Is Lady Gaga a hero?

[Zachary Smith]

Indeed, what your manufactured sense of being "offended" demonstrates

It's not at all manufactured. I am, perhaps, unusually sensitive to douchebaggery, particularly when it comes to abuses of power.

There CAN BE NO "abuses of power" when there is no POWER to be wielded, Chuckles. NONE.

You DO understand that I do NOT have it within my grasp to take one person's life and raise another from the dead in exchange. You GET that, right? ERGO, my demented "mate", there is NO ABUSE of power. What I stated was OPINION of RELATIVE WORTH as demonstrated by EXAMPLE.

At NO point were ANY lives in danger.

You "find disrespectful comments disrespectful", do you? Do you ALSO find lemon flavors more LEMONY and blue skies Bluey? Can you find sarcastic comments to be "sarcastic"?

I like how you're cool with taking others' lives for emphasis, but are evidently unfamiliar with the rather more prosaic approach of using repetition to convey same.

Again, my dear Simpleton--NO lives were "taken" or threatened or endangered at any point as a result of this discussion. This entire exchange has been just another example of typical trolling from you wherein you fail utterly to discuss the topic in any relevant fashion and dwell on obscure minutia which has value only to you and your artificially heightened sensibilities. You SEEK to be ofended so that you can rant in pointless faux outrage.

Now, I'll assume you know where the "Ignore" button is. Why not see your way to use it if my posts bother you so much.

S'good idea.

PLEASE, hit the ignore. PLEASE. You'll note I rarely to NEVER address you unless addressed directly BY you. If we BOTH assume that posture, we need NEVER converse again. HALLELUJAH!

Otherwise, it's fair to assume you are merely an harassing troll (an opinion I've held of you for a LONG time BTW.)

I'm glad we understand each other.

And therefore EFF-OFF, "mate".

PS: Quick, show of hands! Does ANYONE ELSE believe that I was seriously suggesting, plotting or otherwise sanctioning some arcane means by which I could remove the remainder of Lady Gaga's life essence in order to restore John Lennon to the world of the living for seven days?

You all GOT that it was exaggeration to make a point, right? Right? None of you think I have such powers, surely (because if I did, I can assure I WOULD have used them by this point, without a DOUBT).

Rii, do us BOTH a favor. Just "ignore" me from now on. I can tell I have nothing to say you want to hear and I KNOW you've got nothing to say I want to hear.

Bye now!

 

[scottydog]

She's kind of weird too. She's oddly sexy too though she isn't all that attractive. I'm not sure how that works but sometimes it just does.

I know what you mean. Sometimes the most alluring people are only sort of attractive. Perhaps Lady Gaga is more "real" because she doesn't have classic good looks. It's not that she's unattractive -- far from it -- but it's that we can relate to her because she has a few flaws here and there.

Plus you're right about her music. It's catchy. Also, she's so different that we're compelled to watch if only to see if she pulls any outrageous stunt.

 

[1001001]

PS: Quick, show of hands! Does ANYONE ELSE believe that I was seriously suggesting, plotting or otherwise sanctioning some arcane means by which I could remove the remainder of Lady Gaga's life essence in order to restore John Lennon to the world of the living for seven days?

Hell, I'd trade Lady Gaga's life for a fucking cheese sandwich and a bottle of Chimay.

 

[Zachary Smith]

PS: Quick, show of hands! Does ANYONE ELSE believe that I was seriously suggesting, plotting or otherwise sanctioning some arcane means by which I could remove the remainder of Lady Gaga's life essence in order to restore John Lennon to the world of the living for seven days?

Hell, I'd trade Lady Gaga's life for a fucking cheese sandwich and a bottle of Chimay.

Careful, you MIGHT just end up with a demented Aussie chasing you for talking like that (and I DON'T mean Mel Gibson)!

Fact is, I run hot and cold on Gaga. I like her music well enough and I appreciate that she is an artist and not just a performer (i.e. she plays instruments, writes her own tunes etc). The gaudy displays and bizarre costuming wear thin very quickly for me--especially when she's doing something ridiculous like wearing one of her weird get-ups to fly on a plane or to get the morning paper, THEN she complains that people are invading her "privacy".

Sorry, but it's NOT fair to wear "look-at-me, LOOK-AT-ME!!!!" costumes and then complain when people look at you. If she REALLY wanted to shock at this point, she'd go someplace wearing blue jeans and a tee-shirt. THAT would be amazing.

