Stand Up Notes From Flyover Country: Lady HaHa
by Jeffrey JenaI was doing a little channel surfing a few weeks ago and happened across some sort of music awards show. I believe it was The American Music Awards but judging from the level of the performances it could have been some sort of reality show. What caused me to stop for a moment was seeing who I thought was Madonna doing a little dance number in combat boots.
Madonna is famous for, among other things, reinventing herself. “Reinventing” is show business talk for falling to a new level of depravity. You never see the Hollywood press praising someone for finding faith or cleaning up their act but if they demean Christian values or morality, they get raves. So I was interested to see if this was some sort of political or religious statement or just the latest fashion craze.
So I watched the performance for a few moments. The woman who was the focus to the number then moved to a piano inside a glass case which later ignited in flames. I started to suspect that this wasn’t Madonna because to the best of my knowledge she doesn’t play the piano and is old enough to remember that the late Michael Jackson set himself on fire awhile back. At the end of the song the woman leaned back with outstretched arms as if to say I have exhausted myself as an artist by dancing and lip syncing for three minutes.
In a few seconds I found this was indeed not Madonna but a woman who goes by the name of Lady Gaga, a reference to a “Queen” song. I was fascinated by this performer but not for the reason you might think. As a comedian I detected a note of farce in the act. The whole thing seemed to me to have a touch of “Borat” included.
With that in mind I did a little research on Ms. Gaga. The title “Lady” is a fake! I found no record of her elevation to that rank by any royal court. Perhaps she wants us to think she is English like Madonna and Kathleen Turner who have started using British accents for no apparent reason. She did however recently meet the Queen of England and wasn’t sure whether to bow or curtsey so she did a little of both. Lady Gaga is also prone to wearing outrageous get-ups which she refers to as “fashion.” She also has a habit of referring to herself in the third person. Just when I was letting all of this pretentiousness get to me I realized I was being had. Like a mark in the middle of a con who suddenly realizes things aren’t what they seem, I caught on.
Lady Gaga, I am a fan! You see, this performance artist isn’t following in the footsteps of Madonna. She is channeling the spirit of Tony Clifton. She is having us all on, the music industry, the fashion industry and the general public. Andy Kaufman lives.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
111 Comments
Lada Gaga is a dude.
Agreed. And like Andy, she also has the pipes to back it up.
Good for her. Borat Hollywood!
Someone who's decided to skip the 'legitimate performer' stage of her career and go straight to 'washed-up gay icon'…
For people who don't know Lady Gaga, she 23 and most definitely a woman. (The rumors otherwise are cruel and imply that a woman couldn't do what she's done so quickly.) She's not pretending to be royalty. She performed as Lady Gaga with Lady Starlight in NYC clubs several years ago. She's been playing the piano since she was 4 and gained early admission to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She dropped out to work on her music career. She wrote songs for national acts and got her own record deal about 2 years ago. She doesn't lip sync. She does use a backing track since she backs herself up on her albums, but sings during performances. She deconstructed the MTV awards show with her performance of paparazzi. As a comment on the results of fame, she simulated her own death by covering herself with fake blood and hanging from the ceiling. I loved that she did that. If it were for knucklehead Kanye West's stunt against Taylor Swift, Gaga's performance would be what everyone remembered about that show. She is Catholic and praises God in public. She has stood up for kids who feel like misfits, homeless teens and gays by giving money, time and her voice.
which is all well and good, but here in flyover country it plays like well-choreographed schtick.
Lady Gaga is repulsive. A good 98% of her songs are full of really crass, sexual lyrics, her entire fashion sense is ripped off from Roisin Murphy, and she does more photoshoots naked than she does clothed. I don't have any respect for people who sell their body to sell their music, and I refuse to listen to any artist that sings in graphic detail about having 'relations' under the Christmas tree (or anywhere else, the location is different in every song). Her performances are regularly just as crude as Adam Lambert's famous one, and you're applauding her for it? No thanks.
