Gag Me No More?

As many know, I have been a hater of Ms. Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga since the release of her first single, Just Dance. I hated the lyrics, hated her sense of (or lack thereof) style, and mostly hated her scene kid following. I especially hated the lyrics to her second single, Poker Face. What kind of dumbass song includes the phrase "Cause I'm bluffin' with my muffin, I'm not lying I'm just stunnin' with my love-glue-gunning"? We've got 12-year-olds running around singing this nonsense, not having any idea they are singing about oral-sex! It got even better with Love Game. Upon the release of this song, I decided I would just refer to her as Lady Gag-me! Now, we not only have kids unconsciously singing about oral-sex, but now they are blatantly singing about casual sex!?!? Really, "Let's have some fun this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick"? Not even a little bit subtle and they play it on pop radio 85 times a day? I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that parents were letting their kids listen to stuff that could make Marilyn Manson blush without a second thought, simply because they didn't bother to really listen!
I am far from a prude and I have no problem with lyrical expression, especially when paired with a great beat. I do, however, have a problem with selling it to the wrong audience (i.e. children). I originally blamed Lady Gaga for this, but that was before I knew her background (as a burlesque dancer and self proclaimed "freak" in high school). I now realize that this insane behavior of hers and her odd fashion choices are nothing more than her self-expression that had to be buried during her days in Catholic school. This dumb campaign to promote and oversaturate the market with her to young people was the very wrong choice of her record label and the PR people in charge. No, she would not be the household name she is now, and she certainly wouldn't be as filthy rich as she is now, but at least her audience would be more appropriate to her style of music and performance. I really hoped she would be a one-hit wonder and quickly fade away!
I rarely do this, but just this once, I will admit that maybe I was too quick to judge and...I don't know if I can do this...alright, here it goes...I...was...wrong! There, I said it! I now compare Lady Gaga to Madonna in the 80's. They both have the same shock factor whenever they leave the house, they were both marketed to audiences much too young for their content, and they both have extremely wacky taste in wardrobes...and neither are one-hit wonders! A comparison to Madonna, especially coming from me (because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Madonna), is extremely high praise. 
I started to come around to her music after Paparazzi and Bad Romance. However, this major change of tune - for lack of a better phrase - came when I saw the video from the Brit Awards, and heard what she did. She was scheduled to perform her usual crazy act, but upon the death of Lee Alexander McQueen, she unselfishly changed her entire performance in tribute. She did a much more subdued acoustic version of Telephone and followed by Dance in the Dark and dedicated the performance to him. Check out the video below.     







Though I credit her with a great performance, I have little praise for her choice of outfit that evening, since in one photo I got a clear shot of her bare ass!

    

Dear Lady Gaga,


I'm still not going to "chase you down until you love me," but I will show you the respect you have earned. You've proven yourself as a real artist and not just a contrived sideshow. You are actually quite talented and honestly, if you hadn't have been picked up by the scene kid market in the first place, I probably would have been a fan from the beginning. I love shock art, I love originality, and I love real musical talent. You actually have all of that, it just took a while to see it through all the teens praising you for the past 2 years. I now realize your fashion choices are for you and not for the press it generates. I might not get it, but from now on, I won't criticize what I don't understand. 
One bit of advice though before I sign off - you really should smile more often - enjoy your success!


Sincerely,
The Anti-Fashionista 


P.S. I still have NO love for Ke$ha or Justin Beiber...and that is not likely to EVER change!