I know - you're sick of the song. Everyone's sick of the song. At last count, "Bad Romance" had 230,000,000 views on YouTube - more than two-thirds of the entire population of the United States. But - this blog is about songs that get in your head and try as you may - you can't get them out.
I should first say that I was not a fan of Lady Gaga before "Bad Romance." I saw her as having far more style over substance. But then after hearing "Bad Romance," I couldn't help but think - this is the perfect pop song for our age. It's a pop song that couldn't have come out at an earlier time, even though technology-wise, anyone could have easily made this song after 1995.
The song's zeitgest appeal comes from its ability to weave so many pop elements into one moment. You have the inescapable pop chorus that comes with some of the best pop music. You have a Missy Elliott-like freakout midway through when the lyrics switch to French, and those lyrics. Seriously, for a moment pretend "Bad Romance" doesn't exist and you come across some random lyrics. "I want your ugly / I want your disease." "I want your love / all your love is revenge / You and me could write a bad romance." Sounds like early Cure to me.
Perhaps most important of all is that for all its eye-popping "wow", "Bad Romance" contains the signature element of all great pop songs: an air of ache tucked in its sweet exterior. Bands like The Beach Boys, The Replacements and Big Star have made some of the prettiest songs in rock, but a read from their lyric sheet reveals a person with a newly-broken heart. Distilled, "Bad Romance" is about the age-old problem of falling in love with someone you shouldn't be falling in love with. Who can't relate to that?
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