She's a Dale Bozzio copy.
Dude, this "Catholic who praises God" released an explicit & very sexually oriented Christmas song via Amazon. She's as Catholic as Bill Maher is Libertarian. You appear to be a fan and I'm not going to knock you or your preference (to each his own & it's none of my biz) but she's not any sort of role model for kids.
From what I saw on her appearance on SNL, she's a poor man's Pink mixed in with Carrot Top (because of the props). LeeAnn Rimes had more talent in one vocal chord before she hit puberty than this gal has at this moment. Feh, pop music sux.
Isn't it sad that a pop star acting like a disposable sex object is considered "empowering" by modern feminists? The standards of "empowered" women has been really dumbed down.
How about GaGa doing something really empowering like defeating slavery (e.g., Sojourner Truth) or caring for the poor kids in India's slums (e.g., Mother Theresa)?
Until fairly recently I was mercifully unaware of who "Lady Gaga" was or what she did. I thought that she may have been related to the Smythe-Wilberforce-Gagas of Mallard Butt, Long Island but that does not appear to be the case. Most of what I know about her is taken from supermarket checkout tabloids and astoundingly camp ads for various programs appearing on "Bravo." From what I have seen her fashion sense is not original. It appears to have been stolen lock-stock-and-barrel from Katherine Helmond's wardrobe as seen in Terry Gilliam's superb film "Brazil." Check it out and see if I'm wrong.
Compare that performance (which was lipsynched) to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-LlYi0bjt8
She's not worthy to wash the feet of NOMI, plus she's got a mule. boo
Good one!
"She is channeling the spirit of Tony Clifton. She is having us all on, the music industry, the fashion industry and the general public. Andy Kaufman lives."
Thank God. Even I could use a little arse-kicking from Clifton.
"she's a poor man's Pink mixed in with Carrot Top"
Now that is harsh.
Dale was a hottie and very cool chick. And her brother Terry was an ace on drums.
dude…….in case you don't know, stalking is illegal and creepy.
klaus!
That's close to my impression (performance art) and I'll admit that I actually like it a little bit. That's not quite the same thing as approving, but she's fascinating to watch.
You know… it just now occurs to me that she is doing a bit of what people sometimes bemoan the loss of in Hollywood. She's a pretend person, a construct, a *star*. We're not supposed to look behind the curtain.
She'll do something with Bono, help send another mostly wasted million to Africa
and all she will do from then on will be approved by the left. Her public persona secure.
What is so sad to me is that this young lady is actually quite talented and is WASTING HERSELF on this stuff. I saw this video of her as herself (pre-Lady Gaga) at a college talent show and felt such sorrow that she has chosen what we see as Lady Gaga rather than continuing to explore her God-given talents in an adult way as herself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM51qOpwcIM
Lady Gaga, is that you?
Lady HaHa! lol!!! I didn't need to read the rest of the story.
I haven't listen to any of her music, so I can't comment on her talent. But maybe she is acting out her fantasy, and she enjoys that kind of over the top attention than the otherwise subdued one. Eventually she will fade like many stars, but she's having fun now.
I am so mind-bendingly unhip that I only recently found out about the existence of Lady GaGa. (This was courtesy of my girlfriend's 19-year old daughter who seems to spend her entire life on-line insuring that she remains posted on fashion trends right up to the nanosecond.) I was struck by the way Ms. GaGa's look seems to have been copied from the outfits worn by the female characters in Terry Gilliam's great 1985 film "Brazil." I swear that some of her costuming is taken right from that worn by Katherine Helmond in that wonderfully dystopian flick.
Not a great performance, but with a little polish and the right acoustics, maybe some subtle backup, it would be masterful. The second song sounds a bit wordy, but that's what polish is for…
She sings to homeless gays?
A bit esoteric, but I guess it is in with the rest of the whackiness.
Thanks, CJ – nothing wrong with some actual info. I'm sure she's an ok person and will be successful w/in her niche market, which seems to be the urban club/disco scene (or whatever they call it nowadays). Or maybe she'll be the next Madonna. Who knows?
