More info here.

Edited October 25, 200916 yr by Sylph

Oh, her presentation and performances are good, but talking strictly about the music, the stuff she does has been done a million times and perfected by a variety of artists who aren't getting any mainstream exposure. I hate when people act as if her music is anything new or daring, because it's not.

Maybe if those artists marketed themselves better, more people would notice them? Maybe they need to get new managers, new publicists? Sometimes, I think some artists just choose to not be too popular and rather play to a niche group of people, they think it gives them more "cred". I see that with some fans too. They like their artists when the artist is "small"/unknown to most and when those artists become "big," they start to dislike them because they're too "popular" now. I certainly don't blame Lady Gaga if she wanted to become mainstream, while others who've done her style of music before stays in the shadows.

There's something I find very contrived about trying too hard to be be "different" and I think it definitely shows with her.

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to be different. Lady Gaga is a character, an act, that she plays.

Someone on a music board posted this interpretation of GaGa and what she does, and I really agree with it. LOL!

I think being a mixture of different aritsts is original in a sense, because nobody else has those combined elements. It's like Captain Planet.....when you combine the powers of earth, fire, wind, water and heart....you get Captain Planet. LOL

Oh PuhLEAZE! Madonna has NO humour anymore--that's been her downfall lately (I love the lady, but come on). Gaga is all one big tease--everything she does is tongue in cheek. Do you actually buy her interviews? LOL The joke's on you if you do. SHe doesnt' take herself seriously, and anyone who does is missing the point.

I agree that her kind of music has been done better by lesser known artists. And you know what? They're *lesser known*. They're getting zero mainstream exposure. That says it all.

Edited January 31, 201015 yr by EricMontreal22

Maybe if those artists marketed themselves better, more people would notice them? Maybe they need to get new managers, new publicists? Sometimes, I think some artists just choose to not be too popular and rather play to a niche group of people, they think it gives them more "cred". I see that with some fans too. They like their artists when the artist is "small"/unknown to most and when those artists become "big," they start to dislike them because they're too "popular" now. I certainly don't blame Lady Gaga if she wanted to become mainstream, while others who've done her style of music before stays in the shadows.

It's the way the press hypes Gaga and how she plays into that hype that gets to me. We all know her music is nothing original or unique, it just rubs me the wrong way to see her being labeled as such and her promoting herself as such in interviews, when she knows she's not.

If I like an artist, I like them, regardless of how popular they are. I have problems with media hype and artists who try to present themselves as something unique, when many know they're not and they themselves know that.

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to be different. Lady Gaga is a character, an act, that she plays.

But the thing is, I don't find what she does to be very "different" maybe from the pop acts that are successful today. But her whole presentation and shtick is grates me when again when both she and the press try to present her as this provocateur of pop, when I don't see her as anything that different at all.

But it's all up to interpretation, I guess.

Oh PuhLEAZE! Madonna has NO humour anymore--that's been her downfall lately (I love the lady, but come on). Gaga is all one big tease--everything she does is tongue in cheek. Do you actually buy her interviews? LOL The joke's on you if you do. SHe doesnt' take herself seriously, and anyone who does is missing the point.

Oh, I agree, since Ray of Light, Madonna has been very humour-less, and it grates my nerves as well. I'm talking about the comparisons from her early career to maybe the mid 90's.

What's so tongue and cheek about Gaga? I've yet to see her humour, and I find her presentation and promotion to be extremely flat. In every interview she talks about her "art" and how it stems from her being a "misfit", when all that seems to have been a fabrication or blown up version of reality.

Gaga has very little personality or pizazz in her interviews. She often seems very uncomfortable and trying to play into some "recluse" artist act.

I agree that her kind of music has been done better by lesser known artists. And you know what? They're *lesser known*. They're getting zero mainstream exposure. That says it all.

Or maybe radio doesn't support them, they have little label support, or what not?

They can be lesser known, but it still doesn't make any of the press hype that Gaga plays into believable to me. Of course mainstream exposure isn't everything, but who knows if Gaga will be seen as anything interesting in 5 years or hell, a year, either?

Edited January 31, 201015 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

She's proven she's sticking around--Madonna never had this staying power in her first two years! Monster proved she's not a phenomonon.

I really respect your opinion and knowlege (I know that sounds forced but it's not) so I wonder why she grates so much on you? For me, I'm so thankful she's singlehandedly made the US pop radiowaves more about dance than R&B again--in the past they've had a few dance one hit wonders--Kylie, DJ Sammi, but no one has been able to sustain that. Gaga has found the formula--and that's why people hate her. She's tireless in her promotion--endless touring, performing, writing. The people who think she takes what she does seriously need to see her live--she knows how camp she is and she OWNS it (in a way I wish Madonna would now--Kylie always has)

Madonna is still my girl, but I wish she'd just take a step back and look at herself this past era.

Or maybe radio doesn't support them, they have little label support, or what not?

They can be lesser known, but it still doesn't make any of the press hype that Gaga plays into believable to me. Of course mainstream exposure isn't everything, but who knows if Gaga will be seen as anything interesting in 5 years or hell, a year, either?

