Lady Gaga Born This Way

Track by Track breakdown of the Deluxe Edition of Lady Gaga's new album (out today) Born This Way:

Marry The Night:

Starts with an organ and Gaga's distinctive voice. Beat pulses in. The chorus is strong and the song is a great choice to lead us down into the rest of the Dance/Rock infused album.

Born This Way:

The new gay anthem. This song gets lots of hate and lots of love. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this track. Released as the first single. The message breaks through the failed music video. I get if Gaga, you are an artist, and you are weird and giving birth to this new race of peoples who don't see sexuality or race. I wish you had gone more straight forward with the video. Bring a motorcycle gang subversive spin on V for Vendetta and it would have been brilliant.

Government Hooker:

This is where you might start hearing some of major influence of German metal with the thudding drum beats on the album. Interesting track. Not sure it's a fav of mine on the album, but I can dance to it nonetheless. Gaga's drawn out vocals on "hoooooooooooooker" are so much fun!

Judas:

Love the video, wish her lyrics were a bit easier to understand on the track. Might have made it a bigger hit.

Americano:

I love the thumping traditional Italian pop inspired Americano. The 'Don't you try to catch me" refrain is some of the most fun on the album.

Hair:

Hmmm.. I think i read somewhere that Gaga was inspired to write this song by Willow Smith's brilliant 'Whip My Hair". Gaga equates her hair to her freedom of expression. My least favorite track on the album, in fact I will probably try to forget that it is there, and wont include it on my iPod.

Scheibe:

Gaga doesn't speak german, but she will if we like, and let me tell you: I LIKE! I like a whole heck of a lot. It reminds me of euro trance from the early aughts mixed with early 90's pop. Brilliant!

Bloody Mary:

If anything could be called a slow song on the album, this would be it. It still has the wall of sound that Gaga does. One of the most experimental songs on the album when it comes to mainstream pop music. It works for me.

Black Jesus - Amen Fashion:

Bonus track! The audacity of Gaga: "Jesus is the new black" An interesting track that seems like a bit of reworking of an early demo from Gaga. Fashion as a theme makes its appearance.

Bad Kids:

I wouldn't be too surprised if this song gets released as a single. It's fun and catchy.

Fashion of his Love:

Bonus track! I like the song. It's the song on the album that reminds me that Gaga is still 24 and is still a pop princess. Sounds like Debbie Gibson could have released this song in 1988.

Highway Unicorn (Road to Love):

A cacophony of noise that overwhelms me. I like portions of the song, but at times it seems like everything including the kitchen sink was thrown into this one.

Heavy Metal Lover:

I really adore this track. The "oooh oooh oooh" are hypnotic. She hits the nail on the head with this track in combining metal with dance.

Electric Chapel:

'Do, do do do" i dare you not to not sing and dance along to this one! "do do do do"

The Queen:

Bonus track! I can totally understand how this song is a bonus, it doesn't fully fit into the rest of the album. It sounds a bit juvenile in fact compared to the rest of the album.

You and I:

Nearing the end of the album, we get the fully fleshed out version of the song we've heard in concert for almost a year now. Containing elements of Queen's "We will Rock You", Gaga shows her brilliance at songwriting and that while she has created her career on the wall of sound, I want to hear more classic American Piano Pop/Rock from this woman.

The Edge of Glory:

Third single from the album. This song, if stripped down sounds right from 1989, I can hear Michael Bolton this. The pulsing drum beats and drawling guitar riff brings it to 2011. Gaga has never sounded better on a track, her vocals are powerful and mesmerizing. I am so right there on the edge with her. Amazing track to end the third album.

Overall- LOVE LOVE LOVE. I'll forget about hair and the queen. I can easily do without those two tracks. Love the combination of Dance and Metal with great influence of the last 80s and early 90s pop. 9 out of 10.

What's the matter with Britney?

Britney has entered the Femme Fatale era with great producers and a beautiful look. I've long argued that Britney isn't an artist, she is an entertainer. She isn't a very good songwriter, her voice is so-so, she clearly doesn't have a driving artistic viewpoint. Take the any random 10 songs from the last three studio albums and unless you are a super fan, I promise you wouldn't recognize a disorderly musical theme or identify which song was from which album originally. Its great pop music don't get me wrong but her purpose is to entertain.

