Lady Gaga

David Bowie was able to achieve cult status in the early 70s because he created a sexually ambiguous image for himself and played it up with makeup, dyed hair, and nonconventional futuristic-like clothing. He was successful at “confounding the images” and free of gender in a way and therefore was pushing the limits in ways that had never been pushed before. Another artist that is known for pushing the limits in extremely similar ways is Stefani Germanotta. You may know her as Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga released her first album, The Fame, in 2008 after many years in New York working as a songwriter for Interscope Records. The album included the singles “Just Dance” featuring popular rapper Akon and “Poker Face”. It was a commercial success and the album reached number one on the charts in six countries and she quickly became a world-wide success. She released a follow-up album, The Fame Monster, in 2009 and it also went on to top the charts with songs like “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” featuring Beyonce. “Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release on May 23, 2011 after the arrival of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way" which achieved the number-one spot in countries worldwide and was the fastest-selling single in iTunes history, selling one million copies in five days”.

Lady Gaga has said many times in various interviews that she has been inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie, Elton John, and Queen and also by pop singer Madonna. Her stage name was actually inspired by the song Radio Ga Ga by Queen and she is infamous for having an odd somewhat Avant-garde sense of style which she herself creates with the Haus of Gaga, a group of stylists and designers that work on her projects. She has worn a dress made out of meat which caused lots of controversy and even appeared at the 53^rd Grammy awards earlier this year in an “embryo-shaped incubator”, or what many referred to as an egg. In 2009, Gaga was rumored to be intersex and responded by saying, “At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny”, on a Barbara Walters special that aired on ABC.

Gaga claims that she is trying to incorporate performance art into the mainstream but critical reception of her persona, music, and fashion sense are mixed. In my opinion, she brought something new to the table for the current generation which is why she became such a huge phenomenon so quickly. I also have to say though, that she is not original, or the first one to do what she is doing but she has said who were influences were and I’m glad she did a good job of reinventing what Bowie did in the early 70s as well as recreating the appeal of Madonna in the 80s. She’s different and although I’m sure not everyone is a fan of her outlandish style, there are plenty of people out there who are inspired by her message and in return have helped her break records and win five Grammy awards amongst 12 nominations to date.

Lady Gaga. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga>

2Pac

I wrote about Tupac Shakur in a previous blog post in order to illustrate how generation after generation a new form of music arises and the general public always seems to be outraged by it while younger members of society take to it and interestingly enough are actually responsible for the artist becoming so popular in the first place. I can remember being little and having older cousins in high school who would bump Tupac in their cars everywhere they went. Although I didn’t know who he was or the names of any of his songs at the time, perhaps this is where my current appreciation for him and his music came from. In my opinion, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, Dr. Dre and other old school rappers of the 90’s are what could only be described as the original gangsters of the industry.

Although Shakur was very well known and incredibly successful as an artist, there were also many downfalls to his fame. He left behind a legacy in the form of lyrics which were grossly misinterpreted by the media and other members of older generations who just didn’t get it. The media has served to tarnish Tupac's image, masking the true worth of his work. Many classified Tupac as just another angry black male, a thug, who advocated violence. “In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope refused. Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having ‘no place in our society’” (Wikipedia, Tupac Shakur).

What Tupac really wanted though was change. He wanted to stand up and rebel against those who stereotyped him as just another thug. He did a lot more than just entertain through his music; he used it as a vehicle for his message, to be heard and speak to young black Americans about the injustices they are up against. He was actually quite poetic and also had songs like “Dear Mama” in which he describes his love for his single mother who raised him. In fact, Tupac thought very highly of women; he raps, “since we all came from a women, got our name from a women, and our game from a women. I wonder why we take from women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it’s time we killed for our women, be real to our women, try to heal our women, cuz if we don’t, we'll have a race of babies that will hate the ladies, who make the babies. And since a man can't make one he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one” in one of his more popular songs, Keep Ya Head Up.

In September of 1996, Shakur was shot four times and died seven days later in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many dispute that he is dead, insisting that he faked his death in order to escape the music industry and all the negativity fame seemed to have brought him. I highly recommend watching “Tupac: Resurrection”, a documentary on Shakur and his impact on the world.

