harp | I'm On the Right Track

Have you gotten a chance to listen to Lady Gaga's new song?
I sure have. (Excess stuff is behind the cuts; feel free to skip)

I felt like Lady Gaga wrote it just for the rainbow crowd. She did, of course, but I mean as a gift to us.

For a few years now, GLBT has been a trend. I really rolled my eyes when the news made a big deal about the gay suicides. "How the fuck is this news?! How is this new to you?! Yeah, it's terrible, but why the fuck are you acting like this is a recent pandemic? This is not news! This is what happens to GLBT people!"

I made a face when Seventeen (a magazine for 13 year olds!) had an article saying that the must-have accessory for the beach was "a gay best friend". It was irritating, but I figured that society was just in the newbie "won't shut up about it" stage with gays. The one I went through when I was ten (*kawf*until the end of high school*kawf*).

I mean, eventually sitcoms didn't make a big deal about having non-white people on sitcoms. Eventually the mainstream would calm down and integrate gay and lesbian characters into everything without thought. This song, to me, was supposed to be part of the big societal orgasm, which meant eventually stuff would mellow out somewhat and it would become a non-issue.

Because of all of that, at some point in my mind I twisted "Born This Way" into something it was never meant to be. I wasn't thinking of it as a song at all, but as a weapon.
Point it at the baw-ing whiners at Queer rage and blast their "Lady Gaga hates Transpeople!" arguments. Point it at ignorance and have it change some minds. Point it at self-loathing and turn it into empowerment. Point it at the people who said Gaga doesn't care/is using gays, add a few choice words and show them the errors of their ways. Take that, complainers! Shut your whore mouths when Gaga is singing!

I wasn't thinking of myself or my musical tastes, but about what other people would say and think. I count three ironies.

The lyrics leaked a few days ago. I read them and instantly I was apprehensive. I mean, even I couldn't ignore how... how "in your face" they looked. Oh, Gaga, how can you make this work? I thought. I wasn't excited. I was disappointed by how heavy-handed it was. How would this be received?

As it dawned on me that I'd have to listen to it, too, I began to feel afraid of how much I'd like it. My musical tastes vary, but if I don't like a song, it'll take an act of severe psychology for me to give it a second try. If I didn't like Born This Way, I'd have to wait another lifetime to get another mainstream radio-played song that mentioned GLB explicitly. And I could just forget about hearing a song which says "transgender".

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems to me like this is the first explicit "for the rainbow" song on the radio*. Yes, there are songs by gay artists on the radio, probably love songs, too, but are there any that are as blunt as to have a female voice singing about romantic love for a female? There are a few songs with subtext and hints, and even some with quick lines, barely audible. But any like Born This Way that stand alone without a music video?

As for possible TG,there's Lola. But as you can see from the link, there seems to be some debate about what Lola is exactly- Transvestite (male identified, crossdressing) or transsexual (female identified, male bodied).

Finally, as I tried to draw, I thought "screw it, don't save it. If you build it up, it'll never live up to your own hype."[2] So I played it for the first time.

My eyes were tearing up. Not kidding.

There's nothing to say about the song as far as I'm concerned. I don't want to build it up or try to sell it to people who have not heard it. Hell, I don't even want to sell it to people who heard it and find that it isn't pleasing to their ears because of their musical tastes.

I like it. It's relevant to me. Therefore, this song is for me. That's all.

I will say that reading the lyrics cold and judging the song based on just that (even if you plan to change your mind and give it a chance after) is a bad idea, and I regret my impatience. With the music, it makes so. Much. Sense.[3]

A lot of the fans on

thehausofgaga were disappointed with the song, which I understand. It's more happy, more 90's pop, and that doesn't sound good to everyone's ears. And heck, there are a lot of Gaga's songs that are popular that I just don't like (like all but four of "The Fame Monster"...). I feel really sorry for the fans who were disappointed in it because I saw how long they waited and how excited they were. Letdowns suck. It's not as though they can help not liking it. We can't choose what we like (as Gaga said!).

