ELVIS THE KING AND THE QUEEN OF POP LADY GAGA

I thought Elton John was the Queen of Pop?

It's been various people over the years - Madonna, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Cher, Susan Doyle (!) etc, etc, but Lady Blah Blah is currently in vogue due to her constant outfit changing - the 'music' is irrelavent and nothing new.

Isn't that what the middle-aged said about Elvis in the mid-1950s. popular because of the way he moves and the sideburns etc. The music is irrelevant.

As with the previous threads on gaga, it seems very clear that most people have never heard one song beyond Poker Face, have no idea of the range of her material (such as the startlingly good duet with Tony Bennett on lady is a tramp, and the jazz element now a part of her live shows), or what she stands for. But I guess that ignorance is bliss.

Should we all be so familiar with Lady Gaga already, an act that just appeared fairly recently? Many of us have extensive knowledge of all types of great non-Elvis music and surely if she's so worthwhile, this will demonstrate itself sooner or later. I'm not saying it won't happen but she's basically just arrived and has a long road to prove her mettle.

Lady Gaga, whatever her talents turn out to be, has a long way to begin to be even mentioned in the same sentence as Elvis and Aretha Franklin, never mind Madonna.
She does seem to be filing that role in today's pop music - the resident famale dance/ pop music tart akin to Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, etc.. If she does really well, she will one day match Madge's chart history and overall cultural impact.

I'm sure she has some talents but right now seems to be on the more disposable pop/ dance side of things. She may yet emerge as a big star but she has a long way to go--never mind how much harder it is today to break out given the spintered audience and battered music industry.

Lady Gaga may have come on the music scene fairly recently, but there's not been a hotter act over the past five years; so if you've missed the cultural impact she's had, then your grasp on popular music in the 21st Century is severely askew. Whilst, Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue are still doing well in their own right, with Kylie now on the scene longer than Elvis was and Britney remaining popular almost 15 years after her debut hit single.

Lady Gaga has the talent and popularity to endure every bit as long as Britney, and brings to the music scene a voice that's second-to-none and a keen musicianship that's only bolstered by splendid songwriting skills. It won't be long until Hollywood is knocking on her door, either. And where Kylie and Britney have stumbled in that respect, the astute and very learned Lady Gaga may well succeed.

'Stoke:

I saw on another thread how you went to the barricades about Lady Gaga. It's hard to hide your passion for her. I don't entirely get it
but do welcome the degree to which she fills the "Madonna chair" in a sense (sexy, catchy,etc.). At the same time, even Madonna
had a bit of fakery to her in my mind in the '80s, heavy on P.R. and stylized image (videos, etc.) and less so emphasizing music.

I didn't say I didn't like Lady Gaga. I see some cultural impact but recall that it's a fact that in
today's splintered media market of 500 channels, the internet, etc. there is not even the uniform following even among young audiences.

Your speak like a true fan, full of adulation and praise for Ms. Stefani "Lady Gaga" Germanotta and that's your right .

Bt I'm just saying her staying power, as much as objectively can be measured, has yet to be proved.

Kylie likewise has nowhere near the cultural impact of Elvis (no matter her apparent longevity - I haven't though of her in years) and again at the very least this is in part
do to the dramatically smaller and fractured media audience.

I'm actually all for big pop stars and sort of mourn the era when new stars loomed and had their stay.

There simply is no equivalent of an Ed Sullivan for the latter-day likes of Elvis; the Beatles, the Doors to get huge audience share and the next day
records are flying off the shelves.

It's all much more diffuse and in some ways, concocted, as are the "charts" today with their faux "number ones" by the likes of Beyonce and
Mariah Carey that have just a percentage of the old cultural impact of a number one song.

I wish the could prove themselves this way but that world is gone. Whatever is coming is interesting but as we discuss on the "Digital Sales surpass..." thread,
it's a lot harder to break out and sustain a career in the "free" era.

Last edited by Gregory Nolan Jr. on Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

'Stoke:

I saw on another thread how you went to the barricades about Lady Gaga. It's hard to hide your passion for her. I don't entirely get it
but do welcome the degree to which she fills the "Madonna chair" in a sense but in that way there's something false about it, nevermind
that Madonna always was heavy on P.R. and stylized image (videos, etc.) and less so the music.

I didn't say I didn't like Lady Gaga. I see some cultural impact but recall that it's a fact that in
today's splintered media market of 500 channels, the internet, etc. there is not even the uniform following even among young audiences.

Your speak like a true fan, full of adulation and praise for Ms. Stefani "Lady Gaga" Germanotta and that's your right .