I was also kind of bugged recently when she went diving into the crowd to go crowd-surfing at some show during another band's set. Kind of took ALL the attention off the band on the stage and suddenly they were playing back-up for her antics. I thought that was pretty selfish on her part.

But I do like her music and one thing remains true about her above all else--the chick has one HELL of a fine ass.

A "hero", though? I think NOT.

 

[Sci]

I think Lady Gaga is a good musician who is not living up to her full potential. Songs like "Bad Romance" and "Alejandro" are really quite brilliantly-written, and express some very strong emotional states. ("Bad Romance," in particular, is quite wonderful at expressing that most primal experience of unrequited love, though it does not do or say anything else with it.)

But I think that she's capable of more musical sophistication in her compositions than she's been letting on -- she's been releasing catchy pop tunes first, presumably to establish herself. I think it will be interesting to see how she grows as an artist as her career continues.

I suspect from some of her comments about drug use and health issues that she may be in danger of becoming a drug addict or alcoholic at some point, however; one hopes that she either avoids this particular pratfall of celebrity life or that, if she does not, she eventually enters recovery.

I think that one of the most interesting things about Lady Gaga, though, is that she is as much a performer as she is a musician. One can complain about her being "manufactured" all one wants, but I think that it's interesting that these other aspects of her presentation -- her music videos and her personal fashion -- often have a political bent to them that seems absent from the music proper. Take how she dresses -- she deliberately appropriates the makeup conventions of drag queen performers (who use the makeup designs that they do in order to make their naturally masculine faces look thinner and more feminine) to create this interesting sort of subversion of the traditional female gender role. She's a sexy woman, but she makes herself up like a man pretending to be a sexy woman. She's out to blur the sexual borders between male and female and gay and straight -- hence things like the lesbian themes in the "Telephone" video, the drag makeup, the depiction of gay and BSDM themes in "Alejandro." It's all very interesting and well-designed.

I just wish more of her political and more complex emotional themes could be found in her actual music rather than the other aspects of her performance.

 

[Zachary Smith]

^^

I found "Alejandro" to be a major disappointment. It just seemed totally "Madonna Redux" to me--in fact, I felt like I'd listened to a retread of "La Isla Bonita" matched to a new version of the "Justify My Love" video (if you want to talk about gay and bondage themes!).

As to blurring of gender borders, anyone remember Boy George? Drag Queen make-up and weird costuming? How about Grace Jones? Ten years earlier than that--David Bowie?

Lady Gaga isn't doing ANYTHING new. I just think that she makes it work because she's got more basic talent than alot of others around right now. But I do agree there's potential there. I think it'll come out when she becomes more concerned with being a PERSON and an ARTIST than being a CELEBRITY and a STAR (if she lasts that long).

 

[Jetfire]

^
You can toss Marilyn Manson in there too...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R682M3ZEyk[/yt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R682M3ZEyk

 

[Sci]

^^
As to blurring of gender borders, anyone remember Boy George? Drag Queen make-up and weird costuming? How about Grace Jones? Ten years earlier than that--David Bowie?

Lady Gaga isn't doing ANYTHING new.

Who said anything about "new?" I don't care if it's new or not; I care if it's well-done.

No, she's not breaking utterly new ground by blurring gender lines (though I would argue that the specific manner in which she is doing that blurring -- appropriating the traditions of drag for women -- is fairly new), but that's not the point. There's no shame in adding yourself to a lineage of people who've gone against prevailing cultural norms, especially if those norms remained entrenched.

(And, from what I understand, Lady Gaga has very openly acknowledged the influence of glam rock musicians such as David Bowie and Queen on her work, and she's also acknowledged Grace Jones as an influence.)

I just think that she makes it work because she's got more basic talent than alot of others around right now. But I do agree there's potential there. I think it'll come out when she becomes more concerned with being a PERSON and an ARTIST than being a CELEBRITY and a STAR (if she lasts that long).

One aspect of Lady Gaga that I think is interesting is that, from looking at her interviews, I don't think she currently draws a distinction between being an artist and being a star. To her, it's the same project. Before she became famous, she used to talk about how there's a "musical government" that controls what music gets distributed to the public, and about how she wants to be a part of that government. She's ambitious, but her ambition is as much about celebrity as it is about artistry; to her, they're the same thing.

