Quote:
Originally posted by Vin
Reductionism? I was just going with what you gave me, Mr.P. And what you just now described, sounds like a fad, not a Queen. I tell you what, if Lady Gaga is still here in 6 years, and still delivering good -- arguably -- music and "changing the industry," then by all means, I will acknowledge that she is a strong force and may be deserving of that title. But right now, P, right now... she's getting by on "style" with no real substance. She's making herself an unnecessary martyr for the gay community and that will shtick will expire lickety split. She's getting by on "outrageous" antics and questionable "fashion." Lady Gaga, the character, may be, dare I say, revolutionary to the industry, but her music... her music, is light years away from that. And that's why she's not the Queen of Pop. She's made no significant contribution to the music industry, sonically. "Bad Romance" is what she's known for, and while the video is Gaga's "iconic" video, the song she's most known for, is a passable pop record with no real impact outside of its music video. And we're supposed to consider her The Queen of Pop.
Try again.
...Vin
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I hadn't told you anything at that point. You were the first to posit a possible explanation as to why she'd be the "reigning" Queen of Pop, one which was a gross oversimplification of what she's achieved in such a short period of time.
And this "fad" talk is so short-sighted, but it shouldn't come as any surprise because people have been saying that about her since Just Dance (and they said the same about Britney from the start). Gaga's crazy fashion certainly has helped her get the foot in the door and draw media attention, but it's foolish to think that that's all there is to her.
People like her music, bottom line. She is not the first to rely on the visual aspect to help amplify her persona. Madonna certainly did, and how quickly people are to forget that a large part of the reason Britney caused such a stir with her debut was because she played the virginal jailbait lolita thing up to the hilt. Everybody uses something, and I think Gaga's proven that she has enough going on musically to prove she has substance and the potential for longevity.
Neither Madonna nor Britney had done anything revolutionary with their music in their first two albums, and I'd daresay Gaga's music up to this point has shown greater promise than either of those respective first efforts. She'd hardly a musical revolutionary, but she has a fair amount of critical acclaim to her credit (not to mention two AOTY nominations in a row, with a third widely predicted as likely).
And I think you'd find yourself in the minority when it comes to your assessment of BR. The video is inextricably married to the song, yes, but that's hardly a bad thing when you present yourself as a visually-oriented musician. The song itself was widely acclaimed and I think is generally perceived as being one of the best pop songs of the past few years.
Those may be your personal assessments and you're entitlted to them, but when we're dealing with subjects like this (
i.e., pop culture perception) you have to be willing to step outside of your personal opinion. Most casual music fans I know don't really care about her devotion to the gay community and of course they know her for her costumes/videos, but they also, for the most part, legitimately love her music. Nobody buys a record they don't want.
And maybe she will be a fad, although that seems to me to be increasingly absurd prediction at this point, but it wouldn't change the fact that she is easily at the top of the game right now. Again, if we're requiring some measure of "longevity" then Britney never took the title from Madonna, not even close. I'm not here for delusion.