Lady Gaga - Born This Way (May 23)

[jazzyskye10²]

Jun 17, 2011 1:30:53 GMT -5 David said:

^I completely agree! Like I said earlier, if this was 2007, no one would be bitching. They'd just be glad the cinematography didn't look like it came from a dollar store camera.

[Deleted]

Just a side comment I've been thinking about: Some people were comparing the somewhat unrehearsed appearance of her dancing in this video to Robyn's on-the-spot choreography in the "Call Your Girlfriend" video. While I enjoyed the "Call Your Girlfriend" video, I think there's something "indie," and "cool," and "rebellious" about Robyn's whole image. That video comes off so striking and satisfying because the whole idea of just going into a room and dancing on the spot and shooting the video in one take works with what people have come to expect from her. She's not your typical pop star by any means and she doesn't attempt to do what it takes to be commercially accepted, with no apologies. If someone like Britney, or Gaga, or Rihanna went into a room and just danced out whatever came to mind on the spot, I guarantee people would be calling it "cheap," "lazy," and "boring". So I really don't think pulling a "Call Your Girlfriend" would have made this video any better received. I think as much as people have been complaining about Gaga's everything and the kitchen sink videos, with crazy fashion, and controversial themes, that's what they have come to expect from her.

[David]

Jun 17, 2011 2:02:01 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

Just a side comment I've been thinking about: Some people were comparing the somewhat unrehearsed appearance of her dancing in this video to Robyn's on-the-spot choreography in the "Call Your Girlfriend" video. While I enjoyed the "Call Your Girlfriend" video, I think there's something "indie," and "cool," and "rebellious" about Robyn's whole image. That video comes off so striking and satisfying because the whole idea of just going into a room and dancing on the spot and shooting the video in one take works with what people have come to expect from her. She's not your typical pop star by any means and she doesn't attempt to do what it takes to be commercially accepted, with no apologies. If someone like Britney, or Gaga, or Rihanna went into a room and just danced out whatever came to mind on the spot, I guarantee people would be calling it "cheap," "lazy," and "boring". So I really don't think pulling a "Call Your Girlfriend" would have made this video any better received. I think as much as people have been complaining about Gaga's everything and the kitchen sink videos, with crazy fashion, and controversial themes, that's what they have come to expect from her.

I just watched the video for CYG. They're very similar. I normally hate this whole "GaGa copies so and so" babble, but its weird that the CYG is released the week she was to shoot TEOG and then cancels everything and sends everyone home to shoot THIS. IDK.. I'm starting to wonder..

[discoloser]

I thought she did the video the week the album was released? CYG came a week after. There's a tweet somewhere the one week (either album release or week before) where her one dancer commented on a sudden day off. So, that's probably when it all happened.

Regardless, Most people would have prefered the original concept and this does nothing to help the single. At the same time i have no issues with a solo video. It is what it is at this point.

[mcbg1]

You queens will bitch about anything LOL

[Love Plastic Love]

I don't think Gaga copied Robyn. I am 100% sure this was always meant to be a part of the original video concept and scheduled into filming. It is just that it was meant to be one of those quick cut scenes you only see 10-15 seconds of maybe. But, for whatever reason she decided that should be the entire video.

[HEADOFTHEPACK]

Is this actually a discussion? I'm amazed. Find something else to do.

Jun 17, 2011 6:32:06 GMT -5 mcbg1 said:

You queens will bitch about anything LOL

Also, she made the music video an event again. She can do what the fuck she wants.

[Black Jesus]

Jun 17, 2011 6:32:06 GMT -5 mcbg1 said:

You queens will bitch about anything LOL

SERIOUSLY! Can't you just enjoy what you watch?

[lum]

Jun 16, 2011 18:38:07 GMT -5 @drag27 said:

Jun 16, 2011 15:18:18 GMT -5 ₫anny Jerz ♔ said:

I can't @ "Highway Unicorn" not getting any love.

It's the worst song on the album tbh .

No.

[Deleted]

Lady Gaga's Meat Dress Preserved In Rock Hall Of Fame

CLEVELAND — Lady Gaga made history at last year's MTV Video Music Awards when she turned butcher's cuts into high fashion.

On Thursday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland unveiled the singer's raw-meat dress to the public. The dress – made of layers of Argentinian beef – was kept in a meat locker, placed in a vat of chemicals and then dried out by taxidermists in California before being transported to the museum.