I think a lot of BH readers, however, turn a jaundiced eye toward performers who owe a lot of their success to their image rather than their actual talents. With Lady Gaga, it seems to be as much about looking a certain way and being photographed a lot as it is about music. But I guess that's just a matter of taste. Not my thing, obviously. I'll take Carly Simon playing a piano and singing over a garish floorshow any day.
He-she who can be the oddest duck wins?
Apparently there is no line that cannot be crossed if you are an "Artist"
Insanity is rewarded apparently, I just wonder when the crazy street people are going to get their own reality show, can't be much longer now.
The crazy part is I don't think we are even close to the depraved pinnacle of the curve that these people are all racing to achieve.
I guess you missed Adam Lambert's performance on the same program, then?
She was hot before she decided that dressing like what people see on an acid trip is viable fashion. Or as I described my thoughts to my (fan) sister and (ambivilant) brother,
"Dressing like a weirdo-bizzaro is the gimmick that she has been ordained with by her corporate overlords. Pink is Fake Independent Women, Britney was Trashed Up Disney Girl, so on and so forth"
Before she was famous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNq1jSqakIQ
I hope the gays in this thread are aware they are gay.
http://www.sodahead.com/music/is-that-true-lady-g...
I always wondered why I found her so repulsive, and I finally found out why.
so appearing at the end of a rope looking like a used feminine hygiene product is "art"?
oh neeto.
Not only does she evoke Katherine Helmond from "Brazil"… but another great sci-fi film from the 80s:
Daryl Hannah from "Blade Runner".
If there's any song that might have inspired Lady Gaga it's "Ya Gotta Have A Gimmick" from "Gypsy." She found her gimmick, and it's working. I haven't bought any of her music, but from what few performances I've seen it's not the worst. Give her a year more or so and I'm sure we'll get "Gaga Unplugged" or something, where she'll strip off the makeup & go back to her roots. She's so over the top that I can't find it in me to be offended by her antics.
Oh, I'll bet she sells plenty of records in 'flyover country.'
[...] rest is here: Stand Up Notes From Flyover Country: Lady HaHa This entry is filed under America – Blogs, Big Hollywood. You can follow any responses to this [...]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kEerkUgQuw
I couldn't agree more. I didn't know who she was and haven't seen any of her performances, but I came across a print interview where she was just vulgar! Turned me off entirely. Why people like that are praised is beyond me.
Yes. But only if the person playing the used feminine hygiene product went to art school.
While I think Lady Gaga sucks like everybody else; I find it telling, Jeffrey, that you didn't know who she was.
I've never seen Brazil, but check this out: http://idolator.com/5263432/roisin-murphy-knows-t... In every single instance, the Roisin Murphy pic (she's the one on the left) was taken first.
If she maintained her college looks and focus on talent over appearance, we wouldn't be writing about her.
There's a guy in my hometown, (and Jena's)- that has a voice that will knock you down with it's purity and power.
He sings at a church, you'll never hear of him, because he doesn't run around with his underwear on his head.
Entertainment has become the mobile that we hang over the nation's crib.
You can count me in that group. I don't look for flash, I look for substance.
If you have substance and talent, that's great, but if you don't, in my opinion, you're wasting my time.
She doesn't seem to have penetrated my teen age daughter's CD collection very much.
To me it just sounds like yet another "performer" using his/her mental illness to full advantage.
I don't know. Back in the day me and my dad were watching Johnny Carson and Tiny Tim first appeared. After watching his schtick for a spell my dad thought he'd take off the wig and do a few jokes. Well tip-toe thru the tulips all you misunderstood types, there was never any joke and to paraphrase Dylan "to live outside the normal u gots to be straight." Or keep your day job. Few are as lucky as Lady G and skip all that.
