The following podcast contains explicit language.

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I'm Stephen Metcath, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest. The Edge of Glory is sitting on my face, but don't think twice. It's all right. Edition. It's Wednesday, May

25th, 2011. On today's program, Lady Gaga's new leaked album, supposedly leaked album, born this way.

Bob Dylan turns 70, and Philip Roth wins the Man Booker Prize, somewhat controversially.

Joining me today, uncontroversially, is Slate's pop critic Jody Rosen.

Are you the pop critic or music critic?

I'm a music critic. There's a fine distinction.

Talmudic distinctions already. Jody, welcome? Thank you. It's awesome. Have you and I ever done a GabFest where you were one of the three? I don't think so. I don't think so. Oh, I don't think so. First. Yep. There's not room for the two of you in this studio. No. Absolutely. And our film critic, Dana Stevens, hey, Nana? Hey. All right, well, let's dig right in with Gaga. We don't need to linger too long on the fact that the album was leaked or whether it was leaked or leaked in quotes or whatever. But anyways, it's out there. It's out officially this week. Okay. And as I take it, Jody, you're really enthusiastic about the album. Take it away. What do you think of this record?

Well, I think I should say first off that I've been a little bit of a Gaga skeptic. I'm not, she's not my favorite. And she's still not my favorite. I like this record quite a bit. And I find it really, but I don't, I've never been fully on board with Gaga. I, you know, I respect, obviously, um, the,

everything that she does visually. I love someone who treats the whole world as their catwalk,

and I love pop stars who, you know, spread, spread their music and image and sound and everything else across a million

platforms. But she's, the music for me has always been ever so slightly crude. It hasn't, and, you know,

she writes catchy songs, but it's never, it hasn't grabbed me in the way, for instance,

the music of someone like Beyonce does. Crude in the sense, not that it's dirty, but it's never – it hasn't grabbed me in the way, for instance, the music of someone like Beyonce does.

Crude in the sense, not that it's dirty, but in the sense that it's somewhat basic songcraft but dolled up with a lot of effects.

Or dolled up with just a huge sort of very blunt house beat, which seems to power every song.

And what I like about this record is that all that is in place, but it's just overblown

to the nth degree.

I mean, this is the most bombastic music you will ever hear.

Every song has a sort of epic quality.

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