Born This Way | Lady Gaga

Little Monsters, rejoice! Mother Monster is back with her new album, Born This Way, a wide variety of unique sounds and ideas that is just as good as (or even better than) her previous creation, The Fame Monster.

(However, I would like to say that I am reviewing the standard version. I am an owner of the Expanded Edition, and it has seventeen tracks on disc one and remixes on disc two. I especially encourage the purchase of this version because it includes the track "Black Jesus + Amen Fashion," which is like going to a fashion show, yet at the same time admiring Jesus! The first disc also includes "The Queen" and "Fashion of His Love.")

The album opens with "Marry the Night." Right away, I knew that it was one of the most empowering (yet somehow sad) song any pop star has done. The synthetic chords fit together so spectacularly that it gave me chills, sort of like The Fame Monster's impact, but stronger. All in all, this song is kind of everything. It's happy, it's carefree, but something about it is so much deeper.

Of course, the next track is the lead single from the album, called "Born This Way." The intro is epic, with a narration from Gaga, and it sort leads to a random explosion of sound. I'd like to call this the first ever pop gospel about how everyone is beautiful no matter what because they were "Born This Way." But then the next song is "Government Hooker," and this is where things get weird, even for Gaga. A mystic, operatic beginning leads to an electronic, bass-thumping sound, and obviously the lyrics of this song are quite sexually provocative (I mean come on, it's about being a hooker).

Next up is "Judas," which is one of the bounciest songs on the album with it's pop/electronic synthezisers and Lady Gaga's accented vocalizing that puts Shakira to shame. This is definately a favorite of mine. "Judas" isn't the only culture exploring song though, "Americano" is clearly a Spanish-influenced song, and she speaks much more Spanish in this than in the Spanglish in her last album. ("Hair" follows this song, and it brings more of a positive message about being free.) Also, "Schibe" is spoken in some German, and it's definately the song from Born This Way that will most likely be played in clubs world-wide since it's energy is off the charts.

"Bloody Mary" is track number eight, and it is the darkest Lady Gaga song that the world knows of. It's almost a dark-cabnet type of song, resembling the style of little-known singer/violinist Emilie Autumn. She screams twice, and there are points in the verses where she practically growls. The bridge is epic, with a male choir singing "Ga-ga." Being a fan of creepy music, this is probably my favorite from the album.

"Bad Kids" is something that reminds me of the 80's, in musical content as well as lyrical content. You just don't hear songs like this anymore, where "Bad Kids" are the cause of their parents divorce and are 'punks.' Anymore, being bad is all about smoking something illegal and sex. This song surprised me. "Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)" is another empowering track with a fabulous ending, and is completely unlike "Bad Kids" but both songs have less of an electronic vibe. The drums are very potent "Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)" and you get some guitar action in "Bad Kids".

Next up on the standard edition is "Heavy Metal Lover," though no metal is included. It's very electronic, in the same sense of "Government Hooker" but the songs don't sound the same. Gaga's voice almost blends with the music, and it's catchy, yet sort of relaxing. It's sort of in league with "Electric Chapel" in the sense that it's relaxing, but the songs are so different in influence, for we're back to the 80's again with "Electric Chapel." The guitars run off and on throughout with an electric flow, and sometimes church bells are heard, making the whole thing sort of eerie in the midst of it's energy.

"You and I" serves Gaga's tradition of putting something kind of old school in her albums, with a blusey piano and almost unsynthesized guitars and drums. It's the love song of the album, the song you belt out in the shower. It kind of shows how Lady Gaga is influenced is influenced by stuff that's totally different than majority of the songs she writes.

The final song is called "The Edge of Glory," and it's happy and sad all at once. It's a chill-inflicting pop song, and so far, Lady Gaga has been the only one to accomplish such a thing. Saxophones are in parts of the song, giving it a pop-jazz-nighttime feel, especially as it fades out, ending the song. Put your paws up for this one, because there's some sort of unexplainable beauty about this song.

Born This Way will not disappoint fans, I can garuntee that. If anything, it'll grant Lady Gaga even more fans (is that even possible?) because of all the different types of sounds compacted into one magnificent album, all put together by one person. Thank you, Gaga!

5/5 Stars

The Unforgiving | Within Temptation

For the past few years, I've been a huge fan of Within Temptation. Their music is known to change and evolve with time, and for some people this is a negative thing, but I like that they've explored different sounds. But, my reasoning still remains that everything they've done sounds fantastic, from their doom metal era, through a slightly celtic metal era, to pure symphonic metal/rock (or gothic metal/rock, depending on the opinion of the listener).

The Unforgiving is yet another powerful new sound, a concept album based off comics.

"Why Not Me" is the intro to the album. One of the characters from the comic, Mother Maiden, narrates as strings play behind her chilling voice. This is definately not my favorite of intros, but it does the album justice.

