Trying to make a mission to post here at least once a week. This is based on a theory I've had since I first listened to Lady Gaga's last solo album. I know I make metal my main thing but if you can't appreciate or at least respect music that goes outside your tastes you are a sad person. A person who reads "US Weekly" and won't get a Netflix subscription because you can find what you want on "TV Land".
Anywho, I noticed that the songs seem to follow a story. The story is one about a fictional pop star from the early '00's and her rise, fall and redemption. It starts with the opening track "Aura" as we hear about our protagonist killing her "former" and hiding the knife she did it with. The instructions on the knife are, if found, send it to Hollywood.
Theory: Most pop stars aren't created in a lab by focus groups. This is an authentic "small town girl" who may be selling out her own values to cash in. The "former" is her small town persona that she's ditching in favor of the lights and glamour of Southern California. Which leads us too the next three tracks.
Venus, G.U.Y, Sexxx Dreams.
Theory: If you look at the first songs we heard from artists like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, etc. you see the common thread of a good girl who's looking for love. These songs represent that first phase of the pop career. Burst onto the scene as jailbait and rack up the Platinum Sales. Venus is the love song, G.U.Y and Sexxx Dreams are the "experimental phase" where gender bending, faux-lesbian themes run wild. Where do you go from there?
Jewels N' Drugs
Theory: Most female pop stars wind up guesting on rap songs that get the pop star more play and the rap star some mainstream success. Look at J. Lo., Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera again. They all got their "street cred" by dueting with the hardest, most dangerous artists that a record label would allow. This is also the phase where you start hearing about rehab, DUI's, possession charges. It's where things start to go south for the diva.
MANiCURE, Do What You Want, Artpop, Swine
Theory: At this stage, things really spiral out of control. MANiCURE is a fierce break-up/independent woman song about owning your sexuality, which in and of itself isn't bad. Add in the Paparazzi (no pun intended), and you have a toxic mess. Do What You Want is the defiant song about how her sexuality doesn't define her and she can use men the way men use women. I can't cite a specific real world example but most pop stars get to a point of musically and literally, throwing middle fingers at the press about how they feel unfairly judged, bird in a gilded cage, blah, blah, blah.
Artpop and Swine are the artistic expressions that don't generally fit the rest of their catalog. It's where they take their carefully crafted image, what's left of the respect the media has for them and throw it out the window by being as vulgar and experimental as possible. Britney Spears put out "Slave 4 U" and "If You Seek Amy". Aguilera did it with "Dirty". In some cases it meant they got so far up their own Ass they think they can fart on a record and people will buy it.
Donatella, Fashion!
Theory: In every pop stars' life, clothing is king and who you wear is as important as what you wear. Here is the point in our hero's journey that she tries to remake her image for the better. They create a clothing line, a perfume and anything else "high class" they can slap their name on. It goes back a way but Madonna had her "Material Girl" phase. Gwen Stefani was seen more on "Vogue" and "Glamour" than any music video for about a Three Year period. Once J. Lo started in movies, she was a Red Carpet sensation as well. With high living comes high times and now we come to my favorite track on the record.
Mary Jane Holland
Theory: WEEEEED SOOOOOONG!!!!! Ok, so that's not exactly a theory. It is a fact that old habits die hard and fashion life can have drugs even more deadly than the music industry. The addiction comes back and you go to rehab again. You also have had enough time to meet someone who means more to you than "the life". Amy Winehouse wanted that but never got the chance to follow through. Ke$ha basically announced her hatred for sobriety with a bullhorn on "Tic Toc". Our hero is down again which leads to the final block of tracks in the story.
Dope, Gypsy, Applause
Theory:Here is the final stage of the journey, redemption. Dope is that realization that addiction never ends and you need more to live for than just the next high. Now with her newfound sobriety, she finally gets that special someone who will be a part of her life no matter where or what on Gypsy. The final track is the appreciation an artist shows to their fans when they've put up with them through the tabloid fodder. She rediscovers herself, finds that balance between Art and Pop Music and hopefully lives on as a legend.
Final Thoughts:
None of these opinion's detract from what is a great album, start to finish. I might be wrong about this idea of Artpop being a concept album. I just know that the songs seem to follow a path. Like Rush (0n 2112) or Queensryche (see: Operation Mindcrime), the songs stand alone as hits, not just as a stream of consciousness that requires a full exploration of the material to be understood.