Thanksgiving cheer and inspiration came from an unlikely source for me this year – “A Very Gaga Thanksgiving” which aired on ABC Thanksgiving night. And while I can in no way be labeled a ‘little monster’ (as she calls her true fans), I admit to being wooed by this 25-year-old superstar.
Here are five reasons I was thankful for Lady Gaga:
1. Honesty and directness. From what I’ve seen in interviews, she’s bold and straightforward. She speaks politely and graciously, but doesn’t mince words. She speaks out for the marginalized, bullied, and misjudged.
2. Boy, is she savvy. And as Survivor advocates in their mantra “Outlive. Outplay Outlast.” – there is something to be admired in how one plays the game. Even if you don’t like her, it’s tough not to admire how she’s conquered the pop icon game. Whether it’s wearing raw meat to award shows or dressing down for a Katie Couric interview, contrasting her edgy image with on camera politeness and graciousness, or following up an American Idol plunge over the lip of a thirty foot set after simulating multiple sexual positions by sitting behind the piano on her Special and intimately relaying the childhood struggles that motivated her songs – she plays the game astutely and strategically. Her whole special could be seen as an exercise in widening her audience (conservative dress, classic songs, personal stories) and, judging by the affect on me, it’s working.
3. We’re watching the birth of a pop star legend. Lady Gaga could be at the forefront of culture for the next three decades, enjoying a Madonna-esque run in popular consciousness. And we get to watch it from the start. Imagine seeing Sinatra in his first few years on stage. Or Madonna. Or Bono. Seeing them and knowing they would become legend.
4. Gaga is a visual showman extraordinaire. She gets the fusion of space with performance. The theatricality of sets and lights. In her performance of “Hair” on the Special, she summoned a dancer to improvise around her piano as she sang. And the set was the same cafeteria of her all-girls school where she had been teased as a teen. It was the room that gave birth to the song, and so she returned there, dressing it with velvet drapes, to tell the very personal story of how that suffering was transmuted into art. Three-quarters through, she called a dancer forward who elegantly improvised around her piano. It could have been planned and rehearsed, but it seemed of the moment and was pure cinematic concert theater. She’s a child of our century – innately grasping and fluently using the greatest artforms of our modern age.
5. Tony Bennett says she’s the most creative performer he’s ever worked with. Think about that! In seven decades of performing, he’s worked with Sinatra, Garland, and everyone else! His duet with Lady Gaga, The Lady is a Tramp, on Bennett’s new Duets II album is the highlight of the record.
There’s much I don’t know about Lady Gaga and I’m not championing everything she does and says, but her boldness, honesty, and talent brought tears and exhilaration to my Thanksgiving. And I’m thankful for that.
Will Lady Gaga become for Thanksgiving what Bing Crosby was for Christmas? The query brings to mind a holiday duet between Crosby and David Bowie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiXjbI3kRus
I bet Gaga could model some interesting fashions using Pilgrim themes. The prospect might prompt me to watch a brief clip, even one with a commercial.
In order to last as long as Bing, though, methinks Gaga might explore the talented career path of Carol Burnett or Cher rather than Madonna. I’d also be thankful if I heard she was cultivating a close friendship with Cyndi Lauper.
Okay, Watt, you’ve piqued my curiosity. Why Cyndi Lauper? As for Bing, I think she’ll be too big to be identified with one holiday. This special was just another iron in her golf bag — it’s just one I happened to catch and enjoy. And I don’t think Madonna’s done bad for herself — she’s still performing, producing music, directing films, all approaching her 30 year anniversary in the biz… but I do admire Carol Burnett. Did I ever tell you my personal story about her from my Hollywood days? It was magic.
It’s an 80s thing, I suppose.
Cyndi Lauper rose to fame about the same time as the Great Material Girl, when I was in high school and college. Unlike Madonna, however, Cyndi’s rise did not capitalize on the sex-object pitch that’s defined the commercial success of so many female vocalists. I’d welcome that departure from the same-old-sell with Lady Gaga.
There’s an alternate reality in Watt’s quirky brain in which young women broke free of the soft-porn cage back in the 60s and 70s. In that reality, Mama Cass never died, and Joni Mitchell became one of the top-selling female artists of all time (right up there with Barbra Streisand).
Cyndi surfed the spirit of that alternate reality during the 80s, for me at least. Her album “She’s So Unusual” still provides kick-ass wholesome fun for teeny-boppers and old-farts alike.
Thanks for wondering, RW. I’d love to hear your Carol Burnett story sometime.
Oh, I meant to add a couple of clips, for new times sake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aYAUE6is7I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tUfCz99Dpk
What do you think Gaga fans and non fans. Is Lady Gaga guilty of the ‘same-old-sell’ as Watt claims?
I used the phrase “same-old-sell” in reference to Madonna. Lady Gaga is more of an unknown quantity to me.
Personally, I’m interested in holding up artists who transcend old patterns of exploitation, or thinking about how pop culture might transcend those patterns. Not that interested in determining who is or isn’t guilty of something that’s embedded in our status quo.
Thanks to you, RW, I did watch and enjoy a couple of clips from Gaga’s Thanksgiving special. Also watched part of her “Bad Romance” video, which didn’t do much for me.
To each her own.
Good comments, Watt. I, too, look for those artists who transcend and my hunch with Gaga is that — in order to attain her level of cultural penetration — that she must be doing that for some folk. I don’t know her ouevre well enough yet to make that judgement on my own, but if any Gaga fans read this thread later, I’d love to hear their thoughts — does Gaga transcend old patterns of exploitation, what is the new twist on the old that she captures (if any)?
Roseann Roseannadanna sketch on Lady Gaga, concentrating on the name. Come on, guys, do it!
The Neah-Kah-Nie High School band performed a rousing medley of Lady Gaga songs last night at their spring concert. I was compelled to come back to this post and confess that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Want an idea of how it sounded? Check out this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbne0CiW0IA
The Gaga saga continues, RW. A friend here on the Edge recommended this cover of her song “Poker Face” by a fringy Norwegian band. I like how they incorporate Gaga’s fondness for fashion and the culinary arts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9evhR-iJSE&feature=related
I like the phrase ‘Gaga Saga.’