Applause vs. Roar: reloaded

suddenly the KOONS IS ME / dancing through the FIRE

  • Total voters
    56
I think it's better than Born This Way, but it certainly didn't stand out in any way in the landscape of pop music in 2013. Which, given how much she relies on the idea that she's somehow extraordinary, is probably why it underperformed.
 
Both songs are absolutely terrible from a lyrical point of view. Katy and Dr Luke's crack team of pop robots obviously strung every cliche in the book together to make Roar, whereas Gaga tried really, really hard with her lyrics to sound worthy (And then slapped them over a generic club track from two years previous) but just ends up sounding like an art school dropout trying to blag it. As Tyra would say, each of them has what the other lacks.
 
I think the point is that Applause hardly sounded like anything that hadn't been done before and didn't have to have the chord progression of a generic EDM song to do so. At least Roar didn't pretend to be anything that it wasn't and was simply a straight-up pop song.
 
VoR said:
I think it's better than Born This Way, but it certainly didn't stand out in any way in the landscape of pop music in 2013. Which, given how much she relies on the idea that she's somehow extraordinary, is probably why it underperformed.
Click to expand...
I don't think more than 1% of internet queens gave it that much thought. It underperformed because she only promoted it in the US (where it did OK), and because her stock had taken a nosedive (most notably in the UK) post The Edge of Glory.
 
Penelope said:
I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready 'cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
You’re gonna hear me roar

Now I’m floating like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes
I went from zero, to my own hero

I mean seriously, did the lyricist have an ANEURYSM the night before the song was due? It's like that poem of all the clichés that Shakespeare invented and were actually really good at one point except INFINITELY SHITTER.
Click to expand...

This is the crux of my issue with "Roar". It's actually a phenomenal pop record in every other aspect- huge, anthemic chorus, one of those instant pop classics. But lyrically it is so, so basic songwriting 101 it's dumb.

"Applause", on the other hand, is a little MESSY for me. I do HATE the way she sings the verses, it's really her most irritating delivery in a non-ballad, but the chorus is pretty hooky to deny. The nastiness of the verses though usually keep me from ever playing it myself so I'll have to go with the anemic "Roar"
 
applause flopped because ofher floppy seashell tits and the whole garden panty itunes launch i am art shambles.

i don't think applause is generic, if anything i think it's quite singular in the way it sounds and i personally love her drama major delivery.

speaking of generic i will just redirect you kind folk to the lyric video for roar in which if i recall correctly the full lyrics could be translated into the standart set of iphone emoticons. how's that for basic?
 
Call me crazy but Applause is one of Gaga's best songs ever. It's incredibly infectious and I love the way the lyrics slide over each other during the chorus but during the verses they're clear and sing-alone-able.
 
Applause is great but it would have been FAB if people actually applauded, but no one bought into her narcism leaving it to look desperate as fuck. Roar, as cheesy as it is, is an ANTHEM.

And you're gonna hear me rooOOAAAARRRLLLOOOUUDDEERR!
LOUDER THAN A LIIIOON! CAUSE I AM A CHAMPION!

It makes Legend X's Fighter look like a DEMO :disco:
 
ameraal said:
speaking of generic i will just redirect you kind folk to the lyric video for roar in which if i recall correctly the full lyrics could be translated into the standart set of iphone emoticons. how's that for basic?
Click to expand...

I think I've watched the lyric video more than the actual video, it's actually fun. I mean that's what a lyric video is supposed to be, since when we've started judging them for their artistic merit?
 
oh i thought it was fun too, i was just pointing out that the song's lyrics can be summed up in a handful of icons.
 
J-Snow said:
Applause is great but it would have been FAB if people actually applauded, but no one bought into her narcism leaving it to look desperate as fuck. Roar, as cheesy as it is, is an ANTHEM.

And you're gonna hear me rooOOAAAARRRLLLOOOUUDDEERR!
LOUDER THAN A LIIIOON! CAUSE I AM A CHAMPION!