Hey... y'know, I just realized that if I hadn't liked this song, I wouldn't have disappointed her! Even if it was a gift! 'Cause the gift is saying "you don't choose what you like, you just happen to like it because that's how you are!"

Oh, Gaga, you brilliant Mama Monster who loves us all so! I probably won't like a few songs on the new album either :3

That being said, there will be people that I'll have to defend this song to. Not the ones who say "I don't like this song" but the people who have commentary beyond "it's not my musical style."

It's a Madonna Ripoff!
Pop-y, synth-y music tends to sound very similar. Go to a club pumping dance beats and you'll probably call them all "Madonna ripoffs". Maybe if you listened to more dance music, you'd have a wider range of people to accuse of "ripping".
Note- It's one thing to say it sounds a lot like Madonna, another thing to call it "ripping off". This is for the complainers.

Ugh, she's just pandering to the gays!
You know what?

Yeah.

She is marketing to us. She is singing a song about us. The reason why this is so "blatant" to you is because you get pandered to every single day and don't even realize it. Every date movie, every commercial, every sitcom, every single day. Seriously, keep Chandler and Monica's exact storyline, script, and words but replace Chandler with Chelsea and suddenly it's a "special interest" show. Tell me I'm wrong.

Problem is, you're so used to it that it's rote for you and when a song about another group comes out it looks a lot like pandering. But it's the same thing you get with the 3,000 "she was a girl, he was a boy, they were in love" songs on the radio.

(Warning: Angry rant Session ahead)
This argument is so irritating. It's like the people who say "they're forcing their lifestyle down our throats" when there's one gay character. I beg you to pardon my bad language, but what the feck do you think it feels like when I see waves of white people on TV, in movies, everywhere? Forgive me for enjoying something that breaks it up every once in a while and I'm sorry that for 3 minutes Gaga is going to sing about something relevant to me. Promise that after this song, all the scurry different people will crawl back into our hiding places and token spots so you can enjoy a world where everyone is just like you, you kool-aid drinking, target demographic, homogenized Stepford drone.

I truly apologize right there. I know far more chill people than people who actually need to hear that above rant.

Those lyrics are way too heavy handed ("Paaaandering!" part II)
Well good for you that you're so secure in your identity that you don't need this song. As for me? The song helps me. I like it and when I'm upset, I'll probably need it. And I'm not the only one who feels that way. Dislike Born This Way all you want, but please keep it at "I don't like it ". Remarks about the lyrics being "bad" are about as called for as taking the "I believe in and love you" note someone's parent/guardian put into his backpack and saying "this is drivel".

[1]First idiot who says "What about Katy Perry?" in seriousness and isn't trolling (who doesn't love a good lol Trolling?) about it is going to get an earful. Seriously- love it or hate it, if you don't understand that "I Kissed a Girl" is offensive, you need to ask someone.
[2] By the way, let me say that on reflection this is the kind of song that shouldn't be built up. Ever. It's a song that should find someone who needs it. If it's built up, it won't work. You need to be alone and it just come on. Then it's just like a needed voice telling you "hey, look, you're ok. ... And shoot, I am really glad it didn't find me like that. If I was feeling miserable about my issues and turned on the radio and this came on and I heard it for the first time, I'd cry hard.
[3]I'm glad I read the lyrics first because i would've been actual crying if I didn't know already what was coming somewhat. Though I wouldn't understand half of what she was saying.

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I agree with a lot of what you said here, as per usual.
My sexuality is...debatable I guess. but I still feel like this song is for me. I feel like it's for all the freaks and weirdos who need an anthem to get them through. Like, I was born DIFFERENT, and I should be proud of it

:)

nice post!

(A bunch of self important crap deleted 'cause it's your post)
Except... (evil grin)
"He doesn't make mistakes".
They CAN'T argue with that, or their house of cards collapses.

And on behalf of the pasty-faced masses...
I'm sorry.