I do agree that she'll grow vastly as an artist once she learns to let go of the need for fame. Frankly, I think at this point she'll always be a little famous, anyway -- if nothing else, she's become an icon in the gay subculture, and they're always an intensely loyal fanbase. But it will be once she starts crafting her music and other aspects of her performance without regard for fame that she'll truly blossom creatively.

 

[Gaith]

A decade or so ago, the hallowed cultural pedestal for female singer sex bomb was snatched from the aging Madonna by one Britney Spears. And while she may have lacked Madge's style and sophistication, she did have some undeniably fun songs in "Crazy", "Oops!", "Toxic", and a few others.

Then came her meltdowns, and her comeback attempts. But what Spears seemed to forget was that she fell out of mainstream pop tastes before her personal implosions. Did anyone, anywhere, ever actually enjoy "I'm a Slave 4 U"? When she undertook her inevitable comeback feints (I think she's had at least two and maybe three by now), she forgot to bring any kind of musical flair, instead letting her product fester in the gutter of trance-club noise. (No offense to that, mind, but it's not mainstream pop, and for good reason.)

With "Poker Face", "Alejandro" and others, Gaga is giving us what we wanted from Britney's "comebacks": the cool weirdness of Madonna in a potentially longevitous, early-20s frame.

Good on her, I say! What with the culture fragmenting into as many billions of discrete pockets, we need as many legends as we can get.

 

[Jetfire]

I thought people got back into Spears with Womanizer.

Britney would be better suited going the Taylor Swift route...trying to stay sweet and all.

 

[Level 2 Diagnostic]

Surprised nobody here has noticed that "Alejandro" is just an uncredited remake of Ace of Base's "Don't Turn Around". Lady Gaga is mostly just a retro '90s novelty act. If she's groundbreaking and progressive, then so is Big Bad Voodoo Dady.

Also, "hero" should really be reserved for someone who does something heroic, courageous, or puts other people's lives above their own.

 

[Amaris]

Surprised nobody here has noticed that "Alejandro" is just an uncredited remake of Ace of Base's "Don't Turn Around". Lady Gaga is mostly just a retro '90s novelty act. If she's groundbreaking and progressive, then so is Big Bad Voodoo Dady.

Also, "hero" should really be reserved for someone who does something heroic, courageous, or puts other people's lives above their own.

I noticed the similarities when it first came out (as an Ace of Base fan, I would have been remiss), but it doesn't bother me. This happens all the time, and will happen a million times more. The important thing is what can be done with it, and I think she did very well with it.

 

[marillion]

I thought this was pretty funny...

Paparazzi vs. Take My Breath Away

 

[Gaith]

I thought people got back into Spears with Womanizer.

Nah, that might have gotten some club play, but it was nowhere near as big as Gaga's recent hits. It was still too far into techno, without enough melody to become a bona fide hit.

 

[davejames]

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a huge Lada Gaga fan. Yeah there are definite shades of Madonna in there, but so what? Her stuff is incredibly well-produced and catchy as hell. In the end, that's the only thing I really care about.

I find Ke$ha a lot of fun to listen to as well (even if she isn't quite on the same level artistically).

 

[RandyS]

No. "Stars"are by definition, not heroes.

 

[Pingfah]

^ What is in the definition of "star" that precludes one from also being a hero?

 

[Zachary Smith]

No. "Stars"are by definition, not heroes.

I respectfully disagree. Stars CAN be heroes. Case in point: as you may have surmised if you read any of my earlier comments, John Lennon is a personal hero of mine. He is someone whose work, beliefs, attitudes and approach to life continues to impact me on a daily basis. This is not to suggest I don't recognize that in many ways he was a deeply flawed individual and his personal faults were many. It is however, in part, the sharp dichotomy between what he was as a person and who he wanted to be as a human being and his over-riding belief that all people share the same capacity for success or failure that I find compelling.

 

[1001001]

"The way his wife is behaving, Lord Gaga must be the laughingstock of parliament!"

 

[RandyS]

^ What is in the definition of "star" that precludes one from also being a hero?

I don't know the exact definition, or if there even is one. But I personally feel that star, actors, performers, whatever you want to call them, are not heroes. Certainly not like, say, FDR, or Abraham Lincoln, to name just two.