Hall of Fame spokeswoman Margaret Thresher says the dress took on a "dark, beef-jerky" look while dehydrating, so it was painted to look "fresh" afterward. The entire process took several months to complete.

The dress is being displayed as part of the "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power" exhibit, which runs until February 2012.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/16/lady-gaga-meat-dress_n_877997.html

[Love Plastic Love]

Jun 17, 2011 8:02:22 GMT -5 HEADOFTHEPACK said:

Is this actually a discussion? I'm amazed. Find something else to do.

I really hope we never get to a point in the fan base where we literally aren't allowed to discuss or give opinions. That would be SO BORING especially when Gaga is such a thought-provoking artist. Like, she is meant to be talked about.



That dress makes me want to puke, but I think it is insanely cool they are preserving it. I am just imagining old, rotten meat LOL.

[brianpk80]

My reaction is mixed. On one hand I think a scaled down video is exactly what she needed for the song and for her career. Too much bombast would make her predictable and that's exactly what she does not want to be. I love the setting and the lighting.

But her emotionless confrontational gaze into the camera doesn't really work here. The Edge of Glory is one of those songs that succeeds because it's bigger than the artist (great artists make songs that can stand on their own). It's a song made for everybody to enjoy so delivering it with self-consciousness and coldness misses the mark. It's almost like she's inadvertently eclipsing the song's spotlight, instead of letting it shine on its own.

The Google Chrome commercial is 100,000x better and should have been extended as the main video. It would have given her a relaxing breather from overexposure of her unique style and then set the stage for the next video to be an event. She's coming into her own as a brilliant artist and I'm disappointed to see her having difficulty mastering the art of contrasting singles/videos.

[HEADOFTHEPACK]

Jun 17, 2011 9:42:47 GMT -5 Love Plastic Love said:

Jun 17, 2011 8:02:22 GMT -5 HEADOFTHEPACK said:

Is this actually a discussion? I'm amazed. Find something else to do.

I really hope we never get to a point in the fan base where we literally aren't allowed to discuss or give opinions. That would be SO BORING especially when Gaga is such a thought-provoking artist. Like, she is meant to be talked about.

Very true; I specifically meant the insinuation that Gaga had somehow copied Robyn. I have no problem with open discussion (obviously) but some of the crap people come out with... I don't know.

[when the pawn...]

HITS is predicting 65-70k for this week. That's already a big drop, but makes me nervous since she's come in below the HITS projections the last 2 weeks.

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2011 1:30:53 GMT -5 David said:

^I completely agree! Like I said earlier, if this was 2007, no one would be bitching.

In 2007, popstars weren't as edgy and couldn't get away with a lot of the stuff they do now. Her wacky moves in the video would've probably been perceived much worse and the video would probably be trashed even more back then.

She's lucky the song is so epic.

Jun 17, 2011 8:06:49 GMT -5 Black Jesus said:

Jun 17, 2011 6:32:06 GMT -5 mcbg1 said:

You queens will bitch about anything LOL

SERIOUSLY! Can't you just enjoy what you watch?

Uh, no. If the video is sh*t why would one enjoy it? ???

[jazzyskye10²]

It seems that instead of Gaga putting so many of her ideas into the video, she decided to interpret them for the stage. A simple video gives her room to mix things up and not have one expecting her to try and recreate what the video looks like.

Sure she could have done that with a more complex video (shes done it before) but I just find it interesting that her performances of TEOG have similarities of some of the murmurings on how the video would have looked:

AI: Cliff Jumping
Germany's Next Top Model: 'Beauty Is A Lie" - Sex, Money, Vanity
Le Grand Journal: Mermaid Tank/ Surgical Procedure


*shrugs* Whatever the case I like the video and am excited to see her performance at the MMVA's. :)

[jink]

Jun 17, 2011 11:20:00 GMT -5 jazzyskye10² said:

AI: Cliff Jumping
Germany's Next Top Model: 'Beauty Is A Lie" - Sex, Money, Vanity
Le Grand Journal: Mermaid Tank/ Surgical Procedure

These all sounded really interesting. I honestly don't know why she got rid of them.

[jazzyskye10²]

The Question Box from Le Grand Journal

[jazzyskye10²]

Jun 17, 2011 11:22:28 GMT -5 jink said:

Jun 17, 2011 11:20:00 GMT -5 jazzyskye10² said:

AI: Cliff Jumping
Germany's Next Top Model: 'Beauty Is A Lie" - Sex, Money, Vanity
Le Grand Journal: Mermaid Tank/ Surgical Procedure

These all sounded really interesting. I honestly don't know why she got rid of them.