Oh, Bark! I want to read your thoughts! Please at least link me to a journal entry with your "self important" stuff? Yes, it is self important- you are important, damn you!

Lawl. If we're going to go apologizing for the humiliating people, then let me apologize for the people who won't give you a chance just 'cause you're (I don't know your orientation, but if you're straight then that). You're clearly a cool person and if someone sees you and uses you as an effigy for "the man" then they need to go jump in a lake. They could at least give you a chance!

Oh, heavens no! Mostly i was prattling about how she really is quite a brilliant performer, blah blah.

Most of my really self-important stuff probably ends up in my story. (see lj; search tags "Clumsy Heroes" or "HomeAgain") I'm... of two minds. Part of me thinks it's pretentious shit, another part thinks it's not bad.

Heavy-handed lyrics I'm not so worried about (I like Hatebreed, so how can I dislike heavy-handed lyrics in and of themselves? [<link="http://darklyrics.com/lyrics/hatebreed/theriseofbrutality.html#1">just read through this for examples]).

My two main contentions with Lady Gaga are that she's a pop artist (DEATH TO THE FALSE MUSIC!) and that she doesn't seem like nearly as much of a freak as she claims (insofar as she's a pretty white woman who likes gay people and has weird fashion sense; aside from liking gay people and arousing ire in people who hate queers, most people who don't like her simply dislike her instead of arousing a strong feeling of hatred and fear; contrast this with Slayer, who in spite of not looking too freaky, get a lot of hate for lyrics like 'I'm not a god-fearing lunatic, I'm a god-hating heretic") and that she doesn't seem to embrace an ideology that is known to combat inequality strongly: Marxism (for instance, in the Phillipines, which is very socially conservative, a revolutionary group of Communists allows their members to get gay-married if they so choose).

Also, I think she's just not that great of a musician. I give her respect for writing her own lyrics, but she seems to do a lot of style biting (Alejandro STRONGLY resembles Ace of Bass, for instance); her music also reminds me of a Trent Reznor saying (paraphrased) that listening to nothing but pop music is like eating nothing but cake, and that it tastes good for a while but becomes sickening. That might not necessarily be her fault, but she certainly gets a large portion of ire for that because of her status.

I just wish to add to your point about Marxism; Nothing at all in politics relates to homosexuality, or the treatment of gays/lesbians/bi/transgendered people, or whathave you. Marxism and Communism in general is a socioeconomic movement seeking to put the power in the hands of the people and create equality among all in an economic standpoint.

I would disagree; Marxist philosophies in general, especially in a post-Soviet world, focus greatly on the inherent equality among all people and extending equal civil rights to all humans, both within the economic sphere and the social sphere. Marxists recognize that economic equality and civil equality are necessarily brothers, for without one, the other is crippled. Hence, pretty much every Socialist organisation in the US I've looked at has a plank in their party platforms about LGBT equality and rights, often including things like SRS and therapy being included in universal healthcare.

The only time that things like this come into it is when religion does as well, and keep in mind that although communism has in the past been purely anti-religious (USSR, anyone?), that is not nessicarily the case today, and in fact, despite the goodness in the socialist ideal (which do not stand out in practice, of course, because hand power to one man and what do you get...) religious fanatacism can still take hold and create things like hatred against gays.

Eh, I doubt it a bit; once you pick up the "all men are equal" ideal, then it's hard to start snipping specific people out. While I haven't looked too indepth in Latin American forms of Liberation Theology and Christian Socialism, a lot of Christian Socialist stuff I've looked at in the US and Europe does espouse legal equality for LGBT people, with the exception of some of them offering everything but the name "marriage," even if all the benefits and the like are identical.

Plus, there are Marxist-aligned parties in the parliamentary democracies of Europe and they have not turned into the Degenerate Worker's Dictatorships of the USSR, Vietnam, or Cuba. China hasn't been anything resembling an actual Communist state since Mao gave up the ghost (they're probably more accurately described as state capitalists: the state owns the means of production, but operates it to generate wealth for a group of managers). But, I digress.

