was speaking gibberish.
Then, as I was washing dishes, it occurred to me that Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” borrows heavily from some other song—one that I once enjoyed but couldn’t quite place. As “Abracadabra” burrowed like a tapeworm into my sad brain, it kept morphing into the other song before gnawing it to pieces, teasing me as I tried desperately to vanquish it from my consciousness.
I retreated to my office, where, in relative peace, free from my wife and daughter’s snide remarks and mocking laughter, I could finally focus. Minutes later, I raced into the living room and announced with unreasonable pride that Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” is basically Gary Jules’ version of Tears for Fears’ 1982 song “Mad World.”
To drive home my point, I played the song for Veronica, who looked at me with her almost-six-year-old eyes, clearly concerned, and said, “Weird. It doesn’t sound anything like it.”
So, what are we going to listen to today?
John Zorn, Erik Friedlander, Michael Nicolas: The Bagatelles, Vol.2 (Tzadik)
Saya Gray: SAYA (Dirty Hit)
Sunny War: Armageddon in a Summer Dress (New West Records)
The Murder Capital: Blindness (Human Seasons Records)
Maruja: Tír na nÓg (Music for Nations)
Puma Blue: antichamber ([Pias])
Tim Hecker: Shards (kranky)
Bren Joy: Sunset Black (Bren Joy)
Q Lazzarus: Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus (Sacred Bones Records)
Motorpsycho: Motorpsycho (Det Nordenfjeldske Grammofonselskab)
Rafiq Bhatia, Chris Pattishall: Each Dream, A Melting Door (Anti-)
Colin Self: respite ∞ levity for the nameless ghost in crisis (RVNG INTL)
Kelora: Sleepers (True Panther Records)
Luke Sital-Singh: Fool’s Spring (Nettwerk Music Group)
Fred Frith, Shelley Burgon: The Life and Behavior (Relative Pitch Records)
