Remember that’Simpsons”Treehouse of Horror where Krusty the Clown doll tried to murder Homer? Showed the problem was the doll had a switch on the back set to”bad”and with one movement of the wrist, can be put back to”good.”It feels like somewhere late last summer, someone put a similar switch to Lady Gaga. For about one years, she was nothing but a lot of talk and a badge - but without the badge. She filled her resume and interviews in particular drops style icon - Andy Warhol and his ideas about celebrity, the residents of New York’s downtown arts scene, and avant-couture designers like Thierry Mugler - but her singles betrayed none of the artistry that She stood out was a part of its package.”Poker Face” had about three big hooks, but next to her other singles - which range from forgettable fluff (\ “Just Dance “) went to”Muffin Top \ (” Love Game”) - — seemed a fluke. Then, between the VMAs and”Paparazzi “, she came into her own. And”Bad Romance “, the first single from The Monster Fame, she was kind of awesome.
The rest of The Monster Fame - the end of last year, while we were packing our 2009 Pitchfork content - isn’t as strong as his single (although the Queen-like”Speechless”comes close), but at least one claim that commitment is a potential new Madonna demented rather than simply a new Katy Perry. If I had to guess, I’would say if she was terribly popular dementia was able to put more control of her career to take the early results are”Bad Romance “, perhaps the best single and best pop-pop video of 2009. And the video is part of the package: Like Madonna or Prince, It’s impossible to separate the song from the performer. But unlike those artists, Lady Gaga isn’t particularly appealing, and she uses this to its advantage by suppressing her vanity and make himself a smooth figure. She’s still largely unknowable and almost unrecognizable from moment to moment, as she contorts, disguises, masks and Maime her face and body like a Matthew Barney or David Cronenberg creation.
Gaga comments about fame as it is more familiar: It’s record in its title - The Fame, The Fame Monster,”Paparazzi “,”Beautiful, Dirty, Rich “,”Starstruck “. It’s in its portable art, and the way she deconstructs her own look - stiff, robotic dance moves as if she’sa Puppet on a string, and is in crutches after being damaged by its outsized fictional celebrity in the directory”Paparazzi”clip. In the”Bad Romance”she who turns the pop star Lady Gaga could be a number of female types - sometimes reminiscent of Britney Spears, Madonna, an anime character, Angelique, Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse. In that sense, they’sa perfect 21st century pop icon - often a person is willing to manipulate what is needed at a given time as a star.
Yet, unlike the empty famewhores climb atop the shoulders of reality television and tabloid journalism to fame, we know almost nothing about her personal life. In that sense, \ it ’s the anti-Kanye, the anti-Eminem, and the anti-Winehouse - the curves of her private life Don’t inform her art. On the contrary, she is who she wants at any time, and her art is so much manipulation of that image and notions of modern celebrities like it’s music or fashion. And it’s refreshing to a major pop star to communicate to us from afar have pop stars like before.
