Lady Gaga: A respresentation for a period of music and giving hope in trying times

I got Lady Gaga' Poker Face stuck in my head a couple of weeks back. I have really not been a fan of the mainstream pop music, I have always been a rocker, ever since I got my first CD when I was 13, Blink 182 - Enema Of the State, which in retrospect was not the best was to start a music collection, but the musical tastes of a 13 year old never are.

So back to Lady Gaga. I am not sure where this woman came from, I found some stuff on her on wikipedia, but I have not the slightest idea how accurate it may or may not be. She is from New York and was born in 1986, which means she has already done more in her life than I have and is only a year older than me. She really came out of nowhere last year, her first two singles both made it to Number 1 on the Billboard charts, which is pretty significant since she is like the first or second female artist to do this in the 50 year history of billboard's tracking of pop singles.

I find her character fascinating. She considers herself a fashion icon, but I think we can all agree that she is not going to be influencing anyone with her outrageous outfits. Her voice is average, at best, her voice sounds as if she sung the lyrics and then the producer took it and messed with it with some electronics, her voice sounds at time robotic. The lyrics to the song are weak, as in simple and quite dirty. Example of the simplicity the chorus to Poker Face "Can't read my, Can't read my No he can't read my poker face P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face(Mum mum mum mah" really that is the best you come up with? As for the explicit nature "I'll get him hot, show him what I've got", again poker face. Now Love Game "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick", subtle, and what makes this better is that your target audience is female, great message to send to them, have sex with guys and they will love you. There is some metaphor in Poker Face, but Just Dance and Love Game are direct, not complex at all

But, there is a positive to Lady Gaga. Her music is sub par, but catchy. And this past year has been very tough for our country, a recession, record job loss, the loss of lives for the troops fighting for our freedom, just to name a few. What Gaga then does is creates an escape of sorts, a message of go out and have fun, dance the night away and be happy. Now, will she go down in music history as a legend like Madonna, Michael Jackson, or Bruce Springsteen? I doubt it, but she has only released one album, while each of the above mentioned have released a dozen plus. Who knows if she will even remain popular after this album. Gaga is also important because with her mammoth success, she can come to represent and encapsulate a period in music history. Think of it this way, there were dozens of southern rock bands in the 1970s, but if asked to name one, or their favorite one, most people would say Lynyrd Skynyrd. Now, Skynyrd was great and probably the most well known, but what about 38 Special, Allman Brothers, Mollie Hatchet, just to name a few, all were popular, all had hits, but who do most people remember? Skynyrd,

I am not saying Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lady Gaga are equally important, but more to the point that both come to represent a period in time in music in a certain genre. Gaga, represents the music from 2007 to 2009 (or later) , simplistic and laden with computer effects. Think about other songs topping the Billboard charts Crank That Soulja Boy, Umbrella (somewhat), Low, I Kissed a girl, Whatever You Like (heavy on the synth), Womanizer, I Gotta Feeling, Boom Boom Pow, Right Round. There have been other hits, but these come to mind because if you listen to them, you are hearing alot of effects, and lyrics that don't have any meaning.

Now, I could go off on a tangent about how this music is a reflection of the failure of our society, but I am not going to do that. Even if Lady Gaga makes music I don't like, I will give her this. She has had more hits than most of the music I listen too, she has even sold more records than some of the artists I listen to. She may not be the best singer, she may not be the best lyricist, she may not even be a lady, but I am going to give her this, she can make a catchy song and can make an uplifting message even if it is simple.