Lady Gaga and philosophy

[Cain]

It seems PD.com posters are not the only people with an unreasonable fascination with Lady Gaga.  So do philosophers

http://naughtthought.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/the-splendid-rot-of-fame/

In one of her Warholesque short films used on her most recent tour, Lady Gaga mentions that after being eviscerated (and the organs consumed) by the monster known as Pop what remains is not an emptiness but a freedom and a desire for the fame.  The immediate image one draws up is a Schreber-like insanity where ones insides are filled with bright rays but not of the sun but of a purified desire, not be to be famous (being itself is too cumbersome) but to want fame as an object.

Lady Gaga's approach to pop clearly recognizes the double short circuit of fame – the short circuit of the meaningless and the meaningfull and the short circuit between the intentional and the accidental.  This two procedures are carried out by LG in her simple act of going crazy before she actually did – where the popular psychological explanation of the odd behaviors of celebrities (Spears' shaved head, MJ's everything, and any other eccentricity) is often that fame got to them, LG simply smashes the two together – the pursuit of fame itself is maddening and always already mad.  Gaga's performance at the most recent VMAs is telling – as she bled out in one performance and in another appeared as a vaguely Burtonesque red queen.]

More at the link.

[LMNO]

A true icon of the post-everything century.

[hooplala]

Meh, I don't see the fascination.

Everything she does has been done better already.

[LMNO]

Meh, I don't see the fascination.

Everything she does has been done better already.

Out of curiosity, by whom?

[hooplala]

Meh, I don't see the fascination.

Everything she does has been done better already.

Out of curiosity, by whom?

Off the top of my head, I would say David Bowie and Grace Jones to start. 

[hooplala]

Mind you, I feel I should state I have nothing against Lady Gaga, I just don't understand the hype.  I've yet to hear a song from her that I thought was at all catchy, and that's what the worth of a musician is to me.

[the other anonymous]

Mind you, I feel I should state I have nothing against Lady Gaga, I just don't understand the hype.  I've yet to hear a song from her that I thought was at all catchy, and that's what the worth of a musician is to me.

Music? THIS IS POMO!!

It's all about image. She's not selling records, she's selling a persona.

-toa,
has a poke-her face

[hooplala]

Mind you, I feel I should state I have nothing against Lady Gaga, I just don't understand the hype.  I've yet to hear a song from her that I thought was at all catchy, and that's what the worth of a musician is to me.

Music? THIS IS POMO!!

It's all about image. She's not selling records, she's selling a persona.

-toa,
has a poke-her face

Well, I'm not buying.

[LMNO]

While the songs musically are pretty much simple Dance songs, her lyrics can be interesting.  Plus, she has flat-out said that the songs are only the first step, with the videos and live performances being meta-commentary and transgressive subversion.


But, if you're just looking for superb musicianship, you probably won't like it.


For what it's worth, she doesn't lip-synch, so that could be a point in her favor.

[hooplala]

For what it's worth, she doesn't lip-synch, so that could be a point in her favor.

Well that's a plus.  I'll give her another try.

[the other anonymous]

Mind you, I feel I should state I have nothing against Lady Gaga, I just don't understand the hype.  I've yet to hear a song from her that I thought was at all catchy, and that's what the worth of a musician is to me.

Music? THIS IS POMO!!

It's all about image. She's not selling records, she's selling a persona.

-toa,
has a poke-her face

Well, I'm not buying.

SOCIALIST!!! WHY DO YUO HATE AMERICAN POP CULTURE!??

-toa,
support our dupes

[LMNO]

For what it's worth, she doesn't lip-synch, so that could be a point in her favor.

Well that's a plus.  I'll give her another try.

My advice would to watch her videos or live performances, not just the mp3s.  Also, it helps if you gay it up a little bit.

[hooplala]

Mind you, I feel I should state I have nothing against Lady Gaga, I just don't understand the hype.  I've yet to hear a song from her that I thought was at all catchy, and that's what the worth of a musician is to me.

Music? THIS IS POMO!!

It's all about image. She's not selling records, she's selling a persona.

-toa,
has a poke-her face

Well, I'm not buying.

SOCIALIST!!! WHY DO YUO HATE AMERICAN POP CULTURE!??

-toa,
support our dupes

Do you know anything about me?

[the other anonymous]

Do you know anything about me?

Since this is a philosophy thread, I have to ask if any of us can ever really know anything?

-toa,
needs to pay more attention

[hooplala]

Do you know anything about me?

Since this is a philosophy thread, I have to ask if any of us can ever really know anything?

-toa,
needs to pay more attention

Yes, I know you are fucking annoying.  End of Discussion.