Quote:
Originally Posted by Skaligojurah
I'm not bothered by the fact she's popular. I'm bothered by the fact tons of other things aren't. I just wish that other things were allowed to make a cultural mark, that's all.
Besides, what would culture be if there weren't people who didn't get over it? I mean, there's always room for the satirist and commentator. It's not like I turn my computer off, and stab a poster of Lady Gaga fifteen times or anything. I think however, people should be able to share their viewpoint, defy, and rebel. Even if change cannot be made, at least, the viewpoint can be heard.
Fact of the matter is, musicians who actually take risks do not get the same level of notoriety. Beethoven was good, admittedly, but in the end, he was a pop musician. There are tons of composers who are actually better composers who have gotten little to no notoriety in comparison. Not to say he wasn't amazing, and significant.
Gaga isn't destroying music, or overshadowing anybody. However, she's shamelessly aiding, and profiting off of a system that is. Therefore, is just as guilty as the system.
Just saying, there's merit in fighting against the cult of personality. There is no harm in me saying what I'm saying, or taking the viewpoint that I do.
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You must be pretty miserable. I mean, seriously. Amazing, phenomenal work goes under the radar constantly. Even in the indie world, truly amazing stuff gets pushed down for whiny mediocre "OMG WE HATE MAINSTREAM" material. The irony behind that mindset (which you seem to have a
little bit of) is that it's really the same. In every genre or subculture of music, there are endless instances of talented, thoughtful work being not given the light of day. I agree, I think it's disheartening for artists trying to make it big. Ultimately though, there will always be people (just take a look at musicbanter) who do appreciate all sorts of music. You're arguing with the wrong people here.
Also, why do you feel she puts no effort into her writing? Have you heard her songs Speechless, Future Love, Born This Way, Greatest, or The Fame? I find it a bit disturbing that you think a ballad (Speechless) written solely to convince her father to not kill himself when he had a terminal illness requires no effort. If that's not "real" writing to you, then please explain to me what is because I apparently have absolutely no idea what is. I think there are times when she does put little to no effort into her writing -- see Just Dance, Telephone, Alejandro, etc. Her next album shows a lot of promise to be more hearty material, less shallow pop crap that her first album was full of.
Also, I thought your whole argument was that Lady Gaga is overshadowing aspiring artists and everything else in the music industry? Now you say you aren't arguing that? You expect her to be humble and make meager advances towards success? That argument is borderline delusional. Yeah, Lady Gaga, stop touring for months on end and working so hard because it isn't fair for other artists that want to be successful. Really? I think most artists want success, but for different reasons. Some want the money, some want as many people as possible to hear their music, some want to make others feel good, some want to be liked or respected, and some want to inspire change in negative ways of thinking. Lady Gaga (at least to me) is doing all of those.
I think you mean well with wishing other things were popular, but you're ultimately wasting your energy, as Vanilla attempted to point out. You say it's "passion", I say it's naivety. My favorite band is an art-rock band from NYC called Elysian Fields. I listen to their albums religiously, and nature is usually the topic of their music. Lyrically, I think they blow everything on the pop radio (Lady Gaga included) out of the water. I wish sometimes that more people could hear their stuff and appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes behind their work, but most people I think would find it to be boring. Their music tends to be pretty slow and I know that when I'm running or working out, I want something fast and upbeat. So I can see how someone may not enjoy it. For me even, it depends on the time and place.
I'm not really sure what I'm saying at this point. So I'm going to end this post, lol. You should be able to take at least something from it.