All true--US radio still subscribes to "Disco's Dead" but Gaga is changing this--noone else has managed to. That's reason enough to celebrate.Seriously--her success means the bands we like and know are better than her will have more of a chance. Why the hate? That's what I don't get

I really respect your opinion and knowlege (I know that sounds forced but it's not) so I wonder why she grates so much on you? For me, I'm so thankful she's singlehandedly made the US pop radiowaves more about dance than R&B again--in the past they've had a few dance one hit wonders--Kylie, DJ Sammi, but no one has been able to sustain that. Gaga has found the formula--and that's why people hate her. She's tireless in her promotion--endless touring, performing, writing. The people who think she takes what she does seriously need to see her live--she knows how camp she is and she OWNS it (in a way I wish Madonna would now--Kylie always has)

Oh, I don't disagree that she brought dance music, or a kind of dance music back to the North American airwaves. But I also view a good part of her music to be Urban-Pop, or at least very influenced by a lot of contemporary urban music, which might have made it easier on her to break into mainstream radio. Poker Face and Just Dance, for example, are heavily urban driven pop with some elector influences, IMO.

A lot of Gaga and her "act" doesn't appear very organic to me, a lot of who she is comes off as a marketing creation to me. In a manufactured way, though a lot believe otherwise. She caries herself as very uncomfortable and lacking in brashness in interviews and in public appearances. For someone who calls herself a misfit and all that, she just doesn't have that fierce and brass attitude off stage. It's one thing to camp it out on stage, but Gaga sure can't translate that off stage, IMO. This whole "Lady Gaga" personality is supposed to be sort of an "act," right?

Madonna is still my girl, but I wish she'd just take a step back and look at herself this past era.

Hard Candy was an atrocious album she probably made to bring to a close her contract with Warner. After her return to form with Confessions On A Dance Floor, it wasn't the type of music her diehard fans wanted and was a huge let down.

Though, since her divorce, she does appear to have gotten some of her sense of humour back. As apparent on her recent interviews with Letterman and with Ryan Sechrest. Apparently, her next album will be another contemporary dance effort. I thought Guy Ritchie was a horrible influence on her. But she's always owned her appeal as a gay icon, even when she appeared to be taking herself a little too seriously in recent years. At 51, she can still put on a hell of a live show, even if she charges way too much for tickets. LOL! But then again, she's one of the few acts that can get away with charging those prices, since people will pay to see her no matter what. The Sticky & Sweet tour was the highest grossing tour by a solo artist ever.

All true--US radio still subscribes to "Disco's Dead" but Gaga is changing this--noone else has managed to. That's reason enough to celebrate.Seriously--her success means the bands we like and know are better than her will have more of a chance. Why the hate? That's what I don't get

I think part of me views Gaga as a fluke and a total fake. I mean, who has she opened doors for yet? Radio has embraced her, but radio hasn't embraced better acts who do a better job at that kind of music, and it's been just over a year since Gaga really hit.

If crap like Ke$ha with "Tik Tok" is directly attributed to Gaga breaking into US mainstream radio, then I say her success hasn't taught US radio anything. No way would I see a song as bad such as "Tik Tok" being a radio hit if Gaga didn't break though first.

I see that with some fans too. They like their artists when the artist is "small"/unknown to most and when those artists become "big," they start to dislike them because they're too "popular" now. I certainly don't blame Lady Gaga if she wanted to become mainstream, while others who've done her style of music before stays in the shadows.

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to be different. Lady Gaga is a character, an act, that she plays.

But what happens with the mainstream is that the artist that hits the mainstream decides to completely abandon the style that made them popular and evolve into something completely unrecognizable. I(along with everyone else) call that selling out.

Look at what happened to Coldplay...their first two albums were brilliant, beautiful, simple, gorgeously produced. X+Y started them down the spiral with the massive overproduction(Speed of Sound) and the overreliance on synth and Chris Martin's falsetto(Fix You) instead of the gorgeous piano, guitar strings and production that made them popular from the get-go. I remembered reading an interview with them after X+Y came out, saying they wanted to work with Timbaland(or Kayne or someone) and said, "We want to be the band of the world" or some bull and I was thinking, "Nooooo! What happened to the boys that sang gorgeous, borderline suicide songs!?!" And when I got Viva La Vida, there was nothing on that album that was remotely fun or great to listen to. It was sickening to hear all that blaring music that sounded like Russ Landau chants and stuff. I thank God I burned it from a friend instead of actually buying it. And by going "mainstream" they completely alienated their mass market auds by producing stuff they THOUGHT people wanted to hear. I don't think anything on Viva La Vida went big and on X+Y, it was just "Fix You," which was better than the first single, "Speed of Sound."

I LOVE Lady GaGa in all her campy goodness. But I do worry that she will lose what quirky charm she possesses when she releases her new album and, while the masses may still love her, she will work to appeal to THEM instead of sticking with what made her popular.

But what happens with the mainstream is that the artist that hits the mainstream decides to completely abandon the style that made them popular and evolve into something completely unrecognizable. I(along with everyone else) call that selling out.

