Originally published on Facebook, 11/29/09
Devotees and fans of the funny pages of the 1980s, will undoutedly recall one of the classics of the genre 'Bloom County.' (Longtime Iowa Citians will remember that author Berke Breathed was a resident of the I.C. for sometime in the 80s and his farewell to Iowa City cartoon can be found in the entry way of Prairie Lights and the Bloom County Boarding House, which appeared in many of his comics can be found on the corner of Summit and College Streets.) Anyway- this being the worst segue ever-- there was, once upon a time, a reference to Gregory Peck in one of his strips. Peck's publicist sent Peck the strip and her sent her back a note that said something along the lines of: 'What is Bloom County? What is the matter with me that I can't understand it?' Or something like that...
The sentiment was fairly amusing in context- and again, my apologies for the worst segue ever, but stick with me, kids- it gets better. For even as Gregory Peck failed to comprehend the subtleties of 1980s comic humor, so too do I fail to grasp the ins and outs of the mind of pop Princess de jour Lady Gaga.
There. I told you it was the worst segue ever.
When 'Poker Face' first hit the airwaves, I came very close to thinking it was the most annoying pop song ever made. I thought it was going to fall victim to the very same thing that killed 3 Doors Down's hit 'Krytonite', countless Nickelback songs and pretty much everything ever made by Linkin Park or Creed. I thought it was going to be played to death. I was wrong. 'Just Dance' came out. 'Paparazi' followed. The truly psychotic 'Toddlers and Tiaras' show on TLC started using her single 'The Fame' as its promo music. Lady Gaga, essentially, blew up. In a major way. She was everywhere- and she was, I think, helped by the fact that she had an obvious aversion to wearing pants. If one person can start a fashion trend, then unitards should be the thing to wear quite soon. If the NRA was looking for someone they could point to and say 'hey, responsible gun play works'-- the argument could be made that Gaga and her Kermit coat should send shivers of fear into the hearts of Muppets everywhere.
She was fresh, she was new and she damn sure wasn't boring. Her album, which the Missus requested for a holiday/anniversary surprise and which we brought one afternoon on a very long drive northwards to a wedding, I think in the Wal-Mart in Ft. Dodge was not half-bad. In fact, it was pretty damn good. It certainly made Ft. Dodge seem like, well-- less of a hole in the ground that it actually is. In short, Lady Gaga seemed to be the most intriguing pop artist to emerge on the scene for quite sometime. But her latest video for her new single 'Bad Romance' changed that rather conventional definition and moved into another realm entirely.
There's an argument to be made that 'Bad Romance' goes beyond the realm of the conventional music video and breaks through into the arena of performance art. In fact, the glam rock influences of Gaga are on high and obvious display in the video, which makes tracing her lineage back to such artists as Andy Warhol and Nico very easy to do. But even earlier than that, there's a real argument to be made that with this video, not only does Gaga pay tribute to her glam rock influences and the art icons that influenced that, but touches a little bit of Dadaism as well. Dadaism was art that I found truly bizzare and I never really understood or appreciated all that much, but by definition (thanks, wikipedia) it was a movement that was commentating on the meaningless of then contemporary culture by creating works of art that were the antithesis of existing cultural mores, tastes and expectations at the time.
Gaga's body of work so far almost blinds you with its obvious, sequiny love affair with glam rock-- it's seemingly drowning in excess, but whether that is something she is trying to wallow in or mock is an open question. If its the former, it confines her to a rather conventional definition of being a talented pop artist- if it's the latter, then the wild child of glam rock has broken through and acknowledged artistic influences that stretch back to the first World War.
Certainly, the bizzarity of "Bad Romance" is a lot of fun to watch-- if Deckard had a better nightclub to visit on his never-ending search for Replicants, Lady Gaga might be the star performer. If the Mos Eisley Cantina went upscale, Gaga would be headlining on the weekends. The fashion, the storyline, the music- everything about this video is strange. You could drop it into any science fiction movie you could think of and it'd be right at home--- and yet, despite the strangeness, you are rooted in place. You can't stop watching because you're never sure just what is coming next or what crazy thing is going to happen.
There are pop stars to be found under pretty much every rock you can turnover these days, but rarer still are the ones that transcend that rather mundane label and become true artists. Lady Gaga has more than done that- her music shows depth and range- her classical training means that she's more than just a pre-packaged deal aimed at enough key demographics to sell records. She has the musical chops to back herself up. (To be clear, I'm not including the many talented female artists out there that write their own songs, have their own bands, bang on a piano and sing mournfully about life, etc. I'm solely confining myself to the realm of pop.) Madonna has long been the proclaimed 'Queen of Pop' because of her talent, multitude of hits and fascinating abilitiy to constantly reinvent herself in a shifting and changing musical scene. No artist has emerged in the two decades since Madonna really broke on the scene to challenge her- Gaga is the first, the best and likely contendor for the throne. Xtina has gone to ground to have kids and be happy. Britney, although to be congratulated for her hard work, dancing abilitiy and resiliency in the face of some truly rough personal times for herself has yet to show that her music can evolve quite like Gaga's can. Miley can put butts in seats, but skews a little young still- Beyonce moves mountains all by herself just by being herself, but while she's talented could she really be considered an artist?
I mean, when you get right down to it- what is an artist? Define that word for me please in a way that everyone can agree with. It's a damn hard thing to do, but to me, the collision of musical talent and crazy fashion sense have fused to create a musical-art nexus not seen since Andy Warhol got together with Nico (who bears a passing resemblence to Gaga, by the by) and did their thing with the Velvet Underground. Gaga's bling and excess seems to be more typical of the bizzare fashion of the glam rock era than a status symbol. Her sexuality (not orientation, just her general sexuality), while blatantly obvious is not flaunted, it is a statement of fact.
If there is ever to be a new Queen of Pop, then uneasy should lie the head that wears the crown (currently Madonna's) because a talented, shiny and sparkly usurper has arisen and if her early work is any indication, she intends to grab the crown for herself, turn it into some kind of shiny, metal work of art she can place on her head and drag pop music, kicking and screaming into the bright, shiny future of the 21st Century.
A future where pants are optional, of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment