The Fame: A Song-by-Song Review
What were you doing in the summer of 2008? I was mostly racking up my driving hours on my learner’s permit before I could take my drivers license test. But you know what else happened in the summer of 2008? Lady Gaga popped into the music scene. In August 2008, she released her debut album The Fame.
Today, in honor of Gaga’s existence, I relistened to the album to share my thoughts and memories about the first album from this now iconic star.
The Fame was released in 2008 but later re-released in 2009 as The Fame Monster. The Fame Monster includes 8 new songs from the original Fame, including Bad Romance, Alejandro, and Telephone. But today, I’m just revisiting the original 15 songs. Listen to the full album to follow along.
Just Dance
I was just about to start my senior year in high school when I first heard Lady Gaga. It’s weird to think about that now. And while Lady Gaga’s presence and hype spread well into my college years, and beyond, I continue to have strong memories of driving around La Mirada, California in a hunter green Suburban, hearing Just Dance or Paparazzi come on the radio. There’s something really important about the staying power of Lady Gaga. How she continues to capture audiences and new audiences, younger audiences at that. While Lady Gaga became famous when I was a high schooler, her presence continues on.
I can only imagine that this is what it might feel like to be in high school when Madonna first became famous. Of course, this is something you can only really feel years later, knowing that you were a part of a really special moment in music history.
Another top hit of 2008 was Pocket Full of Sunshine but I don’t even know if Natasha Bedingfield is even still making music. And we’re definitely not still talking about her.
If you want to remind yourself of Top 40 in 2008, here’s a playlist to take you back to the moment. I for one, was driving to theater practice on a Saturday morning while a the new song Just Dance played on the radio — a hit but not yet a classic.
LoveGame
Since I decided to write this review, I haven’t been able to stop listening to this song. I honestly feel like this song doesn’t get enough play these days. You know how there are songs that you haven’t listened to in forever but when you play them, it turns out that you can sing all the lyrics? Apparently, LoveGame is one of those songs for me. It just feels so classic Lady Gaga to me. And who doesn’t want to just say the line “I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” over and over again.
Paparazzi
A friend once told me a story that her friend didn’t know that this song was called paparazzi and instead thought Lady Gaga was saying “Papa Razzi.” I don’t know what to make of that other than it’s hilarious and I often think of that weird anecdote whenever I hear this song.
Also, I’m here to remind you that Alexander Skarsgård was in the music video.
On a side note, at what point does music start to sound dated? Are Gen Z’s listening to this song thinking “wow, it’s a banger but it’s definitely of that era.”
Poker Face
Much like Just Dance, Poker Face is one of the Lady Gaga songs that I most associate with high school. Picture yourself at a Knott’s Berry Farm hotel for your senior year winter formal. You’ve just had a fresh slice of boysenberry pie and now you are jumping up and down to this song in your Charlotte Russe Dress. That is where I am transported to.
While doing a little research, I learned that the “ma ma ma” in Poker Face is sampled from Boney M.’s Ma Baker. Upon further listening, the verse of Poker Face is really heavily influenced by this disco song.
Speaking of samples, an excellent sample of Lady Gaga is on the Kid Cudi song Make Her Say.
Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)
Well, I’m realizing now that most of Lady Gaga’s breakthrough hits from this album came from the first 4 songs. Wikipedia tells me that this song incorporates the “Eh, Eh” hook from Rihanna’s single Umbrella” Unclear to me if it’s a real sample or just a similar sound that’s being captured here during this era of music.
Beautiful Dirty Rich
This is not a song that I ever think about. And listening to it now, I find it really fascinating because while it’s entirely on theme with this album and the party girl persona of Lady Gaga at the time, the song itself has a more rock vibe than many of the other songs on this album, especially the ones that became huge hits. In fact, this song reminds me a bit of Metric.
The Fame
Okay, this is the title song of this album. Once again, I’m reminded of other songs of this same era, in particular Lily Allen’s The Fear.
Allen starts her song:
“I wanna be rich
and I want lots of money.
I don’t care about clever.
I don’t care about funny.”
In the same vein, Gaga starts her song:
“I can’t help myself
I’m addicted to a life of material.
It’s some kind of joke
I’m obsessively opposed to the typical.”
I find this these of the era particularly interesting, especially as we as a society start to rethink how young female celebrities were treated in the early 2000s (think Framing Britney Spears). Probably a full spin out article coming there.
Money Honey
I can’t quite explain it, but this song always makes me think of that ABBA song, Money Money Money.
On a side note: if you’re looking for a playlist dedicated to songs about money, I’ve got you covered.
Starstruck
I honestly don’t have any feelings about this song. Flo Rida’s on it. That seems like a very 2008 collab. Also, I cannot get over that Flo Rida just made up his name by separating Florida into two words.
Boys, Boys, Boys
Apparently, this song was inspired by Motley Crue’s Girls Girls Girls. Montley Crue is one of those bands that I always assume is going to be really heavy metal that I hate but turns out is just 80s hair rock. Wikipedia says they are considered but it feels so tame compared to what I associate with heavy metal. Why are we always so concerned about the sound of popular music? Did people listen to Moonlight Sonata and worry that it was going to corrupt the youth? Will my children listen to Low by Flo Rida and think “Wow, this is so tame. Why was everyone freaking out about rap music in 2008?”
Also, Lady Gaga’s song kind of reminds me of the St. Vincent song Sugar Boy. I’d put them on a playlist together.
Paper Gangsta
Okay, here’s a song I like again on this album. We took a bit of a detour there into a more traditional rock sound but now I feel like we’re back to the dancey electro Gaga that made her stand out at the time.
I don’t know what a Paper Gangsta is but based on the Genius lyrics, I’d assume it’s someone who promises you fame by forcing you to sign a bunch of contracts. They peddle in paper contracts.
I’d put this song on a playlist with the song Gangsta by Kat Dahlia.
Brown Eyes
Aww, Gaga gets to sing a rock ballad. This song is so generically 2000s rock, with a hint of British invasion revival, like Oasis or Arctic Monkeys. Maybe we would have appreciated Gaga’s voice sooner if they hadn’t arranged the songs that show off her voice so poorly.
I Like It Rough
The chorus of this sounds like “I always feel like somebody’s watching me.” See for yourself.
Summerboy
One time, a friend told me that my favorite songs are always the deep cuts from an album. I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not. In all honesty, it probably had no judgment value.
But a good example of this is how one of my favorite Kanye West songs is Bittersweet Poetry (featuring John Mayer), which is basically a song you cannot find anywhere. I somehow had it because of the version of the torrent of the album Graduation that I had.
Summerboy is another example of this. I do not know why but this is one of my favorite Lady Gaga songs. And who even thinks of this song? How many people have even heard it?
Disco Heaven
This is giving me more ABBA vibes. I guess since the song is called Disco Heaven, that makes sense.
It also reminds me of I Know What Boys Like by The Waitresses.
Summary
In sophomore year of college, I saw Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball Tour. For a long time, it felt like something I should be embarrassed about. Oh haha, I saw Lady Gaga, what a guilty pleasure. But now, it feels like such a badge of honor, like getting to see Beyoncé or Kanye (twice for the record). Little did I know the lasting power of Lady Gaga.
While there are at least 2 songs later on this album that I genuinely enjoy, in general, this album was really a vessel for those first 4 hits and a vessel for the Lady Gaga that we all know and love today. Who could ever imagine that in 2021 Lady Gaga would still be a relevant choice to sing the national anthem at the inauguration?
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