It makes Legend X's Fighter look like a DEMO :disco:
Click to expand...



YAYYYYYYYY

WOOOOOOO YAY
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Live for this perf

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OZrtJ_QeAho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

DYING remembering Katy's Roar on XF :D :D :D
 
God, after 193 iTunes plays, Applause still radiates maximality from every pore. It's just hook after hook after hook.
 
And the fact that this was only a taster of the intergalactic maximality of what was to come (Do What You Want, Venus, Gypsy, the G.U.Y. middle eight) makes it even more of a treat.
 
Oh, and aside from what others have been saying about Applause, I love it if nothing else because it gave us these;

[video=vimeo;79673665]http://vimeo.com/79673665[/video]

[video=youtube;ad0Bceqsq_M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad0Bceqsq_M[/video]

[video=youtube;3fDfQe5z3I4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fDfQe5z3I4[/video]

If there's one thing Gaga often does well with her singles is to find different and interesting (if on the nose) ways to bring them alive on stage (not all the time of course, there are just as many occasions when said links and interpretations can be too forced, done on the fly or just plain messy, but it leads to brilliant moments like the arrival from coffin to vessel to stage for the Born This Way debut performance, or the melancholic SNL skit where old Gaga still performs on a piano in her apartment to mechanical applause).

That said I do adore the extended Roar guitar riff when it's performed live.
 
Loufoque said:
Live for this perf

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OZrtJ_QeAho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

DYING remembering Katy's Roar on XF :D :D :D
Click to expand...

And of course, she's even better when she just lets rip on stage :disco:
 
And that wasn't even the performance of the night!

Now THIS is how you pussy pop to the song that killed your career!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ad5gUjGkBkI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Sorry boys but no amount of video pasting will bring the song back. Sadly. I wish things had gone differently when it was released.
 
Out of interest, is there a live performance of Roar that isn't a complete embarrassment?
 
Loufoque said:
Out of interest, is there a live performance of Roar that isn't a complete embarrassment?
Click to expand...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yNd_YXJXZOA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Louf ya THIRSTY (hu) YA THIRSTY (hu)

I love both. I love how Gaga desperately wants to be left field and avoid generic and also how Katy embraces generic and basic.
 
There are fleeting moments of greatness in 'Applause', but they get sucked into a bit of a MESS of a chorus that never quite comes to the boil. It's as if she's almost embarrassed to just embrace a whacking great pop chorus, like she used to.

Which is exactly what 'Roar' does, naff lyrics or not.
 
I have only a vague interest in Gaga these days - and that is mainly because of her off-putting persona. There were one or two songs I liked from 'ARTPOP', but I'm generally much happier to ignore her (as indeed are most people, apparently)
 
Hard call. Both were actually followed by much better singles down the campaign ("Dark Horse" and "Do What U Want"). I think I preffered Applause initially but the campaign that followed completely put me off Gaga so Katy gets my vote.
 
In retrospect, I think the Applause video is quite fantastic and probably best reflects her vision of "Artpop"... More so than the music anyway. The GUY video in comparison is quite tacky and lacking replay value.
 
Applause by MILES.

And to say it sounds like your "generic 2013 EDM song" is just fucking RIDICULOUS.

Where is the Calvin Harris/Avicii-like sound? You know, the way every popular EDM track has sounded like over the last year? Get it? :)

It didn't sound like anything else playing on the radio, let's be honest for one sec!
 
Well... what can I say about the 45% in light of the recent ARTPOP revival. Basique doesn't begin to cover it.
 
This is a tough call in hindsight - because Applause tries so hard and Roar is pretty damn basic, so both are equally flawed. Not bad but just yeah - very indicative of both Gaga (kitchen-sink) and Katy (safest possible attempt at getting another hit) at the time.
 
The VMAs have absolutely disgraced themselves. This beat the Paparazzi performance that is the single greatest 4 minutes ever committed to stage!?

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top Bottom