My 100th post I would just like to give a shoutout to all the regs here, we're like 1 small family even though there is a division between Venus stans and GUY stans. I love everyone here this is to many more posts...

Marc
Grant
Kayla
Hausofkurbrick
Kath
April

I have left out a few I think but thanks for the nice welcome here you guys slay

Well FUCK you too

A Valentine for Lady Gaga

“In a time when the women of pop are a
depressing mess of childish coquettishness and
tawdry pornification, Gaga stands alone as an
almost sexless carnival of the bizarre.” Jennifer
Gannon is definitely buying a ticket for Lady
Gaga
Remember when Michael Jackson floated a
massive fibre-glass statue of himself down the
Thames? Or when the tabloids conjured up the
image of him sleeping in an oxygen tent?
Bubbles at the Grammys in a tuxedo? How about
when Prince demanded to be known as a
squiggly symbol or when Madonna offended
everyone with her book full of naked photos?
How everyone laughed at these egocentric flights
of pop fancy.
This day-glo triumvirate were shining beacons of
pop creativity and craziness, a certain brand of
over-the-top eccentricity that has all but
disappeared. The classic pop music ideal of the
thought provoking spectacle is sadly forgotten,
the intelligence factor disintegrating in the
clutches of will.i.am’s robotic glove. In today’s
unpredictable climate, stars seem unwilling to be
difficult or appear confrontational as they
desperately compete for the public’s ever-waning
attention.
Pop is going through struggles not seen since
primetime TV gorged itself on reality shows;
dumbing down and feeding the masses what
they think they crave. Whether it’s Rihanna
doing the “dutty wine” in a PVC bikini, or Miley
twerking hard for her money, today’s most
successful pop stars are an endless production
line of plastic clones singing brashly and loudly
about nothing in particular. Even broadsheet
darling Queen Beyoncé is bizarrely blank and
unknowable, silent beneath the blustering PR
whirl.
Let’s thank the pop overlords then for the
enduring bag of crazy that is Lady Gaga. Ever
since Stefani Germanotta awkwardly crash-
landed onto the music scene six years ago, she
re-ignited the thrill and daring darkness of pop at
its most demanding. Rather than morphing into
a pop slot machine dishing out more radio-
friendly hits like Poker Face and Just Dance ,
Gaga transformed. Gaga became interesting.
Bad Romance , like a glittery zombie
stormtrooper, stomped all over the charts and
into listener’s hearts. It was a cigarette-stench
kiss of life, a pop blitzkrieg exploding onto the
mainstream musical landscape. Easily the most
commercial cut from The Fame Monster EP – a
dark tumour which grew from the original album,
it loudly signalled her unwillingness to align with
her ultra-girlie sexed-up pop contemporaries.
This intense mix of murky europop, half-crazed
lyrics and idiosyncratic influences begat Born
This Way , a concept album that purported to
spread the message of self acceptance. In reality,
it proved more of an oddball expedition with
Gaga trying on many musical wigs and flexing
her contrary creative muscle.
The grandiose statements made at the time of
the album’s release, coupled with widespread
derision at the idea of a pop star attempting to
make any statement other than ‘Let’s Party!’,
created polarising opinions about young Gaga.
The irritated yearned for her to just shut up and
dance whilst the intrigued sat tight, waiting for
the next trick to be conjured.
Increasingly, disdain dominated the discussion
around the release of ARTPOP . There was a
feeling of ridicule emanating at the dizzy
pretention of the whole affair – the desire to
inject art into pop; surely something so creatively
seismic should be left to cultural heavyweight
Björk or postmodern pranksters Goldfrapp.
Although the ARTPOP project was never about
Lady Gaga retreating to the fringes, it was about
thrusting the abstract back into the mainstream
spotlight.
As Gaga pranced through fields naked for
performance artist Marina Abramovic and
wittered on about Jeff Koons, it made a
refreshing change from The Wanted arguing
about chlamydia on Twitter. It also sent fans on a
scavenger hunt of discovery, something that all
the best pop artists provide; a springboard into
an unknown world of influences. In its ferocious
pomposity ARTPOP treated its audience with a
level of intelligence that remained dormant
throughout the years of chart domination from
the likes of Pitbull and LMFAO.
Underneath the po-faced pronouncements
ARTPOP reminds the listener of exactly what Lady
Gaga brings to the pop world, a certain
flamboyant fearlessness. In a time when the
women of pop are a depressing mess of childish
coquettishness and tawdry pornification, Gaga
stands alone as an almost sexless carnival of the
bizarre, creating an absurd spectacle unafraid to
be derided just like the influential pop icons
before her.
As Katy Perry filled the airwaves with self-help
book nonsense and Taylor Swift acted like a
hormonal Girls World doll, Gaga was referencing
Ingmar Bergman at the VMAs, vaulting around
the X Factor stage covered in bandages and
greeting fans in Germany with something akin to
a giant Weetabix on her head. This is Lady
Gaga’s imperial phase, her magnificently
excessive Marie Antoinette-style indulgence.
Little Monsters and casual observers alike
wait in anticipation for the ludicrous fibre-glass
statue moment that is surely only a false eyelash
blink away.
Meanwhile, the announcement of the art- RAVE
tour offers an opportunity to witness the whirling
dynamo in this glorious state of flux, as her
ladyship takes to the road. Embrace the
embodiment of post-everything pop. Observe
pop cultural history being created right in front
of your eyes. Get ready to applaud.
artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball is at Dublin’s O2
on October 17th. Tickets on sale now.