Freak Out Look At Me

Lady Gaga “Stupid Love”

This is the lady Gaga I love the most – joyous, extremely catchy, and heavily indebted to the pop aesthetics of VERY SPECIFICALLY the late 80s. The last time she hit this mark was on the album Born This Way, particularly on the title track, “Fashion of His Love,” and “The Edge of Glory.” Most people hear the similarities to Blonde Ambition era Madonna, but Gaga goes a lot deeper – I hear Erasure, Debbie Gibson, Roxette, Stacey Q, Belinda Carlisle, T’pau, and late 80s Cher in the mix. As with everything Gaga does it’s the result of internalizing a personal canon and synthesizing it into familiar new things.

“Stupid Love” is a jolt of ecstatic, carefree pop in a moment where escapism has never felt more important. Gaga is no stranger to making supercharged dance records that are engineered to overpower the listener, but this time her repeatedly slamming every joy receptor in your brain with a hammer feels especially welcome. It’s a cliche to say you surrender to a dance song, but it really feels that way here. It’s like she’s force-quitting your brain.

Buy it from Amazon.