Influence defines Lady Gaga’s latest album, Mayhem, a carefully curated sonic exhibition showcasing her inspirations and imitators. The record is a fascinating retrospective that reveals just how thoroughly Gaga understands her place in the pop-music continuum.
Through detailed musical references and production choices, Mayhem invites fans to explore different wings of Gaga’s artistic sensibility, revealing an artist who has mastered musical curation. Ahead, Switched On Pop’s Reanna Cruz walks co-hosts Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan through the references in Gaga’s latest release; you can check out the full episode here.
“Perfect Celebrity”
Reanna Cruz: Gaga got her start in underground clubs in New York, so this song and the way it turns from ’80s funk-pop into techno could be an ode to her upbringing. Right off the bat, we’re getting a ton of thematic similarities to some of Gaga’s most famous songs. This exploration of being in the spotlight, we see it on songs like “Paparazzi” and “The Fame.” We even see the satiric slant of celebrity on the song “Applause” from Artpop. But in terms of sonic inspiration on this song, we’re gonna go to Charlie’s favorite reference: Nine Inch Nails.
Charlie Harding: You can’t make gothic dance music without referencing industrial music! Like, if you want to make dance music dark, you’ve got to use those drone synths. It’s the formula.
R.C.: And Gaga loves Nine Inch Nails, so it’s no surprise. In a recent interview, she said, “I black out every time I’m in Trent Reznor’s presence.” This is a true superfan of Nine Inch Nails we got here.
But then it also goes beyond Nine Inch Nails. I think “Perfect Celebrity” has this gothic Depeche Mode–ian quality as well, kind of leaning on industrial but with a synth-pop flair. To me, a song like “Mercy in You” evokes “Perfect Celebrity,” particularly in the verses.
“Vanish Into You”
R.C.: Songs like “Perfect Celebrity” are not indicative of the whole record. The album is actually a happy record. Gaga’s in what seems to be a fulfilling relationship with her fiancé. So in that happiness, it’s easy to see how some of her imitators come into the picture on the more optimistic songs. Critic Ann Powers noted to me recently that “Vanish Into You” sounded similar to recent Chappell Roan hits, and I agree.
C.H.: Oh, there’s definitely a Chappell song that I’m hearing in there. I mean, the ’80s synth-pop thing. I can’t scratch the itch, what is it?
R.C.: I hear a little bit of my favorite of hers, “Good Luck, Babe.” “Vanish Into You” is like if Chappell Roan did a Max Martin and Weeknd song. It has these, like, grand synths that fit well in the Weeknd’s lusher productions. I think it could be put in the same conversation as a song like “In Your Eyes.”
C.H.: That’s the Weeknd, not Peter Gabriel, to be clear.
R.C.: Another inspiration of Gaga’s!
“How Bad Do U Want Me?”
R.C.: So I don’t think it’s a secret who this song sounds like.
Nate Sloan: Taylor Swift.
C.H.: Taylor Swift.
R.C.: Using more positive-skewing words, I think “How Bad Do U Want Me” is a tribute to Taylor Swift. It’s like a full imitation of the Jack Antonoff Taylor Swift sound, crafted on records like 1989 and Reputation. I think the most overt comparison is “Gorgeous” — though this song is also essentially the same as Yazoo’s 1982 track “Only You.”
N.S.: Yeah, there are so many Taylor hallmarks here. You’ve got these ’80s program drums. You’ve got these long, sustained basses, which we talked about in our Midnights episode a couple years ago. In terms of the lyrics and the melody, you’ve got a lot of these, like, one-note staccato, repeated melodies. And then lyrically it’s all about this self-reflective journey, which I think is very different than Gaga’s usual thing.
R.C.: She’s also dealing in lyrical archetypes that Taylor deals with on “Style.” Gaga says, “You like the bad girl I got in me.” Taylor sings similar lines: “And I got that good-girl faith in a tight little skirt / You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye.” These ideas of, like, the bad boy and the good girl. Gaga flips it, and she’s the bad girl, and her fiancé, ostensibly who she’s singing to, is the good boy.
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Tracking the influences on Mayhem.