Gaga is female but certainly no lady. Crass and depraved doesn't make you a lady in my book. If she talks to God and is a Catholic, in faux to the max. Jesus Christ must be a bumper sticker to this bimbo.
Hah! No-one rocked the plastic raincoat like Daryl! She also now owns the eyepatch after "Kill Bill." Although she's gone enviro-crazy (wasn't she arrested for staying in a tree so it wouldn't get cut down?) ya gotta love her for walking the walk.
Should be called "Lady Ca-ca."
Crazy, I never noticed that. Big fan of "Brazil". Sarah had a good link there too, but I have no idea who Roisin Murphy is.
Dear Spod
I am about as far from hip as one can be and still be suckin air. I am blissfully unaware of a lot of pop culture. I am lame! I find Taylor Swift to be "edgy".
So I don't know what my being unaware of Lady Gaga tells you besides I am an unhip older dude who pays attention only to what my son is watching and listening to.. Have a blessed New Year!
I didn't really know of this singer until my cousin mentioned her – before I'd just heard a couple clips and seen some pictures. Underneath the overworked music, you can hear the promise of talent. Unfortunately, it's all covered up in the vulgarity (not just lyrically but visually) and over-synthesized vocals (my dislike of which is surprising to me, since I have an affection for electronica and synthesizers). Seeing her early work is shocking, since it seems that she's been lost in the image and spectacle. Some might call it "growth" as an artist, but I just see a potential great hiding behind the curtain.
At the end of the song the woman leaned back with outstretched arms as if to say I have exhausted myself as an artist by dancing and lip syncing for three minutes.
She actually prides herself for actually singing, not lipsyncing. But she is so over produced and soundchecked it really doesn't matter.
"With that in mind I did a little research on Ms. Gaga. The title “Lady” is a fake! I found no record of her elevation to that rank by any royal court."
Oh, ho-ho, ha-ha, it is to laugh. Such wit!
Next you might be informing is that Prince is not true royal blood either!
Just curious – wasn't sure who Dale Bozzio was (good call, by the by) and found out she is in jail for animal cruelty. Just an odd tid-bit, I thought.
the sinner,
Patrick
Actually, Bravo is pretty much the shows you've cited or something to do with homosexuals trying to tell us how to be stylish, or telling other homosexuals (and women) whether or not they are stylish, or can make stylish clothes or rooms, etc. Seriously, nearly every single show (every episode, as well) has to have a homosexual if it's going to be on Bravo. And, usually, the reason it's so weird is that the homosexuals *have* to be queens. Their sexuality has to be really, really in your face. Just . . . weird. Especially considering the fact that, unlike the 10% myth, homosexuals and bisexuals, combined, make up somewhere between 3-5% of the population. I don't know – seems to me it shouldn't matter, but the "gay saturation" on Bravo is annoying, to say the least.
the sinner,
Patrick
Ditto.
Amazing that so many people purchase CD's & MP3's because of someone's "image" or "flash". I mean, I really like Shania Twain's music, so I have no qualms about not being able to literally see her singing the songs (although that sure would be nice) while I'm driving down the road. I understand the whole 'package' that one must present sometimes (I doubt Alice Cooper, a conservative rocker, really wears makeup & leather in his day to day life) but at some point you must listen to the music. Another reason I never "got" the whole Dylan or Springsteen craze, but singers-who-can't-sing is another topic. LG can sing, it's just that her music is crap. I'd rather my daughter listen to Hannah Montana records over & over, thankyouverymuch.
Terry was her husband
The crazy part is I don't think we are even close to the pinnacle of the depraved curve that these people are all racing to achieve.
Issues of political correctness aside, they might as well start televising executions. It's not a big jump from what's going on now.
Another reason I never "got" the whole Dylan or Springsteen craze, but singers-who-can't-sing is another topic.
I do get the Dylan thing, I'm a big fan. I've seen him live about 9 or 10 times. I kind of like the fact he can't sing very well. Maybe it's because I can't sing either (despite years of trying) that appeals to me.
