Did anybody see the video of Lady Gaga and Elton John performing at the Grammys? Skip the stupid intro, and go to the part where they are singing together. That has to be one of the best performances on a grammy show I've ever seen. Usually just unadulterated crap. This was powerful to me. While I generally hate the techno stars, I gatta say elton and gaga together...that's something I could stand to see alot more of.
On second thought, don't skip the intro. Just endure it, as I think was the intent.
Last Edited by on Feb 02, 2010 3:02 AM
I'm a big fan of hers. She writes, she sings, she puts together these concept performances that have quite the edge to them. Burlesque gone dirty - and by dirty I refer to the dust she kicks up with her high heel shoe while playing piano.
A lot of people hate her but with so much attention to small details like that, she proves she is a creative powerhouse and not some two-dimensional performer who lipsyncs.
And as for her dirty image (dirty in the other sense now) she ain't doing anything that hasn't already been done with great success.
I read she was the love child of Freddie Mercury and the Lucky Charms leprechaun. The Elton/GaGa act and the Les Paul tribute were the show's highlights, imho.
i hate that bitch. every one in the world is so obsessed over her i cant stand it. an i hate her name. shes not even that hot she looks like a transvestite. ----------
That said, I'm not a fan of her music, but she does put on a great show. It's interesting how obsessed everyone is about whether she is attractive or not and whether that makes her a good performer or not. Just remember, look obsessed culture gave us the Back Street Boys.
Jonsparrow - So not being sexy enough is a bad thing?
That makes perfect sense.
I admire how she has crafted her image to accentuate that dichotomy. She is brilliant.
Also, you can say what you want about her voice, but I don't think it's that bad at all. I have never seen her lip sync, and that's something that's unheard of in her genre. I've also seen her perform with no extras at all - just her at the piano and she can pull that off. She can do it for real.
I never said anything about that. Sex appeal and sex is different. ALL of her songs are pretty much about sex, and honestly, I find that kind of one sided. And don't say it's like that with blues, I know it can be, but it's never this repetitive. And, her voice I've heard her live and studio, they obviously do some work on her voice. One thing I support about her is her care for gay rights, that's cool and she's big enough to get the word out.
Zack, everyone has their priorities, and sex certainly sells. I don't know much of her music, only the stuff that has dribbled into the mainstream consciousness, like Poker Face. I wonder if her B tracks are the same way or if that's just what the music execs think should be releases as singles.
Yah Zack. Sex appeal is so shallow and nobody ever gets ahead by linking their Identity to sex appeal. ever!
Like in this video, this lady tried to get ahead by using sex appeal and 50 years later almost nobody has ever heard of her because it was just sooo one sided
---------- The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
her second song on saturday night live was also good when she played there.
she can sing, play and instrument, and writes her own music. she also appears to be a pretty shrewd judge of what it takes to get noticed in a tough business to get to the top of.
with that skill set, if she does not self-destruct, she should be around for a while. it will be interesting to see what she does next, with the fame part taken care of she might get even more interesting musically
Last Edited by on Feb 02, 2010 12:44 PM
I agree with you, but the way sex is shown is just as bad as violence is shown. It's disrespectful. Classy sexiness, as you call it, was pretty much standard decades ago. That's cool, of course the attractiveness of an artist will most likely sell their albums, but when it's the main reason I seriously don't understand people.
I like her for her art! I am not a big fan of the music per se... but the stage shows are brilliant! And I think she is having fun with all of us and at our expense.... paying tribute to the greats while denigrating them and the entire industry!
In this case she took the pretty poofy Elton John on stage and put dirt all over his face.... and he loved it!
She brings Kurt Weill to pop culture and the Dali to the llama! I have watched her from the beginning where I wanted to hate her... but I can't! ---------- www.bignancy.com
Zack, there is always a feeling that things were better or cleaner back then. We fetishize and sanitize the past. The past was just as dirty and sleazy as things are today. A good (non-sexual) example is the 50's. Tons of people hold it up as the example of when things were right with the world. They wash over the lynchings, the fact that husbands could legally rape their wives, the segregation, the government testing syphilis on blacks, above ground nuclear testing, etc.
There is classy sex and sleazy sex in just about all time periods. From time to time a group gets in power and manages to censor some of it out of the public record, but that doesn't mean it isn't/wasn't going on.
Even in groups that are about making sure women get respect, like the feminist movement, attitudes have flip flopped. For years feminists vehemently opposed pornography. They said it objectified women and created unrealistic expectations of human beauty. It probably did, but censoring it drove it underground and when anything gets driven underground there are more opportunities for exploitation. Often now feminists embrace, if not pornography, at least it's right to exist, as part of woman's lib. Like anything, a lot of it has to do with the power structure involved.
In her own way, what I've seen of Lady Gaga, seems to be an homage and at the same time flipping, of classical show techniques.
I don't like to exaggerate, but... I think she is a messiah that has saved pop culture from certain death and just radiates poetic energy to my everyday life. I haven't seen unique worlds like this in music videos before. She sure is the Dali of pop.
But I'd like to point out that (in my opinion of course) one of her real manifestations of genius comes only visible in the dance-subculture. I don't know how many of you attend rave parties and dance clubs. I sure like to dance like a maniac every once and a while, I mean jump until I can't walk basically. In that field Gaga is really a saviour right now, at least in popular night clubs.
I find the idea of sex as the driving force behind almost everything kinda soothing. That energy is something we all share, and we can't fight it. "Energy is eternal delight", as William Blake said.
---------- Reed to the Beat! http://www.myspace.com/triplejaysinister
I skimmed most of the above posts but Grammy's are so not about the best musicians of the year. They just push more sales on artists who had hits on the popular billboard charts.
On Lady Gaga well... I like that her music has a beat & it seems she can sing when she puts her mind to it. She kinda reminds me of Madonna from certain periods too. My opinion, but there's much better music from female singers/musicians out there that was released last year.
---------- ~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
bitch is not a bad word. they say it on basic cable.
that said, when i was refering to her not being that hot, its because all these female fans is like OMG SHES SOOOO GORGEOUS!!! an shes really not. shes scary. ----------
Jon, it's not that it's profanity, it's that it's derogatory. It's just like using a racial slur. If it applies to you it's one thing. It's also OK when your talking about a dog. I think it's probably OK when you say someone is bitching about something, since there the origin comes from a dog whining. I actually have no problem with profanity, just derogatory words.
There is something strange about her though. To me she seems like a female pop version of Marilyn Manson. I've never been that big a fan of over the top performances. I like David Bowie songs but I can't watch his concerts.
I think she's a smart, talented young lady who added the weird get-ups as a hook. It's the price you pay to get exposure. You guys know that almost no one makes it in the popular music industry on musical talent alone, so when I see spectacles like Gaga, I try to look past the show to see if there's anything behind it.
In 2006, before she was famous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkO2Z_naXmc
