I think it was in November that I last wrote about Lady Gaga and how I thought she was one of the best artist in this current sea of pop star whores. Yes, I do believe that and I'm not being sarcastic. Some of you called me mad. Some of you who actually liked her thought I was foolish in comparing her to David Bowie. HA! I laugh at you some more! To you nay sayers I have another blog to post on the subject of Lady Gaga! Yes. It's Gaga talk 2.0 and you aren't gonna stop me cause this sort of wackiness is perfect for this time of year. Yes, that's right, it's time for the Grammy's.
She's one of the most elusive and complex artist of this generation. Lady Gaga represents not only the hedonistic, existential despair of the modern age, but also a glimmer of hope and a deep-seated, wistful longing for traditional values. Her hit single "Just Dance" is not only a revival of modern pop, but also a stunning narative of an innocent, confused girl thrust into the midst of a world of hedonism. It is the first step toward her inevitable corruption, fall, and ultimately, catharsis and transfiguration. Yup, I'm going deep here.
Still though, Lady Gaga is a true Artist and one of the few truly postmodern, avant-garde figures in music today. But let's face it.. she is not limited to music but over on one of her most important aspects is her fashion. With Lady Gaga, it's not just a matter of aurally-attractive pop'n'lock back broken beats, or lissome-kissed labial lyrics. No, as an artist who embraces the idea of the "total package persona" it's worth noting her more radical embrasure of style not be left aside. Just to make sure that we're all on the same page, here's some of her outfits;
We see this trope continued in her application of the "mirrordress" -a piece which I'm afraid this sallow picture does little justice. Here, the sexualized body, transmogrified from collection of soft and showed curves into stark and geometric edges, is further distorted by collecting and returning the gaze which it demands with its colloquially outlandish form.
I of course am reminded here of one of her seminal inspirations, David Bowie:
The ideogram of the face-graven lightning strike has been overdone, outplayed, one might say ruined, by its repeated and constantly re-appropriated use. However, I believe that in the hands (and highlighted cheeks) of Lady Gaga, the symbol takes on a transformed significance. It's hard to put into the right words, but for me I fel as if her application of the beloved faciocranial sigil of Ziggy Stardust stands not just as a direct visual reference to the "glam" style and vibrantly Brechtian verremdungseffekt that Bowie's ego cultivated..
. .but perhaps, as I would like to posit, a reference towards his self-perpetuated androgyny and ambigenous sexual force? Lady Gaga has gone on record as saying that the sense of transsexualism that she seems to generate in the popular press is welcomed, specifically in regards to Christina Aguilera's now-infamous statement that ". . .this person [Lady Gaga] was just brought to my attention not too long ago. I’m not quite sure who this person is, to be honest. I don’t know if it is a man or a woman." - a state of affairs which Lady Gaga is more than thrilled to perpetuate as long as it continues to raise her public profile.
I'd like to conclude with one of the pieces which, in this vein, has also been raising Lady Gaga's public profile, instituting a new awareness of her art - both musically and sartorially:
I'll allow this to speak mostly for itself, adding only Lady Gaga's own statement that her approach to fashion sense is meant as "a commentary on what it means to be a lady" In conclusion, I would love to take her to the mall and I wont complain about doing some clothing shopping.
It's simple, the symbolism surrounding Lady Gaga is so blatant that one might wonder if it's all a sick joke. Illuminati symbolism is becoming so clear that analysis like this one becomes a simple exercise of pointing out the obvious. Her whole persona (whether it's an act or not) is a tribute to mind control, where being vacuous, incoherent and absent minded becomes a fashionable thing. On top of that, she also does a pretty good rendition of Viva La Vida;
Well, minus the fuck up in the middle there. But still, you try to do karaoke and you'll come up with some drunken mistakes.. Still, I like Lady Gaga because even though she's a pop artist, she at least tries to push people's buttons by being weird. I like weird. I'm not afraid to admit it, you shouldn't be either.
There's several steps to Gaga conversion, also known as "being bitten by the Fame Monster". First, you may be initially repulsed by what you're experiencing. "This is trashy pop music," maybe. Or "Dude, she's totally a man, this is some Crying Game shit right here, you can see her dick right here!"
But she gets your hooks into you. Somehow "LoveGame" slips into your playlist "accidentally," or you watch that Christopher Walken clip or that South Park clip a strange number of times.
"I like Lady Gaga ironically," you start to tell yourself. Or maybe you're a little braver and admit that you do love her -- but you're scared to let anyone else know.
It's only a few steps from there until you're contemplating how much you're willing to spend on a lock of her hair, get a Gagatar, and are having your first gay experience
She's basically a darker Cyndi Lauper and I'm perfectly okay with that.
On The Fame, it's as if Gaga took two parts dance-pop, one part electro-pop, and one part rock with a splash of disco and burlesque and generously poured it into the figurative martini glasses of the world in an effort to get everyone drunk with her fame. "The Fame is about how anyone can feel famous," she explains. "Pop culture is art. It doesn't make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all over The Fame. But, it's a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to the party I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle."
Says Lady Gaga, "I spent a lot of nights in Eastern Europe, and this album is a pop experimentation with industrial/Goth beats, 90's dance melodies, an obsession with the lyrical genius of 80's melancholic pop, and the runaway. I wrote while watching muted fashion shows and I am compelled to say my music was scored for them. I also composed a ballad for the album, 'speechless,' a song for my father, and it's my favorite work of all. I wrote every piece on the road - no songs about money, no songs about fame. I wrote it for my fans, so I wrote everything in between.
This leads us to The Fame Monster
Her latest album and one that she is up for a Grammy tonight for. Not to say that music can really be compared as better or worse than other sounds. I mean, music is, much like any art form, a subject that will vary depending on the observers/listeners. But hey, we find out who are the winners and the losers of tonight's grammys later.. right?
Win or lose, I'm going to still, without any shame, say I liked songs like Bad Romance.
I'm not even going to try to fake it, I like the song. I dig it like no other.
Je veux ton amour
Et je veux ton revanche
Je veux ton amour
I don't wanna be friends
Which is pretty much dead on. Who wants to be friends with their ex's? All or nothing, right? Here's a video a friend linked me to made a lot of sense in this situation;
Ah yes, Art is art. Gotta love it.
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