Member Since: 4/25/2011
Posts: 7,482
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Metrotimes: In Defense of Lady Gaga
Goo-Goo for Gaga
One writer makes a case why she's the greatest pop star on the planet
By Bill Holdship
Published: June 8, 2011
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"I just can't get over the fact that so many intelligent people don't get the Gaga."
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Liam Gallagher quote: "She's great! Seriously, man, we like her. She's the only one out there who's got balls. She can play instruments. She can sing. She can dance. She's weird. She's shocking people. I like the Gaga, man."
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Some observers believe this almost insane and certainly intense level of hate is because Gaga's a powerful woman ... except there seem to be as many females as men doing the hating. She is unquestionably the most divisive cultural icon to come along in decades. She must be doing something right.
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Even when the new album was sold on Amazon.com for 99 cents on its first day of release, the haters screamed that it was just to "up" the SoundScan sales figures — it was "desperation," don't you know? — because the music isn't "even worth a buck." Um, Born This Way was already No. 1 on iTunes in more than 20 countries before Amazon even announced its one-day deal (which turned into a two-day deal when the demand kept crashing Amazon's server the first day).
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So what of that music? Sure, Gaga is her own greatest creation, a living art performance project unto herself, and the phenomenon is as interesting as the musical component that drives it. But, really, the music ultimately does need to be examined. And, yes, she does get compared to Madonna. A lot. Many say she's nothing more than a lame Madonna clone. But while Madge is definitely a large part of the equation, she's not the entire equation by any means. Add some Elton John. Billy Joel. A little Queen. Definitely David Bowie.
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Sure, Madonna is definitely there. No question about it. So is Cher. But to label her just a Madonna imitator is very lazy cultural criticism, akin to saying the Beatles were nothing more than Buddy Holly or Arthur Alexander clones. As a singer, musician and songwriter, if not dancer, Stefani Germanotta smokes Ms. Ciccone in every department. (Her recent SNL date revealed she'll smoke Madge in the acting department too, should she go in that direction.) She gives great interview. Has a great sense of humor about herself and the world around her. She's far from traditionally beautiful — she talks often about how her big nose, weight and buck teeth made her the victim of bullies as a child — and doesn't go out of her way, obviously, to be so. She intentionally makes herself ugly at times, in fact.
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And in the same way that Gaga understands the banality of pop stardom in all its glitz, she equally understands its power to make a statement and (I'd sure like to believe) the responsibility that power involves. She seems intent on using it as a vehicle for greater good, although that obviously depends on your view.
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So put it this way: If Lady Gaga convinces one gay kid that it's OK to be that way — "Be who you are and love who you are," she preaches — or convinces others that it is not OK to bully, then that makes her a pop star unworthy of all the hate thrown her way, even if her music did suck, even if she was the worst thing in all of modern culture — which she most certainly is not.
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Hate on the Gaga all you want. She may be at the edge of glory, which drives some people insane. But you can't deny that as much she is about fantasy and the artifice of pop stardom, she's also all about living life to its fullest.
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Full article: http://metrotimes.com/music/in-defen...gaga-1.1158482
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BTW is her first album with any substance.