He gets up on stage and basically says, if you don't like my singing, song writing or playing, screw you, leave. I like that attitude.
She's an Irish singer. I discovered her while I was living in Dublin a few years ago. She does dance music in the vein of the Minogue sisters.
heh. And Elvis wasn't king of anything, either.
Yes, sodahead.com, today's fact finder.
I don't think Dylan feels that way. And I prefer an entertainer who gets up on stage and basically says "I'm going to do my absolute best to entertain you and if you don't like it then maybe I don't have any talent." I think Dylan, whatever his faults as a singer or musician, usually does his best.
The flip side is the "artist" who thinks he/she is God's gift to the world and if the audience doesn't get it then there's something wrong with the audience. Plenty of those around, too.
I think most singers/musicians manage to strike a balance between the two. I think Dylan is maybe short on actual performing talent, but he writes good songs with good lyrics and he likes to sing them for people. People have accepted what he does, so everything's ok.
AND he hasn't had to become a tabloid whore in order to be successful. I think we can all agree that's one good thing about Dylan.
And Little Richard isn't all that little.
She claims that the name Gaga comes from a song by Queen. The line is "All we get is radio gaga'. I'm not up on Queen enough to know if "Radio Gaga" is the name of the song or not, but I remeber it from mid-80's MTV. The song is, I believe, a put-down of the crap in pop music. I suppose it's possible she really is putting us on.
For a while there, people who sang in church could go on to become Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, etc. Wonder if that still happens…
Makes me wonder about Pee Wee Herman. What's so pee wee?
You people. The future has arrived. You can't vote it away. I've heard a lot of her music, and it's got some wit behind it. She's older than she seems. I' think she's 33. Her song "Bad Romance" is like an admission to yourself that you want this romance even though you know both people are screwed up. I remember thinking that was a romantic mindset back in my youth. She is over the top, and I can only hope people will get sick of all that fake plastic shtick and get back to naturalness. However, my daughter adores Lady Gaga, and that generation is next to take over, so… acceptance and positive reinforcement for the good are all we can do!
Are you Perez Hilton, cause he can't get enough of her either!
Let's suppose the next generation gets into heroin and beastiality, should we give that positive reinforcement and acceptance? IMHO that is what happened to most of my generation and look where it got us. Let me know how your daughter does in therapy.
Okay, good. She still gagags me.
I also don't know what being unaware of Lady Gaga tells someone.
Like Jeff, I had no idea who she was until I recently viewed a re-run of this year's MTV Video Music Awards. There, the name "Lady Gaga" was finally matched with a face and a performance. Frankly, she reminded me of a female Marilyn Manson (except that I actually appreciate some of Manson's music).
I should also state that I was almost completely unfamiliar with most of the songs receiving awards. I guess that means I am just an "old" dude who still thinks KROQ is hip.
Either Big Hollywood has become the preferred place for the false flag posting left to smear conservative culture as narrow minded volks kulture bigots, or the Pat Boone – Jim and Tammy Fay Baker crowd has taken over.
“'Reinventing' is show business talk for falling to a new level of depravity."
LOL!
Am I the only person who thinks she's trying to resurect the "Club Kids"? Look at how she dresses, the fact that she's a gay icon, and how she speaks for anyone who's ever felt like a freak. (Not sure what I"m talking about? Watch "Party Monster", both the documentary or the movie).
Ugh! Not the rave scene again. Bleh!
heh.
I'm with you, Mr. Jena. I had never heard of "Lady GaGa" until some of my pals sent links to YT vids of her performing a semi-unplugged version of "Poker Face" while doing local radio. These showed me a young woman who appeared to be ripping off Elton John's wardrobe while singing and playing up a storm. It's truly entertaining.
A search turned up headlines discussing 'controversy' and the video for the hit version of the song, which is terribly overproduced and rapped. I think it's a shame – she's obviously copying Cher and Madonna, neither of whom are as accomplished as musicians. Until the 'Unplugged' album comes out, I'll stick with Meaghan Smith.