The first full song is called "Shot in the Dark" and it opens darkly, yet a bit more electronic than we're all used to hearing from Within Temptation. Its lyrics are different than typical Within Temptation lyrics, maybe a bit less poetic in the verses, but it's still them! I suppose that in a general way of putting it, this song is bouncier and more quickly-paced than anything that this band has ever done, and they do it right. I like it.

There are people who complain relentlessly that Within Temptation 'isn't metal anymore'. The track "In the Middle of the Night" proves them wrong. Awesome guitar riffs and eerie vocalizing opens the song, and the first lyrics ("I've been walking this road of desire/I've been begging for blood on the wall") tell us even before we get to the heavy chorus and bridge that there's no point in ever losing faith in Within Temptation. Get ready to bang your head.

Next, the first single from the album follows, "Faster." Again, this is a faster-paced track, and very cool and repetative, and certainly unlike "Fire and Ice," which follows. Strings open the song, with chords fitting for a horror film. Before we know it, Sharon's soprano voice and high piano notes interrupt this gracefully. This is the first mellow song from the album, and it is quite pretty. Eventually, it picks up, gaining drums and guitar. The song just grows and crescendos throughout, but it was consistantly beautiful.

Don't get scared, the next song is one of the heaviest from the album. "Iron" is sort of a tribute to the band Iron Maiden, as I have read in an interview. Power-metal, the Within Temptation way. I must commend the use of the brass instruments in this song, because normally they bug me in some music if they're overused, but this is epic. Speaking of epic, I think that's what they themed the bridge, where Mother Maiden's frightening narrations are heard against the empowering riffs.

"Where is the Edge" is sort of the balance between the band's newfound sound and their last album, The Heart of Everything. Symphonic rock, without a doubt. It's not my favorite song from The Unforgiving, but it's great nontheless, and I partiacularly favor the verses. Following that is "Sinead," the second single, about the main character from the comic. It is perhaps the catchiest from the album, and is very energetic. The violins in the bridge are dramatic and gorgeous, and the rest of the song is so lively and positive.

The ninth track became one of my favorites right away, and it's called "Lost." The guitar riffs (espcially electric, but the acoustic are memorable as well) and strings are moving, and Sharon's vocals are so beautiful as they soar above the guitars, as well as when she vocalizes and blends with them. Perhaps this is why I love this song so much - it's the only one on The Unforgiving where Sharon does her vocalizing that I've loved so much on all of the other Within Temptation albums.

"Murder" comes afterward, and Sharon's voice is disoriented in the verses, but come full force in the chorus. In fact, the chorus is actually my favorite part of the song. However in general, it's my least favorite track from the album, but it's still a good song, with a mysterious vibe. "A Demon's Fate" comes next, and Sharon is vocalizing again, so we already know that it's awesome! The power-metal guitars and chilling lyrics and violins make this song spectacular, and it's not far astray from the sound of their last album.

"Stairway to the Skies" is the final track, and it opens with dark guitar melodies and faint vocalizing. Very symphonic, kind of mellow but still rocking, and a great finish to a wonderful new album!

Sharon's voice, as previously mentioned, is different on this album, less operatic. Sure, I miss that, but that's what needed to happen for these perfect songs! This album is purely amazing! I fell in love with every song immediately. So try to disreguard the anti-new Within Temptation views and give The Unforgiving a try, because Within Temptation still are, and forever will be, an absolutely phenomenal band that doesn't disappoint.

5/5 Stars

Blogging For One Year

Okay, so maybe it's a little bit longer than a year, but at least I'm in the right month. From 0 followers to 12, from not having a Flag Counter to over 2,000 pageviews by about 70 different countries - The Critiquing Critica has evolved over this span of time. Yeah, I guess it was a good first year.


For about half a year before actually getting around to make this blog, I decided that I wanted to review the books I read, and maybe a few movies and CDs. Just to talk about them and share my general opinion. I had no idea that book blogging existed at the time. Heck, I wasn't even sure what a blog was! Well one thing led to another, and here I am, talking about my little blogging journey.


A lot has changed around here since April 6, 2010. First of all, my reviewing style has definately grown. Originally, I wrote a summary, one paragraph critiquing the writing of the book (or acting in the movie, etc.) and one paragraph about how I generally felt, followed by the star rating. Now, I go much further. In fact, my reviews are a bit too in depth and lengthy, but I don't want to leave anything unmentioned. I've always examined things closely, but now I notice more than ever, I am even more of a critic. Also, the blog got a make-over at some point, since Blogger had some new pretty templates to offer.