Well she didn't, she put the ideas into her performances instead of clogging up the video with so many things *cough-TELEPHONE-cough*


I still like Telephone...I'm just sayin' :)

[Deleted]

Hmm. Love GaGa but was bored during the video. I understand she went simplistic and a good move for the song but I think it could have been done in another way... like a simple but more real life video.. but Im not shocked after Judas flopping and Im sure a good amount of money was spent on that video so she went with something a lot cheaper. Who knows.

[Rurry]

...2007 wasn't that long ago, you guys.

[TGIF]

Jun 17, 2011 10:27:59 GMT -5 when the pawn... said:

HITS is predicting 65-70k for this week. That's already a big drop, but makes me nervous since she's come in below the HITS projections the last 2 weeks.

looking at how quickly she's declining, i'm not so positive about 2 million anymore its a really good thing she had the amazon deal, without that big push, idk if that would even be in question

[TGIF]

& about the video.. i just hope she reshoots it

[jazzyskye10²]

EW Review:

Lady Gaga debuts 'Edge of Glory': Her one-woman '80s time-warp fantasia


Better consult your 96-color Crayola carton for reference. There’s more than one unnatural shade in Lady Gaga’s latest–and perhaps ultimate–‘80s tribute, the new video for “The Edge of Glory,” which just premiered tonight on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance—along with news that she’ll be guest-judging the competition later this season.

It’s a steamy one-woman, one-sax player urban fantasia (that’s right, Clarence Clemons shows up!) and a showcase for Gaga’s retro streetwalker couture.

Okay, it’s not a shock that Gaga’s riffing on her beloved leather-and-spandex ‘80s. After all, Born This Way is a veritable pastiche of Reagan Era-excess from Giorgio Moroder to Bonnie Tyler.

What is surprising, though, is the relatively small, but perhaps more intimate, scope of her vision in the “Edge of Glory” video. I mean, her pattern up till now has been to attempt to top herself with each subsequent clip, going from a serial killer fantasy (“Telephone”) to a mythic space opera (“Born This Way”) to a Last Temptation of Christ-style provocation about religion and redemption (“Judas”).

This time what do we have? Merely Gaga mugging for the camera as she struts and skips down steaming fuchsia and indigo tinted streets. Or performing some sort of kick routine/strip show/Pilates workout on a fire escape, while wearing a rig of silver-studded black leather straps.

This is a return to the stripped-down mean streets fantasy of her “LoveGame” video—no elaborate CGI or Godardian color palette, just Gaga working the camera with old-fashion moxie. Especially after her more literal-minded take on “Judas,” “The Edge of Glory” is also a refreshing retreat to her trademark style of making a video that has absolutely nothing to do with the song. It allows the song to remain independent of the fixed images a video can sometimes impart. I mean, really, of what “glory” is she on the edge here? As far as I can tell, she’s only on the edge of pulling a muscle or having a wardrobe malfunction.

Beyond that, though, “The Edge of Glory” is also really a one-woman ‘80s revue. The only thing missing is a shower of water to splash upon Gaga’s artfully-backlit body. Or for her to don boxing gloves and cold-**** imaginary foes like Rosie Perez fighting the power.

Her fire-escape calisthenics unquestionably evoke Madonna, but if that snap-perfect electro-marionette move she twitches at one point before dramatically removing her sunglasses isn’t a tip of the hat to Michael Jackson, I don’t know what is. In fact, the whole thing seems like an eerie play on MJ’s macho-posturing video for the ”The Way You Make Me Feel”…except that in Gaga’s quasi-apocalyptic vision everyone’s vanished from the streets.

Everyone except for a muse-like Clarence Clemons perched on an apartment stoop, that is. That’s another way we know this is supposed to be a pre-Giuliani cityscape—people congregate and play music on apartment stoops, as shown to us in Do the Right Thing and Sesame Street.

All the references in “The Edge of Glory” are so overt, there’s no way it could be shameless cribbing. It has to be a winking homage to the artists, songs, and videos that meant a lot to Gaga growing up—like a college-student who brings his action figures to his dorm. In seeing this Tarantino-esque regurgitation of previous styles all the way through, she’s proven Born This Way to be the year’s most unexpected concept album: a relentless exercise in the outmoded fromage of her youth. It may not stick with you, but it sure can be tasty.


