SOUND + VISION: 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga

I just didn't Ga-ga-get it!

Okay. First of all, let it be known that I am a BIG Lady Gaga fan. And up until Sunday night's Grammy performance I pretty much thought she could do NO wrong... But then she arrived in that giant egg, ala Mork from Ork ("Come in, Orson"). However, I will admit that I was just as intrigued as everyone else was by the elaborate stunt. I mean, that WAS a pretty great way to make an entrance! It did beg all sorts of questions, though. Everything from like, how did she get in there? And, how is she breathing? To, what if Gaga's gotta poo-poo? Surely, her team thought of such things ahead of time and took the necessary precautions. Right? Let's hope so.

What?! I do NOT get the hat.

When it finally came time for "Gegga" to hatch, I felt it was a bit anticlimactic. At some point between the time she'd made her grand entrance and when she appeared onstage, Gaga obviously traded in her previous mode of transport for one with dramatic, interior track lighting and a sliding moon roof. Thereby allowing her smooth "eggs-it" and transition into her number, 'Born This Way'. But when she stepped out, WHAT was with the big yellow hat?? I expected Curious George to come crawling out after her! And the Madonna 'Blonde Ambition' ponytail... Puh-lease! She sure worked THAT into the dance choreography! I swear, she swung that tail around so hard and so often that I thought for sure it was gonna fly off and hit Aretha Franklin in the face! And she wasn't even there!!






Ugh, that ponytail...




























I must say, the Lady has a pretty slammin' body, and it was quite evident thanks to her tight, barely-there, latex wardrobe. But WHY did she (and all of her dancers) have to sport that weird, pointy, body modification look? The sharp shoulders and jagged facial features just seemed over-the-top to me. And besides, isn't 'Born This Way' supposed to be an anthem about being proud of WHO and WHAT you REALLY are? The way you were BORN, not the way you try and MAKE yourself for whatever reason? Don't get me wrong, I'm ALL for creativity and drama. That's what drew me to the Lady in the first place! It's just that I think she's sending out mixed messages, here, with this one. You know?






Love those glass pipes, but what's with the multiple
heads on the organ? Again, with the mixed messages...























When it was all sung and done, I couldn't help feeling like Gaga had phoned the whole thing in. The performance just hadn't seemed Grammys-worthy to me. And after having shown up in an EGG, I think lots of people were probably expecting something a bit more FANTASTIC. Overall, I'd say this egg turned out to be pretty rotten!


~ All photos via Google Images ~

She's quite the naughty Lady! Check out Gaga's music video for 'Alejandro'...

This sizzling HOT super star is doing a fine job of further pushing the boundaries of sex and art in entertainment, just like a certain predecessor. Only, I think that this video might even make Madonna blush!

It's really great, it's over 8 minutes long, and Miss Gaga looks fab-yoo-lous! But folks who tend to have a weak stomach for such sexual shenanigans might want to steer clear of it. It gets that sexual. To clarify, there isn't any nudity. Everything is just very suggestive through body movement and wardrobe, or lack of it.

Watch and enjoy...





~Top screen capture photo via Google Images~

Now, I'm even MORE Gaga over the Lady!

Man, there's just SOMETHING about Miss Gaga that gets me excited! But not at all in that way... She's such a dynamic performer, and really different than most. If you've read some of my past posts about her, you know that my first impression was not a good one! In fact, you could say that I didn't think of her as being much of a "lady" at all. Nor did I really think she was very talented. But I've been hooked ever since those impressive live SNL performances she did! I saw the light, my friends. And it's very bright! I gotta say, "Gaga's got the goods!"

And she just keeps bringin' it. Within the last few days, she released a new music video for the first single, 'Bad Romance', off of her forthcoming (mostly) NEW album, 'The Fame Monster'. It's actually Gaga's first album, 'The Fame', along with 8 brand NEW songs! I guess the NEW part is the 'Monster' part. Here's the track listing of those 8 songs:

1. Bad Romance
2. Alejandro
3. Monster
4. So Happy I Could Die
5. Speechless
6. Dance in The Dark
7. Telephone
8. Teeth

The album's release date is November 23rd, and if 'Bad Romance' is a good indication of how the 7 other NEW songs are, we're in for a real treat! In the meantime, please enjoy Lady Gaga's NEW video for 'Bad Romance', below...

Needless to say, I'm crazy over this video! It's soooo odd in just the right ways. I love most everything about it. My favorite part, though, is the burning bed, especially when Miss Gaga is standing in front of it! That is outrageously sexy symbolism, kids! Go ask your parents to explain it to you. I'm busy.

Gaga 4 Eva! Long Live The Lady!
Thank U 4 playing. C U next time...

Saturday Night Gaga!