However, I got a little scared in my first year of blogging. I read a few things about the subject, and before I knew it, I was asking myself the question all the time: Will a publisher even give me the time of day, knowing I am basically a book blogger? For so long, I've wanted to have my work published someday, so I became terribly frightened, and actually considered giving up blogging forever. Soon, I figured out this would only happen if I bash people that I don't like (or if I just don't like their work), and quite frankly, I don't. Honestly, I think I'm fair. It's not often that I review something I have no nice things to say about, so why should I worry? In addition, when pondering this, I always came back to my original reasons for starting The Critiquing Critica, and I don't know how I lived before. How did I function, holding in my opinions on the books I read and movies I saw? Especially since I tend to go with what the minority of people like around here, I had no one to talk to about these things without boring them. That's why I blog.


So, I have officially celebrated my first blogging anniversery. Better late than never.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | by: Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln has always remained as one of the most well-known American presidents. Just about everyone knows his general accomplishments, in ending slavery, in the American Civil War. Now, the whole story is told.

The entirety of Honest Abe's life is known to be tragic, starting with the death of his mother. But what no one realizes is that most of these deaths were brought on by vampires. To avenge his dear mother, Abraham begins his quest in destroying as many vampires as he can, from boyhood to President. For, the Civil War was not only a war of outlawing slavery, but also a war to rid America of its vampires.

I discovered the existence of this Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter last summer, when I saw an off-duty lifeguard reading it, a faint smile upon her face. Just look at the cover. It's pretty clear why people would be attracted to this novel. This has to be one of the most unique ideas EVER. However my interest was especially high since Abraham Lincoln happens to be my favorite American president and I adore vampire novels.

This book, from first page to last, is completely interesting and increasingly awesome. Many true facts are expressed throughout the novel, although Seth Grahame-Smith added plenty of fiction. Since he did his homework and kept fact consistent, a lot of these fictional possibilities made plenty of sense! And other people found in history were involved, like Edgar Allen Poe. This made me excited, being a huge Poe fan. I was especially amused by his appearance. He was just so... Goth. Completely creepy, as one would expect, but for whatever reason I remained shocked.

And yes, some of the historical figures used in this novel were turned into vampiers by Grahame-Smith! What fun!

In addition to Lincoln himself and Edgar Allen Poe, another character stood out to me ever since his first appearance: Henry. His past made me feel sorry for him, and his wisdom made me admire him. Well, if you could say he had wisdom, and I say so. He proved himself right time and time again to President Lincoln, even if sometimes Lincoln was bothered by him in some way. It's like I almost had a distant crush on him or something, if you really want the truth.

Although a work of fiction, the type of writing is a lot like what you'd expect from a biography, with little captions and old photos (photoshopped, in this case, but still a nice effect) and jounral entries and such. Of course, a lot more action is to be expected, though the general gist makes it feel all too real.

I learned many things from this book about President Lincoln (the factual parts of the story are pretty easy to configure). Honestly, I had no idea how touched he had been by tragedies in his life. With heartbreaking descriptions of how broken Abraham Lincoln became at times, I felt like I wanted to tear up with him, and tell him something of comfort. I mourned, for despite the novel could be humorous at times, it grew increasingly serious. I admired him for his constant, defined love for his children. I've never read about anyone who loved their children so purely and had such devotion for being a good father.

So, since the story kept building and building, the best part for me was the ending. The ending of this novel is just too amazing, and it's why I rate this book so highly. It may be one of the best endings for any book I've read, because I can't believe I didn't see it coming, yet it was a huge surprise.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter turned out to be a totally entertaining read, that got better and better as I turned the pages. In it's own strange way, this novel is actually powerful.

4.5/5 Stars


Grahame-Smith, Seth. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
New York, NY: Grand Centeral Publishing of Hatchette Book Group, Inc.
2010

Classics: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Classics is a little thing I started where I talk about classic novels (or older novels that have no need of being reviewed in this day and age). I do not necesarily review the books, just give my opinion, and talk about why they're important, whether I enjoyed them or not.

Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon isn't necesarily a "classic" novel. It was first released in 1959, and had one small televised adaptation. It may not be To Kill a Mockingbird or a novel of many awards, but it has an effective focus: Nuclear war. Randy Bragg, the main character, amongst others in the small surviving Florida community located in Fort Repose, must find a way to survive in what seems to be their abandoned little world, without technology or working government. They must overcome sickness and hunger, as well as deal with the death that surrounds, for most of the United States and its allies were bombed.

I had to read Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank for school, and I doubt if I would have picked it up otherwise. War tends to be an interesting subject to read about when it has something to do with science fiction or fantasy-based, but realistic fiction can be sort of scary for me, a peace-person. I can only hope that something so tragic, so horrible, will not happen in reality.

Though I cannot relate to any of these particular characters, I have empathy for them. Randy feels the pressure of leadership, others don't know if their family or spouse is still live. Children are afraid, and boys are forced to be men in little time - like Ben Franklin, Randy's nephew. I felt almost... uncomfortable at the thought with a gun in his hand. He handled things in such a mature way, and adapted to the situation.

