"Look: Gaga cries and makes big, dramatic statements. A lot. She’s a theater kid playing to an audience of theater kids; just accept it and it’ll make this whole experience much more palatable, okay?"
- Genevieve Koski, reviewing the Monster Ball Tour for the Onion AV Club
I was shocked the other day when I wrote a blog post on Lady Gaga and long time reader Gumby confessed in the comments that he had never heard a Lady Gaga song, not one! I simply cannot let this stand, it would be a travesty for me not to address this issue! So here then, just for Gumby is a quick intro to Lady Gaga.
Imagine someone who is equal parts Madonna and Marilyn Manson, sister to Tori Amos and spiritual progeny of Freddy Mercury. Both terrifying and arousing (I won't lie, I'm totally Gaga-curious), brilliant, controversial, sacrilegious, innovative, self important, dramatic, sweet, vulgar, scary, vulnerable, honest, talented, full of shit and a born entertainer. That's Lady Gaga. Well that's Lady Gaga as I see her. I never wanted to be a fan, I've really tried not to like her but she may very well be my perfect woman. I have no idea why. It's probably best if I let her music do the talking.
First off, here is some pure, uncut Gaga. This is her singing "Born this Way" acapella backstage on her Monsters Ball tour. No effects, no props, just her and her backup singers and she knocks it out of the fucking park:
This is her live on Ellen preforming "Bad Romance". I like this clip because it shows several of the things she's great at - acoustic voice & piano performances, dancing in high heels, performing live (without lipsyncing!) and being a proud and total freak. When you are done with this, do yourself a favour and check out the official "Bad Romance" video, it totally kicks ass!
OK now you should be ready for the full monty. Here are two of my favourite Gaga videos, Judas and Alejandro. Both showcase the visual spectacle she does so well. Also the fact that the Catholic Church threw a collective shit fit over both of these didn't hurt me loving it!
So Gumby, what do you think? You don't have to like her, I don't expect anyone to feel the way I do about her music. The only thing I find unacceptable is not having heard any of her music at all!
Probabilistic Uncertainty
1 day ago
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4 comments:
Hmmmm.
Well, since you honored me with my very own post (I feel like Butters on South Park!), I dutifully listened to it all. First off, I'll say I liked the videos better than the first two - Alejandro was pretty inventive.
Now, I'm not going to say that I am now a fan of Lady Gaga's music, because I'm not. However, it is nice to see that there is some talent out there in today's musical wasteland. LG is weirdly hot, and definitely talented - even if it's not the kind of talent that personally grabs me.
Her best qualities are her unabashed freakiness and her willingness to be totally different from everyone else out there. I do not see that her persona is "forced"; rather I see it as an exaggerated projection of her unique personality.
While her music will never make it into my iPod, I can honestly give her some props. In this day and age of artificially-constructed pop-bots like Justin Bieber *shudder* I welcome anyone like Gaga who does whatever the hell she wants and colors way outside the lines. In some ways she is the spiritual descendant of Keith Moon's hotel-room trashing days.
Thank you for the singular honor of my very own post!
*bows humbly*
You are most welcome Gumby! I certainly owed you for introducing me to Hyperbole and a Half! Guess there is an advantage to having only 3 readers - I get to give personal attention to the needs of my readers!
Like I said, you don't need to be a fan but you can't not know her music! Especially since you know Bieber's music!
Now you just have to watch "It's a wonderful life" but I'm sure you can manage that one without my help!
Bieber is the opposite of artificially constructed, but that is another topic.
I have heard some of her music, but I did realize after watching a bit of these videos that I wouldn't recognize her walking down the street. And I don't mean previously (which was true) but still (because she kind of looks like nothing).
Another interesting trait, and a sign of good pop song writing: I have only heard one of those songs before, but I about halfway through the others I felt like I could have heard them before.
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