Also I should add that I could say the same, regarding 'sounds like', of so many rock musicians it isn't funny. However, they do say there is no such thing as originality, and truly there isn't. I do believe that it is how she presents her music and HOW she crafts her inspiration into her own songs to be what makes her unique on the pop scene. :)

Perhaps rock, I don't listen to much rock these days (AC/DC almost exclusively). Now, metal, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast. While there are style-clones and thieves galore, as in all music, they tend to be relegated to the garbage pit as far as I can tell, until they can start sounding decent (potential exception: power metal; due to the fact that Manowar pretty much perfected the sound and the appropriate gravitas to sing things like "The Gods Made Heavy Metal" and "Die for Metal" with a straight face, while consistently wearing armor on stage for the past 25-30 years, it means everyone is stuck either with their own, inferior sound or biting off of successful models; of course, this is why Manowar still sells out enormous stadiums in Europe all the damn time and still draws a respectable crowd in America). Plus, pop artists rely on someone else to make their music; those people who craft the actual music usually work for multiple artists and move between them through time. Thus, it is relatively easy for artists to sound fairly similar because the people making the music are all the same. Further, pop artists are more 'disposable'; what happened to the Backstreet Boys? What happened to all the Big Pop Stars of 1995-2005? Aside from a very few of them (Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, possibly a couple others I can't remembeR), they fade away and if someone reuses some of their musical themes, no one will really remember or care. Contrast with rock and metal, where artists endure for decades (case in point: Ozzy has been around since 1968; Slayer has been around for 30 years, as has Metallica; and most of the bands I can think of have been around for at least a decade, usually closer to two, and we can expect newer artists, if not the bands they form, to last similar lengths); it's very hard to rip off Metallica, since Metallica sounds a helluva more like Metallica then you do, and they have 30 years of practice and fan base on you too. Same with Slayer, Nile, Cradle of Filth, GWAR, and pretty much any other metal band I can think of. Unless you can mature your sound and come into your own, you're not going to succeed because the artists you're trying to rip off are still around and doing it better then you.

>C
Gaga is nothing like pre-2004 Britney. Gaga writes her own stuff and is a hot mess. Plus, Gaga actually knows how to play an instrument- the piano. Plus, Gaga is all about her fans.

But if you're going to place most of the blame/ire somewhere, please put it on me and the other Little Monsters (what Mama Monster calls us). We're the ones who won't shut up about her. We're the ones who are putting her all over. We cry for her blood and she just delivers and then other people see that and try to make a quick dollar off of her name.

It's our fault, really.

Gaga is nothing like pre-2004 Britney.

And where did I say she was? My use of Britney Spears in my diatribe was to illustrate that most pop artists have no staying power, whereas a number of rock and metal artists stay around for ages. Even relatively obscure bands like Sevendust have been around for 15 years (Snot/Tons: founded in 1997; Hed PE: founded 1994; etc.), while even big pop acts tend to dissolve (Spice Girls, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch), or, at least, evaporate into total obscurity (Debbie Gibson's still around, for fuck's sake).

My use of Britney Spears in my diatribe was to illustrate that most pop artists have no staying power

...Eh? Britney's been around for a good fifteen years herself.

Nope, about 10 years, with a severe lull in productivity (no tours, no albums, no singles; only crazy and baby drama) for about 2-4 years, as I recall.

I totally understand it not being in your musical tastes!

But I really don't see Lady Gaga calling herself a freak. She dresses in weird outfits, but she doesn't call it freaky- she calls it fashion. You know, those weird high fashion things people don't actually wear? She just loves costumes and playing dress-up.

Admittedly, she did say that she would "pray every night for God to make her crazy" (the vogue magazine) Funny- you'd think she's be into Lovecraft then, hu? :3

A word about her silence on Marxism: Don't forget that as an artist, you've got to push very carefully. If she went all out in any direction right away, she'd fall right into "sub-lebrity" status- she'd be a "special interest" artist. First hook them, then when they love you, turn them slowly towards what you want them to see- and I mean slowly.

