BS: Lady Gaga?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Jeri
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 10:49 PM

I answered the question, but you must have missed it. Max doesn't choose ads. I believe they may be based on what's in threads or where you've been surfing. There are ways to block them.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Fossil
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 10:34 PM

Thanks to all - have learned some interesting things about Lady Gaga, but only a very few people seem to have addressed the original question which was - leaving aside the question of Lady GG as a performer, whether her music, showmanship, performance art or whatever it is, is any good - it surely isn't folk, or blues music, *which is what the Cat's about*. Isn't it?

In short, do ads for "pop" genres have a place within these hallowed halls, or not?

Max's economics, I guess say yes, anyone who can ante up whatever the fee is (probably not a lot by Lady G's standards) can take an ad on the site and why not? I have a lot of sympathy for this point of view, mitigated by comments below.

Others might say in addition (and some have) that the 'Cat is a *music* site, and anyone who's a musician and a performer should be given space here. I don't totally disagree with this point of view either, but think we are stretching the definition a bit far in the case in question.

Other - purists - might say that the "cat is in danger of losing its way a bit and that some effort should be made to match the ad content to the expressed interests of the site's participants. How this would be done I have no idea, but couldn't it be considered?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 12:56 PM

You might think this is a stretch, but, she has made a persona for herself, much like Redbone made for himself. Though the style is different, as the music. I'm still not decided how much I like all of it, but, ya' gotta' give her credit for all the homework, and effort she's put into it, to bring something different to the table. I'd like to point out, too, that you have to give a 'hats off' to her sound engineers, and their trick mix downs...I'm sure that other groups have been criticized, for much less, by the 'folkies'.

GfS

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,lively
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 11:41 AM

It was a meat dress. I saw the dress itself mentioned in fashion news some time prior to Gaga wearing one. I can't recall who the designer was though.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 11:37 AM

Was the dress really made of meat or was it made to appear like it? Did anyone touch it to find out? We only have the tabloids and media coverage's word on that.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: olddude
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 06:11 PM

Her song speechless is nothing short of brilliant I think ...
her is what she said about the song

"Well, my dad has had a heart condition for about 15 years. He has or he had a bad aortic valve, and his body for a very long time was only pumping a third of the blood that you're supposed to get every time his heart beat. So he [was] resigned that he wasn't going to get the surgery and told my mother and I that he was going to let his life take its course.... And I was on tour and I couldn't leave, so I went into the studio and I wrote this song 'Speechless'.... My dad used to call me after he'd had a few drinks and I wouldn't know what to say. I was speechless and I just feared that I would lose him and I wouldn't be there....I wrote this song as a plea to him and it worked, he had the surgery with no complications.''

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 05:44 PM

Say what you will about Lady Gaga, you can tell, in this clip, underneath the 'froo-froo' act, that there is someone who has done their homework!


with less gizmos

GfS

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: gnu
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 03:32 PM

With respect, SRS, it is a blues and folk site. Many discussions that certainly do not "fit" have been, and continue to be, placed above the line and remain there. Perhaps it is in the eye of the OP as to where the thread should be.

Having said that, I have had threads moved above the line by mods who felt it was appropriate. I have no qualms with that.

She's into marketing too.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 10:05 PM

So who is going to draw the distinction between which music is suitable for Mudcat and which is BS? I think it more prudent to leave music discussion threads about the line. Simple and neat.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: skarpi
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 06:39 AM

Lady Gaga is fine artist , she like Björk , she is she and no one else .
she not pretending to be some one she is not . I like her music ,

but does her music belong here on mudcat ? sure thats a question

Mudcat has been folk/blues/bluegrass/country ....roots music ...

kv Skarpi

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 11:00 PM

This shouldn't be below the line. Lady Gaga, as much as some may hold their noses, performs music. She is a musician. And that's what Mudcat is about. Music.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 04:14 PM

What gnu said.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: gnu
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 03:19 PM

I believe Sandy was referring to KD's costumes... even tho some are "traditional" they look a touch odd in this day and age. She has the most amazing voice I have ever heard.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,lively
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 02:24 PM

'elvis is alive, and a woman' to paraphrase mags - ditto smedley

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Arthur_itus
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 02:15 PM

LOL Smedley

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Smedley
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 01:35 PM

Why on earth would anyone want to close their eyes when listening to k d lang ?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 12:43 PM

I'm not a fan of her type music but I do believe she has talent. I think her costumes are a prop that she doesn't need to support her voice. Like with kd Lang her talent comes through better to the ear if the eyes are closed. There is no doubt of the Madona or kd influence in strange costumes but she seems to be doing very well in her career.
In her treatment of Maria Aragon she has earned my respect for her empathy and encouragement to a very talented child. I would love to hear from anyone who was at that concert the other night.
I think that this thread deserves to move above the line.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Arthur_itus
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 06:01 AM

Lady Gaga is great.