Of course, the theme of survival can be a page turner. It can also be slow, filled with waiting with small dilemmas in between. Food was a big part in this. What happens when it runs out? What are we smart enough to remember? How creative can we get? Foods that I didn't understand the value of ended up being so important to the characters. Pat Frank wrote with purpose, and he also wrote at a good pace. Sure, sometimes he jumped foreward a lot with the timeline, with gaps in between, but if he didn't do this (which can oftentimes seem randomized) the novel would have taken forever for me to get through. At times, it could seem a bit tedious, and I felt like problems were solved almost as soon as they were introduced.

The ending isn't ideal, and I've only read one other book with such a feel. The community manages their problems, yet the situation remains bleak to some degree, for not much is really solved. However, there is a lingering hope. And that's what this whole book is about. Humanity will adapt and continue, and hope is present in even the darkest hours of a nation.

Alas, Babylon had a lot going for it, and it had quality. In my opinion, it should have received more praise than it had when it was first released, although I'm not particularly crazy about it. It's a good book, I'll give it that. But it's not exactly one of my favorites.

3.5/5 Stars

Mockingjay | by: Suzanne Collins

This review, despite the hype behind the book, contains no spoilers, but perhaps a few slight ones from the previous books of the trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire) will. (This is so difficult to write about without spoiling, and I don't like the way it sounds, so anyone who didn't want spoilers better be happy even though it's written in an odd way!)

Sparks have turned into flames. Katniss Everdeen and her fellow tribute, Peeta, have been the face of a rebellion against the Capitol. Now, the rebels are gaining power, and Katniss is beginning to accept her role. Emotions tear at her constantly with this new turn in events, despite her strength, because she's human. But she is also the Mockingjay, the face of hope in the revolution.

Thank you so much for this spectacular reading experience, Suzanne Collins.

Suzanne Collins has created a masterpiece, yet again. But I must say, that sometimes I am angry with her. The revolution was not peaceful because it's a revolution. Tragic things happen because that's the way life is. So why am I angry? Because I cared way too much, and it's all Suzanne's fault, with her beautiful writing and fearlessness in creating the plot, and those characters! Katniss, Finnick, Peeta, Gale, Prim, Haymitch. How was I supposed to not love them?

Of course, her writing is immaculate all through Mockingjay, and the plot remained just as action packed as the other two novels. But Katniss has so many emotions in this one, and all were displayed clearly. I felt everything she did. Fear, sorrow, worry, love. Reading this book almost hurt, because I hurt when Katniss hurt. She is a strong heroine and always will be, and I don't believe that she broke in this novel, as other reviews I read mentioned.

One character that was introduced in Catching Fire I never liked until reading Mockingjay: Finnick. Behind what you originally see in him lies so much that it broke my heart. I loved him, and I loved seeing his relationship with Annie. That's all I'm going to say about him, but the bottom line is that he's so... great. And everything that Peeta had to go through made me feel horrible, as it did Katniss.

I'm happy with the ending. I just wish that it wasn't so shadowed by everything that happened in the past, all of the depressing moods and thoughts from two pages before the epilogue were still piercing my heart. (Why did so many have to die?) I didn't want this long-awaited happy ending spoiled by the horrific events that took place. However, I am overjoyed that she and *I'm not going to spoil it* end up having a beautiful life together. I always suspected that in the end, she would be with him, but I also loved the other character that she could've loved. Well, until he made me very angry at the end. Well, she picked my favorite, so I'm ecstatic. Obviously, Katniss' love interests are not the main focus of the novel, but I have to admit that I've been itching to see how this ends. Want to know exactly why I'm happy with this character? Read the novel. You will not regret it.

The last few pages of the novel, I bawled. Many tissues were needed. It ended up being so happy and sad all at the same time, and I couldn't take it. It was too much for my emotional equilibrium to stay stable. Never have I cried so much over a book, with the only exception of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. That book and Mockingjay made me a completely insane, crying mess. But I guess Mockingjay had the strongest effect, since I cried even though my dad was in the room (thinking that his daughter has lost it), and I basically cried myself to sleep. Had nightmares about only the sad parts, only that the book was just ended with those, no happiness. I'm even losing control of my tears as I write this.

Although I already thought about this in the past, Mockingjay helped me decide that I can't see the film adaptations of this trilogy. It means too much to me. Even if one thing isn't the way I imagined it, it could be ruined. This is the first time I read a book without wanting to see the movie. I need my personal vision of it, and nothing else.

I will give Mockingjay the same rating that I've given all of The Hunger Games books, despite that each individual book is so important to me, made me realize so much, and feel so much raw emotion. All are worthy of infinate stars.

5/5 Stars


Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay
New York: Scholastic Press
2010