Ohhh… an entertainer wearing exotic costumes & makeup?
I guess that never happened before.:rolleyes:
That little clip shows a lot. For one, she can sing, and she can play the piano. She doesn’t need electronic effects to hide behind. Also she definitely appears to be playing a role. And she seems to be deliberately making one of her most popular songs incredibly hard to sing along with while simultaneously encouraging the audience to sing along :D.
I’m liking her more and more, she’s not just another popstar clone
From initial hatred, I have grown to admire her greatly. She’s talented, quirkily attractive, intelligent, self-aware and relentlessly creative.
Lady Gaga does not stand alone, either: in a way she’s the figurehead of her “Haus of GaGa Collective”, a group of artistic types that create the funky images and clothing that surround her. Read more here (non-nude but slightly risqé photo on click).
Viva la Gaga.
That’s why I don’t like her. If you’ve heard her sing as herself, you know she can be good. I’m hoping that she is being forced to release that boring crap by the studios, and that her image was a way of rebelling against it.
After hearing so much about her, I made a point to watch her on some show about a month ago. I kept thinking: Why is this chick with weird make-up and outfit singing such a conventional pop song? I don’t get it.
She’s actually a pretty good songwriter. Behind all the artifice, she’s a real musician who writes songs that are musically and lyrically strong. She writes earworms. They hold up as radio singles. That’s a large part of her success.
I’m glad to see Elton John has been mentioned in this thread. I think Elton John is in a completely different class of musician from Lady Gaga, but both are essentially pop musicians who use outlandish clothing and spectacle to add a visual aspect to their musical performances.
Bjork is probably another good comparison.
I totally agree about Lady Gaga and Elton John. Bjork I would probably agree about, except that I can’t stand to listen to her for more than three seconds at a time. With Bjork, it’s like she’s saying "the costumes and spectacle aren’t enough; I have to have a sound that makes people say ‘WTF’?!?!?!?’ Either that, or she truly has no musical talent, a la Yoko Ono.
Elton and Gaga, however, have spectacle and talent.
FTR, Lady Gaga is a persona wholly created by Stephani and she began performing in a burlesque show with another singer named Lady Starlight. After a while she was ‘discovered’ by Akon and become an international sensation. But if it weren’t for that, she’d still be wearing funky costumes and singing her electropop in New York dives. So, her music and her style isn’t some schtick created by the record companies. It’s all her. Check out her video to Bad Romance. The whole video is a retelling of her rise to fame.
And what’s wrong with nutty?
Nutter on, Lady Gaga. Nutter on.
I think the comparisons to Madonna are interesting, because I think this woman is vastly more talented than her. Madonna represents the triumph of ambition and drive over, let’s face it, a rather modest amount of talent. Madonna didn’t have much of a voice, didn’t write her own material, was not really a musician. Lady GaGa, on the other hand, is an excellent singer, plays a decent piano, writes good songs, has a brain, etc. If she has half of Madge’s ambition and drive, she will be a megastar.
I think she’s the biggest thing to happen in pop music in ten years. I’d place her alongside Stevie Wonder or the young Elton John rather than Madonna. She just oozes talent.
Hmm, I think I’d prefer it if people didn’t use the word “ooze” in Lady Gaga threads. 
I’d put Bjork up against 10 Lady Gagas, in terms of talent and in terms of sound.
I (unlike most guys, apparently), find her hot.
On the other hand, her clothes and hair make me want to puke.
I think it’s awesome that she’s so outspoken in support of gay rights.
On the other hand, her music makes me want to puke.
It’s a wash. I’m completely neutral on Lady Gaga.
Eh, matter of taste. YMMV, of course!
flounces into room
What??? Did someone say my girl has no talent? Oh, NO she didn’t!!! Don’t make me paste my nails on.
Don’t get Lady Gaga? I’m so sorry sweetheart. You’re just not faaaaaaaabulous enough to get her. Mmmmkay?
flounces away
Exactly. She was grown in some sort of pod in a Russian bath house in the not-too-distant future.
I think she is so legitimately “out there” that she’s hard not to like.
I just liked when they fought on SNL’s Deep House Dish (around 3:50) “What kind of name is Lady Gaga? It sounds like baby food!”
Certified fogey checking in. I had heard of Lady Gaga, saw some snaps of the weird costumes and big glasses. Figured she was just the latest flash in the pan. And she may be. But I heard my first song of hers - “Bad Romance” - on the radio a few times last week. It became my earworm, and I don’t mind at all. I think Gaga has something. “Bad Romance” has a fearless quality to it. I don’t have enough musical skill myself to explain what I mean by that. Gaga also sings in a deep enough register that my old ears can hear her. That’s a big plus for me in a pop star. Even putting the fogey stuff aside, IMO “Bad Romance” is a top-drawer example of dance-pop, let alone techno-dance-pop.
A Doper linked to the video of Bad Romance, possibly in this thread. Sure, it’s got the Empty-Vee[sup]1[/sup] mandated “weirder than thou” stuff that is in every music video, but there’s some good stuff there too. And the parts where Lady Gaga shows her face - she’s GORGEOUS! She has really pretty eyes. Why does she hide them behind huge glasses? OK, she was made up to look her best, but I was impressed.
Maybe nobody will be taking about her in two years. It seems more likely to me that she’ll be doing the Super Bowl halftime show in twenty years. Well, 40 years (since we’re talkin’ 'bout my generation[sup]2[/sup]).
[sup]1[/sup] Thank you, Joe Bob Briggs
[sup]2[/sup] Hope I die before … I’m sorry, what were we talking about?
That array of doors she emerged from reminded me of a cross between a Dalek and the Pharisee Monster from the Godspell movie.*
*I think Dennis Miller would be proud of me.
When people refer to Lady Gaga as a performance Artist, I think it is the best label for her. AS someone else on this thread mentioned, she is relentlessly self-aware in ways that many celebrities are not. Her whole , persona if you will, is a long performance art piece showing how celebrity could react , but doesn’t, in today’s world. The outfits, the glasses, the attitude, along with the incrediblely talented songwritting, music and dance abilities, transend simply pop-star, or recording star, or even our current idea of celebrity.
and yeah… it is totally NUTTY…and wonderfull, and cool, and fun to watch