14 March 2011

Dear Editor:

I found the article in Music and Culture titled “It’s Easy, but Wrong, to Blame the Music” by Hilary Rosen, to be very interesting but I also have some qualms regarding Rosen herself. It seems obvious that she would be in favor of music regardless of content, and even more obvious that she would claim that music isn’t the cause of anger or violence amongst young Americans but merely a reflection of their feelings. I mean, she was the chief executive officer of the Recording Industry of America from 1998 to 2003 and a prominent spokesperson for the music industry founding programs like “Rock the Vote” and “Stop the Violence”. She is the face of the music industry, so of course she would be opposed to admit that maybe explicit language, sexuality, and violence in lyrics could have an effect on children.

However, I do like that she has made an effort to combat the violence, drug use, and other problems young people now face by founding and supporting programs that help encourage positive action in their communities. For example, the Drug-Free America campaign with artists was a very influential movement and really helped bring awareness to the issue in a way that adolescents were open to. Although I do not agree that the music industry is completely without blame for increasing violence and other societal issues, I do like that Rosen mentioned parents and their roles in preventing their children from listening to things that do not approve of. In my opinion, parental locks on televisions and computers are crucial as well as being aware of what your children are listening to and their feelings. Chances are, your child is listening to heavy metal all day and dressing in black because they are in the midst of teenage angst. Know your children and use music as a tool for opening lines of communication with them.

People are indeed influenced by their surroundings. I find it hard to believe that someone could even say that the media doesn’t infiltrate our brains or that it may affect how we feel and think. In fact, “Children, Violence, and the Media: A Report for Parents and Policy Makers”, also in Music and Culture by Anna Tomasino(62), is a government report that provides statistics and other data on media violence and how it has had detrimental effects on society. The media is definitely not completely at fault for the world’s evils but it could do a better job of steering in a more positive direction knowing their influence on children. “Not every child who watches a lot of violence or plays a lot of violent games will grow up to be violent. Other forces must converge, as they did recently in Colorado. But just as every cigarette increases the chance that someday you will get lung cancer, every exposure to violence increases the chances that someday a child will behave more violently than they otherwise would”(67). It is important that the media take some social responsibility but also important to stop playing the blame game.  

Alexis Martinez

Punk rock = abjection?

In the mid-70’s, punk rock bands had become a major cultural phenomenon, especially in the United Kingdom. The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash had made it big with their anti-establishment lyrics and fast edgy music. Punk rock was mainly geared toward those who rejected any association with the mainstream. Punk rockers usually played shows in local or underground venues where a punk subculture then emerged, expressing youthful rebellion with distinct haircuts and style and an anti-authority way of life.

      The general public, however, was not very fond of these so-called punk rockers and their message. According to Paul Cobley, the press took abjection (vomit, snot, spitting, menstrual blood, fetishism, obscenity, perversion, violence, and unreason) and made it synonymous with punk rock. The funny part is that the press featured these bands in their newspaper articles as reprehensible and filthy, but it only brought more attention to the punk rockers and provided more appeal for youngsters in the midst of teenage rebellion.

      Those that were appalled by the “moral depravity” of punk rock were mostly of older generations. Of course parents didn’t want their children listening to punk rock and being a part of the new twisted culture that they not only didn’t understand but were against. Punk-rock was new, something different than had never been on the scene before and the press was magnifying its appeal to adolescents and young adults who wanted nothing more than the opportunity to be rebellious. The rise of punk rock isn’t the only time nor genre that has caused panic amongst parents and the older members of the population.

In the 1990’s, rap music became very popular with the rise of artists like Tupac Shakur(2Pac), Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. “In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope records refused. Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having "no place in our society”.” (“Tupac Shakur”, Wikipedia).
As you can see, every decade or so there is the rise of something new in music. A new genre makes it big because it’s different; out with the old, in with the new. Young people, who are very impressionable, immediately take to it while parents are outraged. Times change and therefore music changes with it. Parents who listened to music of the 70’s and 80’s are appalled by the suggestive lyrics their children are now listening to just like their parents were of the music they listened to. It’s all a matter of a generation gap and the inability of older people to get out of their ways. Remember, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.