Well... I love Lady Gaga. And I find her much more to my liking than Madonna. I like a few Madonna songs, but not all by any means!

Did you enjoy this one?

Every last one... yes! :D

I love your pandering argument. SO MUCH. I haven't really... listened to the song yet but I havent had time to sit down and do so. :X I want to be able to give it my full attention.

About Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl". I did at first get offended by it, however, looking at it with a level head I see it more as a song about healthy sexual experimentation. It's very common, especially among young, straight women, to experiment sexually with other women. I don't think her intention was to say "haha lesbians are hot and I'm not one but if I act like one it'll get me attention" or "bisexuals are just teases" or something. I think that the song in general represents an oft forgotten phase of human development, in which most humans, gay or straight, male or female, test the waters of their sexuality at their peak of sexual prowess. Many straight men and women have had gay experiences, just as much as gay women and men have had straight experiences. To dismiss the song as a cry for attention or some kind of marketing really doesn't do anyone any good.

Sir, you have given me a more positive, healthy attitude towards the song itself!

If I look at it in context, though, and her "Ur So Gay" thing, though, I can't respect that lady just yet.

ALSO, I should add... There have always been clear comparisons between Madonna and Gaga. In fact I would go so far as to call Gaga our generation's Madonna. She does push the line, not only in her videos but in her music- and not just in the lyrics but the sound. A lot of her music is very original as compared to what you see today. Most music ends up being carbon copies of each other. And honestly, when it comes to Gaga, I can't say "if you like Gaga you would like _____" like I can with about every other band/artist out there. I have to actually reach back and say "Madonna" and "Elton John" and "Queen", because they had themes in their music that touch on the same themes or push the envelope in the same way that Gaga does. So yes, if you want to put it blankly, Gaga IS a Madonna clone, HOWEVER, it's not in a bad way, not in a "their music is the same" way. It's more in a "she knows what she is doing in the same way Madonna did, and pushes sexual and societial themes in much the same way Madonna did at the peak of her career. She brings a new sound to the scene and doesn't afraid of anything." If anything, calling her a Madonna clone is a fucking COMPLIMENT.

Alejandro sounds almost identical to an Ace of Bass song; Speechless sounds like one of Queen's piano-driven songs, except as sung by a woman; the few songs I've heard from the Fame (Lovegame, Just Dance, Pokerface, uh, possibly one more, I forget) aren't style clones of other artists, but are hard to discern from other R&B-influenced pop; I also seem to remember hearing a few other songs off of Fame Monster sounding very similar to artists from a decade ago, but I haven't listened to it in ages (due to my wife not listening to it in the car anymore).

So, I wouldn't call her entirely original. She was at least a bit more preferable to other pop artists, but now, for me at least, she's entirely overplayed and even if I had a smidgen of enjoyment from listening to them last year, I'm burnt out to hell and back. If I want to listen to a strong, white, blond female vocalist, I'll listen to Angela Gossow while she's singing for Arch Enemy. \m/ p_q \m/

I'm not really saying she's completely original, but I'm saying that she actually does take her work in a different direction from today's artists, which is really wonderful~ :3

XD nothing is overplayed for me cuz I don't listen to the raaaadio ~

And...
Guess what was playing on the radio on the way to church this morning...

Ah, no. ;P

Oh Pan! Thank you thank you thank you for putting this into words. This was how I felt too when I heard it finally on my way to work. I was so worried I wasn't going to like it because I read the lyrics before hand too and wasn't sure. But the music. It was ... I listened and I felt like this song was written just for me in that moment and I teared up too.

I think this song came out at the perfect time. Lady Gaga is at the most influential place she's ever been and more people have heard this song than any other I think just because the media has opened itself completely to her. KissFM has been playing this song at the top of every single hour since 7 am Friday. I just hope people actually listen to her lyrics and feel them. It's not just a Gaga song. It's a community song. She wrote it for everyone.