Bt I'm just saying her staying power, as much as objectively can be measured, has yet to be proved.

Kylie likewise has nowhere near the cultural impact of Elvis (no matter her apparent longevity - I haven't though of her in years) and again at the very least this is in part
do to the dramatically smaller and fractured media audience.

I'm actually all for big pop stars and sort of mourn the era when new stars loomed and had their stay.

There simply is no equivalent of an Ed Sullivan for the latter-day likes of Elvis; the Beatles, the Doors to get huge audience share and the next day
records are flying off the shelves.

It's all much more diffuse and in some ways, concocted, as are the "charts" today with their faux "number ones" by the likes of Beyonce and
Mariah Carey that have just a percentage of the old cultural impact of a number one song.

I wish the could prove themselves this way but that world is gone. Whatever is coming is interesting but as we discuss on the "Digital Sales surpass..." thread,
it's a lot harder to break out and sustain a career in the "free" era.

The problems that i was highlighting was more to do with the fact that most people writing about Gaga were doing so without actually knowing anything about her or her music, and thus unqualified to pass judgement on her merits.

I've seen her enough. I sample enough of the pop culture to get a read on her.

I'll give another look or two, just to be fair. My man Tony Bennett (obviously goosed by his manager/ son) seems
sold enough on her...and Amy WInehouse, who he likewise lavished over-the-top heavy praise on.

If Lady runs her career right, maybe someday that pairing will seem a natural pairing of greats, rather than the (very possible) :

"oh that's that Tony duet album with what's-her-name... song with the flash -in-the-pan; would-be New Madonna in a Meat dress who fizzled out after 2014..."

You and 'Stoke should get together and have a Lady Gaga record party ..or whatever.

Lady Gaga has the talent and popularity to endure every bit as long as Britney, and brings to the music scene a voice that's second-to-none and a keen musicianship that's only bolstered by splendid songwriting skills.

Just out of interest greystoke, what are your thoughts on the similarities between the Lady Gaga track Born This Way and the Madonna hit from 1989, Express Yourself ?

Lady Gaga has the talent and popularity to endure every bit as long as Britney, and brings to the music scene a voice that's second-to-none and a keen musicianship that's only bolstered by splendid songwriting skills.

Just out of interest greystoke, what are your thoughts on the similarities between the Lady Gaga track Born This Way and the Madonna hit from 1989, Express Yourself ?

It's a great track, and similarities to Express Yourself are warranted and were, undoubtedly, expected -- the song riffs on Express Yourself by design, much in the same way one can appreciate the influence of many artists in her material. Clarence Clements, for example, played sax on Hair and The Edge of Glory on the Born this Way album to garner an authentic touchstone in relation to Springsteen's influence. Lady Gaga, of course, is far from being the first, or only, artist to utilise familiar melodies. It doesn't always work, and can be very obvious -- and this was certainly obvious. But the end result was terrific and a major commercial success into the bargain.

Lady Gaga has the talent and popularity to endure every bit as long as Britney, and brings to the music scene a voice that's second-to-none and a keen musicianship that's only bolstered by splendid songwriting skills.

Just out of interest greystoke, what are your thoughts on the similarities between the Lady Gaga track Born This Way and the Madonna hit from 1989, Express Yourself ?

It's a great track, and similarities to Express Yourself are warranted and were, undoubtedly, expected -- the song riffs on Express Yourself by design, much in the same way one can appreciate the influence of many artists in her material. Clarence Clements, for example, played sax on Hair and The Edge of Glory on the Born this Way album to garner an authentic touchstone in relation to Springsteen's influence. Lady Gaga, of course, is far from being the first, or only, artist to utilise familiar melodies. It doesn't always work, and can be very obvious -- and this was certainly obvious. But the end result was terrific and a major commercial success into the bargain.

Agreed, it is a very good pop track. In the long term though, it could prove a very dangerous move, especially if that road is travelled again. Of course [and as always] time will tell if Lady Gaga warrants the comparison to Madonna.
Over the years we have seen so many pretenders come and go, and it remains to be seen if Gaga can sustain a career of the magnitude and longevity of Madonna.

While we talk about Gaga and her longevity and performance, she laughs all the way to the bank with more money than all of us combined.

I'm a rich man ...that is, with the family I'm blessed with. I would hope we all have other blessings so that we don't
worship the lives celebrities (including Presley) have or had. So often, they prove to be rather miserable just the same.

I have zero envy for her but don't begrude her the success, although I find it (as is often the case) not the most deserving of such a windfall.
But that's show business.