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 One of the most elusive and complex artists of our generation, Lady Gaga represents not only the hedonistic, existential despair of the modern age, but also a glimmer of hope and a deep-seated, wistful longing for traditional values. Let us first consider the very nature of her as an artist. Not content with the name that her parents gave her - Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - she has boldly made a statement of self-definition. As surely as Napoleon reinvented himself and defined his time by crowning himself Emperor of France, Ms. Germanotta has performed a similar act. Not only did she choose her own name, Gaga, but also took on the persona of a "Lady" - refined, aristocratic, from a different and more elegant age. Her corpus of work is similarly impressive. Her hit single "Just Dance" is not only a revival of modern pop, but also a stunning narrative of an innocent, confused girl thrust into the midst of a world of hedonism. It is the first step toward her inevitable corruption, fall, and ultimately, catharsis and transfiguration. As we shall see, the totality of the experience of Lady Gaga's album "The Fame" is necessarily intertwined with grand themes of music and forbidden love, and is the spiritual heir to Wagner's Tristan and Isolde as well as owing a debt to the poetic but non-musical Inferno by Dante. After being tempted into abandoning the good of the intellect and "just dancing", the heroine-Gaga is subjected to a radical assault on her view of love. In the second track, "Lovegame," we can see lyrically that love, which was something once treasured and divine, is now reduced to something pedestrian -- a mere "game". "Let's have some fun, this beat is sick," she sings, her tone mechanical and robotic - a sign, surely, of the sickness that she feels infesting her own soul. As an individual, she is beginning to be subsumed into the hedonistic masses around her. This theme is born out in the following track, "Paparazzi". It opens with a powerful statement of crowd-identity: "We are the crowd", she sings. Like the damned in Dante's Hell, she has lost her own identity and can only be understood in the context of an observer (in Hell, Dante; in The Fame, the ideal listener). The loss of identity is not total, though, not yet - her verses end plaintively with "I", that strong assertion of self, but soon degenerate back into the mass pronoun "We". Furthermore, the "I" pronoun is used most often immediately before "Paparazzi", suggesting that she is no longer defined as a human being, but instead as a social role. The choice of "Paparazzi" reminds the listener of the overall theme - as a spectator to the Gaga-heroine's corruption - and serves to shame the listener into a greater appreciation of this role. Following "Paparazzi," the mood of the piece changes dramatically. In the philosophical interlude "Poker Face", Gaga questions the act of interpretation itself. Can anyone truly understand the artist as their own self -- read their poker face? Gaga seems to think not: "like a chick in the casino, take your bank before I pay you out" brings the artist's elusiveness into a painful new light. Gaga continues her descent throughout the next few tracks. In "Eh, Eh" she expresses notions of confusion and regret (my friends keep on tellin' me that something's wrong") but does not make any apologies for her corruption. However, she also makes an attempt to shift the blame onto the nameless "Boy" in the song, subtly suggesting that she is not responsible for what she has done to herself. The next track "Starstruck" continues this trend, hinting that she has been corrupted by a charismatic, alluring Other. The title of the seventh track, "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" suggests that Lady Gaga is beginning to come to terms with her fallen state. The choice of the word "Dirty" in the song is illustrative: despite having all worldly pleasures, she feels tainted and filthy by them. The fact that this song is the seventh is clearly an allusion to numerology - Seven is the number of the Divine, which has enabled her to begin to see the folly that she has fallen into. The following three tracks are further meditations on the nature of this corrupting "dirt" -- why else do women corrupt themselves if not for one or more of "The Fame" "Money Honey" or "Boys Boys Boys"? "Paper Gangsta" shows that Gaga has finally begun to reject the world she has fallen into. She doesn't want a "paper gangsta" that won't deliver what is promised; the hedonism and "just dancing" mentality has failed to give the "follow-through" that she craves so desperately. "Brown Eyes" is a pining song, a song of longing and redemption. It in this mysterious character's brown eyes that she has finally been redeemed. Who exactly this man is deserves further scholarly inquiry, as many interpretative themes open themselves up. In "Summerboy" there is a hint of recidivism. Gaga sings about "checking out other guys" while her martini glistens; even though she is back on her feet, she acknowledges the weakness of the flesh and the possibility of backsliding. On the UK version, there are two bonus tracks - "Disco Heaven" and "Again Again". The former is an obvious call to her ultimate success in overcoming herself. The latter, I contend, calls back to the beginning - like Nietzche, Gaga holds up the idea of eternal return as a basis for building modern philosophy, morality, and art. I hope these brief notes have helped to add to your appreciation of Lady Gaga, a true "Artist" and one of the few truly postmodern, avant-garde figures in music today. It would be of immense interpretive interest if you, too, posted your thoughts about her work and impact upon music, both "in situ as music" as well as a phenomenological experience. fantastic in plastic fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Aug 6, 2009 |
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Aug 6, 2009 22:10
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:04 |
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While I agree with Vigilant Citizen's article's point that Lady Gaga's "symbolism is deep, esoteric, and even spiritual", I don't agree with the conclusions that she's a pawn of the Illuminati. I mean, come on, that's just silly.
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Aug 12, 2009 01:55
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Illandir posted:~unfortunately~ I'm in favor of anything that explores the cultural impact of Lady Gaga in profound ways. I myself am more interested in the narrative of sin and redemption and the exploration of the value of hedonism, but I could certainly lend my thoughts to a draft of such a monograph as you propose. Also I'm sad that her tour isn't coming near me. I'd definitely take a weekend off to see it if it were possible. 
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Oct 28, 2009 01:00
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