I love what she does.

At the age of 65 am I one of the only pensioners that still listens to radio 1 ? I have heard so much good music. Yes even the new performers can be good.

Lady who? :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: alanabit
Date: 05 Mar 11 - 03:49 AM

Hell, I hate admitting stuff like this, but Lady Gaga has just climbed a few rungs in my estimation. I am not likely to become a fan of her products, but there is a proper human in there among the packaging!

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: gnu
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 02:31 PM

Oh, well, fuck mushy... thatbrought tears. How sweet is that?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Jeri
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 02:16 PM

Later on, Lady Gaga talks to Maria

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: gnu
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 02:01 PM

Sandy... don't wanna sound all mushy but that gave me a few goosebumps and certainly a smile. Charming and talented... at ten years old.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 01:53 PM

A 10 year old kid who taught herself to play piano was asked by LG to perform with her in Toronto.

Maria Aragon

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Smedley
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 06:15 AM

She's unquestionably the defining figure in popular culture at the moment, has been for over a year and could continue to be so for some time, though the speed of pop careers gets ever more rapid and the intensity of burn-outs ever more severe. She is, at present, immeasurably more significant as a cultural figure than 95% of the people more typically discussed on this site.

That doesn't mean her music is better, though I do think she has made some classic pop hits and her stylistic influence is huge and global.

As for her being a 'bad influence', I think that's what those old preachers said about Elvis.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 04:59 AM

They can do a lot with hormones these days I have seen/met transexuals who are gorgeous and with a figure to match so it is possible.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 05:35 PM

Going by her appearance, I think not.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 05:26 PM

I thought she was a man, like boy george?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 01:35 PM

Hmmm.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 01:33 PM

I should have kept reading. The very next line on Wiki reads:

The New York Post, however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting. Ga-ga is a sport in Israel, where she later performed in 2009. The same Post report speculated she may be lying about her real age, and that myths existed about the singer.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 01:25 PM

Right you are LH. From Wiki:

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.

Music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her write some of her earlier songs, compared some of her vocal harmonies to that of Freddie Mercury. Fusari helped create the moniker Gaga, after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga." He explained,

Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song. [Lady Gaga] was actually a glitch; I typed 'Radio Ga Ga' in a text and it did an autocorrect so somehow 'Radio' got changed to 'Lady'. She texted me back, "That's it." After that day, she was Lady Gaga. She's like, "Don't ever call me Stefani again."

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 12:48 PM

Why would she choose the name "Lady Gaga"? Did she maybe get the idea from that old song by Queen (Radio Gaga)?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 12:10 PM

Bad Romance by my son and his friend at a high school variety show. I prefer this to Lady Gaga but that's just me.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: gnu
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 04:55 AM

I too would like to clarify that my remarks were my remarks. No offense intended nor taken toward or from any previous or future posts be they actual or interpreted or from any previous or future posters be they real or fictional.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 03 Mar 11 - 04:15 AM

She is an all rounder, a singer, dancer, entertainer and actor (as in making her character believable) which a lot of poppie UK popstars seem to be unable to copy. It remains to be seen though if Lady Gaga is ever going to be listed on the Glastonbury bill, anything is possible these days. I prefer other styles of music for my taste but then again she is mostly aimed at the younger generation.

Luckily there are still enough young folk, metal, punk, goth fans around to keep with the music they like so it doesn't really matter if Lady Gaga is around or not.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 09:30 PM

Fascinating article in today's Washington Post, about interpreting her(?) into Sign Language... without signing things like I wanna ride your disco stick as I wanna ride your small piece of a tree dancing like John Travolta, or something, read the article, it's got Bon Jovi in there too...

Now that I think of it, that in itself might be a thread above the line...

