Before I give my snap-review, make sure you watch the video first.



OK, for those wondering what I thought about it, I have a few. First, I loved it. Now for those of you who think I may be saying this simply because I'm a Lady Gaga supporter, you can pump your breaks right there. As with any piece of visual art or music, I do pride myself on the ability to detach from the hype & buzz surrounding said art and observe with an unbiased eye. It is from this eye that I give my opinions.

Overall, the whole sexually risky concept made even me uncomfortable...which means it was a hit. The fact that a music video can cause me to feel nervous while watching says that the team and the director working on the storyboard went to great length to push the envelope - good job. I'm still wondering which of the handful of black-haired dancers WAS the 'Alejandro' character, but I feel like I'll be doing some research on the vid to find that out later. The choreo was very well thought-out & executed, and I was happy to see the dancers really acting in their roles.

It was extremely pleasing to see that the Gaga team has yet again reinvented her look & make-up scheme. The platinum blonde motif and winter-themed facial tones against the blackened set was a good contrast. Conceptually, the video was clearly a pull from several Madonna music videos ("Vogue," "I'll Remember," and "Like A Prayer" respectively) and still managed to evoke its own originality and controversy-factor. This is to be expected, seeing as how "Telephone" was much more colorful and playful as compared to "Alejandro." We've come to expect that each art piece Gaga presents will have little to no reference to its predecessors, and "Alejandro" is no exception to this unwritten rule.

My biggest issue actually didn't come from the visualization or the cinematography. Rather, I was highly disappointed in the poor sequencing of the music for the length of this video. It sounds as if producer Redone had very little time to cut & paste what he already had laid down for the original record, and that was something that upset me, considering that he and Gaga have worked so well together to create her hit parade. I would've liked for either him or his team to have sat down and created a much fuller, broader, and more interesting 8-minute version of the 4 minute song so as to fit the depth and character of the video; alas, this was not so.

In any case, Gaga came through for me once again, and we shall see where this boundary-pushing music video takes her stardom...as if she hasn't sky-rocketed already :-). Feel free to add your comments!