| "Scheiße" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Lady Gaga from the album Born This Way | ||||
| Released | May 23, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2010; Tour Bus, Europe | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop, synthpop, techno | |||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Streamline, Interscope, Kon Live | |||
| Writer | Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat[1] | |||
| Producer | Lady Gaga, RedOne | |||
| Born This Way track listing | ||||
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"Scheiße" (English: Shit) is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her second studio album, Born This Way (2011). The song is written and produced by Lady Gaga and RedOne, and was recorded in Europe on the tour bus during the Monster Ball Tour. "Scheiße" was first introduced as a remix during a Thierry Mugler fashion show held in January 19, 2011. Gaga later performed the first verse during the 2011 season finale of Germany's Next Topmodel.
"Scheiße" is a dance-pop song with heavy, pounding synths. The song also has a fast techno beat with electroclash and Eurodisco influences. Gaga speaks the first verse and parts of the chorus of the song faux-German, as the name of the song is German. The song has a feminist tone, with lyrics speaking of female empowerment. The song received positive reviews from contemporary critics, who complimented its heavy dance beat and catchy chorus, despite criticizing the German lyrics and Gaga's accent. Reviewers also considered it a highlight of the album, and found influences of Madonna's work. The song charted on the South Korean and American national charts, as well as charting on alternate charts in Canada, Germany and the United States.
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"Scheiße" was written and produced by Lady Gaga and RedOne. The song was originally recorded on the Tour Bus in Europe in 2010, and was later remixed at Larrabee Sound Studios in North Hollywood, California by Trevor Muzzy.[2] Gaga said that the song was inspired after a night of partying in Berlin, the capital city of Germany.[3] One night, she had gone to the Laboratory nightclub in the city, and had fun with her friends. The next day, she wrote "Scheiße", stating that she "meant [the song] like 'shit, it's good.' But I also meant it the other way; because this song is really about wanting to be a strong female without all the bullshit that comes along with. Anything that gets in your way from being brave. It's not the only word I know, I just like that word. It's sexy."[3]
"Scheiße" was first introduced in a Thierry Mugler fashion show held on January 19, 2011 as a remix; the fashion show also featured Gaga on the runway.[4][5] It featured a thumping dance beat with snippets of German words.[4][5] The remix ended with the lyrics, "I'll take you out tonight/say whatever you like."[4] On January 20, 2011, Mugler's creative director Nicola Formichetti premiered a short film scored by the remix.[5] "Scheiße" was released as part of Gaga's second studio album, Born This Way, on May 23, 2011.[6]
"Scheiße" is a dance-pop song with techno, electroclash, and Eurodisco influences.[7][8][9] Some critics also noted Madonna's influences on the song, notably "Justify My Love," which, like "Scheiße," has sections in which the artist speaks rather than singing the lyrics.[9][10] "Scheiße" has been described as "a strange mash up of digestible, American shopping mecca music and the thud of German nightclub electronica." The song features a "grimy" bass and so many "fizzing" synths that it produces a "keyboard assault on the senses."[9][11] The song's lyrics are of female empowerment.[10][12] Although the theme of "Scheiße" is similar to the inspirational theme of other songs on Born This Way, The Village Voice questioned the sincerity of the feminist lyrics, after Gaga had once said, "I’m not a feminist. I hail men, I love men," but calls herself on the song a "blond high-heeled feminist enlisting femmes for this."[12] "[Is this] someone who we’re watching evolve or someone who, at any given point, doesn’t really know what she’s talking about?" the article wrote of Gaga.[12] The German word "scheiße", the title of the song and a word frequently used in the song, translates into "shit" into English.[9] Gaga repeatedly speaks in German gibberish during the song, although in a French accent.[7][8][13]
The song starts with Gaga saying, "I don't speak German, but I can if you like", then immediately launches into a spoken verse in faux-German.[8][14] She then moves to the hook of the song, "I’ll take you out tonight, say whatever you like, scheiße be mine".[13] Following the hook is a pre-chorus backed by syncopated synths, with influences of techno music. The chorus of the song, in which Gaga includes the word "scheiße", is backed by "dueling screechy" synths.[9] It is broken up by Gaga repeatedly singing in-between lines "oh oh oh oh oh" in an electronically altered voice. The next verses, containing lyrics of Gaga being a strong woman, are all backed by "growling, guttural" synths, and are mixed with German and English.[9] According to the sheet music published by Hal Leonard Corporation, "Scheiße" is written in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 131 beats per minute. It is composed on the key of C minor, with Gaga's voice spanning from F3 to C♯5. The song follows in the sequence of Cm–Cm/Cm–Eb/Gm as its chord progression.[15]