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: josepp
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 07:03 PM

////If Lady Gaga is acceptable today, then what will be acceptable in the next few years?////

I'm more hopeful now than I was a few months back. Ever since I started listening to this lady--she has singlehandedly rescued the course of modern music as far I am concerned:

I Know You Know

Superb bassist, superb singer, superb songwriter, I think she even produced her album. Suddenly, everything changed. I'm hopeful for the future of music again.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 06:03 PM

Alan, I don't think anyone took anything you said in that way. You've always been a prince amongst men on this site.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: josepp
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 06:01 PM

I didn't like her initially but she can play the hell out of a piano so you have to respect that and the costumes are hilarious--like an Aubrey Beardsley portrait come to life.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: alanabit
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 05:18 PM

To clarify my remarks, I have no intention of putting down Lady Gaga or the people who like her. I simply think she is more interesting as a business/marketing phenomenon than as a musician. Silly, ephemeral pop music has always been with us and I have liked - and even bought it - in the past. This young woman knows how to present and market her product remarkably well. I am not interested, but I mean no disrespect to anyone who is.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 04:56 PM

Well, I think anyone who can make a living at music deserves to make a living at music.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 04:53 PM

Oh, never mind what I said about rage, then.
Mudcat doesn't choose the ads. I know cookies from places such as Amazon may track where you've been in order to personalize your ads, so maybe you were watching Lady Gaga videos. Or maybe you'd been somewhere that had discussions of paparazzi or bad romance, or maybe it was just random.

I'm not sure how they personalize your ads, but I don't see any, so I have even less "evidence" to figure it out than others might.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Fossil
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 04:17 PM

Well, a nice set of responses, thanks Mudcatters. No, sorry I actually quite like Lady GG myself and am in no way addicted to rage and am not particularly pissed off. Just was a leetle bit surprised to find the Mudcat advertising her product.

For - to paraphrase several of the posts above - "product" is exactly what it is, isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: gnu
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 02:43 PM

Ahem... Fossil made a reasonable request and it was answered. Jeri answered it.

Now, as far as enjoying being pissed off...

alanabit... "...like finding a discussion of a an elephant on an engineering site."

I'll have you know that elephants are a source of great discussion on many engineering sites. They have been employed as a valuable resource in engineering works for thousands of years in many countries and such continues to this very day.

As for The Lady, I am gonna vote yes and send her on to Hollywood.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 02:43 PM

In The Days Before The World Went Gaga...

A 16 year old Janis Ian, a guitar, and not a thong or a meat dress in sight...


I mourn the loss of real music, real musicians, who had no need to shock to get people to notice them...they simply did that through writing and performing great songs.

If Lady Gaga is acceptable today, then what will be acceptable in the next few years? Where does it stop? The influence upon our children, as a world, is pretty devastating I feel...but then I'm old and gettin' cold about talentless twits who are hero worshipped by those within The Circle of the Emperor and his New Shiny Way of Life...

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 02:12 PM

I'd like to see Lady Gaga sing the national anthem at the next superbowl.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 01:41 PM

Only you would remember that--bloody reprobate.

Hope you're feeling lots better, Pat.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: catspaw49
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 11:47 AM

Hmmmm......I remember years ago Cheech Marin using the line "Gidget's gaga gets gooey."................BTW, I think there's a band named Gidgets Gaga.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Becca72
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 11:39 AM

"All the adoration, all the hatred, and she won't be 25 years old until the end of this month..."


Ok, NOW I hate her! LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Lighter
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 11:38 AM

She mixes conceptual art with her music. She hatched from a space egg carried into the Grammies by paid acolytes. I can't argue with that riff.

Subject: RE: BS: Lady Gaga?
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Mar 11 - 11:00 AM

Becca, that duet with Elton John was brilliant, even if I had to watch it at home!

I think there's this "I hate anyone who's successful, especially if I don't like their music" thing going on. Most sane people would just avoid things they don't like, but this is the internet.

As for comparisons to Madonna... They keep playing very old videos of Madonna at my gym. She really was pretty shaky, pitch-wise when she started. She got better. Gaga's vocals are incredibly strong. What's underneath all the avant-garde decoration and performance art is a lot of solid talent. If she ever wants to re-invent herself, all she has to do is lose some of the outer layers.

All the adoration, all the hatred, and she won't be 25 years old until the end of this month...