"To live outside the normal u gots to be straight."
There are a few performers who perform "in character" and they stay in character… at least when anyone can see them.
And then there are those who crash and burn.
The old Hollywood stars lived a performance… sometimes it hid normalcy, and sometimes it hid abuse.
To LIVE outside the normal, you've got to be straight… that's really profound.
I predict not that well. Counseling will not obviate the need for a life grounded in solid values.
Oh, that is freaking rude.
You couldn't even think of something constructive to say? Like, there are things we can do, and maybe what they are? Maybe, in person, you should just slap someone across the face with a dead fish and claim you're virtuous? Oh, you wouldn't do that in person? Why ever not?
Hey – if we can have a president that is all show (with plenty behind the curtain to hide), why can't our entertainment reflect that? Everything is plastic, promise and show. I'm just curious to see when, like all fans of musicians who take their fandom far too seriously, the "hope" of some sort of personal change/liberation/freedom promised by being as big a fan as possible comes crashing down.
See this all the time in the punk world. Kids think they're getting some sort of "knowledge" or "wisdom" from bands they are fiercely loyal too, only to grow up and find that all the "hope" and "truth" they "found" in the music was little more than trite platitudes the band has been spewing for years and/or got from other bands spewing the same thing (Bad Religion is the perfect example – though they have some catchy hooks, they've, lyrically and thematically, ossified from the very first album). It's a little sad to see a hard-core punk fan's life shift in light of reality – sorta like watching a child's eyes change as he learns there is no Santa Claus. (Sorta the same look the leftists have gotten over the last year as their mortgages weren't paid, they still had to work, health-care reform wasn't socialist enough, and Gitmo wasn't closed immediately).
the sinner,
Patrick
Unfortunately, he shared too much of his pee wee when he got busted in that porn theater…
Oh, good lord…we all loved pop acts as kids that make us cringe as adults. Lighten up, and don't put bad vibes on her kid! That's a low blow.
That's a great point Syn. A little mystery, a little glamour. A little sleight of hand. Pure Hollywood.
"Next you might be informing is that Prince is not true royal blood either! " say it isn't so!!
soon everyone will be anonymous for 15 minutes…
— Dennis Miller —
For some reason, I look at her image and think of an even more psychotic Mr B Natural.
read The Wind in the Wheat, by Reed Arvin. you'd probably find it interesting. it's about a kid who's 'discovered' singing and playing piano in a small church in a small town. very well written and a fascinating look inside the music making machine.
i'm with Jeff & Co. Lisa Colorado sounds like one of those crappy moms who wants to be her child's coolest BFF instead of her parent.
Lady Ga Ga has a lot of musical talent. She is a female, as any casual research will prove. She is currently channeling this talent into dance/techno music simply to make money. Someday she will be able to get out of this mode and back into more traditional channels. She is a modern David Bowie or Madanna in my book, very talented, and very provocative in dress and musical imagery and has a lot of style and great ideas. She is marketing herself very well in her own way. You may not like it, but so what?
It's still a cheap shot to imply that one trashy singer's going to push a kid into therapy. I'd wager that 99% of those of us that listened to Madonna in the 80's with her sacrilegious crucifixes and dry humping of the VMA stage turned out fine.
I thought this stuff was kind of original… when I saw Nina Hagen do it.
Ah yes, the Lady GagGag. She would be a total joke if she and her fans weren't so serious.
What is funny is that Roisin Murphy wears it well, but Lady GagGag in half the pictures looks like what happens after a pimp beats her up.
But, that is murder! Now, if you televised street violence then that isn't murder, just keeping it real.
What it tells me is that she is a 15 minutes of fame superstar who will be forgotten in five years if not sooner.
I wouldn't wager that high. Maybe, like, 70 percent. The percentage of kids turning out fine in each generation continues to plummet.
Really? Only 70% decent? And all due to Madonna? ;-D
You must be logged in to post a comment.