"Scheiße" received positive reviews from critics, with some calling it a highlight of the album. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine favorably compared "Scheiße" to Madonna's songs, saying its " a Dietrich-by-way-of-Madonna-on-steroids techno-feminist manifesto," and argued that Gaga is most interesting when channeling Madonna.[10] NME's Dan Martin also found "Scheiße" comparable to a Madonna song, saying it "channels Miss Kittin doing a rave take on Madonna’s 'Erotica'," making it a "commanding pop song" and a "triumph".[12] The Village Voice called "Scheiße" a "highlight" of the album, but questioned the sincerity of the feminist lyrics.[12] BBC Music called the song a "monster tune begging for a sex dungeon-themed video event".[16] Kerri Manson of Billboard found the song to be "dated", but strongly praised the chorus.[7] Tim Jonze of The Guardian also found the chorus of the song "ridiculously catchy" and felt it was the most important aspect of the song.[17] He also noticed Berlin techno influences in the song, which were described as "decadent."[17] Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen, however, felt the chorus was "a whisp" and called the song's beat "generic Eurodisco thump".[8] Gaga's German in the song was criticized by the magazine, which called it "gibberish that sounds German but isn't."[8] Caryn Ganz from Spin called the opening lines of the song ("I don't speak German, but I can if you like") "hilariously ludicrous."[14] Tris McCall of New Jersey Herald rewarded "Scheiße" as the "song of the week" and recommended it as Gaga's next single from Born This Way, noting it to be "no less absurd" than the previous singles.[18] McCall also noted Gaga's giberish lyrics and compared them to what he believed a high school student group's version of Cabaret would sound like.[18] He concluded by praising the song's production.[18] Prefixmag's Craig Jenkins said the song "cuts the karaoke crap and kicks ass on the dance floor" and "eschew[s] Born This Way’s time traveling ethos in favor of a more modern approach."[19] Ed Commentale from Tinymixtapes gave a mixed review of the German in the song, saying "the singer is not so much speaking the language of the German people, but updating it for the new millennium, enjoining this nation to move beyond its tragic history into a new era of love and dancing... ['Scheiße'] reveals a certain disregard for both fact and reality."[20] Nathan Heller from Slate compared the song to Mediterranean dance tracks, while declaring it as being "custom-tailored to an international audience".[21]
Despite not having been released as a single, the song entered the charts in different countries. In Germany, "Scheiße" debuted at number 90, after Gaga had performed the song at Germany's Next Topmodel.[22] Following the release of Born This Way, "Scheiße" peaked at number 13 on the International Digital Download chart in South Korea, jumping 21 positions from the previous week.[23] It also peaked at number 136 on the UK Singles Chart, for one week.[24] In the United States, the song reached number 11 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart of Billboard.[25] It also charted at number four on the Hot Dance/Electronic Digital Songs,[26] as well as at number 67 on the Canadian Hot Digital Songs chart.[27]
Lady Gaga performed "Scheiße" on the season finale of Germany's Next Topmodel on June 6, 2011. She emerged from a well-lit doorway wearing a turquoise wig, a black hat, and a long black dress and walked towards a piano. Only the German lines and the first line of the song were performed, after which Gaga moved to a piano decorated with dollar bills and sang an acoustic version of "Born This Way".[28] Upon completion, she began to play "The Edge of Glory" and Gaga started to walk along the catwalk where she had placed two sashes with the words "sex" and "money" respectively. The singer went through them and then dodged a third sash that read "vanity."[29] Ray Rodriguez of ImpreMedia, in a review of the performance, stated that "Gaga took over the stage. Gaga always provides material to talk about. And their presentation was no exception and this time she was seen dancing across a row of cutters labeled with the words "money," "sex" and "vanity" while scantily clad dancers threw her around the stage notes"[30] and Charlie Amter of The Hollywood Reporter stated that "Gaga dazzled German fans."[31] Becky Bain of Idolator was dismissive, arguing that "She [Gaga] Uh, she does know she’s performing on a show featuring models, right?"[32]
Credits adapted from Born This Way album liner notes.[2]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot Digital Songs[27] | 67 |
| German Download Chart[22] | 90 |
| South Korean Gaon Chart[23] | 20 |
| UK Singles Chart[24] | 136 |
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles[25] | 11 |
| US Hot Dance/Electronic Digital Songs[26] | 4 |
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