Look at what happened to Coldplay...their first two albums were brilliant, beautiful, simple, gorgeously produced. X+Y started them down the spiral with the massive overproduction(Speed of Sound) and the overreliance on synth and Chris Martin's falsetto(Fix You) instead of the gorgeous piano, guitar strings and production that made them popular from the get-go. I remembered reading an interview with them after X+Y came out, saying they wanted to work with Timbaland(or Kayne or someone) and said, "We want to be the band of the world" or some bull and I was thinking, "Nooooo! What happened to the boys that sang gorgeous, borderline suicide songs!?!" And when I got Viva La Vida, there was nothing on that album that was remotely fun or great to listen to. It was sickening to hear all that blaring music that sounded like Russ Landau chants and stuff. I thank God I burned it from a friend instead of actually buying it. And by going "mainstream" they completely alienated their mass market auds by producing stuff they THOUGHT people wanted to hear. I don't think anything on Viva La Vida went big and on X+Y, it was just "Fix You," which was better than the first single, "Speed of Sound."

"Do you know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay." (Sorry, I have to say that everytime there's a Coldplay mention)

I love "Speed of Sound, "Fix You," and "Viva La Vida" (probably my favorite Coldplay song, I love the beats).

I LOVE Lady GaGa in all her campy goodness. But I do worry that she will lose what quirky charm she possesses when she releases her new album and, while the masses may still love her, she will work to appeal to THEM instead of sticking with what made her popular.

I'm not too worried about her right now.

"Do you know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay." (Sorry, I have to say that everytime there's a Coldplay mention)

I love "Speed of Sound, "Fix You," and "Viva La Vida" (probably my favorite Coldplay song, I love the beats).

Oh God. Really?! REALLY?!

You can't say those songs are better than "Trouble," "Clocks," "The Scientist," "The Hardest Part," "White Shadows," "Shiver," "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," f**king "Amsterdam" and especially "Don't Panic." Can you? Or maybe I just like more ballad heavy stuff.

"Speed of Sound" is just overproduced garbage. GARBAGE! UGH. I want the real Coldplay back. Not these pathetic sellouts they morphed into.

I'm not too worried about her right now.

The same industry that made her can break her too.

You can't say those songs are better than "Trouble," "Clocks," "The Scientist," "The Hardest Part," "White Shadows," "Shiver," "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," f**king "Amsterdam" and especially "Don't Panic." Can you? Or maybe I just like more ballad heavy stuff.

I like "Clocks," "The Scientist," "The Hardest Part," "Don't Panic." "Viva La Vida" is my favorite because it's so upbeat, I love the introduction beats (the violins(?) dun..dunn.dunn..dunn...) and it's very anthem-y (oohh....oohhh..ooooohhhhh....ohh....ohhhh....ooooooohhh.....).

Don't want to turn this into a Coldplay discussion, so this will be my last post about them in this thread

The same industry that made her can break her too.

True. But I don't see that happening with The Fame Monster. Maybe it'll happen on her next album.

She's proven she's sticking around--Madonna never had this staying power in her first two years! Monster proved she's not a phenomonon.

I really respect your opinion and knowlege (I know that sounds forced but it's not) so I wonder why she grates so much on you? For me, I'm so thankful she's singlehandedly made the US pop radiowaves more about dance than R&B again--in the past they've had a few dance one hit wonders--Kylie, DJ Sammi, but no one has been able to sustain that. Gaga has found the formula--and that's why people hate her. She's tireless in her promotion--endless touring, performing, writing. The people who think she takes what she does seriously need to see her live--she knows how camp she is and she OWNS it (in a way I wish Madonna would now--Kylie always has)

Madonna is still my girl, but I wish she'd just take a step back and look at herself this past era.

Two years proves she is sticking around? On what planet? I think people will get tired of this sh!t very quickly, it's the kind of music which saturates the ears fast and becomes - heavy, too much to listen to.

GaGa is full of sh!t. If she is so much about "art", why the hell did she drop out of Tisch? Yes, you can be a phenomenal artist without the conventional education, but she isn't one of those people. Her melodies are cheap syrup and lyrics impenetrable bull.

+1 to everything Y&RWorldTurner said.

She apparently comes from a very wealthy Italian-American family

You didn't know that?

Are those pictures "tasteful" and "artsy" and "not fitting in"?

Yeah. Right. Of course.

I think part of me views Gaga as a fluke and a total fake. I mean, who has she opened doors for yet? Radio has embraced her, but radio hasn't embraced better acts who do a better job at that kind of music, and it's been just over a year since Gaga really hit.

If crap like Ke$ha with "Tik Tok" is directly attributed to Gaga breaking into US mainstream radio, then I say her success hasn't taught US radio anything. No way would I see a song as bad such as "Tik Tok" being a radio hit if Gaga didn't break though first.

Oh I'm in agreement with you. Ke$ha is a cynical, low rent version of Gaga emphasizing all the elements of Gaga I don't like. But the US radio marketplace HAS slowly moved from the dominance R&B/hip hop and derivatives of it that the last decade+ have driven into the ground. We won't be hearing Girls Aloud on the radio anytime soon, but it's a welcome switch IMHO.