“Babylon” by Lady Gaga, Thursday, June 9, 2022
In a true Pride month fashion, we return to Chromatica, Lady Gaga's 2020 master class in Dance Pop, this time to the epic closer, "Babylon." Recall, last month, we talked about how Chromatica is actually a concept record that needs to be experienced in one listen, despite how much you might find yourself re-listening to the tracks. If we make it to "Babylon," we've already been propelled through a "Wonderland" of '80s and '90s-inspired keyboard dance music that seems to emit the metallic pinks, greens, and blues seen in fashions from, say 1992. In a surreal way, we've gotten a better sense of who Lady Gaga is--a tragic pop star craving "Stupid Love" and dealing with her inner demons on "911."
WE CAN PARTY LIKE IT'S B.C. Then we've come to the end of Chromatica, and yet by the time we get to the saxophone on "Babylon" we feel like the party is only getting started and that we're in it for another spin. The track opens with a loon call. Our friends at Switched On Pop, in their analysis of the track tell us that the loon call appears on many '90s house tracks because it was a recorded sound on a popular '90s keyboard. "Babylon" is a heavily coded track with historical, religious, and queer references. One aspect that is often talked about with this track is Madonna's "Vogue," particularly in reference to the Lady Gaga-robot voice heard throughout the album, but most clearly on "Babylon." The critics on the Switched On Pop podcast point out that "voguing" Madonna appropriating queer culture, particularly gay men imitating the way that drag queens talk. When Lady Gaga imitates Madonna and gay men sing along to Lady Gaga or Madonna, there's a sort of mirror-within-a-mirror effect, amplifying the significance of the original culture.
via GIPHY from Madonna's "Vogue" music video.
"The Tower of Babel" painting by Alexander Mikhalchyk. From Wikipedia Commons. |
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