She is failing. Her managers are failing. Her career is in BIG danger. Look at any of her "performances" from this new era and you see a consistent theme: Britney is disengaged, distant, vacant, bored, slow to react, confused and downright boring! She lacks energy and pizazz. I don't care that she lip-sings, I care that she at least pretend to care about what is going on around her.

Am I putting too much on Britney herself? Is she herself to blame? I don't know...

Maybe she is so drugged out of her mind that she can barely stand or focus or collect a thought.

I am honestly scared about what is going on in Camp Britney. Is anyone else paying attention? Do any of them care? Are they making too much money to care?

What's the matter with Britney?

The Voice S1E3

The Voice was on tonight. I've fallen in love with the show. Christina is adorable. I'd still pick Cee-Lo as my coach. But let's get to tonights episode:

First up: Christina's team. Frenchie vs Tarralyn. Frenchie, if you remember (i sure do) was kicked off the 2nd season of american idol after the producers decided that a photo shoot she did from when she was 19yo didn't match with the family show image they wanted. She knocked the sox off "Band of Gold" in the Hollywood round (sang the duet with eventual 3rd place and highly underrated Kimberly Locke) I was rooting for Frenchie the moment she was dismissed from American Idol and I am so happy that she has a 2nd chance.

Now onto Blake Shelton: Where to begin?

First: he tweeted on May 5th "re-writing my fav Shania Twain song.. any man that tries touching my behind he's gonna be a beaten, bleedin', heaving kind of guy..." Homophobic violence much? He got the obvious scolding from the media, activists, blogs, and more than likely the producers. He tweets again on May 5th later "@gladd hey i want my fans and @nbcthevoice fans to know that anti-gay and lesbian violence is unacceptable!!!!! Help me!!!!! And DM me.." I am so confused, as were many about the "help me!!! and DM me.." huh? what? Apology?

Second: he choose Tyler (my dad doesn't know i'm a gay mormon) vs Patrick (cute all american traditional country heartthrob who fills out a pair of wranglers). Every other coach on the stage tonight said tyler did a better job. Tyler did a better job. and who does Blake choose? Patrick of coarse! Nothing against Patrick, but Tyler knocked that song out of the park and everyone knows it. Blake, what is wrong with you? You have to know this isnt going to help you.

Moving onto Adam's team: Casey vs Tim. Tim knew the song, Casey didn't Casey sand a beautiful rendition of "Leather and Lace" that reminded people of Stevie Nicks. Casey wins hands down. Good choice Adam. Smart choice. She is a cute girl with a great look and a very nice voice that I want to hear more of.

Cee-Lo: Niki vs Vicci singing Pink's "Perfect" (minus the f#$king, and i LOVE this song, and i LOVE pink!) The names rhyming didn't help me remember who was who, but in the end I am routing the one wearing plaid/gold pants over the girl with the squirel tail. (What was that fashion choice about) I love the wraspy quality to plaid/gold pants' voice, I think that's Vicci.

I look forward to next weeks show.

Songbird

Glee will always be hit and miss. Currently my favorite storyline involves Santana and Brittany's relationship.

Santana sings a beautiful rendition of Fleetwood Mac's Songbird. Check it out below.

Homage

Last night, Glee's newest episode featured a homage to possibly one of the greatest duets of all time, at least in gay terms (and let's face it that's what matters). First up Glee featuring Kurt and Rachel:

204 happy days @ Yahoo! Video

Kurt took on the Judy Garland part and Rachel (with her sailor suit paying nod) to Barbara Streisand. Judy and Barbara sang the original mash-up duet on the Judy Garland Show airing on Oct 6th, 1963. Barbara was just 21 when she appeared on the show and had yet to appear in a single movie and had only released one album and had only been in one Broadway show "I Can Get It For You". Judy was 41 at the time and had been battling financial and drug problems for years.



While I love the character development for Kurt and Rachel and their beautiful rendition I still think the real life struggles of Judy Garland and the burgeoning career of Barbara Streisand make their version better. What do you think?

Later in the same show Ethel Merman stole the limelight and she and Judy battled it out for DIVA SUPREME. I wonder what the 21 year old Barbara was telling herself at this point in the show?

Still around..

Still alive and kicking, no worries.

I am still unpacking and getting the house in order, that is taking up pretty much all of my free time that I was using to blog and bake and many other things that I haven't gotten around to as of late. I will come back. I have two recipes already made, just need to sit down and write the posts.