Credit: EW.com

[jazzyskye10²]

Video Review: Lady Gaga, "The Edge of Glory"
by Sal Cinquemani



There wasn't a whole lot of buzz preceding the premiere of Lady Gaga's new video, "The Edge of Glory." And following the overwrought and shoddily edited "Judas," I expected it to be the first Gaga video since "Bad Romance" not to receive its very own write-up here on The House. Even after the first viewing of "The Edge of Glory," there didn't seem like much to write about. The video is unexpectedly simple, surprisingly low-concept. Gaga looks good and it's shot beautifully, but what else was there to say?

But then I watched it again. And again. In fact, I found myself coming back to it again and again last night, its references—or maybe just my projections, but no matter—slowly starting to reveal themselves. The intentionally barren, old-Hollywood backlot sets recall Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" and Janet's "When I Think of You." There are even shades of Singin' in the Rain. The bombastic "Edge of Glory" may have begged for an equally grandiose visual treatment, but the pretense on display here perfectly complements the track's garishly '80s sonic milieu.

The most obvious Reagan-era reference, however, is Ken Russell's 1984 sex thriller Crimes of Passion. Gaga emerges from the window of her crimson-lit boudoir like Kathleen Turner, except she's sporting Terri Nunn's two-toned, new-wave hairdo and the red glow isn't coming from a blinking neon sign outside—it's coming from within. The light seems to follow Gaga wherever she goes, seeping through door cracks and windows, stalking her as she turns the corner. There might not be any deeply hidden thematic meaning here, but the art direction is breathtaking, the video's cool, gray-blue-black color palette carefully calibrated by Gaga's vibrant lipstick and nail polish, a red painted stripe on the curb, and the gold of her jewelry and the studs on her leather, not to mention Clarence Clemons's brass.

The similarities between "The Edge of Glory" and Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" are also hard to dismiss: Both are indebted to Janet's "The Pleasure Principle," with minimalist sets, freestyle dancing, and artificial light playing key roles. The concept for "Call Your Girlfriend," though, would have worked better for last year's "Dancing on My Own," and it seems to leave less room for symbolic interpretation than it does in Gaga's video. And while Robyn's one-take format could have given "The Edge of Glory" a more obvious technical element for critics and fans to gush over, it's partly the clip's editing that makes it works so well. Early in the video, there's a long take of Gaga strutting through her red-light district, ostensibly courting her next john/beau/whatever ("I got a reason that you should take me home tonight"), and a shock of black hair falls in her eyes; wisely, she doesn't touch it, and then you realize she's started to walk backward, coyly turning her back completely and beckoning us to follow.

Popjustice called the video "boring," and suggested a series of changes that could have "saved" the clip. (Saved it from what? The judicious eyes of queens who want elaborate costumes, cheesy narratives, hoards of backup dancers, and...mermaids, apparently? It's all reminiscent of Beyoncé's fans' inane uproar over Sophie Muller's great video for the singer's "Déjà Vu" a few years back.) There are moments when Gaga's lip-synching is only half convincing, but that too only adds to the proceedings' deliberate air of artifice. Is Gaga a fashionista living a double life like Turner's China Blue? Will Clemons and his sacred saxophone try to save her soul? Who cares? The video is a stylistic triumph. Gaga reportedly had "creative differences" with original director Joseph Kahn, leading to his departure from the set, and that hideous Versace silk shirt and mustard-colored cap are further evidence of the pop singer's questionable taste when left to her own devices. But Gaga's still the only mainstream artist today churning out music videos that are worth picking apart the morning after.


Slant Magazine

[Deleted]

The critics are praising the video while Pulsers ramble on and on about how this is the end of her career? Typical.

[Love Plastic Love]

I don't really think anyone is really saying her career is over unless you are talking about the poll that was a joke ha ha.

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z2AxFPN63Cs

I am DEAD at this performance. I also think it is a pretty sweet, intimate performance. She sounds good. I wonder what her actual hair looks like?

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2011 15:58:04 GMT -5 Love Plastic Love said:

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z2AxFPN63Cs

I am DEAD at this performance. I also think it is a pretty sweet, intimate performance. She sounds good. I wonder what her actual hair looks like?

"Bald Gaga" is a trending topic on Twitter.

[Love Plastic Love]

I love that her "hair" was her dress LOLOLOL. See now, this is why I love Gaga. Even when we have our tiffs she always does something that completely charms me again I still think Hair is so much better than people give it credit for...

[nightshade]

So...Hair for the fourth single? I like it.