Lady Gaga: occult master or mere pop star?
Apr. 4th, 2010 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spoonlessRecently ran across a very strange but intriguing review of Lady Gaga's Telephone (the video I posted a while back):
The Hidden Meaning of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”
If the hidden meaning this person sees in her lyrics and video is really the meaning she intended (doubtful, but possible) then I have to say, my respect for both her and her music goes up considerably. I get a lot of enjoyment from listening to her music, but I always kind of assumed there wasn't a huge amount of thought going into the lyrics or themes. I wouldn't use the term vacuous, but I can see how people might see her music in that way. But on the other hand, if this analysis is right then Telephone is a actually a very clever and sophisticated well-developed commentary on the state of our postmodern society. A truly brilliant masterpiece, complete with subtle references to the Illuminati and Monarch Programming. In my opinion, if all of this is really contained in her music as the author thinks it is, then it means her music deserves to be classified as high art rather than just pop music. Unfortunately, I don't *quite* buy that she thought all of this symbolism through before recording. It seems more likely to me that this author (who almost seems like he believes she is *working* for the Illuminati rather than referencing them--I can't quite tell) is reading into it a lot of his own interpretation rather than picking up her intended interpretation.
Nevertheless, I do think some of these themes are there, whether she intended them or not, and add to the enjoyment of the music. In particular, the feeling of being disconnected and "in your own world" is a theme that has always resonated with me a lot, since that's very much what a lot of life has been like for me. Always feeling disconnected from the mainstream and from others around me. So it's very possible that the reason why it's been 1st on my list of songs I've enjoyed this year so far is because I'm picking up some of that theme and identifying strongly with it.
The Hidden Meaning of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”
If the hidden meaning this person sees in her lyrics and video is really the meaning she intended (doubtful, but possible) then I have to say, my respect for both her and her music goes up considerably. I get a lot of enjoyment from listening to her music, but I always kind of assumed there wasn't a huge amount of thought going into the lyrics or themes. I wouldn't use the term vacuous, but I can see how people might see her music in that way. But on the other hand, if this analysis is right then Telephone is a actually a very clever and sophisticated well-developed commentary on the state of our postmodern society. A truly brilliant masterpiece, complete with subtle references to the Illuminati and Monarch Programming. In my opinion, if all of this is really contained in her music as the author thinks it is, then it means her music deserves to be classified as high art rather than just pop music. Unfortunately, I don't *quite* buy that she thought all of this symbolism through before recording. It seems more likely to me that this author (who almost seems like he believes she is *working* for the Illuminati rather than referencing them--I can't quite tell) is reading into it a lot of his own interpretation rather than picking up her intended interpretation.
Nevertheless, I do think some of these themes are there, whether she intended them or not, and add to the enjoyment of the music. In particular, the feeling of being disconnected and "in your own world" is a theme that has always resonated with me a lot, since that's very much what a lot of life has been like for me. Always feeling disconnected from the mainstream and from others around me. So it's very possible that the reason why it's been 1st on my list of songs I've enjoyed this year so far is because I'm picking up some of that theme and identifying strongly with it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-04-06 02:23 pm (UTC)That function is the effect she has on her audiences.
It seems like the main effect she has is to get people to think more about the nature of pop culture and what they're consuming. She serves the role of opening people's eyes, which to me seems like a good thing.
See some of the links
no subject
Date: 2010-04-06 03:14 pm (UTC)Uhhh... No, I don't see that happening at all. I see her as exemplifying a vacuous, obscene subversion of 'pop culture' that deserves deconstruction, not glorification.
If that's the impression you're taking from the cultural phenomena that is Lady Gaga, I'm guessing you *haven't* had the opportunity to study much cultural theory. In that case, I can't really blame you for not seeing through the veil, but that makes it no less tragic.