Well, if there was EVER a time for me to try to restart this blog again, today is the day. As many of you know, or have possibly heard every gay boy on facebook screaming about, Lady Gaga released her new, hotly anticipated single "Born This Way" today. Within mere hours of its release, an enormous discourse has already begun to take shape, walling the song firmly inside the dungeon of Gaga vs. Madonna debates that have been going on since around the time Gaga came on the scene followed by packs of happy gay boys and drag queens. The obvious response to Gaga's new single, and furthermore her career in general, is to claim that she's nothing more than a Madonna knockoff reliving the mainstream conquests of another gay icon.
However, it seems to me that Gaga is not to be so easily written off. What Gaga appears to be doing instead is aligning herself with Madonna and the dynasty of real girl queens that Madonna descends from (look for instance all the way back to Mae West who was often called the "greatest female impersonator of all time" despite being a biological female herself).
I mean, let's be honest, Madonna was and is derivative too. She comes from a tradition of vamps that goes back a hundred years, while adding elements to that image that alter it significantly for the 1980s and 90s, much as Gaga has done for the 2000s. Further, Gaga is trading in new spaces that weren't really accessible to Madonna as far as dealing with lgbtq issues. Part of the problem surrounding the song, from what I have seen is that not only are people upset because the song sounds too much like "Express Yourself," but a lot of people seem to hate it's lyrics: not because they are pro-lgbtq, but because they are too obvious. When Madonna was rising to the top on the backs of her gay fans, lyrics from a straight woman about gay sexuality would have likely killed a single. However, in today's atmosphere Gaga is able to provide lgbtq teens with an anthem that is supportive of their lives at a time when many people treat them like crap. So, if you want to call Gaga's lyrics contrived, go ahead, but try to look past the similarity between her and Madonna and see that she is using Madonna as a reference to those who came before her, even as she presses into new territory lyrically. Because let's not forget folks, her lyrics don't sound much like MAdonna's in either case. And aside from the melodyaround the chorus, the two songs also don't sound that similar.
However, it seems to me that Gaga is not to be so easily written off. What Gaga appears to be doing instead is aligning herself with Madonna and the dynasty of real girl queens that Madonna descends from (look for instance all the way back to Mae West who was often called the "greatest female impersonator of all time" despite being a biological female herself).
I mean, let's be honest, Madonna was and is derivative too. She comes from a tradition of vamps that goes back a hundred years, while adding elements to that image that alter it significantly for the 1980s and 90s, much as Gaga has done for the 2000s. Further, Gaga is trading in new spaces that weren't really accessible to Madonna as far as dealing with lgbtq issues. Part of the problem surrounding the song, from what I have seen is that not only are people upset because the song sounds too much like "Express Yourself," but a lot of people seem to hate it's lyrics: not because they are pro-lgbtq, but because they are too obvious. When Madonna was rising to the top on the backs of her gay fans, lyrics from a straight woman about gay sexuality would have likely killed a single. However, in today's atmosphere Gaga is able to provide lgbtq teens with an anthem that is supportive of their lives at a time when many people treat them like crap. So, if you want to call Gaga's lyrics contrived, go ahead, but try to look past the similarity between her and Madonna and see that she is using Madonna as a reference to those who came before her, even as she presses into new territory lyrically. Because let's not forget folks, her lyrics don't sound much like MAdonna's in either case. And aside from the melodyaround the chorus, the two songs also don't sound that similar.
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