(Also, I'm so glad someone else finds offense with "I Kissed a Girl." I hate that song so much though I love her new song "Firework.")

Yes, see, exactly! I know that Austin is different from the rest of Texas, but I know at least Ashley grew up in a place where hearing that song would be just the kind of thing that she needed. I'm not sure how the situation was where you grew up, though- most of what I know about your childhood is about books, spiders, and playing in the woods.

You reminded me just how important this song is with your comment. People in cities forget that acceptance (or plain old just "do what you want, nobody cares") isn't everyone's experience.

This made me smile. Make it a meme!
And how'd you like the song?

(deleted comment)

And you should, too!

WHAT ABOUT KATY--

Actually I've never heard "I Kissed a Girl." IS THAT WEIRD? Clearly I need to be more on top of things. I guess I'm somewhat proud of it now. And I've yet to hear Lady Gaga's new song either.

Oh and btw "forcing it down our throats!1!!" is completely idiotic. I MEAN. How is wanting to be represented/acknowledged even remotely similar to this?

Lucky! It's a very annoying song that basically says "Hey girls! Wanna make your boyfriend hot? Want attention? Kiss other girls! It's not what good girls do!" (That last sentence, by the way is literally a line in the song.)

I love that "forcing it down" line so much. I've met people who really are confrontational about their sexuality and it isn't even close.

Haven't heard teh Gaga yet? Well! When you do, won't you tell me what you think?

Sure I will. Although I very much doubt they will be deep or thought-provoking in any way whatsoever because I tend not to be in general.

I love Born This Way.

Swen seems to like it too:) And he's had similar qualms about Teh Gay becoming "popular". He won't join the GSA at his school "because it's full of posers who used to make gay jokes 2 years ago but now they're allies?" I guess he believes people's minds can't be changed in that amount of time, though he may well be right about the poserness.

SO AGREED. People treat her like she's commercialising herself by aiming at the pink pound, but she didn't need to go so far. It is still a radical act to mention people like us on the radio, it's still exhilarating when someone actually mentions us and does it directly and says we're worth something. Especially doing it in such an unapologetically political fashion.

I am massively looking forward to dancing and singing along to this in a gay club, personally.

Hell, hearing the word "bi" in a song absolutely thrilled me. *exists*

I like when people accuse me of forcing my gender and sexuality down their throats.

It gives me mental images, and sometimes inspires me to say "Damn right. Come here and I'll force my sexuality down your throat a little harder."

But that depends on the individual, really.

But yeah, Mama Monster's new song made me tear up too. Honestly, even just reading the lyrics. Yeah, they're "cheesy", but you know what? Cheesy doesn't mean bad. Yeah, it's the sort of thing you'd expect to hear, but it still needs to be said. One would EXPECT to hear it because one HOPES to hear it.

I don't have any particular reason to believe that Mama Monster would care about me specifically at all if we were to meet, but it's beyond wonderful to hear someone say in such a public forum that she's not going to blanketly dismiss me because of my sexuality/gender/anything else really.

That song oozes celebration of differences. And honestly, I needed it. AND, the song was released on my birthday, which makes me feel even more like it was for meeeee!

Good to see support for Gaga's song! I love that song, and it's good to see other people do too. I totally know what you mean about the naysayers (especially the "how dare you shove it down my throat" ones) my parents are terrible, I'd say especially my dad (he's the "don't shove it down my throat" type) but my mom is pretty awful too (she thinks it's a mental illness and thinks anyone not straight should die. Isn't that grand? I wanted to vomit when she said that when I last visited... in 2006). I'll never be able to tell them I'm pansexual @_@.

Personally, I respect KP for Firework (especially the video), and everything else is just mostly cutesy and for fun. I can see how I Kissed a Girl could be offensive though (and we don't even talk about Ur So Gay).

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