Stay tuned..

Something I learned today

Today I learned that you must puncture the foil seal on a tube of caulking for it to really work, instead of using brute force which didn't work! in the end, the caulking gun and tube worked like they were supposed to, but in the meantime i spent about 10 minutes attempting to wash off the silicon based caulk with water and soap that had burst out the back from my use of force. if you have ever had the pleasure of having your hands and arms covered in a film of silicon based caulking, you know my soap and water efforts were futile. i eventually figured out that i just needed to dry rub it off with an old t-shirt that i had laying around. the tub looks great tho! and my hands are clean

Slow to Post...

Howdy y'all...

I have been absent for a little while. I have been busy finding a house to move to with my sister. We have found a great house, been approved and we are signing the lease today. I will be moving in the next two weeks and will be a bit busy with that so posting may suffer. I have completed two recipes however have not had a chance to create the posts. They will be coming! No fear!

Orange Cup Cakes 1/10/10

On the cover of the cookbook that I am cooking my way through (see Cooking The Book) there is a beautiful photo of a cupcake in a blue stripped cupcake paper with a gorgeous dollop of orange icing with a silver nonpareil. This is a marvelous looking cupcake. This recipe is not identified on the front cover, in the index, the back cover, the publisher’s notes, nor in any place in the book that I can find and I have looked. I decided that this cupcake was more than likely the Orange Cup Cakes on page 40, however with a different icing than the recipe offers. I decided to give it a go nonetheless. I honestly didn’t want to venture out to get silver nonpareils so I chose to decorate the cup cake with sprinkles that I already had.

First up, the ingredients: Unsalted butter, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest.  We will combine 2/3 cup sugar, 4 ounces softened unsalted butter, 1 1/2 self raising flour, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1/2 cup orange juice, 

Looks pretty huh?

Mix together on low for 2 minutes, until blended. Increase speed for another 2 minutes until smooth.

Add in 3 tablespoons orange zest.

Mix together. Using a spoon or measuring cup, I prefer a 1/3 cup measuring cup, fill the lined cup cake tin.

Fill the cups evenly. If you run out of mix before having filled all the cake, fill the empty cup with water, this helps prevent the pan from overheating and overcooking the nearby cup cakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.  For the icing, I looked through the book and found a recipe for another icing that I felt was similar to the one on the cover. For this icing, you simmer water in a saucepan, in a heatproof bowl you combine 2 tablespoons butter and one cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Mix the sugar, butter, and water with a whisk over the heat until smooth. Using a spoon, place a dollop of the icing after it has cooled off for a minute onto the cup cake. Immediately decorate the icing with a sprinkle or decoration of your choice.

In the future, I think if making this icing again, instead of using water, I would use juice instead of water. I felt the icing didn’t have any enough flavor and instead was just sweet. I would most assuredly make this recipe again, the cup cakes themselves are delicious and light with a wonderful orange flavor. Next time I will make the orange butter cream icing recipe that goes with the cup cake recipe.

Orange Cup Cakes

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 self raising flour, if you don’t have self raising flour, you can add 2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of all purpose flour.

1/2 cup orange juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3 tablespoons orange zest

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons water/juice

color as desired with food coloring

What I'm Listening to These Days..

Like everyone else in America right now I am listening to Ke$ha's Tik Tok: Great party song, it hits all the right spots in my ears and makes me want to groove. Her new album was just released and I may have more on that later, but there are some fun songs on there, but she really needs to learn how to perform live if she wants to go beyond a one hit wonder. This year's Lady Gaga, I think not.



David Guetta continues to create lovely body movement enducing tracks. Guetta featuring Kid Cudi with Memories brings me onto the dance floor everytime.



Coming off his new album out this Spring, Morgan Page has produced yet another gorgeous dance track "Fight For You." Unknown outside the top 40 dance world, you really should check him out if you have any inclination for being on a dancefloor.



Tiesto is up next with featured artist Sneaky Sound System. "I Will Be Here" is a dancefloor classic in the making from one of the best DJ's of the last decade.



Esmee Denters, that lovely Dutchy youtube find serves up her first single off her debut album. Signed to Justin Timberlake's label, she presents us with a very decent "Outta Here." While not exploring new worlds in dance music, this is still a great debut.