The time has come, my friends. After watching Lady Gaga's two live performances on SNL this last Saturday night, I have to admit that she's much more than just a fashion freak or a flash-in-the-pan pop singer with a big bag o' tricks. This Lady can actually sing quite well! And without any Auto-Tune enhancement! I was expecting her to just lip-sync everything, so you can imagine what an impression Gaga made on me. She also plays the piano, nicely! All of this along with bizarre costumes and fascinatingly odd dance choreography makes for a real unique talent in my book.

Lady's first performance on the show was of her hit song, 'Paparazzi'. I thought it was fantastic! She looked great, sounded great, and the way Gaga moves when she dances is just so... different. In a good way! When it was over I still wanted more, and anxiously awaited her second performance later on in the show.






"Oh, yeah, Lady Caca? Where do you think you'd
be if I, Madonna, hadn't paved the way before
you? Just give me that sad wig of yours and stop
pretending to be a female!"




Another fun, pleasant surprise of the evening was Madonna's cameo appearance alongside Lady G in the Deep House Dish skit. It was a little on the goofy side, but it's always kinda neat to see a couple of divas in a cat fight, right? Even if it was all just pretend...

And for the record, I thought that Madonna looked pretty damn good! I've been reading some not-so-nice comments in certain places, and I just wanted to throw in my two cents. For what it's worth.






Gaga's gyroscope left me all agog!
She actually wore this contraption through the entire second
performance, a medley of about 3 or 4 different songs.




When Lady appeared on stage for her second act, she was wearing the strangest, sci-fi movie prop-type-looking-thing! The closest reference point I can think of is a gyroscope. And as she moved around, so did the separate rings, moving this way and that. The thing had to take some major coordination, and lots of practice! Then, she sat down at the piano with the thing still on, and proceeded to play while she sang! Again, no lip-syncing or Auto Tuning.

When the show was over, I had the feeling that Miss Gaga was only just getting started. For a Lady who once seemed like nothing more than a cheap thrill or a guilty pleasure had now shown her true abilities to a much wider audience, and I believe because of that she will soon become an even bigger star! Keep an eye on her, folks. There's no telling how far this Lady will go...



~All photos via Google Images~

Freak Show Friday: Lady Gaga

All photos via Google Image Search

Where DO I start with Lady Gaga? Well, I should probably start out by reluctantly admitting that I do (err...), I mean DID, have a small sort of fascination with the Lady. Just a tad "gaga" over the lady, if you will. But I think that I'm OVER it, now. Then again, maybe NOT, if I'm doing this post...

I know that she isn't a "freak" compared to the likes of Michael Jackson, however she IS one on a whole other level. One would almost have to agree that she's a bit of a fashion-freak, at the very least! Anyway, for the TWO of you who aren't familiar, continue below for a little background.

"Umm, Gaga? When we said

you could bring your beau,

this wasn't what we meant..."

(Lady evidently improvised when she ran out

of normal hair bows.)

"I'm out-of-this-world!"

(Guest appearing on 'Ellen', sharing what

looks like an interactive science project...)

Born Stefani Joanne Germanotta to an Italian New York family, she assumed the stage name Lady Gaga, at the age of 19, as an homage to Queen's song 'Radio Gaga'. She first broke onto the Lower East Side club scene with the dance-pop song 'Beautiful Dirty Rich' while also gaining attention for her very theatrical "shock art" performances. Dressed in her own hand-made costumes, she would strip down to just hot pants and a bikini top, light cans of hairspray on fire and strike a pose as a disco ball lowered from the ceiling to the orchestral sounds of 'A Clockwork Orange'. Wish I could've seen THAT!

She went on to become signed with Streamline/Interscope Records by her 20th birthday and wrote songs for other artists, such as the Pussycat Dolls, before her debut album 'The Fame' was even released. Gaga, now 23, describes her sound on 'The Fame' as being "two parts dance-pop, one part electro-pop, and one part rock with a splash of disco and burlesque generously poured in."

Watch the music video for her latest single, 'Love Game', below...

"Tiny bubbles... tiny bubbles,

make me feel fine... make me feel fine"

(Lady must've stepped out of the bath just in

time for this performance!)

"Bitch, where you at? You were

supposed to meet me here at

the mall, right by Orange Julius!"

(Lady, out shopping for a new D&G jet-pack

to match her dress.)

"I'm a little teapot,

short and stout..."

(On stage, performing with the Pet Shop Boys.)

"What? This wasn't supposed to be

a MASQUERADE pool party?!"

(Lately, she's dripping with success.)

Now, do you see what I was talking about when I called her a "fashion-freak"?! She's ALL over the place! And a bit skanky, too! There are even MORE skanky fashion oddities where these came from, so maybe I will share those with you at another time...

Have a great weekend, everyone!

"My future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades!"